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Old 05-02-2016, 07:37 PM   #1
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rear axle identity

I'm trying to identify a rear axel in my bus. It is a Thomas 1985 International 9.0 IDI engine Allison 545 Transmission. The rear has a tag . I can find no cross refrence to the information on it. It is a Hayes Dana axel part number H.D. F8290550 . Any ideas ? I would like to change out the gear set for higher gears. It looks to be what I know as a Rockwell rear end.

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Old 05-02-2016, 08:58 PM   #2
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easiest way to get an ID on the axle is to take the VIN to an international dealer and have them run it, the resulting sheet will have all the mechanical specs of the chassis including the axle type and ratio
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Old 11-09-2016, 01:51 PM   #3
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Still no gears...

So I am trying to figure out my gear ratio. I did call International , unfortunately my bus is an 85 and no longer in the system. He referenced dividing numbers in relation to the numbers on the axel housing. Any ideas ? Other then jack and spin axles. It is an NC bus . NC limits as bus to 45~50 . the governor is bipassed my ROMs are where they should be and I'm still only 50mph down hill . The bus is an 85 international 9.0 at545 . Any Ideas on what they meant by dividing numbers?
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Old 11-09-2016, 02:08 PM   #4
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If you can take a magnifier, a light and some degreaser, you should be able to clean the crud off of the end of the pinion shaft. There should be some numbers stamped into the end of the shaft. Might be tough to read behind the ujoint cross. See if you can get them and post them.
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Old 11-09-2016, 02:08 PM   #5
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So I am trying to figure out my gear ratio. I did call International , unfortunately my bus is an 85 and no longer in the system. He referenced dividing numbers in relation to the numbers on the axel housing. Any ideas ? Other then jack and spin axles. It is an NC bus . NC limits as bus to 45~50 . the governor is bipassed my ROMs are where they should be and I'm still only 50mph down hill . The bus is an 85 international 9.0 at545 . Any Ideas on what they meant by dividing numbers?
Odd that mine's an '87 and still in the system. I didn't think IH purged older records.

Anyway, you have the same mechanicals I do, and probably the same rear gears (5.38 on mine, according to IH, as well as the axle ID plate). And given the top end somewhere around 50, that goes to support the figures.

I can get the axle module refurbished with a new set of gears for ~$850. A few hours of labor and I should be able to swap it myself.
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Old 11-09-2016, 06:08 PM   #6
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Mines an 86 NC bus but not an IHC. My 49mph downhill is from a 8.2 DT/545 and a 6.50 rear gear,eaton rear end and almost any replacement rearend I can find is almost the same ratio and I haven't found anything to cross reference to for other brands.
But like caddilac kid said a while back that the gears don't care how fast you turn them.
The fluid will have to be changed to more heat tolerant and probably changed more frequently.
I did find a website called differential wizard that could help but you need to look at there site cause there's a list of specific questions that you need answers to before you call or mail there wizards.
Another way I have read that will get you in the ball park is to put a mark on the tire and a mark on the drive shaft and recruit a buddy to count/drive while you count? The revolutions of the mark on the driveshaft to make the tire turn one full revolution.
6 means your in the 6 range.
Could/old Some one else please expand on that for the final info. I can't remember
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Old 11-09-2016, 06:34 PM   #7
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It is the only set of numbers on the actual 3rd member carrier. Deezle I've got 3-4 516 on the yoke shaft as best as I can make out . jolly rodger We divide the ring gear by the pinion gear teeth count .the two lines get a set of corosponding lines and you spin and. Punt until they realign then device I believe . It has been a bit though since I've done it and if my memory serves me right its good for ball park.
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Old 11-09-2016, 09:07 PM   #8
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Mines an 86 NC bus but not an IHC. My 49mph downhill is from a 8.2 DT/545 and a 6.50 rear gear,eaton rear end and almost any replacement rearend I can find is almost the same ratio and I haven't found anything to cross reference to for other brands.
But like caddilac kid said a while back that the gears don't care how fast you turn them.
The fluid will have to be changed to more heat tolerant and probably changed more frequently.
I did find a website called differential wizard that could help but you need to look at there site cause there's a list of specific questions that you need answers to before you call or mail there wizards.
Another way I have read that will get you in the ball park is to put a mark on the tire and a mark on the drive shaft and recruit a buddy to count/drive while you count? The revolutions of the mark on the driveshaft to make the tire turn one full revolution.
6 means your in the 6 range.
Could/old Some one else please expand on that for the final info. I can't remember

