2.5 Ton Axles for 1974 K20

[ByrdDog]

If you're really committed to doing it, you might find more info at Pirate4x4. Lots of hard-core wheelers & fabricators over there. I'd agree with everyone else that putting Rockwells under it relegates it to a dedicated off-road rig.

 

[Zelph]

Whatcha gonna be doing that you think you’ll have breakage issues with a Dana 60 front?
What parts are you worried about breaking?

 

[xm20k]

Had a 68 M715 1-1/4 ton with a BBC TH400 and a divorced T-case with a dana 60/70 set and 6 something gears (can't remember what ratio exactly been 20 years) and 44 super swampers, Talk about 55 miles per hour downhill full throttle with a tail wind tires howling like mad, I couldn't imagine that thing with a set of Rockwells under it.

 

[bucket]

Still waiting on @Scott Vincent to return here. I'm still very curious about the intended usage of the truck, as well as the planned tire size.

I didn't bring it up earlier, but you can break anything if you try hard enough. Yeah, you'll read that people have broken parts on D60's. But if you read more on 2.5ton Rockwells, people have broken them too. If it's been put under a truck, it's guaranteed that someone has broken one. It all just depends on how the truck is used.

 

[Grit dog]

I think he’s just paranoid of the 10 bolt and D60s don’t match the beer budget.
Having been responsible for a fleet of landscape/plow trucks back in hi school and college, I saw what, to date after 30 years of heavy civil construction, was the most carnage on light duty trucks I could imagine. Save for high HP mudding and crawling, sand drags, truck pulls etc, I’d imagine
We/they would break springs, snap axle shafts, snap frames, kill new brakes in under a year, bend things that seemed un-bendable. Jippo outfit with a boss who tried to do everything with 3/4 and 1 tons….
Idk how many times I repaired them chitty TTB Ford front axles and we only had 2 of them.
But I never touched anything inboard of axle u joints on the D44/10 bolt or the solid axle Dodges. We had 6 or 9 of them. Even the little Ramcharger that pulled a smaller landscape trailer and got used religiously for plowing every year, don’t recall breaking the front axle.

 

[Rickf]

Might be easier putting a square body on something like a M35A2 chassis.

 

[Black01Z]

* They have driveline brakes vs wheel brakes, I believe the DOT requires brakes at the wheels which can be an expensive mod.

They do not. They have drum brakes at each wheel and most people convert them to the pinion mounted disc.

OP.. if you can get the leaf spring perches, plates, ubolts, & driveshafts (or at least the flanges) it'll make life easier. Weld new shock mounts. Do crossover steering with a 2wd box. 8 lug adapters for the wheels.

I don't remember all the details but I did this to a K5 about 18 years ago. It was pretty budget at the time. Mine was offroad only though. A lot of research and trying to source the cheapest parts on the interwebs. I know one big expense was new 20" wheels because I used the 46" military XML tires

 

[Juggernaut]

I've made a decision to get rid of the wimpy 10 bolt in the front of my K20. The truck already had 37" mil tires, however I am probably going even bigger since the truck is now taking an 8" spring lift. I originally looked at a D60 for the front, but after researching them, and reading some cases of breakage, I realize that the 2.5 may be the way to go. So Rockwell 2.5 Ton's are what I'm looking at. I have 3 places that I can get a set, front and rear, for cheaper than 1 D60 for the front, so that helped the decision.

So here is the question.

How in the hell do I do this?!?!? I have looked and looked for information on how to fit these axles for a squarebody and found nothing. I cannot imagine that they come ready to bolt up, so relocating spring perches and shock mounts are in my mind. But where can I find the information? Are there templates or jigs? Is there any site, vide, book,...anything on this topic?? Or....is this some prize secret kept by the truck builders shops?

I am very committed to doing as much of this truck myself as possible, even to the point of learning welding this winter, so I want to do these axles myself.

What resources can I use to do this properly?

Thanks in advance.

Scott

Still waiting on @Scott Vincent to return here. I'm still very curious about the intended usage of the truck, as well as the planned tire size.

I didn't bring it up earlier, but you can break anything if you try hard enough. Yeah, you'll read that people have broken parts on D60's. But if you read more on 2.5ton Rockwells, people have broken them too. If it's been put under a truck, it's guaranteed that someone has broken one. It all just depends on how the truck is used.

I agree! I could do a long write up on what it took for me to put 2 1/2 tons under the Juggernaut, but if he's just trolling and not coming back, I'm not going to bother

 

[nvrenuf]

They do not. They have drum brakes at each wheel and most people convert them to the pinion mounted disc.

Sorry, you are correct. I was thinking about the axle from the perspective of having had the hubs flipped to reduce the overall width to help making the final track width of the truck streetable. It's always been my understanding that "as is" the axles are so wide that after adding big tires on wide wheels (typical for a build with 2.5 tons) the truck is too wide to be street legal.

 

[Juggernaut]

Sorry, you are correct. I was thinking about the axle from the perspective of having had the hubs flipped to reduce the overall width to help making the final track width of the truck streetable. It's always been my understanding that "as is" the axles are so wide that after adding big tires on wide wheels (typical for a build with 2.5 tons) the truck is too wide to be street legal.

It is wide, but not as bad as you're thinking. Here's mine with 48" Goodyear floatation tires from a fertilizer truck. It was able to run about 45 mph before the shaking got to bad. I used the original drum brakes and never had any trouble stopping it. My problem was always with turning, and the transfer case