[arse_sidewards]

Yeah, I'm not even looking at C&C axles. The Ford and dodge I'm working with both have the same width frames, 37", I think, I don't have my notes in front of me. 10.25 isn't an option, how will a 10.5 hold up to a warmed over 12V / 5 speed and a heavy foot? I'm hard on shit.

Why isn't a 10.25 an option. They're cheap, plentiful and will tolerate the 12v and an idiot doing clutch dumps very well. If you can get your hands on a newer 14b (see the thread about new beefy 14bs in the GM section) then that's about the only thing that would be better.

 

[Dr.Danger]

Think of a 10.25 as a D70 in strength. They are not much different than a 10.5, just try to find the later 10.25 with the long pinion.

 

[speedfreak78]

Why isn't a 10.25 an option. They're cheap, plentiful and will tolerate the 12v and an idiot doing clutch dumps very well. If you can get your hands on a newer 14b (see the thread about new beefy 14bs in the GM section) then that's about the only thing that would be better.

Biggest axles I dealt with before getting into these trucks was passenger car axles. I'm still learning about Sterling and 14b capabilities and how they compare to Dana axles. I know nothing about them, really only know about d80s from dealing with the dodges. Maybe the 10.25 would be fine. But seeing how a 10.5 would cost the same, I'd just go that route. Was there even a DRW 10.25?

I want this thing bulletproof. I don't want to regret the axle choice down the road and then want to swap out to something bigger. I'd rather do it once, overkill, and never think about it again. Pretty much choice #1 is a D80, I've already dealt with them, have a small collection of spare parts for it, and I'll be using my current d80 srw axle to set up the hangers, so the drw would bolt right in once I got it. If I come across a 10.5 or 14bolt I wouldn't turn it away if the price was right. It's going to be, I'm guessing, 2 months before I really get into the rear suspension, so I don't need to jump on anything immediately.

I've been trying to go look at a whole truck, '89 F350 drw crew PU "Centurian" the next town over but can't get ahold of the guy. I'm assuming it's a 10.5. If I could get it, I'd have at least an axle, wheels, and springs, maybe the dually fenders, and should get my $$$ back parting the rest.

 

[hasteranger]

Ford basically calls it a wash between a Dana 80 and a sterling 10.5. Enthusiasts will tell you the 10.5 has a stronger bigger ring gear than the 10.25 but a weaker pinion and most people use the same aftermarket gears in either anyway.

Either is quite strong.

Both are very very cheap and have decent aftermarket support. Both also have more clearance than a 14 bolt, if that matters. 14 bolt and newer dodge shit has advantage of factory discs and 8x6. 5 but generally those newer axles are a healthy premium over any flavor sterling axle.

 

[broncoformudv]

The 10.25 and 10.5 use the same internals for the most part so = in strength which is pretty damn strong. Yes the 10.25 was offered in duals.

 

[speedfreak78]

figured I'd throw up some pics of the junk..

what I started with

How It sits now. The beds just sitting on the frame rails, not bolted down, and it's sitting 2" higher than the cab, even with a 435/205 sitting up by the cab..i can't figure it out. All the cab/nose frame mounts are fine.

The appx. ride height I'm going for, about 2" over where it was. Trying to get it about the same as a newer leveled F350. The springs on it now are F'ing shot so i think i might see closer to 2.5+ with these SD "X" codes..we'll see. I need to chop those damn steps off, i tore my F'ing shoulder open crawling under it last week:mad3:

It looks like I might throw it on the road, It needed too many parts to be worth it with an engine swap around the corner, bu my other parts/yard truck just died and i think i can rob the parts off that, carb, exhaust, wiring, Some quick harness swapping, bolt on a fender, clean up the brakes...I think that's all I need to get this thing roadworthy for the time being, at least good enough for around town. My DD needs tires, so I either put a few hundred into those or a few hundred into this and have a truck for winter...no brainer..:smokin:

 

[u2slow]

Biggest axles I dealt with before getting into these trucks was passenger car axles. I'm still learning about Sterling and 14b capabilities and how they compare to Dana axles. I know nothing about them, really only know about d80s from dealing with the dodges. Maybe the 10.25 would be fine. But seeing how a 10.5 would cost the same, I'd just go that route. Was there even a DRW 10.25?

....

I've been trying to go look at a whole truck, '89 F350 drw crew PU "Centurian" the next town over but can't get ahold of the guy. I'm assuming it's a 10.5. If I could get it, I'd have at least an axle, wheels, and springs, maybe the dually fenders, and should get my $$$ back parting the rest.

