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Dismantled the carrier in the dana 44 rear axle of this m38a-1. Surprisingly this assembly looks pretty good....except for the ring and pinion. Here are a couple of pics of the carrier gear set....


Here's a picture of the well worn ring gear and pinion.....



So here's the plan.....purchase a new ring and pinion gear set.....new inner and outer pinion bearing cones and cups.....new carrier bearing cones and cups.......and new axle bearing cones and cups......new shim sets all around......new side gear thrust washers.....new orbital gear washers......and new seals all the way around.

Now a question........this axle is a 44/8 or 5.38:1 ratio axle. Is this considered a high torque or a high speed axle?

Thanks.

Hello Jim,
It's the standard ratio for the M38 and the M38A1.

The higher the ratio number the greater torque multiplication that occurs. But this advantage can be negated very easily by increasing the tire diameter.

Just FYI the WWII MB used the 4.88 ratio with the smaller diameter 6.00-16 tires while the CJ2A and 3A uses the 5:38 ratio.