New trucks come with 10.5" rear axle only?

[XcumminsX]

I was just messing around on the dodge site building myself a 600 and i went with a srw high output motor with a manual 6 speed. It says the rear axle was a 10. 5"... . Did they change the rear axle from 11. 5" that i have on my 03 HO to the 10. 5" that came on the SO's?



Nick

 

[XJSuperman]

Why is the 10. 5 bad? I agree 100% the 11. 5 is that much better because it is bigger... . BUT the 10. 5 AAM is still larger than a D-60... which in it;s own right is a VERY VERY stout axle and will hold up to 44" tires with respectable HP/TQ. The 10. 5 should be that much better as it's BIGGER.

Again I agree the 11. 5 is my axle of choice BUT don;t knock the 10. 5 either as it should prove to be a fine axle even behind HO trucks. (or 600's)

 

[opjohnny]

Mine has the 11. 5 and it's a 325/600 6-speed. Says so on the glove box. I would not trust that Dodge site to much.

 

[XcumminsX]

Originally posted by XJSuperman

Why is the 10. 5 bad? I agree 100% the 11. 5 is that much better because it is bigger... . BUT the 10. 5 AAM is still larger than a D-60... which in it;s own right is a VERY VERY stout axle and will hold up to 44" tires with respectable HP/TQ. The 10. 5 should be that much better as it's BIGGER.

Again I agree the 11. 5 is my axle of choice BUT don;t knock the 10. 5 either as it should prove to be a fine axle even behind HO trucks. (or 600's)

if our trucks had anything like a dana 60 in the rear there would be ALOT of breakages. Dana 60 rears wont hold a 44" tire. I know people with 36" tires that go threw dana 60's every weekend. My buddy has a older bronco with a 351 windsor pumping 330 hp and 420 ft lbs and hes busted his dana 60 all the time... Hes upgrading to a dana 80... My 11. 5 can be compared to the dana 80. Thats what a 1 ton driveline should and better have



Nick

 

[klenger]

My windows sticker states 11. 5" rear axle.

 

[scotty1]

The Dana 80's in the 2nd gen Rams are not a true Dana 80 either. They are a hybrid. I am guessing that means they are cheaper/lighter then a true Dana 80... I know theres someone on here that knows the difference of the hybrid and the true Dana 80.



Is american building a hybrid or is it a true AAM diff?



Its an 11. 5" The Dodge site has had plenty of misinformation.

 

[RustyJC]

Originally posted by scott1

The Dana 80's in the 2nd gen Rams are not a true Dana 80 either. They are a hybrid.

See HERE. That statement would appear to be true only for the 2nd generation manual transmission 2500's, according to Dave Fritz. It's not the case with the 3500's.



Rusty

 

[ThomasLawrence]

I know theres someone on here that knows the difference of the hybrid and the true Dana 80.

True Dana 80's have 37 spline, 2" axles. The hybrid 80 that Dodge uses is a D80 center section with D70 axles (1. 5" 35-spline axles). Regardless of 2500 or 3500, the D80 is a hybrid.



On the 2nd gens, 2500's with a CTD or a V10, and manual transmission got the Hybrid D80. 2500's with autos got the D70. 3500's with CTD of V10, regardless of trans, got the hybrid D80.



-Tom

 

[XJSuperman]

If people you know are busting D-60's left and right the D-70 won;t give them much better... . YES it is a stronger axle but if they break a 60 that easily AND often (which I doubt) then they'll pop 70's too.



As for the D-70... it is comparable in size(and probably strength) to the 10. 5" AAM... approx same ring gear and axle size.



And whether you THINK so or not a D-60 will handle 44" tires if driven correctly... been there... done it. And with more power than the 351 your buddy has. I do know the D-60 is not 'break proof'... but I doubt that many people break them that often... uh-uh... not without being stupid with the go pedal or if the rig comes down HARD on one wheel and snaps a shaft.

 

[FDavid]

the 10. 5 rear end is standard equipment on the 500 hp dodge srt 10. That axle is a tough sob.

 

[Gauthier]

I'd love to have a 10. 5" AAM in place of the 11. 5" AAM. I brought my truck to the dealer last week to repair the gear howl, and STAR says this should be expected because I have heavy duty work truck. I bought my truck for towing a boat and now I'm afraid to tow. The rear housing, without a load, heats up to the point that you can only touch it for a split second. I can only image what will happen after towing.

 

[XJSuperman]

The rear end will get that hot... not sure on 'operating' temps but I would NOT want to grab hold of any diff housing after it was driven for more than a couple miles.

 

[Chris N5CWM]

Originally posted by RustyJC

See HERE. That statement would appear to be true only for the 2nd generation manual transmission 2500's, according to Dave Fritz. It's not the case with the 3500's.



Rusty

Cool! Now I have an excuse to trade in my 2001. 5 2500! It has the WIMPY Dana 80! Thanks for enlightening me!

 

[RustyJC]

Chris,



Glad I could help. Rationalization is a wonderful thing when "new truck fever" hits, isn't it?



Rusty

 

[How'dHeDoThat]

Originally posted by FDavid

the 10. 5 rear end is standard equipment on the 500 hp dodge srt 10. That axle is a tough sob.

Isn't the SRT-10 525 ft lbs of torque? We have more torque than that in stock form... . 305 hp 555 torque



James

 

[y-knot]

Gee, there are an awe-full lot of "experts" on this site.



There does seem to be some problems with the 11. 5" rear end, many are complaining of the howling and heat. Is it normal? I am not sure, while I have never ran a 11. 5" rear end, it seems to be very different from the one it re-placed, that being the Dana 80. I was always under the impression that gear howl was caused by pinion/ring gear alignment. Sounds like they have a problem with who ever is "setting-up" the rear gears. Also, heat would be a by-product of improperly set gears. The additional tooth contact would cause more heat, and prob-ally the howl. In my D-80 I monitor the temperature, it stays around the 140-150 range. I tow a 15,000lb+ trailer and it has never gone over 160. While this is pretty warm, it is not considered HOT. I too would be worried if the rear end gets that hot, without being under a load. I do not think I would tow with it till the heat issue is resolved. You can pick-up a heat gun, hand held laser heat detector (Ray-tech) for about 80 bucks. This would be one way of documenting the rear heat problem. Also, I would hitch up the trailer and run a small test pull with it. Say something like a 100 mile round trip route, see what happens and how hot it gets. The

 

[DaveMorris]

Afraid to tow with it and DC says it is OK???



Heck I would grab the heaviest trailer I could find (with in the factory limits of course) and tow that thing up and down the biggest hills around. Let it explode, then make a call and tell DC to come and get thier truck so they can put in another rear end ... .



This may not be the best way to solve all these kind of problems, but a dealer may not fix something that is not correct, but they HAVE to fix something that is broke .....

 

[XcumminsX]

I agree... Thats why i paid 40,000 dollars for a truck to WORK... If i find one thing wrong with it i will beat it and put it to its max over and over again untill it breaks... then the dealer gets to fix it.



Nick

 

[MCornwell]

10.5 rear

My 10. 5 rear stays surprisingly cool even when the truck was



just off the lot, not even any break in heat... my previous truck



2002 1500... don't even think about touchin that diff.



-Mitch

 

[XcumminsX]

My 11. 5 hasnt gotten hot at all. I traveled 50 miles today at about 85 mph and i got out and put my hand on the diff. . Id say it was about 80 degrees... nothing bad... Then again i dont have a howl or any other problems people have. I am glad i have this bigger axle



Nick