axel swaps

[Mhannink]

so last night my buddy comes over and we are working on the u joints in the axel shafts on the front of his truck. there was four of us having a bull session while we worked. anyways the thought occured to us that it might be pretty sweet to swap in the 3rd gen axels under our 2nd gens. looking at it it appears to be pretty straight forward. i think the sway bar end links are the only thing that might take a little work. the control arms are the other sticky spot im not sure about but im pretty confident on those. the advantages of this swap would be big. you get bigger disc brakes all the way around with more upgrade parts for them. other things i like is no cad. it seems like to me that the newer trucks have had fewer issues with wheel bearings and ball joints then the older ones. i know they have problems those items wear and have to be replaced eventually but i dont think they wear as fast as the older dana 60s. im sure there are a few more things that would be adventagous but i cant think of them. also right now im so stoked about the idea that im not sure of any cons there might be. anyways my reason for posting is to see if anybody has actually done it, is thinking about it and done research in that direction, and just letting everyone know what i think is a great idea.

 

[rscurtis]

The one issue that comes to my mind (and keep in mind I've never done this) is that the 3rd gen. axles use a top pinion mount as opposed to the bottom pinion on the 2nd gen. trucks. If you really want to get rid of the axle disconnect, an axle from an '02 will do the trick.



One of the reasons the front drive system works so well on the 3rd gen. trucks is that the driveline angles are much smaller than on the 2nd gen trucks. Many members here will tell you the ball joints on the Dana were better than the AAM. I can't comment, my signature truck has the OEM parts that are still good at 66K miles.

 

[dpotter]

I had an '02 and it had the axle disconnect. '03 started the first year without it. I am interested to see if anyone had done the swap as well.

 

[Mhannink]

The one issue that comes to my mind (and keep in mind I've never done this) is that the 3rd gen. axles use a top pinion mount as opposed to the bottom pinion on the 2nd gen. trucks. If you really want to get rid of the axle disconnect, an axle from an '02 will do the trick.



One of the reasons the front drive system works so well on the 3rd gen. trucks is that the driveline angles are much smaller than on the 2nd gen trucks. Many members here will tell you the ball joints on the Dana were better than the AAM. I can't comment, my signature truck has the OEM parts that are still good at 66K miles.

thinking out loud here but i would think the high pinion would be better since it would lessen the drive line angles. the whole idea is for a lot of things such as no cad but also bigger brakes and with that the oportunity for more brake upgrades such as calipers. just listening to the third gen forums it seems there have not been any major issues or concerns with these axels. they seem just as strong and or depending on which axels stronger then the 2nd gen axels. the whole idea is just some ponderings we had while working on the truck. i think it would work and to me i see a lot of benifit with currently no down sides. it would be pricey to do but to build up our axels to that of the aam axels might break even cost wise.

 

[Slow Six]

I'd rather have the good old Dana diffs. I've had way more problems and expenses with my AA diffs on my 3500 than on my 2nd gen 2500 with basically the same loads and way more miles on the 2500. The 2500 was overloaded a lot of the time and this was part of the reason why I went to a 3500 dually. Hopefully the upgrades for the max tow package on the new trucks will remedy some of the weaknesses found on the 3rd. gens.

 

[Mhannink]

I'd rather have the good old Dana diffs. I've had way more problems and expenses with my AA diffs on my 3500 than on my 2nd gen 2500 with basically the same loads and way more miles on the 2500. The 2500 was overloaded a lot of the time and this was part of the reason why I went to a 3500 dually. Hopefully the upgrades for the max tow package on the new trucks will remedy some of the weaknesses found on the 3rd. gens.

can you tell us what some of those problems where? i havent really heard anything on the axels so ive been going with no news is good news.

 

[Slow Six]

Pinion seals, rear diff failure needing complete rebuild, axle seals, rear brakes pads wearing because they do not release completely (Winter, salt & mud), frequent oils changes. Front diff ball joints, u-joints. Maybe I just got one with problems.

 

[Mhannink]

interesting basically everything was wrong with it. what was the frequency and how many miles did you put on the truck? i have three buddies with newer dodge cummins ranging from 03 to 06 and all the trucks have been run very hard with zero problems from any of them the mileage ranges from 100k to just over 200k and they have been solid. so im trying to get a feel for the axels and see maybe my buddies just got really good ones. i dont know, but if maybe they are just really solid and maybe you had problems that would be nice but maybe its like my uncles 6. 0 that has been a great runner with not even the slightest hiccup my sample size is rather small and so maybe ive just been lucky having experience with good ones.

 

[SRadke]

The AAM balljoints suck and the larger brakes on the front of the third gens can be bolted onto the later dana 60's. The only advantage I can see would be the AAM limited slip in the rear, which honestly has had mixed reviews but I love.

-Scott

 

[rscurtis]

The high pinion angle would be better, provided the 2nd gen. allows for driveshaft clearance. dpotter, I thought all 2nd gen's had the FAD, until I saw an '02 without it.

 

[dpotter]

rscurtis, did the '02 without the axle disconnect have Dane or AAM axles? I thought all CTD thru '02 had Dana's with the disconnect.

 

[Road Dog]

Late '02s like my 3500 have a solid Dana 60 in the front. It's odd that a design change happened so late in the product life cycle.

 

[Mhannink]

The AAM balljoints suck and the larger brakes on the front of the third gens can be bolted onto the later dana 60's. The only advantage I can see would be the AAM limited slip in the rear, which honestly has had mixed reviews but I love.



-Scott

are they worse then the dana ones? how about putting the carlis in?

 

[SRadke]

Stock third gen balljoints are loose in less than 100k miles. Most at 40-50k.

Late 02's had dana 60's with no CAD in the front.

 

[rscurtis]

Since no one else has asked the question, I guess I'll do the honors. Instead of switching axles, why not just get a 3rd generation truck? It's an all-around better truck than the second gen. , and this is coming from someone who has owned both.

 

[Mhannink]

Since no one else has asked the question, I guess I'll do the honors. Instead of switching axles, why not just get a 3rd generation truck? It's an all-around better truck than the second gen. , and this is coming from someone who has owned both.

well there are many reasons mostly its personal preference though. i like the 2nd gens more then the 3rd gens for starters and my truck is just about ideal for me. i want the 12v motor and nv4500 man trans. also i like building the truck to my exacting tolerences. so if i think the pros outweigh the cons ill do it regardless of price or ease of doing the job. for the fun of it and because its unique.

 

[AMcCormick]

i would say that is a good answer, to each his own. i'm getting ready to upgrade the whole front end in the next few weeks

 

[Grizzly]

Since no one else has asked the question, I guess I'll do the honors. Instead of switching axles, why not just get a 3rd generation truck? It's an all-around better truck than the second gen. , and this is coming from someone who has owned both.

Totally agree. I too have owned both. Neither have ever been in the shop for anything, except for a wheel alignment on the 95.

 

[bheiting]

I guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. I just replaced the front axle u joints on my '07 - 29K mi - and was thinking how nice it would have been if Dodge had stayed with Danas. Yes larger brakes would be nice, but I wouldn't say the AAMs are an improvement. GM sold AAM because they were going broke. Chrysler went with cheaper AAM because they were going broke. That's my take on it. My new u joints are greasable Chrysler badged Federal Mogal, made in Japan no less. I hope to get more that 29k out of these.

 

[Jerky]

My 02 does not have the axel disconnect. I know of two other 02's that do not have it as well.