final drive ratio?

This is probably a stupid question, because I must be missing something obvious, but why does my rear driveshaft only rotate about 2 3/4 turns for one turn of the rear wheel? I thought this was how you got a rough idea of the gears in a vehicle. The rear end tag states 5.38, which is about what I figured should be in it. I cant imagine anyone putting car gears into one, but Ive seen some weird stuff before. While on the subject, what axles are under this thing anyway? I dont see any identification, but its still prettty grimy underneath. Its a 61 cj5.

 

I am going to bet you only have one rear (or front) wheel jacked up-makes the tractionless wheel turn twice as fast since the other side is not moving.

 

Yep. Both rear wheels have to make a complete rotation for 5.38 rotations of the driveshaft. If one doesn't move, the other has to move twice as many turns. That's how differentials work - they divide the total rotation between both wheels, sometimes one wheel more than the other. 2.75 * 2 = 5.50 ~ 5.38.

 

Ok, I guess Ill strap on my helmet, get back on the short bus and lick the window for a while. I knew the answer was obvious. How about the axles, assuming they are the originals?

 

The two-rotations thing is a common misunderstanding. Don't be too hard on yourself.

What are you asking about the axles? 5.38:1 is the most common ratio in the F134 CJs. Some came with 4.27s. Your measurements say that the 5.38 ratio is right - counting the driveshaft rotations is only approximate, esp. when you divide the result by two

 

Stock Standard 1961 CJ's are always 5.38 final drive with no exceptions.

 

No, I mean dana 30's, amc 20's, what are they? Theyre both offset to the passenger side, but thats all I know. The only ones I can recognize by sight are 9 inch fords and sterling 10.5's. Pretty sure it doesnt have those. Would be a killer setup though, huh?

 

thats why you told me to ignore the tags and make certain of mine....

 

And you're exactly right, Warloch, the thing has a fiberglass body and an alternator instead of a generator, which I thought was stock, so I really dont know what the guy before me might have done to it. Im just glad he left it behind, this stuff is way more fun than golf. Of course so is watching paint dry.

 

Rear: D44
Front: most likely a D27 but could be a 25

 

hey red61 several years back i had some metal parts hanging from the chain hoist frame & had just sprayed the 1st coat of top color so i went to the house to get a glass of tea. when i came back they hadn't flashed good yet so i just sat down to wait a few minutes. my buddy came up & asked what i was doing. i told him "watching the paint dry". he looked at me like i was a three eyed cow, shook his head & left. some folks just don't get it. by the way, which willys vehicles came with 4.88 gears? i bought an m38a1 in a junk yard kinda a "over the phone through the fence" deal & when i went to get it i was suprised to find it was a wagon or a truck shortened up with a a1 body on it. i hope the axles have 4.88s in them, but i'm usually not that lucky.
andy

 

Re the truck axles, it depends very much on what year/model the truck was. Could be anything from 2.73 to 5.38.