rotating axle tubes

[jonrpick]

I don't hear about this often, but I assume it's gotta be necessary for your steering to work properly after a bunch of lift is installed. After all, you can only point the pinion up so far and then turning the wheel would make your front tires move diagonally instead of side-to-side.

Who's done this? Is it something anyone with decent welding skills can pull off or is it a highly specialized process?

 

[Hossbaby50]

You can use shims under the springs to point the axles back in the right direction up to a point. After that you don't move the tubes, you move the C's that the knuckles connect too. You might be able to reuse the old C's if your careful getting them off and you will need to be a decent welder to put them back on. Axle tubes are usually 1/2" thick tube.

Harley

 

[Bent77]

Agreed, this is the best way to do a "tube turn"

 

[jonrpick]

You can use shims under the springs to point the axles back in the right direction up to a point. After that you don't move the tubes, you move the C's that the knuckles connect too. You might be able to reuse the old C's if your careful getting them off and you will need to be a decent welder to put them back on. Axle tubes are usually 1/2" thick tube.

Harley

Yeah, well I knew shims worked to a point, but my question was what to do after...probably should've mentioned the shims.

I'd heard moving the C's was the preferred method. How big of a job is it to change tubes?? I remember a while back, maybe on Usenet, a guy was talking about using a HP Ford D60 in a Chevy, but changing the tubes so that the diff was on the Chevy side. Is that an equally big deal, or an even bigger deal?

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

Cutting and turning the perches isn't too bad.

Cutting and turning the C's (to correct caster after you have changed the perches) is significantly harder.

You can point the pinion high enough that the pinion bearings will starve for oil and burn up.

Simply swapping the two tubes to end up with a driver drop low pinion 60 will probably leave you with custom ($$$) shafts.

Messing with axle tubes cost a lot of time and money, and if all you are after is a driver drop 60 you are much better off just buying a Ford one.

 

[jonrpick]

Messing with axle tubes cost a lot of time and money, and if all you are after is a driver drop 60 you are much better off just buying a Ford one.

I'm not...someone else is. and isn't a Ford on the opposite side???

 

[boz42]

Ford = driver drop

chevy & dodge = pass drop

This is for solid axle front trucks only. IFS changed all that.