desert whomper

ok today when i was looking under the rear of my truck, i was just making sure everything was in good condition, well i have 2 questions i guees, my rear axel has a big chalk or woerd marker with an 8 writin on the diff, does this mean its an 8 inch diff, i thought 91 pickups had 7.5's. My last question is i noticed a rod connected to the back side of the diff, to the right frame rail, and then goes to a cylinder object that runs inline with the brakes? what is this, from what it looks like i think it judges how big of a load im carrying in the back and does something to the brakes? if this is true can it be removed or is it better to keep it? i will be getting a deaver race pack in a few months and i doubt the rod will reach after that.

SoCal4Running

The chalk is probably from a junkyard pen. Are you the original owner of the truck?

The thing to do with the brakes is called a load sensing proportioning valve. Basically the more weight you are carring the more fluid pressure is alowed to the rear brakes because they will not lock up with weight on them. Visa-versa.

desert whomper

does it help alot, and if i remove it is it not too hard?