Solid Axle Conversion Concern

[Thunderstruck20]

I have a 1991 GMC K2500 with IFS running military 2 pc. Humvee rims with 7" backspacing. My question concerns a solid axle conversion. I am unsure of whether to run a Dana 44 or a Dana 60. If the Dana 60 should I be looking for a '77.5-'79 with the narrower spring pad or will a post '79 with 36.5" work. I don't know much about the 44's because I was advised to go big or go home and can find almost no info on spring pad with for those axles. I have 2" machined steel spacers right now and don't know if there is going to be an issue running a wider pad width. Any advice would be appreciated, Thanks.

 

[outalne94z71]

the dana 44 pads are the same 31.5 spring spacing for ford and chevy as the 77.5-79 ford dana 60 and chevy dana 60(dodge is like 3/4" difference", personally i think the 77.5-79 ford 60 is the better idea from the get go, i think a stock kingpin 60 is stronger than a built 44 and the cost to build the 44 goes over the cost of a stock 60 most of the time.
the newer 85-91 ford 60 has issues with tire rub on the springs in some cases with the wider spring spacing and 92 and newer 60 with kingpin is not worth the time trying to make one of those work.

a d44 in a fullsize to limit breakage should be kept to a 35" tire, anything over that seems to trash stuff a lot faster especially if you use chevy outer parts and run the smaller pre 77 bearings.

spacers should never be used on a steer axle unless you are talking a zero rate spring.

i built a few sas trucks and the late 70's d60 makes life easier to use that, i also use stock gm parts to build my sas.

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[Thunderstruck20]

Thanks for the input! I was told that drw hubs give enough width that spacers aren't needed. And is it even necessary to run spacers on a d60? I'm using them because the rim wore against the upper arm and with my old super swampers ply separated, I needed a quick fix to the backspacing issue with my new wheels. Is it possible that I will still have this problem with a solid axle? I need them for the rear on my 14bsf as they rub on the leafs but was told they wouldn't be necessary on a ff so I'm swapping out rear ends as well. And what exactly is a zero rate spring, I've never heard of that before.

 

[outalne94z71]

Thanks for the input! I was told that drw hubs give enough width that spacers aren't needed. And is it even necessary to run spacers on a d60? I'm using them because the rim wore against the upper arm and with my old super swampers ply separated, I needed a quick fix to the backspacing issue with my new wheels. Is it possible that I will still have this problem with a solid axle? I need them for the rear on my 14bsf as they rub on the leafs but was told they wouldn't be necessary on a ff so I'm swapping out rear ends as well. And what exactly is a zero rate spring, I've never heard of that before.

ohhhhh i was thinking you were talking a spacer on the leaf spring not wheel spacer, yes drw hubs seem to be what people run with hummer rims unles they get recentered.

a zero rate spring is a block of steel that is part of your spring pack and can be made to offset the axle forward or back or add a little lift, much safer than a lift block.

 

[Thunderstruck20]

Oh, yeah I meant wheel spacers. I do have 3" lift blocks in the rear but what you're saying is to stay away from blocks in the front? And is that similar to an add a leaf or is that a completely different use? The add a leafs are just to stiffen the leafs aren't they?

 

[outalne94z71]

Oh, yeah I meant wheel spacers. I do have 3" lift blocks in the rear but what you're saying is to stay away from blocks in the front? And is that similar to an add a leaf or is that a completely different use? The add a leafs are just to stiffen the leafs aren't they?

add a leafs add more spring rate and lift, a zero rate spring is just a small block of steel that is actually bolted in the spring pack and adds no change in spring rate but will lift just slightly just like a lift block but is much safer as it is part of the spring pack and it also has different settings where you can actually move the axle forward or back if you need to for clearance.

regular lift blocks up front should never be done, there is too much sideways stress that tends to make them pop out and cause loss of control.

 

[radical7]

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dang those are some nice trucks great job

 

[Thunderstruck20]

add a leafs add more spring rate and lift, a zero rate spring is just a small block of steel that is actually bolted in the spring pack and adds no change in spring rate but will lift just slightly just like a lift block but is much safer as it is part of the spring pack and it also has different settings where you can actually move the axle forward or back if you need to for clearance.

regular lift blocks up front should never be done, there is too much sideways stress that tends to make them pop out and cause loss of control.

Yeah, I've heard of kits that shift axles forward or backwards, and as far as a lift block up front goes, I wouldn't do that anyways. I am planning on getting rid of the rears too and just buying taller springs. Thanks for all the input though, it definitely helps and will greatly influence my decision.

 

[bggrnchvy]

The issue I've found with running DRW hubs up front and stock backspacing H1's is finding the van 14FF to go with out back to make the WMS's close enough.

I still have DRW hubs laying around I was going to toss on my 60, but the van 14FF proved to be a pain so I just cut and recentered my H1's.

 

[Thunderstruck20]

And I'd imagine the recentering route would be a cheaper way to go. It would have been for me at least. I just like the look of the higher backspacing on those rims.