Rear end swap

[mysteryman]

I have a 92 work truck . It has a Dana 70 dually pickup truck axle in it. 70 series axle's are a pain in the a** ! I get tired of rebuilding them ! What axles have you guys swapped into the first gen trucks ? And which one is the easiest to do ? I am thinking about the AAM 11.5 or a last resort a Dana 80 . The 80 is not much better than a 70. Lets not forget the heavy axle housing spreading tool ! I have no desire to ever use it again ! So tell me what you guys have done and how well it worked ?

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[NIsaacs]

I am a fan of the 14 bolt gm axles, however I have not installed them in a Dodge. Ford 250-350 they are easy. Dana axle gears are the hardest axle to work on, period.

 

[mysteryman]

Your right about that ! Dana axles just suck ! We used them since the 50's at Chrysler. I recall the fleet trucks tearing up the 70's with just a 318 gas engine .
I agree with you on the GM 14 bolt. It is a good design. I am afraid that the diesel engine is going to tear it up also.. I would like to hear from anyone that has used one for towing trailers with a cummins. I would use a medium duty axle but I can't find gear ratios low enough.

I am a fan of the 14 bolt gm axles, however I have not installed them in a Dodge. Ford 250-350 they are easy. Dana axle gears are the hardest axle to work on, period.

 

[NIsaacs]

I am afraid that the diesel engine is going to tear it up also.. I would like to hear from anyone that has used one for towing trailers with a cummins.

I used one in my '74 F-350 for years, first as a gasser, then after the Cummins conversion. They work really well. As a gasser I used the 4.56 then after the switch it was too slow, so I regeared to 4.10. I did pull it out in favor of a Dana 70HD years later when I need more weight capacity, I was hauling heavy back then.

My '75 F-250 sled puller has one in it. It has about 50 pulls on it with a good running 428. No issues at all.

 

[Ozymandias]

AAM is a good choice as they are easy to source, easy to maintaine (no spreader needed) and are built to withstand a 400/1000 engine.
An as it is the newest build, spare parts will be around much longer and cheaper then for the old axles.

 

[AH64ID]

I'd find a AAM as well. The Corporate 14-bolt full float is a great axle, but the AAM 11.5 is stronger and has only gotten stronger since it came out.

I recall reading an article about the AAM 11.5 vs the 14-bolt back in the 2003 time frame and it rated the AAM as 33% stronger.