Rather than try to count how many times the driveshaft turns, tape a piece of string to the passenger's side of the driveshaft. Drive forward one tire revolution, then count the number of times the string is wrapped around the driveshaft.
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Old 11-09-2016, 11:13 PM   #9
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Unfortunately I cant find the chart with the formula to decipher the pinion numbers anymore.

But since so many methods have met in dead end, there is another pretty accurate way to find this out if the bus can run down the highway, and you have an app on your phone or a gps mobile system like tomtom or garmin, and a tachometer on your engine..

Find direct gear, which in a bus is likely high gear unless something states it has over drive. read the tachometer accurately in high gear at 60mph, then do the math using your tire circumference. That usually gets to +/- 1% or less.

example: 60mph is 5280 feet per minute. A 40" tire is 10.46' in circumference. 5280 ÷ 10.46= 504.78rpm at the axle. If your engine was turning at say 1800 rpm then 504.78 would give you a 3.56:1 ratio. If it was say 2050 then math says 4.06:1 or the usual ratio of that nature would be 4.10:1. etc.
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Old 12-03-2016, 05:37 PM   #10
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Rameses What rpm does your rig turn at when at max?
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Old 12-03-2016, 10:27 PM   #11
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Rameses What rpm does your rig turn at when at max?
I haven't hit top speed in it yet, as it has a bad engine speed sensor which is causing a de-rate at 2,000 rpm. But it's running 65 mph at right about 1,950 rpm.
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Old 12-04-2016, 10:30 AM   #12
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If you are running 65 at 1950 rpm, you have the perfect axle ratio and should move on to other issues, if you have 11R22.5 tires, you have about a 3.90 ratio, this is all based on whether your speedometer is right
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Old 12-04-2016, 10:35 AM   #13
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I agree with Kubla..."65 mph at right about 1,950 rpm" is close to perfect for a skoolie. These things were never meant to run much faster at any RPM. Nor do they have the brakes and handling for such speeds. I engineered my driveline (and built it from scratch) for 63 mph at 1800 RPM which should leave me a couple of hundred RPM for any situations where a little more speed is required.

PS...also note that many skoolies come equipped with tires that have speed ratings limited to even less. That is precisely why Allison transmissions with 6 speeds typically have only 5 programmed to operate.
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Old 12-04-2016, 11:58 AM   #14
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I'm confused about how this became about my driveline. All I did was offer a suggestion about how to count driveshaft revolutions without requiring two people.

And nope, I have a 4.78. A 3.90 would put me at 65 in 4th gear instead of 5th.
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Old 12-04-2016, 02:53 PM   #15
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I'm confused about how this became about my driveline. All I did was offer a suggestion about how to count driveshaft revolutions without requiring two people.

And nope, I have a 4.78. A 3.90 would put me at 65 in 4th gear instead of 5th.
Are you still trying to identify which manufacturer of rear end you have?
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Old 12-04-2016, 03:20 PM   #16
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Sorry, thought you were the OP
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Old 12-04-2016, 04:13 PM   #17
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Sorry, thought you were the OP


Quote:
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Are you still trying to identify which manufacturer of rear end you have?
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Old 12-06-2016, 06:20 AM   #18
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Nope Kubla that was my post . My tires are upgraded to handle highway speeds. I get 49 mph at 2800 rpm.. No where near reasonable or safe . I have looked all over and still can not seem to find the charts for factoring gear ratio by yoke stamp.. Or anyone who seems to have the setup my rig has that can tell me anything about there gear set ratios.
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Old 12-06-2016, 10:21 AM   #19
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What size tires do you Have?
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Old 12-07-2016, 04:59 PM   #20
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10x r22.5 load range G radials .
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