Need a Drivers side front diff/axle setup ....

[Fabman]

Hello

I am new to this group and I am building a 1955 Dodge Power Wagon that is sitting on a 1988 Chevy Suburban Frame. The frame has a right (passenger side) front differential and I need to swap it out for a left (drivers) side front differential. Can someone in this group point me in the direction of what year / part number Chevy diff. front axle on the drivers side might be? Thanks !

 

[bucket]

There were none on the driver's side, in the solid axle years.

A Ford axle would be what you would need and there's options there.

Why can you not run a passenger drop t-case?

 

[ali_c20]

You could build an custom axle. Get new axle tubes and move the differential to the driver side.
Lot of work and tools required, machine shop too but possible.

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[Turbo4whl]

Why can you not run a passenger drop t-case?

Might be Mark is trying to use the stock divorced NP200 transfer case.

 

[Fabman]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Here is the build..1955 Power Wagon sitting (already done when I purchased Truck) on a 1988 Suburban frame...thus this is where the front axle drop is. I am installing a 2022 5.7 gen 3 hemi w/ 8HP70 auto trans and the factory transfer case all from MOPAR. With the engine package I purchased came the entire Wire harness, fuse box and all computers. The Trans & transfer case is all electric control - no gear selector on the column or levers in floor . SO...based on all I have purchased and want to install I need to stay with the Mopar setup - thus - best way to go is to change the front diff to match the drivers side drop.

 

[legopnuematic]

Use a Dodge or ford front axle. Dana 60, super 60, Dana 50, Dana 44, AAM 9.25, all are driver side drop axles.

Be mindful of Dana 61’s, they visually look the same as a D60, but have an offset pinion, which makes regearing tricky as 61 gear sets are not available, so one must use a D60 gear set, with a whole bunch of trickery to get the carrier in the right place to set it up. They were used in both Dodge and Fords.

 

[Fabman]

Use a Dodge or ford front axle. Dana 60, super 60, Dana 50, Dana 44, AAM 9.25, all are driver side drop axles.

Be mindful of Dana 61’s, they visually look the same as a D60, but have an offset pinion, which makes regearing tricky as 61 gear sets are not available, so one must use a D60 gear set, with a whole bunch of trickery to get the carrier in the right place to set it up. They were used in both Dodge and Fords.

Thanks for the info Spencer..Ill keep it all in mind during my search.....

 

[bucket]

Just a note the '93 and older Dodge trucks still were a passenger drop axle.

 

[Hunter79764]

I believe the closest for "bolt in" is something like '79 Ford for a Dana 60, other earlier Ford axles should also be close tot he right spring perch width. 90's to 2004 Super Duty are all over the place and cheap, but the spring perches are in the wrong place and you will have a mini-project getting it all to fit. 2005 and up (until recent years, maybe 2022 or 23?) is a coil sprung axle with radius arms, and is a good unit with strong ball joints and unit bearings etc. There are swap kits if you are not afraid of welding, and would probably be the overall best option for strength, ride, and handling. All GM solid axle stuff is Passenger Side drop.

 

[Fabman]

I believe the closest for "bolt in" is something like '79 Ford for a Dana 60, other earlier Ford axles should also be close tot he right spring perch width. 90's to 2004 Super Duty are all over the place and cheap, but the spring perches are in the wrong place and you will have a mini-project getting it all to fit. 2005 and up (until recent years, maybe 2022 or 23?) is a coil sprung axle with radius arms, and is a good unit with strong ball joints and unit bearings etc. There are swap kits if you are not afraid of welding, and would probably be the overall best option for strength, ride, and handling. All GM solid axle stuff is Passenger Side drop.

Thanks for the info Shawn..Id like to know more about the swap kits...happen to have any links?

 

[Jrgunn5150]

Downside to the Ford stuff is it's very wide, and wide tires will hit the spring.

The coil axles can have the housing peeled back to expose the tube, but it's fairly laborious.

 

[Fabman]

Downside to the Ford stuff is it's very wide, and wide tires will hit the spring.

The coil axles can have the housing peeled back to expose the tube, but it's fairly laborious.

When you say "Housing peeled back" - what SPECIFICALLY are you speaking about?

 

[Jrgunn5150]

SPECIFICALLY I am speaking of cutting all the brackets off and the housing back to expose the tube so you can do whatever with it.

I've done one, and it was massively labor intensive, I think in the future I'd just buy a housing.

SUPER DUTY DANA 60 AXLE TRUSS PREPARATION

Guest Post by Evan McPartland It seems every year the bar gets set higher for Jeep modifications. In the past 33" tires would be an upgrade, where today that's a factory option. With the advent of one ton axle swaps becoming more popular and 40"+ tires becoming the norm, we wanted to facilitate...

motobilt.com

 

[Fabman]

Thanks JR ! Great info !!!

 

[Hunter79764]

Thanks for the info Shawn..Id like to know more about the swap kits...happen to have any links?

I think there's a few vendors, but these guys have popped up when I was looking at that option.

Squarebody Super 60 Swap Bracket Kit

Swap a Ford Super 60 into your 1973-1987 (91) Squarebody GM Truck/SUV! Get better steering, better suspension, all while using a super strong super easy to get axle! This is a kit of the products 3901, 3902, 3906, 3903, and 3910 which can all be purchased individually. So you can still get a...

hogbackfab.com

You can buy the entire kit or piece together some stuff and fab some of your own etc.