1966 Plymouth Fury 383 Rear Axle Questions...

[Fleet 500]

After researching, it looks like the rear axle on my '66 Plymouth Fury with 383-4 bbl and Torqueflite is the 8.75" (8 and 3/4") rear axle, 742 type.

Is it a 10- or 12- bolt?

I have read that changing the ring & pinion is easy to do compared to other rear axles.
I am going to check soon but I think my car has a 3.23:1 ratio. I will probably change it to 3.55s or 3.73s. What is involved in changing the axle ratio? Disconnecting the driveshaft and removing the front loading differential casing?

[Chryco Psycho]

these are easy to work on , just undo the 5 bolts holding in each axle inside the drums & slide the axles out , remove the driveshaft & undo the 10 bolts holding the carrier in place & drop the carrier out
 changing the center section entirely is the easy way to swap the gears , but you can buy new gears & swap them into your carrier

[Fleet 500]

Thanks for the info. I'm glad changing the gears on those is easier compared to the rear axle on other cars.

[sleepychallenger]

be careful pulling that center section out, it is very heavy and the gears like to rub the bottom of the housing when pulling it out. no damage, but it likes to snag and put up a fight.

[Fleet 500]

be careful pulling that center section out, it is very heavy and the gears like to rub the bottom of the housing when pulling it out. no damage, but it likes to snag and put up a fight.

Okay, I'll do that... if I decide to change gears.

I was driving it earlier today on a local surface street and it was hard keeping it at 40 mph... the car kept creeping up to 50-55 mph. In other words, the current 3.23s sure keep the engine revs down!

[Aracer]

I found the motorcycle jack to be perfect for dropping the carrier. First chock front tires and set rear axle on heavy jack stands. You heard the rest.