- 14b has no 3.54 ratio available. That can be a make/break for diesel guys trying to match a Dana 60.
- the 10.5"FF Ford are all 99+, disc, and 8x170mm pattern.
- the 10.25"FF Ford is drum, and has larger inner hub bearings than anything else in 1ton land.
- the later 10.25" (92+?) are better because they have a longer pinion and yoke.
- Some of the Centurions just use wheel spacers - not the DRW diff.

- The Ford and 2ndgen Dodge frames should be the same width.... 38".... so you can jam in the whole Dodge axle, leafs, and hangers in one shot :smokin:

 

[speedfreak78]

The Ford and 2ndgen Dodge frames should be the same width.... 38".... so you can jam in the whole Dodge axle, leafs, and hangers in one shot :smokin:

That's pretty much been my plan with the dodges srw 80. I'll probably regear it to 3.54 until I find a drw axle. I was looking at maybe some later dodge or SD rear springs. I'd like something longer than the 78 ford's for a better ride, but with similar or more weight capacity. I'm still trying to figure that out, there's a shitload of springs out there. I'm leaning towards SD springs mainly because of used availability. I can get the rears off the 350 I got the fronts off of cheap, I don't remember the codes right now, but it might be too much, it was set up with a welding body. Used SD lift springs are pretty easy to find.

I'd like to get rid of the blocks without doing a shackle flip. I think the Dodge hangers by them selves are going to give a couple inches over the stock Ford hangers, without flipping them. The Dodge frame kicks up and the hangers are dropped. The Ford frame is straighter and shorter hangers. Just holding them up, I can tuck the hanger up and it looks like at least 2" lift over the stock hangers. I'll mix and match to get it right.

 

[arse_sidewards]

That's pretty much been my plan with the dodges srw 80. I'll probably regear it to 3.54 until I find a drw axle. I was looking at maybe some later dodge or SD rear springs. I'd like something longer than the 78 ford's for a better ride, but with similar or more weight capacity. I'm still trying to figure that out, there's a shitload of springs out there. I'm leaning towards SD springs mainly because of used availability. I can get the rears off the 350 I got the fronts off of cheap, I don't remember the codes right now, but it might be too much, it was set up with a welding body. Used SD lift springs are pretty easy to find.

I'd like to get rid of the blocks without doing a shackle flip. I think the Dodge hangers by them selves are going to give a couple inches over the stock Ford hangers, without flipping them. The Dodge frame kicks up and the hangers are dropped. The Ford frame is straighter and shorter hangers. Just holding them up, I can tuck the hanger up and it looks like at least 2" lift over the stock hangers. I'll mix and match to get it right.

2011+ SD has 66" springs. OEM leafs pop up on CL fairly frequently.

 

[speedfreak78]

Had some good luck yesterday. Going through my dodge parts I found the '95 f350 d60 knuckles/spindles/hubs, etc I picked up to swap my dodge to manual lockouts..I forgot i had them. :homer: F the dodge:flipoff2: I wasn't looking forward to tearing my hubs apart just to drill them for 9/16" studs, now I don't have to. I had also bought all new bearings/ seals/ rotors, pads, etc..:smokin: so I just need to figure out if there are BJ/KP specific parts I need to swap out and get the shit painted.

Opinions on leaf spring clips. The SD clips are held in with a rivet. One of my clips are broke. I'm not impressed with the replacement sheetmetal wrap clips. I was going to fab new ones, straight sides with a cross bolt on top. How are people attaching them? I was going to cut down a bolt, get it cherry and beat it in for a rivet. Then I got to thinking, there's no real load on them, a standard gr5/8 countersunk head bolt should work fine, right?

 

[speedfreak78]

This isn't dead, if anyone cares. What's the go to (free) pic hosting site now? I'd like to keep this updated.

The Cummins swap has been going slower than I wanted, so I thought about getting the 400 running better to maybe put it on the road. I put in a new fuel pump and swapped an older rebuild, 2bbl Holley 4412 500cfm i had on, it runs alright, but it smokes like a blue hair at bingo. It might just be from sitting too long and clear up with some miles, IDK. I started putting a list together of what the truck needed to get on the road and realized I'd be doing some of this stuff, like fuel, exhaust and drive lines, 2 or 3 times over, once just to get running, then when I do the axle/suspension work, then when the drivetrain gets swapped. So its not going on the road for awhile. At least it starts and runs without having to fuck with it every time. On to suspension.

