Started working on my girl

[ridered333]

well yeah if you can pick up a dana 60 for 15 bucks thats sweet the cheapest i can find them up here is $800 bucks then you gotta dump another 400 or 500 bucks into them for bearrings bushings brakes tierod ends fresh set of hubs cuz might as well do it right the first time

[GreaseDog]

Originally Posted by ridered333

cuz stronger axle means more money and swapping out an axle isnt a big deal so y not do up the truck with what you have and upgrade once its trashed i know its sweet to do everything right the first time around but its also nice to have a pretty sweet truck you can drive not somthing ur gonna have to wait to drive because you dont have the money to finish it

just out of curiousity, what are you going to do when a wheel bearing fails and you're out driving around and it siezes up. if you're lucky you'll skid to a halt. if you're not lucky, you'll end up starting with a whole new truck. IIRC a Cummins weighs about 1200#, whereas a BBC weighs about half that. its alot of extra load to be riding around on it 100% of the time.

[Re4peR26]

Im in the scraping business i come across them all the time some are use able but some are junk and need rebuilt.

[GreaseDog]

Originally Posted by ridered333

well yeah if you can pick up a dana 60 for 15 bucks thats sweet the cheapest i can find them up here is $800 bucks then you gotta dump another 400 or 500 bucks into them for bearrings bushings brakes tierod ends fresh set of hubs cuz might as well do it right the first time

and you're not doing that with the 1/2 ton axle? there's a reason i went through the front end of my 80 when i put the plow on it. the difference in the plow and a 6BT is the fact that i can pull 2 pins, and the plow comes off, so i can still get away with half ton parts, as its not carrying that weight all of the time.

[ridered333]

well whats a cummins weigh about 1000lbs (im guessing) whats a 6.2 weigh like 750 lbs so yeah the cummins wieghs 250 lbs more if thats about right 250lbs is quite a bit but is it really that much of a difference?

[ridered333]

well i do agree that the dana 60 is way stronger in all aspects thats why i have one in my truck and defiantly is a good idea to swap into a truck especially if you can get one cheap but im just sayin i think the 1/2 ton axle would last a little while. i mean its not like ur gonna drop in a cummins and bang there does ur wheel bearings

[Re4peR26]

Sure it will last a little while but why are you going to leave that axle in place if you know your only going to get a little amount of time out of it. Thats doing work 2x either way there will be more down time regardless of his final decision.

[GreaseDog]

around 650 for the 6.2 (comparable to a BBC) and 1280 for a 6BT, so roughly twice the weight.

i dont know about you, but i like to put things together once, and enjoy them, rather than worry about WHEN its coming apart. not IF.

with a plow truck like my 80, breakage is inevitable.

[ridered333]

well its up to him really what he wants to do if it was me i would put a 60 in the truck hell if i could ide put rockwells under my truck i just wouldnt get caught up on the fact that he needs a new front end if he wants a cummins. bearings dont just seize up out of nowere there are warning signs and if you kno that there could be a problem down the road to keep an eye out for those warning signs. put a 60 in the truck then its done i know i would probably but i dont think its a big critical

[ridered333]

Originally Posted by GreaseDog

around 650 for the 6.2 (comparable to a BBC) and 1280 for a 6BT, so roughly twice the weight.

i dont know about you, but i like to put things together once, and enjoy them, rather than worry about WHEN its coming apart. not IF.

with a plow truck like my 80, breakage is inevitable.

as for the weight i wasnt aware of such a big difference

[Ivan D.]

Originally Posted by ridered333

i could be wrong but i think the 6.2 would be an easier swap because the 6.5 has electronics i think another option that alot of people do if you want a diesel is swap in a 12valve cummins also no electronics and with a few mods they can make decent power

That is not correct - there are plenty of 6.5s out there that use the DB2 pump, which has absolutely no electronic controls whatsoever, only two 12V connections for energizing the HCPA and fuel shutoff solenoids. There are also 6.5s that use the same DB2 injection and also have turbos, a buddy of mine is now desperately trying to scrape up some money for a '92 4x4 Chevy dually that has just that engine in it. IIRC the electronic controls came in for the 1994 models, so anything '92-'93 will get you factory turbo and mechanical injection.

Keep in mind, however, that neither the 6.2 nor the 6.5 are power monsters, they do move the big truck fairly well, but you won't be able to run with new 1-tons with the Cummins and DuraMax engines, you'll stand some chance against a PSD but that's only if tis bone-stock.

Here's an ineresting thing tho - a guy on one of my Ford forums is planning on installing a 6.2 in his '85 Town Car, he says he found a place that sells rebuilt 6.2s for like $900 or so - I'll ask him for some more details, as I think that's a pretty good price for something like that.

[Ivan D.]

On the 1/2-ton vs. 3/4-ton issue - if you cut across one of each from a Ford truck you will see the 3/4-ton axle has tubes that are significantly fatter in the walls, something like 1/4" wall for the halfton and 1/2" wall for the 3/4-ton. Additionally one of the Dana 60 stub shafts (believe it was the longer one) is actually only slightly larger than the Dana 44 HD shaft found in the 3/4-ton trucks, even tho the Dana 60 U-joints are freakin massive compared to the Dana 44 HD ones. Why am I posting that - maybe there's more to the Chevy 3/4-ton front axle that just bigger wheel hubs? Also a stock Dana 60 may not live long powered by that Cummins, it will physically hold up to the weight, but the stub shaft may give out under very high torque demand applications... Just more stuff to look into before spring into action for engine and axle swaps.

[Chevyforlife502]

what about the 6.5L what would i have to do to my front suspension for that

[Re4peR26]

Originally Posted by Chevyforlife502

what about the 6.5L what would i have to do to my front suspension for that

I would think your axles now can handle it.

[GreaseDog]

Originally Posted by Ivan D.

On the 1/2-ton vs. 3/4-ton issue - if you cut across one of each from a Ford truck you will see the 3/4-ton axle has tubes that are significantly fatter in the walls, something like 1/4" wall for the halfton and 1/2" wall for the 3/4-ton. Additionally one of the Dana 60 stub shafts (believe it was the longer one) is actually only slightly larger than the Dana 44 HD shaft found in the 3/4-ton trucks, even tho the Dana 60 U-joints are freakin massive compared to the Dana 44 HD ones. Why am I posting that - maybe there's more to the Chevy 3/4-ton front axle that just bigger wheel hubs? Also a stock Dana 60 may not live long powered by that Cummins, it will physically hold up to the weight, but the stub shaft may give out under very high torque demand applications... Just more stuff to look into before spring into action for engine and axle swaps.

chevys are the same, half and 3/4 ton.

[GreaseDog]

Originally Posted by Chevyforlife502

what about the 6.5L what would i have to do to my front suspension for that

same things you would do for a BBC.

[AyerForce]

Just to add to the arguement of extra weight on a half ton axle, my 75 came factory with a 454, was that a blunder by GM or can the D44 really sustain that extra weight for a long period of time.

[Chevyforlife502]

Thanks guys

[GreaseDog]

you have the build sheet on your truck AyerForce? never heard of a factory 1/2 ton shortbed 4x4 with a BBC in it.

yes, it will hold the extra ~150-200# just fine... not 600.

[AyerForce]

Originally Posted by GreaseDog

you have the build sheet on your truck AyerForce? never heard of a factory 1/2 ton shortbed 4x4 with a BBC in it.

yes, it will hold the extra ~150-200# just fine... not 600.

Unfortunately I do not, and the RPO codes were not in the glovebox when I got it. The vin does confirm it though, CKY145XXXXXXX. Now I just need to find a 454 to return it to stock, haha.