can i take the AXLES outa a 72 and putem in my 68..

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by oldblue1968chevy

200 bucks is kidna high for a 5 lug 373 1 wheeler dontchall think....

No. You offer me a 5 lug 3.73 rear for 200 dollars and I will buy it on the spot any day of the week.

[oldblue1968chevy]

huh....okay..your in a diff. part of the country..guess i may give the dude a ring then...its a good 20 bucks in gas away and trip in the ol blue truck.......but my goal for the summer was front discs and 5 lug everything..wanna get it done so i dont have to carry 2 spare tires to school next year lol...

[Tx Firefighter]

Let me give you a little advice I have learned over they years. It might save you a lot of money and aggravation.

The idea of swapping 5 lug axles into a 70 model rear can work sometimes. I have had several 70 model trucks and I can tell you from first hand experience that there are two different widths of 70 model rear ends. There is the early narrow type with the 6 lugs and there is a later wider type with 6 lugs. If you have the later wider type, you can swap the 5 lug axles into place. If yours is the early one, the axles will be 3/4 inch too long when you swap them in. Some of the members on here have also found this out too. It simply depends on what part of the 1970 year that the truck was manufactured. It was a running change.

[425HP409]

Yes, you can take the axles out of a 72 and put in the 68 to change it to 5 lug. I know this because that is what I did. I installed ft discs from a 72 on my truck and then changed the rear axles so that I could have 5 lug all the way around. There is the problem that the axles are longer than the ones from the 68, but this can be overcome. The axles will still seal in the axle seal, however because they are longer, it puts the drum out from the backing plate and causes the shoes to not make full contact with the drum. This will cause poor braking and a soft pedal that can't be overcome by adjusting the brakes. You can overcome this by installing drums for a 11X2.75 inch brake shoe, whereas the original is an 11X2 inch shoe. This will give the brake shoes full contact with the drum surface, and a good brake pedal, with a little drum left over not used. To take full advantage of the 2.75 inch drum however, you can change the brake shoes, hold down hardware and the wheel cylinder so that you now have a true 11X2.75 inch rear brake system.

Here are the NAPA part numbers to do that:
NB 4401234 : 11X2.75 inch brake drum
UP 37048 : Wheel cylinder
UP 2237 : Complete hardware kit
UP 473R : Premium brake shoes (I only use premium shoes)

Here is the interchange data for the axles for 65-81 trucks
according to Hollander

67-69 12 bolt, 2wd and 4wd same part number

70 12 bolt, 2wd and 4wd same part number, depending if early or late
whether short or long axle

71-81 12 bolt, 2wd same part number
4wd same part number

I hope this helps you guys,
Charles

[Tx Firefighter]

But if you do it that way, the axle bearing won't ride completely on the machined area of the axle. The machined area will be too far outward and the bearing will ride on about half the surface it is intended to.

[Skirkpat]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

But if you do it that way, the axle bearing won't ride completely on the machined area of the axle. The machined area will be too far outward and the bearing will ride on about half the surface it is intended to.

And that's a bad thing...

[Tycoon4u]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

tycoon, was your rear ever swapped out for a 70 model year for better gearing maybe?
There is no way a 68 and a 5 lug should be the same. This has been documented on here and in the hollanders books as fact, that mid model year 70 was when the new wide rear end went in.

I have no idea, all I know is I took the 6 lug axles out and the 71 axles fit perfectly.

[Skirkpat]

Originally Posted by Tycoon4u

I have no idea, all I know is I took the 6 lug axles out and the 71 axles fit perfectly.

Stingray optioned maybe?

[wancosc356]

Originally Posted by 72BlckButy

Yep, and when you add drop spindles, it gets even wider!

Really?

[Jim_PA]

I ran the long axles in mine for 2 years with the wider rear drums. The bearings rode just fine on the machined surface.

[Longhorn Man]

and I drove a 1980 monza for 6 months with only 2 lugnuts on the right rear wheel.
Never had a problem... but you can see the possibility for total disaster though, right?

[oldblue1968chevy]

well my truckrearend is on the bakc burnier until my wheeler's rearend is done with....i gota stay outa the mud and water on that thing lol i had milked rearend and a loose ring/axle lol vewy vewy expensive fix lol dunno what im goin with yet..considerin that 373

[Jim_PA]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

and I drove a 1980 monza for 6 months with only 2 lugnuts on the right rear wheel.
Never had a problem... but you can see the possibility for total disaster though, right?

I took the axles out, and the bearings rode right on the machined part of the shaft just farther from the hub than before. The most "dangerous" part about it is that the weight of the rear end of the truck is being applied to the axles 3/8" closer to the splines than before. I don't think I'd lose any sleep over that part either.

And yes, in the end, it really isn't the preferred way to do it, but IMO, it's safe, it works, and if you aren't ready to build or purchase another rear, you can go to 5 lug for however much you need to pay for the axles and brake drums.

[frankdatank01]

On this topic of going to 5-lug with the narrow rear end, is there any mechanical/safety disadvantages to just having the 6-lug axles plugged and redrilled for 5-lug? Assuming something under 400HP?

[frankdatank01]

On this topic of going to 5-lug with the narrow rear end, is there any mechanical/safety disadvantages to just having the 6-lug axles plugged and redrilled to a 5-lug (5X5) configuration? MOSER has this listed for $60 or $80 dollars. Assuming something under 400HP. Just curious.

[Longhorn Man]

nope, no problem. Get your hands on the 5 lug drums first, so you can take them in to the shop that'll be redrilling the axles. They'll also need to turn down the hub pilot hole.

[frankdatank01]

Thanks Longhorn! Great advice!