axles
 

Hello, I have a 69 c20 longhorn and am trying to learn about axles, this truck has giant brake drums, I mean giant, to pull the brake drums you need to pull out the floating axles first. the hub is attached to the brake drum, I am guessing from a lot of the searching I have done on this forum that this means they are 1 ton brakes, as my buddy has a c20 with full floating, but a smaller brake drum and you can slide the drum over the hub to get it off without pulling the axle. does this sound accurate? what rear axle/end would this be with hubs and drums like this?

Re: axles
 

C20 Longhorn brakes weren't that big... But something else could be swapped in. Pictures of the brakes and the differential cover please.

Re: axles
 

I'll get pics soon....I think I saw somewhere that longhorns had 1 ton brakes, haven't confirmed that though

Re: axles
 

I had a 73 C20 big block suburban with huge brakes that required the axle to be removed first. It was a trailering special BTW...

Re: axles
 

Sounds like you have the larger brake option. Here's a pic of 11 inch vs 13 inch:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-9...0/DSCN6515.JPG

Your buddy must have a later model semi floating:

http://i959.photobucket.com/albums/a...514_092358.jpg

Re: axles
 

Thank you, his is a 72, but his drum slips over the hub, the hub is not attached to the drum like those pics, I'm gonna take some pics tomorrow

Re: axles
 

The HO52 is a stout rearend, but 4.10 was the smallest numeric gear available. And if it has ring and pinion or internal bearing issues, they can be really expensive. As a result, it is common to find different rears swapped into these trucks.

I have a 70 GMC Longhorn with the Dana 60 in the rear and it doesn't have the giant brakes. I don't thing the beater 72 Sub I has does either but haven't looked under it in a decade so whatever I said would be making it up.

I swapped a semi-float 14 into my Jimmy and it does have the 13" brakes.

All of this is just a good way of saying a pic would go a long way...

Re: axles
 

I also have a 69 C-20 Longhorn, and I removed the brake drums to remove the brake shoes to get ready for sand blasting. My drums have 2 screws next to the lugs and they have to be removed to get the drums separated from the hubs. My brakes drums are 12" in the rear, and 11" on the front. not sure yours is the same, but I hope this helps.

Re: axles
 

Here is a h052
Hope it helps

Re: axles
 

You guys are so awesome, I've had this truck for 4 years first year my son drove it for senior year high school, then it became mine, I found a vintage slide in camper 4 years ago also to restore, I started now 2 1/2 years into some med issues i finally made some progress, now i want to really get to know this truck, pics are coming rught now, well when the sun starts to come up. Hereis a camper pic from our first desert ride camp trip

Re: axles
 

Ok, heres the deal i got these two mid life crisis trucks mixed up, but I was close. The 69 longhorn has the H052 according to the info you guys just sent, it has a brake drum measuring 13 inches, it does look like it has the hub attached to the drum, not like described where you have two screws and pull the drum over the hub.....now the big brakes I had in my mind are actually on the blazer, they measure 15 inches and the hub is also attached but seem even heavier duty than the longhorn, the blazer axle is a swap in....wow, when you wake up one day and think I WANT TO LEARN HOW TO WORK ON CARS think it through, think it through🤣

Re: axles
 

What is the difference between semi floating and full floating, and what is floating, i researched floating and understand how the bearings rest on the housing and the weight is not on the axle but is the floating term because the bearings are floating in the axle oil or because it floats in the housing or something else, and while i was getting these pics i see one drum is leaking, gettin on the inside of the rim also, is there an easy way to tell if its dif oil or brake fluid? Either way seems like its gonna be fun to fix, im thinking brake cylinder or axle seal, right?

Re: axles
 

Floating or full floating refers to the axle. Neither end of the axle carries the weight of the truck. Semi-floating has no weight on the differential end, but the weight of the truck on the wheel end.

Re: axles
 

Thank you

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So now a brake question, found this leak, what does it look like brake fluid or dif oil only on drum and rim, not tire or wheelwell

Re: axles
 

That second axle is a full float 14 bolt. It means it has dual bearings on a hub in the rear that support the load and the axle shaft only drives the vehicle forward/backward.

The 15" brakes are considered 13" as it is the inside measurement on the brake drum. The outside probably is 15" but that's not the measure point.

The greasy mess is most likely from an axle seal and not brake fluid. But it's hard to tell from the pic. Usually if you have an issue with brake fluid leaking out, you will lose brakes.

Re: axles
 

Thank you thank you, gonna have some fun this weekend