Well I found out the hard way of what happened to my axle and why it was making noise... BAM! It appears that the cast axle housing had developed a crack over the past years and with the additional loading, steep grades galore it was to much for it and this morning it let go big time. After inspecting the left over broken parts I found where the crack had started and from the depth of the rust that penetrated it had been cracked for a very long time. What lead to the sudden explosion of parts seems to be a tooth had cracked off the pinion during a misalignment under extreme load going up an 8% grade in 3rd full throttle and I was able to get the car into a "runaway truck" stopping area for the downhill traffic so I could park and survey the damage. Now what are the odds that this small Iowa junkyard would have a 740 axle? Couple those odds of it costing $45.00? The only bitch was getting it a mile up the hill and into the car, thankfully the salesman let me take the tires and all PLUS cut the axle out for me without damaging a single brakeline or the parking cable. 3 hours later we were back on the road and wondering what the county sanitation guy will think when he goes to empty the garbage can of mangled iron and steel. The new axle seems to be much shallower however I couldn't find a marking on the tube as to the ratio, would anyone have an idea of the ratios available for a 1983 740-GL with the 3-speed non OD transmission? At 60 in 4th Im currently running 2250 or so where before I was running an even 3000 at 60 in 4th gear. I cant use OD anymore as it drags the engine down to 1500 at 60. Oh well it did get me home and I plan on swapping in the correct ratio this weekend along with an undercarrage total cleanup and exhaust replacement as the pipe got pinched and I had to cut the pipe to about 24 inches from the turbo outlet, it does sound MEAN when I nail the throttle and let the motor spool past 3000... Come'on ricebaby lets have a go!

Anyway thought you guys might like my little brick adventure.

Brandon 988