A little traction getter for my K5

[Yukon Jack]

I bought this Detroit Locker and gear set from another board and although it took the guy way too long to ship, I finally got it. It is in awesome shape. 4.10 gears which is exactly what I need for the 14 bolt axle it will go in the K5.



Nothing like a Detroit to get you through stuff

[bouncytruck]

You're going 3/4 ton? What else do you have planned for the K5? Your truck is going to be too nice to take off road when it is all done.

[Jdog44]

That is what i should have put in my diff instead of the posi doh! That will be asome when you go off road

[Yukon Jack]

The K5 isn't gonna get all shiny like the K20. I want to get it up and running before I even think about doing too much to it. I picked up a 78 3/4 ton parts truck and am putting its axles in the K5 along with the power brake booster.

Those Detroit's are awesome. My K20 has a factory Detroit and it will go places in 2wd that my 95 Yukon can't do in 4wd.

[Mike C]

Awesome mark. I want to do 8 lug swap on my Jimmy as well. I think I am going to go Dana 60 in the back since I have one!

[Yukon Jack]

That Dana 60 in the rear will be great. I had rims and tires so it made since to make the swap since the tires on the K5 were shot and the front brakes were a disaster.

[Mike C]

Smart move IMO. How's progress with the truck coming?

[MAC67]

im really pondering the 3/4 swap myself , im getting ready for some 39.5 boggers but cant decide , if i get a decent price on this 60 front ive got in my sights then its a deffinate , ive already got the 14 ff rear with the perches moved so im just waiting to see if i find the right front or not

[1971 2wd]

I just put in 3/4 swap in my 72 blazer today. I would highly recomend it!!
Pretty easy swap.

[Yukon Jack]

I hear cutting the perches can be a bear on the rear 14 bolt. How was it for you?

[MAC67]

yukon its not nearly as bad as some have said , simply take youre 14 bolt , use a torch , or sawzall or what ever and cut off the existing perches , measure on a stock 67 -72 axle and get your measurements for the new perches , nowq alot of people have different ways of putting on the new ones , the best way i have found is to order some new perches ,, theyre like 10 or 15 bucks a pair last time i bought them , put youre rear axle in place loosley , set up youre new perches in the correct location on the axle , """DO NOT WELD THEM IN PLACE YET""" snug youre u bolts so the axled doesnt move but you can still spin it it and slide it , get youre perches setting where they need to be , get a good pinion angle , i always like to get the front wheels pointing dead center straight then , measure from the center of the front hum to the center of the rear hub so youre back axle is in line with youre front , once you get the same meausrment on each side and youre pinion angle is good , tighten youre u bolts so everything is held tightly in place , check all your measurements one more time , then weld youre axle perches on , you may not be able to get all around them , so just remove the ubolts and then weld them solid ,, i hope thats what you were wanting to know


Mac

[Yukon Jack]

I've just heard some of the perches take alot of grinding to remove them. Will be doing that in a while. I've got a friend who will bring over his portable welder and will be good to have his assistance getting the new perches back on.

[1971 2wd]

It took some time to get the off. I use die grinder with 3" cut off wheel.

This what I did:

Put the axle on jack stands and get it level with the old perches and just tack weld the axle to the jack stands (so they can't be moved). Cut off the old one's. Get your new perches inplace and leveled and tack weld them in. Then grind off the weld from the jack stands.
Go ahead bold them up. If you like what you see just remove 1 u-bolt weld them up.
It seems like it's alot work, but take your time and everything will be fine!
B.T.W. This was my first doing this and it was more game planning than work.

[Radiatta_71]

I just put my 14 bolt with disk brakes and a detroit in today.

What I did which worked out really well was I bolted the 14 bolt drums to my hubs and used them as wheels so I wouldn't have to worry about the rear end falling off the jack or jack stands. Then I assembled the perches, lift block U bolts spring plate together left it loose enough where I could pivot the pumpkin and move the it side to side. I took measurements from the edge of spring to the backing plate flanges. double checked from inside of the wheel well to the flange with a plumbbob to double check myself. Got within 1/16" Then I rotated for optimum pinion angle. Tack welded the perches then jacked up rearend to put the body weight on to see how it looked. Looked good. So I removed the ubolts rolled it out on the brake drums welded the perches out touch painted and reinstalled. Not bad for a few hours work. Tomorrow I start with installing the Dana 60.

Cutting the old perches off sucks. I used a grinder cut off wheel then got impatient and got out the torch. I should have made of reference mark of where the perches were as a reference for determining how many degrees I would be rotating.