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Just following up on this...cant I just do a disc brake conversion on my existing axles? I may go with 35" tires, but this will be nothing more than a weekend driver for me. Can't seem to find the other axles around here other than this one:
There isn’t a company that makes a disk brake conversion for the closed knuckle dana 44 low pinion axle that you currently have that I know of.
There are disk brake conversions for the rear out there.
If you swap out the front axle I would recommend swapping out the rear for a vintage axle that matches the front so the widths are the same.
You don’t have to buy my OCD wouldn’t let me run wheel spacers or just run it as it was.
Horsepower Sales makes a kit now. A lot cheaper to find a disc axle. I run a low pinion '76 axle on my '71. It was pretty shot so I picked up a '79 HP but it's not geared as advertised so I didn't want to regear and shorten the drive shaft so I rebuilt the LP Dana 44. Axle are out there. It just takes time.
That isn’t cheap but in the end it could definitely be the right option for someone. That’s considerably less than what I have into doing the Dana 60 swap.
That is where I got my conversion kit from. I’m very happy with how everything turned out. I haven’t actually used it yet obviously but it is good quality and easy to install. I got the kits for the front and rear
I also did stainless steel brake lines all the way around
That is where I got my conversion kit from. I’m very happy with how everything turned out. I haven’t actually used it yet obviously but it is good quality and easy to install. I got the kits for the front and rear
I also did stainless steel brake lines all the way around
so did you keep your stock axles and go with a lift kit? What one did you go with?
I just used the stock axles and got a 4 inch lift kit from skyjacker. I haven’t got driveshafts in yet Front axle shafts are stock no need to shorten them. If anything with a lift I could see maybe getting longer driveshafts but I’m not that far yet
Didn't try the '79 HP 44 to check driveshaft length and was going on general info from others on this site. The '76 LP disc axle is of course the same length and geometry as the original '71 closed knuckle. Perhaps some lift and room in the slip joint would make it not necessary. Mine is stock to lower than stock with the original springs.
Not a bad deal but they'll need some work. Looks like a new spindle thrown in. Make sure it's got the caliper brackets and ideally the hard to get dust/backing plates. That gearset is too low for most. I'd like it for my Bronco on 37" tires but stick to 4.10/4.09 in the '71 F-250. If the new gears are not installed you could sell that and go with whatever gears you want. There will be a bigger shop cost than acquisition cost if your not doing this work yourself. Your original closed knuckle axle is probably needing a rebuild anyways.
Not a bad deal but they'll need some work. Looks like a new spindle thrown in. Make sure it's got the caliper brackets and ideally the hard to get dust/backing plates. That gearset is too low for most. I'd like it for my Bronco on 37" tires but stick to 4.10/4.09 in the '71 F-250. If the new gears are not installed you could sell that and go with whatever gears you want. There will be a bigger shop cost than acquisition cost if your not doing this work yourself. Your original closed knuckle axle is probably needing a rebuild anyways.
yeah, existing axles would have gotten rebuilt anyway. I probably will go with the 4.10 since I’m leaning towards 35” tires. I’ll sell the old axles and have these sandblasted and rebuilt.
I think that's a great deal. You can sell off the gears and spools as you wont want them and recoup some costs. Then go through both axles and replace the wear items, seals, ball joints and most likely bearings.
Crowbar, I swapped in a D44 HP into my 70 and did not have to do any mod to the front drive shaft, why do you need to shorten it?
If you install a Dana 60 Front you will have to shorten the driveline roughly line roughly 2 inches and move the drivers side shock mount. Outside of that that’s about it.
Originally Posted by DHDeichmann
So I found a guy who will sell me the HP 44 and 60 off of a 79' he says, includes disc brakes for the rear and rebuild parts all for $800. See below:
If you install a Dana 60 Front you will have to shorten the driveline roughly line roughly 2 inches and move the drivers side shock mount. Outside of that that’s about it.
That’s a deal I would take.
Thanks for the info. Maybe it was just the HP 60 that would make the shaft too long. Wish I found a '79 Dana 60. Like gold.
I had a 60 I pulled out from a junk yard but stayed with the 44 as it was geared correctly. I pull the 60 and had it sold before we even got it into the bed of my truck.
