If I wanted to swap from a dana 80 to a sterling or the other way around, could I just change the driveline centering socket yoke from the other driveline. Is it more complicated than this?

Also, does anyone have width measurements on the difference between the dana 80 and sterling 10.25/10.5?

 

which width? the pumpkin, or the axle width in the truck?

Never dealt with either of these axles, but at least here's the bump.

 

Have you checked around to see if there are any companies that make a swap kit? I thought I remember seeing one not too long ago. That might save you some time and energy.

 

I know my sterling axle has a 1410 series u joint. As far as swapping out the yokes, its more then likely not possible, i can do some more research but id almost garuntee they have different spline counts on the pinion. Im not sure what size u joint the 80 has, but when i stop by the dealer tonight ill check it out. If its a 1410 series u joint you wouldnt have to change yokes obviously. And ill measure any spring perch differences, and wms, well as close as possible anyways.

 

Sooo a trip to the dealership revealed these results, the drw truck i measured from was an 02, or 03, as it had clear markers in the front, but still had 7.3 badges. (i know i know, i could have looked at the window sticker but i forgot)

My srw truck IS a 2002 for sure.

Dana 80
Approximately 74" WMS to WMS (Wheel mounting surface)
Spring centers are at 45"
Shocks are 27.5 inches apart ( inside of the shock eye to the other one)
This dana 80 uses a flange yoke, which you bolt another flange with a u joint to it, similar to how they bolt to the transfer case yoke. Those bolts are 3 3/8 inches center to center.
Bolted to the flange, was a 1410 series u joint.

Sterling
Approximately 69" WMS to WMS
Spring centers at at 45 3/8 "
Shocks are 27.5 inches apart
My sterling has a ubolt yoke, instead of flange style, with a 1410 series yoke.


So in summary, you could technically just bolt up a dana 80, pushing the leafs in 3/16 is not a big deal, thats what the bushings are for. It is common in the rock crawling community to bolt dodge front axles, which i think are 32" center to center under chevys and fords which generally had 31.5" centers, without any problems. The shocks line up as well. Basically the only difference is the extra width of approximatly 5 inches, to accomadate the dually style wheels, and one hell of a more stout differential. Ive never heard of too many common problems with the dana 80s, besides being heavy, while ive commonly heard of sterlings, with pinion bearing problems. And im not really sure why, because if any of you have ever seen the bearings from a sterling differential, you would be impressed. They just seem to wear out the pinion bearings, and if not caught soon enough it leads to gear destruction.

Hope that helps. The wms maybe a little off, but it shouldnt be by much, as its hard to measure with tires on both trucks.

 

sounds like you could just get a new end on your d-shaft and be good to go, if your looking for a dually conversion. You'll also need the adapters for the front end and a set of 6 rims. Or carry two spares.

 

Actually, they both use a 1410 yoke, so you wouldnt have to change yokes. The difference is on the pinion side, one is a flange style, and one is a yoke style, but either way, you still use a u joint to connect between the axle and drive shaft, The only thing i didnt take into consideration was driveshaft length. Which may need to be shortened due to a longer pinion snout on the dana 80 IIRC

Flange style

Yoke style


the difference being that on the flange, you bolt a yoke to it.

 

rebelchevy02,

Thanks for going out of your way to get these measurements, they are great.

As some of you might have seen, I am actually looking at going from DRW to SRW. Many options exist. Another forum member is interested in swapping rear ends and beds to get this done.

I know how much stronger a 80 is than a sterling, so it would be nice if I could run SRW with the 80. Still playing with how that would work. I know that I could get real custom and have the housing shortened and get custom axles made but I am still looking at simpler ways.