I already had the early SD X code fronts leafs. The front half is 1 1/2" longer than the 79 springs, so if i run them in the stock hanger, it's gonna push the axle back a little. I'm gonna mount them like that for now just to have a baseline to set up the rear suspension, then I'll go back and decide if i want to build a new front crossmember/hanger to recenter the axle. I honestly don't think I'll NEED to, if castor ends up way out ill do it, but otherwise I should have good cab/ tire clearance. Hopefully that goes easy.

I just picked up a set of '10 f350 SD L code(?)rear leafs. 08+ rears are 66 1/2"(33 1/4" both halves) vs 55 1/2" (24"F, 31 1/2"R) for the 73-79s. I'll be stripping the rear down to just rails because most of my crossmember need repair/replacing. Moving the front hangers and crossmember almost 10" forward. I just got my new, stock replacement, rear hangers in. They came with 7/16 hardware, I was planning on going 1/2". Overkill? Should i just order 7/16 shit for everything? I'm still on the fence about flipping them. I'd rather not, but if I need more than a 3" block to level it to the front I probably will. What's a good way to mock them up? Tack the hangers in place untill i get them where i want them, then drill and bolt? Would large C clamps hold? I still need to figure out how I'm going to simulate the weight of a bed/bumpers/etc when I do this.

The truck, being an ex cab long bed, has a 2pc driveshaft. Am i correct in thinking the carrier bearing needs to stay in line with the front spring eyes? I've been scanning C list for a used 08+ SD 156" WB driveshaft. Looks like it uses 1410 joints. Should be easy, get the short shaft sized to length, if it needs it, and swap my 241 slip yoke on? Right? Anyone know if its a flange or a yoke at the axle? Is the carrier bearing replaceable on them?

I'm pretty sure my front dodge shaft is going to be damn close to the right length, right joint, so hopefully that just bolts in

I've decided to regear the front to match the D80, going to be way cheaper. Does Dana/Spicer not sell 4.10 d60hp gears for the older front axles anymore? All I seem to see are yukon/motive/etc. The Dana/Spicer gears for the late model 60 axles are listed as different, I thought a 60hp was a 60hp, at least with gears, except for the super 60 stuff?

*For the TLDR crowd: I can't post pics, Current motor sucks so im not putting any effort into it, Getting early SD leafs in front, late 66" SD leafs in the rear, I don't know enough about proper hardware or drive line geometry, Dana/ Spicer 4.1 reverse gears are hard to find.

 

[PROJECTJUNKIE]

2+ years and not done yet? Weren't you the guy who was being a dick about my partially finished cummins high boy? I met my buyer at the airport, paid in 100s and he drove it 900 miles home that night, the d44 did fine :flipoff2: he's upgrading shit as he goes.

Anyways, I'd suggest selling all of your desirable axles and running 05+ super duty diffs. 2ND gen d80s and 78-79 hp60s bring big bucks. The 05 shit is the cats ass, huge brakes, tighter turning radius, rides nice, cheap and plentiful

I had an obs cclb f350 with a ppump 6bt and nv4500 4.10s and 37s, it stayed hooked to a 7k trailer, 3.73s would have been perfect for my needs, ymmv

 

[speedfreak78]

So, like to many projects, this thing got pushed to the side and sat for the last 3 years behind my garage while I was out of work. I'm back on it again, but I'm not holding myself to any timeliness, it is what it is at this point.

I just got my axle perches,u bolts n plates to get the axle in..... finally. Expecting some flaming, it's deserved...

Potential problem?. the D80 tubes are 4". The ubolts I got are 4.170 inside. I'm not really digging the fact they aren't tight to the tube. The place I got them from says they'll pull in as I tighten them.... Yes? No? Anytime I've dealt with u bolts I reused the old ones and they fit tight.

Just looking for some assurance they'll hold under the torque of a warmed up 12 valve.

First 3 pics is the gap, the nuts are just finger tight
Last pic is the difference between the axle dia. and the inside of the U bolt.

 

[speedfreak78]

Oh yeah, this is what I ended up doing
1995 Dodge 4:10 srw D80, 2008 f350 springs, anti wrap perches, u bolts flipped and I'm gonna flip the rear shackle mount. Reality is I won't be towing/ hauling as much I as would've liked to so I'll just throw some air bags on it if I gotta load it up.