That all looks and sounds pretty cool Walt.
But, you are now going to have different bolt patterns for the front axle
and the rear axle correct? That means you'll have to carry 2 spares,
because if your spare fits the front 2 tires, and you pop the rear, you're
out of luck, and vice-versa.
Just something to keep in mind.....
The Adam Blaster
Two words, figure it out.....
>
>
>Last year, about 2 months after buying my '96 Dakota used, I had to
>have the rear end rebuilt by the dealer. I would get a slight chatter
>from the rear end when making a turn from a dead stop. At first I
>though the rear was just low on posi additive and requested the dealer
>do a differential service, but the problem seemed to be worse
>afterwards. The dealer decided to replace the differential and gears
>with a used set purchased from a salvage yard. After the work was
>completed, I noticed that the rear just didn't seem to be as strong as
>it was previously. I noticed one day while on a muddy road, that the
>truck only spun one wheel like it had an open diff. Because the truck
>had a limited slip when I bought it, I started to question if the
>service dept had replaced it with an open diff in error. After a bit
>of checking, we decided that it was just a weak diff. Since I don't
>really 4-wheel the truck and it seemed to be fine otherwise, I just
>left it as is. Ten months and 35,000 miles later, started to notice a
>slight vibration under a load. I tried changing the u-joints,
>balancing the tires, the usual stuff but the vibration seemed to get
>worse within a period of only a few day. It also started making some
>various clunking/clicking noises. After putting it up on a lift and
>looking it over again, my buddy and I decided that the rear was shot.
>After getting a couple of quotes to have it rebuilt again, I decided it
>was a better idea to just replace the whole rear outright with a new
>one. I recalled seeing ads in some of the Mopar magazines for a bolt
>in Dana 60 by Drive Train Specialists. I called, asked a few questions
>and ordered a Dana 60 (built to Dakota 4x4 specs) w/ 3.55 gears,
>Limited Slip and complete 11" brake setup for $2100. I also upgrade to
>a 5 on 5 1/2" bolt pattern, rear ABS sensor (truck has front & rear
>ABS) and a heavy-duty diff cover. Came out to $2760 delivered.
>
>It's supposed to be a straight bolt in installation minus having to
>have the drive shaft shortened. Mike at DTS said the Dana has a longer
>nose that the 8 1/4" in the truck currently. The axle just came in
>this week, the replacement rims should be here by the end of the week.
>Hope to be able to install it this weekend and get the truck back on
>the road. Here are a few shots of the rear for now. I'll post more
>shots later of the installation.
>
>http://www.walt-n-ingrid.com/images/rear/Image001.jpg
>http://www.walt-n-ingrid.com/images/rear/Image002.jpg
>http://www.walt-n-ingrid.com/images/rear/Image003.jpg
>http://www.walt-n-ingrid.com/images/rear/Image004.jpg
>http://www.walt-n-ingrid.com/images/rear/Image005.jpg
>
>Walt Felix
>
>http://www.Walt-n-Ingrid.Com
>http://www.CruiseNights.Info
>http://www.MoparsinMotion.Com
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Feb 06 2004 - 11:46:09 EST
