Rear Axle ID

[PPeters]

Little help. I need to positively ID my rear axle for a disk brake conversion. In particular, the vendor is asking is the axle a 5500 or 6200lb unit. Don't have the truck with me, he tells me a sticker is on the glove box door with details. Called wife, she looks, no sticker. Apparently the studs are different. Problem he describes is with another customer who bough the kit for a 93, and found that the studs (1/2") would not fit in the hubs. Both the head and the knurled area are larger than the relief area on the back of the hub and the thru hole (respectively). If I followed him correctly, the 5500 axle is OK, but the 6200 has the larger head/knurled shaft area on the stud. Solution is simple enough, but just need to positively identify if I fall into the larger stud situation. Without looking, my guess is the axle is a 6200.



Thanks all



Pat

 

[Underdog]

I usually don't know the correct answer but,according to

my service manual for the studs,it shows for a 16" single

wheel,1/2x20,90* cone.

For a model 70 rear axle,it shows 6200 for single rear wheel.

Hope this helps. If I'm wrong someone will correct me.

 

[JLEONARD]

My door sticker said 5500, but NONE of the standard brake parts including drums that were for a 5500 # axle fit.

Truck also says Dan 70 axle.

The correct parts were for an axle rated 2 steps higher than the 5500 whatever that is. I can locate all the part numbers if that would help.

Jay

 

[sparks57]

I don't know much about brakes. What is the point of changing the rears from drum to disc? And what is the difference between the two? I suppose brakes is something I should know about.

 

[PPeters]

Underdog, Jay:



I'm leaning toward 6200. Checked my manual last night also, and saw the same charts. Only sticker that states weights per axle is on B pillar of driver side door, and that is over 6000.



CB, I'm converting over to disk in the rear to get improved braking performance. The stock drum brakes leave something to be desired, IMO. They can be upgraded to 3" drums like on the one ton series, or you can install an aftermarket kit to convert to disk. Since I've got to do a complete rear brake job, I'm opting to convert now for better brakes and easier maintenance. I'm aware of two vendors for the kit, EGR and The Street Rod Manufacturing Company.



Thanks everyone, I'll keep you posted on how the brakes turn out.



Pat

 

[Hutchew]

Get the BOM

(Bill of Materials) number off the right side axle tube, towards the rear. Usually between the pumpkin and the shock. Any respectable gear shop will be able to give you a positive ID off that number.