Axle Ratio Question

[Chaparralman1974]

So, my 67 K20 has a rear axle ratio of 4.57 (Eaton HO52) and the front original dana 44 closed knuckle is a 4.55. Is it normal to have different ratios front to rear even though they are this close? I swapped out the old dana 44 with a later model (1973 with open knuckles) but it came with 4.10 gears in it. I was originally thinking that since this was the front axle and not used all the time anyway that I could get away with just swapping the entire carrier out of the old axle along with the pinion shaft. I know that you shouldn't re-use gears, but does it matter with the front axle since it is not driven all the time? If I can't do that, then I can swap in new gears but I believe that it would be 4.56's at that point as I don't even know if I can find 4.55's anymore or not (haven't really looked all that hard). Or does it even matter????


Thanks, Clay