I have a 76 Chevy with a th-350/203/205. The 205 is clocked flat and the 203 is upside down. My front axle is a 1980 Chevy Dana 60. I am running 1410 on all yokes thus 3" tubing on the front shaft. As of now, when the passenger side is under full compression, I have very little clearance between the drive shaft and the side of the transmission where the oil pan bolts up.

I want to upgrade to Rockwells this winter and am wondering if I will have tranny to d-shaft clearance issues due to the location of the pinion when looking at the rockwell from the front. Is the pinion located in a similar location in relation to the center point of the axle? I will be doing some kind of 4 link and full hydro steering when I swap to the 2.5 ton stuff, if that makes any difference. Maybe I could use a panhard bar to make the axle swing away from the pan under compression.

Below is the dimension Im trying to get at...

Is the pinion located in a similar location in relation to the center point of the axle?

I don't think i understand what this means... The left line that you have drawn will be where your driveshaft is. You can swap the carrier to get it in the middle, but that would not be advisable, is that what you were asking?

Your driveshaft will move about 2" closer to your pass. side fram rail at the pinio side. This may only translate into about 1/2" at the tranny, but it could help. Is your clearance problem vertical, or horizontal?? The new driveshaft path will be about 8" higher up, but a little further away from the tranny.
Hope this helps...

My problem is horizontal. if the pinion will move more toward the passenger side more than on the 60 I will be good to go.

Just using round numbers, if the dimension at the ? mark in the picture was 10" on the 60, then the dim for the rockwell would be 12"

Right?

okay, i see now... Actually you nkow what i think i lied to you. I was wrong, the pinions should be in about the same place. The rockwell carrier is closer to center than a 60 carrier, so even though the pinio is on the side of the carrier, not in the middle, they will still end up about the same. Sorry to have mislead you, i did not swap in 60's under my truck, just went straight to rockwells. oops...

would anyone be interested in taking 2 measurements for me? I need wms to wms, and passenger side wms to pinion center line. On a rockwell front axle of course.

Thanks

Brook

Daniel? Anyone?

Actually I dont really need the WMS to WMS, just a measurement from a point on the drivers side to the corresponding poing on the passenger side.


Help would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks in advance.

Brook

I'll go measure WTF...

I can tell you that WMS-WMS is 79.5 right now, with the hubs flipped out.

OK, went and measured, the pass. side WMS to the pinion centerline is 47&3/4" Cool??

Good luck with your project. Again, this is with hubs flipped out...

I'm running the same set up with rockwells with no clearance issues, it is close but no rubs. http://www.extreme4wheelin.com/tech/frame_rebuild/P2260967_m.JPG http://www.extreme4wheelin.com/tech/frame_rebuild/p2020824_m.jpg

Hey brook- we can go 2 1/2 tube .200 wall that's usually what the rockwell guys have been needing as far as what i've seen- Jess

i'm not trying to insinuate anything here, it's just a question but do you really think Rockwells are enough of an upgrade over 60s to make the swap worth it?

-Steve

Is a 44 to 60 swap worth it??????????? So what do you think!

I've broke 60 front stuff, never broke rockwell front stuff, eccept a knuckle and that was my fault. I've seen broken rear axles a couple of times but it was with 50"+ tires and blown big blocks.

60 vs rockwell

Heres another, kinda small pic

man, the rockwell looks so much weaker. Look how tiny the joint is, isn't it cute?

Thanks for all the help guys. Elf_cruiser, that was exactly what I was looking for, I appreciate it. I will go compare that measurment to my 60 now. Im upgrading to 35 spline so I can run the rest of the season, and go to rockwells this winter when I link the front. Jess, I think I will try the 3" 120 wall, but will keep that suggestion in mind when I put the 2.5's in.

YellerBlazer: I wish I had made my frame like yours before I started all this mess :D Looks good.

Offroader35: There ar many advantages for me to go with the rockwells. If the allow me to run the 45" Goodyears that means I wont have to step down to 41" Firestones. That would save me a few grand right there. Also, I've been wanting lower diff gearing, so that saves me about $1500 since I would be adding an ARB and the R&P gears. Another big advantage for me, is that rockwells would allow me to go rear steer with out worry. and it will keep my d-shafts out of harms way allot better.

Brook