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Two odd behaviors happening to my new-to-me M37.

1. All my gears are reversed. 1 thru 4th gears make my m37 move backwards and reverse moves it forward. Where should I start to look for the problem? I'm thinking transfer case?

2. When I engage the front axle, the truck won't move. The truck feels like it is being twisted. Makes me think the front axle is going one direction and the rear axle is going the other?!?

Thanks in advance....

Someone flipped rear differential? Sounds like front axle want to go forwards and rear axle wants to go backwards. Keep us informed, Paul

How about some pictures of the drive train.

I'm with Paul. Rear diff is in upside down. Yes it will fit.
Tom

Are you saying somebody flipped the gears inside of the diff?

Seems that flipping the axle end-for-end would have no effect...?

If the drain plug is on top of the diff, the ring gear will be on the wrong side and run backwards and not well lubed.

Drain plug is on the bottom, so I guess that means the axle housing is correct, but the guts are in bassackward?

I'm confused.

So I imagine I pull the axle shafts, take off the bearing caps, flip the gears and reinstall?

Engine running backward? Sounds crazy I know but I saw deuce and a halfs do this on occasion. Don't know if it's possible with the 230 Dodge....
Gary

Give us a picture.
You can not assemble the gears incorrectly. If it is possible, the drop out center may have been installed upside down. But I'd stake money on the stud pattern not allowing that.
I want a picture of the drive train to know if you even have correct drive train components in the truck.

Sorry these pics aren't great- the truck is 150 miles away so I had my brother go out in the dark last night to get them.

pass. side:



driver's side:

I wouldn't have thought it possible, but the pumpkin sure looks to be installed upside down.
The centerline of the pinion is below the centerline of the axles. But not in your pics. The fill plug is on the passenger side normally, not in your pics.
If he would move back a bit so we can actually see the center section and axle, it would help. Also, have him shoot pics of the front pumpkin. The fill should be driver side on it.

Yikes!
When you flip the 3rd member check the gears and bearings, especially the pinion bearings. They may not have been getting lubed properly. On second thought something tells me the truck was not driven very much after the install ! Wonder what happened there?!

My grandpa has done this before with a gmc deuce axle
He built a truck puller that had a 427 and a 350 pointing opposite directions The back engine powered the front axle and the front engine powered the rear axle

That thing made 1200plus hp

And that's a combined 777 cubes


Sorry to hijack your thread

sorry but that has me laughing hard. ;/) diff is upside down. pull axle shafts, remove diff and put in correctly. someone had too many beers working on it one day it seems. lol

Well it was parked behind my uncle's shed when we picked it up. I didn't ask many questions. Maybe he screwed up the rear pumpkin and just parked it.