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rockwells vs 1ton gear

muddybuddy

muddybuddy

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i saw a pair of 2.5 rockwells on pirate for the price of a d60 and that got me thinking. i was just dreaming about how sweet it would be to have rockwells. i wont do rockwells now, but maybe in the future if i find a set for the right price (i should be able to get a good bit out of my 1 tons, so the swap prolly wouldnt "cost" much. im sure ill eat my own words). how much work do you think is really involved in getting them to work?

how much is really gained over d60/14b? i know ground clearance is rediculous.

my dream: k30 with 6.5 turbo diesel rocks with 6.17s and detroits on 42 IROK's. OH and i almost forgot, it would also be a dd in addition to a rock crawler / mud bogger :crazy: in a perfect world.

now i gatta find a way to make this a reality.
 
not for a dd. it would cost to much. and for 42's why bother with the extra weight? i guess its just for the cool factor. 6.17's, diesel and 42's would require an overdrive and im not sure if that woul dbe enough to keep you from screaming.

If its for a dd you cant just do full hydro, you;ll have to do mechanicl linkage whoch equals more money and fab. also pinion brakes just arent enough for the road which mean all new brakes, new wheels etc. it adds up quick. then you have to add in rebuilcd, misc parts, driveshafts. its just not worth it, definetly not worht it for a powerhouse (catch the sarcasm:wink1:) 6.5 td pushing 42's
 
booo! ruin my fun!! haha. yea i was wondering bout the brakes, if they were adaquate for the road. i was not aware that most ppl run full hydro with rocks. sounds like its way to much work to make the axles "street legal" and such. well guess ill stick with my 1tons then forever haha. and my dreams are shattered, thanks bro haha. just a thought
 
sorry about that, we can all dream. its not that its not possible, its just not practical. guy run full hydro with rockwells cause it easy thats all. its just real expensive to do but it can be done.
 
well sounds like id jus be better off with a similar plan, but with the axles ive got now. i was thinkin that i would be able to sell the built 1 tons and get rocks and still have a bunch of money left over, that would go into making it streetable. they are heavier? for some reason i was under the impression that they were the same/ lighter than then 60/14.
 
haha i have always thought of something like that.. would be so sick to have a DD w/ rockwells.. some huge ass disc brakes all around... im sure its possible... but at what cost? haha..
 
muddybuddy said:
they are heavier? for some reason i was under the impression that they were the same/ lighter than then 60/14.
Click to expand...

They're much heavier.


I'd not use anything smaller than a 44 on a rockwell, for ground clearance, and help with the ratio.
 
This is THE ultimate axle...

1313352-DSC00700.jpg


Portal ends (strong and more clearance)
9" Ford Gears (strong and great gear/locker selection)
 
well my dream.. and it got ruined by nj....


was
12" lift - had it
3" body lift - had it

next mods
rockwells
53" michelins


so I was up 15" and getting ready to do front/rear stear rocks and nj said.. oh yeah we are changing the lift law... 38's are the biggest allowed now!!!!! :doah:

so down the truck came.. well took from 1997 to 2004......

yea big trucks seem cool and gotta figure out where that would work out...

I just went out on a trip where I barely fit height wise in the trail.. I hit branches with my windshield.... :crazy:

anyway.... I did some thinking... if I had 44's that would get my axle up lets see....

44 - 38 = 6" / 2 = 3" more axle clearance....

better off finding a set of mog axles... now 404's cant handle more than 50mph from what I hear... and are 7 something gears...

however find a 406 or 416 I think it is... and they can handle faster speed and also come in a 5:09 gear... :bow: NICE..

mogs will get the diff clearance up more than that....

so I think after my motor mods this year and my crew cab swap next year (another baby on the way... and it is a kid not a truck) then I may look into mogs.... will take a few years to find a good deal though :wink1:
 
Super cool. Is that a regular 9" center section flipped over or the Currie 8.8/9" deal?
 
bigjbear said:
Super cool. Is that a regular 9" center section flipped over or the Currie 8.8/9" deal?
Click to expand...
Yep, its a flipped 9". Have to flip the center section because of the portal ends. Nice solution to the Mog gearing issue which is way too much gear for most trucks.
 
as far as the brakes go...if im not mistaken, pinion brakes would be plenty for the road. you put them ahead of that much gear reduction and you'd got some real clamping force. got a friend that says he can just about do an endo with his rocks. i believe the issue is that a pinion brake is not street legal.

i believe for another friend of mine it was 500 a corner to go with brakes at the hubs on rocks.
 
DEMON44 said:
They're much heavier.


I'd not use anything smaller than a 44 on a rockwell, for ground clearance, and help with the ratio.
Click to expand...

i wouldnt use the word "much" in that statement

the search is down on pirate right now, so i cant find the thread, where the weights of rocks, d60's and, 14ff's, were posted. But they are within a coule hundred pounds... And you also have to figure, that is all unsprung weight.

Althought i do agree with your second statement... 44"s or bigger if your gonna run rocks...
 
The initial purchase price of a pair of 'rocks may be cheaper, but as stated getting them installed and working properly under a truck is the issue and will most likely cost a lot more in the long run. For a front Dana 60......buy the axle and some u-bolts and you can have it under the truck in an hour, you be doing that with a set of 'rocks.

These are potential issues with running Rockwell axles:
- lift height......better want a fairly tall truck because you will need a decent lift to fit them
- 6.72 gears (I don't believe 6.17 is an option) could definitely cause an issue for a DD. With an OD trans and 44" tires it would probably be okay
- pinion brakes are iffy on the street. Because of the gear reduction it's hard to set them up so you can actually modulate them.....they are usually either on or off (very sensitive). You can also have issues if you run open diffs or even a Detroit (which will unlock during certain times) that will give you unequal braking performance from side to side
- steering.........I would think it would at least require a little work to mate up with the factory mechanical linkages
- suspension.....most people will say that it is hard to slap 'rocks under leafs because of the axle wrap issues, unless the leafs are really stiff, or you fab up anti-wrap bars front and rear.
 
yea i wasnt sure bout the gear ratio of them, i knew they were 6.xx, and i thought i remembered seein 6.17 in some post or something. i guess since i already have built 1 ton gear, there is really no point.

maybe it was mog axle that i was thinkin about that arent heavier??? how are mog's in comparison to the 1 tons? are they as much work as the rocks to make streetable?
 
RootBreaker said:
better off finding a set of mog axles... now 404's cant handle more than 50mph from what I hear... and are 7 something gears...
Click to expand...
quick solution... overdrive... 7.17:1 is the ratio that comes to mind, although that may not be correct. at any rate, with a 7.17:1 ratio, multiply it by a 30% overdrive (.7) and you get 5.02, with a 38" tire, 2885 @65mph. not terribly, definitely doable once in a while. for a daily driver, probably not a good idea. who wants to go that fast on a tire that big all the time anyways?
 
Rockwells don't turn very sharp either. Pretty much have to go rear steer. That means the "cheap" of running rockwells is no longer cheap.
 
mikey_d05 said:
FWIW, 'rocks are 6.72
Click to expand...


On top of that, it should be noted that toploader rockwell has a ratio if 6.72:1 only. Front loader rockwells have ratio options fron 4.56 to 7.17.

The rockwells under the Twister buggy that I posted in the "Show your Flex" thread are front loader rockwells with 7.17's, and 2" shafts.
 
wasnt talking about rocks, was referring to the mog axles rootbreaker clearly mentioned in the post i quoted. :deal:
 
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