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Old 04-09-2010, 11:52 PM   #1
kwmech
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straight axle

Truck in question. 1969 GMC 1 ton (ex motorhome class b). The front end is getting quite sloppy. thinking about the amount of work involved with spring replacement, x shafts, ball joints, tie rods, center link, disc brake conversion etc. Pondering converting to a straight axle. This would entail basically a Dana 60 front axle without the differential center section. Converting to leaf spring. and going with a spring under to keep the truck at a reasonable height to keep the flat bed workable. Building, fabrication and converting is not a problem as I have the skills to complete. Any suggestions or thoughts?
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Old 04-10-2010, 01:00 AM   #2
tecky11
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Re: straight axle

I havw a few questions for you, 1. is this an 8 on 6.5 bolt pattern? 2. find a Ford F450 or smilar style Chevy, Dodge truck with a kingPin style axle, ALL will have leaf springs. this will make the ride ruff, but eadier to maintain
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Old 04-10-2010, 11:00 AM   #3
kwmech
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Re: straight axle

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Originally Posted by tecky11 View Post
I havw a few questions for you, 1. is this an 8 on 6.5 bolt pattern? 2. find a Ford F450 or smilar style Chevy, Dodge truck with a kingPin style axle, ALL will have leaf springs. this will make the ride ruff, but eadier to maintain
Yeah, standard 8 lug. I'm currently looking into the super duty stuff and getting some measurements
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Old 04-10-2010, 12:55 PM   #4
BLAZERMAN
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Re: straight axle

I have a magazine article here where a guy did that conversion only he used Dana 44 knuckles. He was gaining clearance for a Detroit 4-53. The trucks stance wasnt bad...I would think going spring under might set you to low.
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Old 04-10-2010, 01:24 PM   #5
CE20934
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Re: straight axle

The mid-'90s C3500HD chassis has a kingpin straight axle too.
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Old 04-10-2010, 02:08 PM   #6
kwmech
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Re: straight axle

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The mid-'90s C3500HD chassis has a kingpin straight axle too.
Gonna have to check that out for fit and WMS
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Old 04-10-2010, 10:23 PM   #7
Dark Knight
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Re: straight axle

Why not just use an I-beam axle? There's probably a company that sells them already modified with disc brakes for the older Chevy's.
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Old 04-10-2010, 01:04 AM   #8
63chevyll
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Re: straight axle

yeah,
sounds like a lot of work.

How ever do you find the time to perform that conversion
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Old 04-10-2010, 10:59 AM   #9
kwmech
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Re: straight axle

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yeah,
sounds like a lot of work.

How ever do you find the time to perform that conversion
Not much different that converting to 4wd, just eliminating the diff and the t-case. I'm also looking at the time and expense of tearing the complete front end down and rebuilding it. That also is a full days work and then some with the disc conversion
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Old 04-10-2010, 01:06 PM   #10
addicted2dunes
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Re: straight axle

Why not just run a straight axle tube? Like the 2wd Ford F450-550's. It's the same as a front differential minus the actual differential part. Just has a tube going from left to right. Still solid axle but doesn't have all the diff guts.
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Old 04-10-2010, 02:07 PM   #11
kwmech
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Re: straight axle

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Originally Posted by addicted2dunes View Post
Why not just run a straight axle tube? Like the 2wd Ford F450-550's. It's the same as a front differential minus the actual differential part. Just has a tube going from left to right. Still solid axle but doesn't have all the diff guts.
That's exactly what I was thinking of building with Dana 60 stuff. I will gain a much larger wheel bearing and still retain the same disc brakes and calipers as factory uses on the '71 +
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