Priya's SX/4 project

[IowaEagle]

Thanks. captspillane , for clarifying that for me and others.  So it sounds like my '82 probably has the oddball front diff.

[doneagle]

     HI  captspillane thank you for the info yes this helps .....don 

[doneagle]

                 HI Priya   I can understand when we can afford it ...all the Pisces would be kind of pricey  .and you don't  know were the water is coming in at....... later    a fan don

[priya]

The car orginally had a trailer hitch on it.  Hubby speculates that it the car had been used to launch a boat and backed into a lake.   I seem to vaguely recall the owner I bought it from saying he towed a boat with it.  Anyway according to Ward that is a common way water gets into rear differentials.

[carnuck]

If it helps, depending what ratio you want, look at the Jeep Cherokees. I put an 8.25 with 3.08 ratio in my wagon, but the earlier XJs often ran lower ratios like 3.55 and 3.73. Quite a few 4 cyls even had 4.10s. The Dana 35 (same oval rear cover as the Eagle) will bolt directly in with only the shock mounts needing to be swapped.

The higher ratio diffs aren't popular with the Jeep guys and the one piece axle shafts are a nice upgrade.

[priya]

Yes, I'd definitely be interested in a rear end from a Jeep - I didn't know they fit.  It'd be a lot easier to find a rearend locally if it came from a Jeep rather than an Eagle.  There's supposed to be an axle letter code on the Eagle differentials but we couldn't find one although we only checked the front diff.  The tag on it said:


                                    3251265
                                   307 43-14

It seems likely that the bottom numbers represent a 3.07 ratio with 43 teeth on the ring gear and 14 teeth on the pinion gear so that's what we're basing it on.  We spun the driveshaft and counted wheel revolutions and Ward estimated a 3.1 rear gear so we're pretty confident it is a 3.07 ratio.  I assume 3.08 rear diff out of a Jeep would be close enough to not cause problems?

[IowaEagle]

Towing Eagles usually had 3.07's.

[priya]

Towing Eagles usually had 3.07's.

Yes, it was confusing for me to see that tag on the front differential because according to the Eagle technical service manual (if I read it right) an automatic Eagle with a 258 should have either a 2.72 or 3.31 ratio and there was no 3.07 ratio available in '81.  This is what the manual said:

              Axle letter code
standard dif         twin grip diff                    ratio
EE                           FF                                  3.54
F                              T                                    3.08
G                              S                                   3.31
H                              U                                   2.73
J                                                                    2.37
K                               V                                  2.53


                        Trans model     49 State      Calif              High altitude
Eagle 258         SR4             2.73            2.73              3.08 Man
                            998             2.72             2.73              3.31 Auto

[carnuck]

3.07 = 3.08 depending how the number is rounded. '80 had 3.07 commonly and that's what my front diff is from. XJs with 4.0L and 5 speed are 3.07 from the factory. D35 uses almost everything the same as the Eagle, including the Ubolts. When I put the 8.25 in mine I had custom ones for the D44 in my truck on hand as well as spring plates from a Dana 60 that lined up nicely. I had to add a leaf anyways so longer Ubolts were needed.

Note that Comanche diffs aren't a bolt in, although they are the same width, etc. You need to weld in spring pads on top of the MJ diff for the Eagle 1  1/2"closer to the backing plate than they are in the Jeep. They also have no shock mounts on the tubes. Same with YJs. If you find a 5 speed MJ with Dana 44 rear, it may be 3.08 but 90% of XJ ones are 3.55.

[priya]

I spoke to Ward about it and he said in Saskatchewan its not legal to weld shockmounts, etc. on a rear end housing so he doesn't want to do it.

[Monkeyjoe]

Just hop on over to Alberta get the welding done.  Oh and if the you the last one to leave Saskatchewan, don't forget to shut the lights off.

[carnuck]

Another way is a plate that bolts between the springs and axle.

Saskatchewan Motor Vehicle code says you can't weld on the springs. It says nothing about axle tubes and shock mounts because that's how they do them from the factory.

Suspension system
21(1)
The suspension system of the vehicle shall:
(a) in the case of a two axle vehicle, distribute the weight of the vehicle and
its load so that no more than 75% of the total weight is carried on one axle;
(b) not have broken or welded leaf or coil springs;
(c) not have loose, bent, cracked, broken or disconnected U-bolts, centre
bolts, mounting shackles, stabilizers, radius rods or equalizers; and
(d) have a bump pad or other secondary device that prevents the frame or
body from contacting the tire or wheel in the event of failure of any component
of the primary suspension system.
(2)
In the case of a type A-1 vehicle, the suspension system shall:
(a) prevent any part of the vehicle other than the tires from contacting the
ground when one tire is flat;
(b) have spring shackles that are not longer than those specified by the
vehicle manufacturer; and
(c) have at least one functional damping device or shock absorber for each wheel.

[doneagle]

          HI     I have learned so much from this thread ...A wise person ones told me if you go a day with out leaning something its a wasted day ......Well yesterday wasn't wasted ...........don   

[priya]

Monkeyjoe, the problem is not where the welding is done, its that its not being done by the factory.  We can weld as well as most people so if it was okay we'd just do it here.

Carnuck, I'll send that to my husband and see what he says.   I also asked why it was okay for the factory to weld them and not us.  He said that the factory has the proper jigs to make sure they're welded in the right spots, welding rod that they know is compatible, and a lot of it has to do with newer cars as their rear axle housings are heat treated and if you weld on them you ruin the heat treating.  He said if you try to re-heat treat it after the welding then the thing warps and you have to re-machine it but you can't re-machine it because its already been machined once..

[priya]

I spoke to Ward and he says on Monday he's going to dig through the relevent documentation at work and copy the applicable sections of the code because he knows there's more to it than what Carnuck has posted.  He says he's been through this several times before and has had lengthy discussions with Saskatchewan Government Insurance on this issue to establish what the rules are and has failed a number of safety inspections on vehicles with axle housings that have been welded on.