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Difference between 72 front axle and 89 front axle

LocuMob

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I have a set of Dana 60 axles from an 89 Sno Commander I want to put under my 72 and was wondering if you guys known enthralled differences. I'm going to take the steering box and column, as well as the factory sway bar and all other steering linkage. Any help appreciated.
 
As far as the axles . They will swap but there are difference's . The 89 will have the cad system on it , the 72 will not . The 89 should have the auto hubs , the 72 should be full time four . The wheel bolt pattern should be different as well on the 1/2 ton axles . The 89 will have 5 on 5" , the 72 should be 5 on 4 1/2" . You can also just swap the outer knuckle's and inner axles if you wanted to go that rout . The steering box is another thing . Look at the way there mounted real good as well as check for reverse rotation between the two trucks . The 89 the shaft for the pitman arm should be facing down . On some of the older truck's ( your 72 "maybe" ) the shaft came more off the side . Wheelers like that set up because on lifted trucks there's less stress on the box and arm . The column should swap but depending on what box you use ,make sure the steering shaft is the right length . Hope this helps Mob . .... Oh Yah ,, One more thing . If you are able to swap the box's , then swap the pump from the 89 as well . Most 89's had metric threads for the lines .
 
Forgot to mention they are both 3/4 ton, both 8 bolt axles. The 60 front from the 89 actually has lock outs already installed. Thanks for the tip about the pump, I would have missed that.
 
C'mon bear, you should know Dana 60's in trucks are 8 lug axles.
Oh maaan ! I must be getting old , totally missed the Dana 60 part .Either that or I've been working on to many 1/2 ton 44ers lately . lol Well then skip the part about the lugs . :)
 
Just to make up for my Dana 60 / Dana 44 mess up . I noticed you had asked about how a sun visor would look on one of these trucks in another thread . Here yah go !
bigred car show.jpg
 
That doesn't look too bad. I'll have to swing air and see what I'm feeling when I get to paint.

How much lift do you think is in that red truck. Trying to get a gauge so I know how much I want to put in.
 
That doesn't look too bad. I'll have to swing air and see what I'm feeling when I get to paint.

How much lift do you think is in that red truck. Trying to get a gauge so I know how much I want to put in.
I just happen to know quite a bit about that truck Mob . It was called "Big Red " . It was mine and boy do I miss it sometimes . :( A lot of the stuff your thinking about doing with the axle swap and such I did to that but just in 1/2 ton . It had 80's axles under it with the larger bolt pattern and I kept the auto hubs . Behind the small block , I had a built 727 with a 241 T case . Running the 241 with the auto hubs , If I was out messing around and got a little loose traction wise . I could reach over real quick and slam it from 2 wheel drive to 4 wheel drive just that fast . Without having to stop and then put it into four wheel and then back up a couple a feet and so on and so forth . As far as the lift . It had a skyjacker 4" suspension lift in it . In that picture I can't remember whether those where the 33's or the 35's I had on it for a while . That truck also had the earlier steering box I told you about . New of course .
 
To much lift for me.
I'm thinking somewhere between 4 and 8" is what I want. The truck sits too low for me stock. I want the height of say, 67PowerWagons truck, and that's stock. I know it's not for everyone, but it's whatnot want. A lifted tar baby, makes sense huh? I have a truck to use for truck related stuff, and this one's gonna be for fun. 4" lifted and 35" tires looks good, but I might want just a little bit more.
 
To much lift for me.
Everybody has there personal taste and opinion's . For me a 4x4 should sit like a "truck" and right around 3 to 5" is where one of these trucks should have sat from the factory . Not down low where you have to ask , "Is that four wheel drive ?" . Plus the ride quality of that particular truck was the best I've ever been in . Now If you want a "beast" then it should have between 4 and say 6" maybe 8" . But when you start going that high you have to start thinking about pinion angles and such . But that's just one guy's opinion ( Me ) and you have the right to yours as well . :cool:
 
I'm thinking somewhere between 4 and 8" is what I want. The truck sits too low for me stock. I want the height of say, 67PowerWagons truck, and that's stock. I know it's not for everyone, but it's whatnot want. A lifted tar baby, makes sense huh? I have a truck to use for truck related stuff, and this one's gonna be for fun. 4" lifted and 35" tires looks good, but I might want just a little bit more.
Like I've always said Mob . If your going to build something whether it be a car , truck , even a bike . You build it for "you" and no-one else . I might have just said something like this but with these trucks anything over 4 or 5" you start thinking about pinion angles and such , so just keep that in mind as well if you go higher with the suspension . Even with a 4" lift I started getting in the habit of dropping my T case's 1" , just to keep everything tried and true . You could even think about adding an inch to the body as well to get your perfect height that your looking for .
 
I'm not a fan of body lifts in general. I guess if the body comes off it's a possibility for a 1" lift. I have the divorced t case so I won't be dropping that unless the body comes off as well. But then again, it's a heavy sob and already has better angles than a married t case.
 
I'm not a big fan of body lifts either . It was just an option . If I were to add one , then it would only be about an inch . Believe it or not , fresh body mounts go a long way with these truck's . Even if the old ones look good , there probably hard and flattened out . Might be something to think about ?
 
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