Front driveshaft swap?

[ramses]

I want to use the driveshaft from my Dana 60 donor truck when I make the swap, but my truck is a 73 so it has the older style shaft that bolts to the transfer case differently. Is there any way I could use the other shaft by swapping where they bolt to the t case by just taking them apart at the u joints? Or could I change the output at the transfer case to use the newer shaft? My truck's driveshaft has about had it plus it doesnt look as beefy as the one from the Dana 60 anyway so if I cant use the other one I guess ill have to get one made which is a lot of money. Is there any way to put the newer shaft into my truck without changing the transfer cases?

 

[MEK5]

Your 73 205 has 10spline front output shaft,the later flatplate flange has 30splines.You can just swap front outputs in the transfers,all the other internal shaft parts are the same.You will be able to do this without dropping the case out of the trucks just watch the shaft lenghts you didnt mention what tranny the newer shaft was from.

 

[ramses]

Both the donor truck and my truck have the SM 465 4 speed. So is it not possible to do it the other way? How hard is it to swap the front outputs? The transfer case is one of the few things ive never touched on my truck so I know very little about working on it. Can you run me through the process?

 

[MEK5]

Not real good at explaining things with a keypad but the front output swap is not that hard to do.The hardest part of the swap will be keeping the shift collar in the fork while trying to feed the shaft assembly in from the back.
Theres a TON of info on the 205 on this site that you might want to have a look at before doing the swap.

Different transmission types affect driveshaft lenghts,you should be all set if both your front driveshafts are from SM465 trucks.

 

[ramses]

Anyone else ever tried this?

 

[drivelineman]

its not to bad to swap front outputs - it can be done in the rig if you follow the front output through the bearing collar inside with a broom stick- if the collar falls down the case should be taken out of the truck- there's about 100 needles larger size to put back into place- should take about 1 hour or less- JEss

 

[ramses]

So is the other idea I had of swapping the shafts at the rear u-joint not possible? I figured it wouldnt be but if it was it would be much easier than the output swap. If its definitely not possible, can anyone elaborate more on the front output swap procedure, or is there anywhere I can look that would help me out?

 

[ramses]

Anyone have any more thoughts on this?