Axle tube strength questions and ways to strengthen them

[bigolexj]

I am not a professional fabricator, but I have been welding and making basic stuff like shock mounts, steering braces, bumpers, and other small parts for around 5 years now. Not a lot of experience with determining strength of specific compounds like aluminum and so forth. How strong are them axle tubes on the Chrysler 8 1/4?

Would it be plausible to "sleeve" the tubes and attach these sleeves to a truss or would I be wasting my time because the axle is just a piece of crap?

I would love to go to Dana 60 front and rear, but I am too poor to afford that and all of the parts to go with it (lockers and all). So I've basically been convinced that staying with the 8 1/4 and Dana 30 is my best bet right now and wanted to asked you fellers advice. Thank you.

[xj-grin]

Actaully, IIRC, the tubes on the 8.25 are one of its best assets - thicker than standard D44 tubes. You could easily truss it without any work to the tubes themselves. What kind of wheeling do you do? I am guessing in FLA it is mostly mud, if so, I think (unless you are running HUGE meats) you'll be fine with your stock axles, properly strengthened... Just my 2 cents.

[Dan Fredrickson]

He's dead on with that assesment. Impact is the real destroyer of tubes and mud is a forgiving impact. The 8.25 is very comprable with a 44 and a stock rear D60 isn't tremendously stronger, just a much better starting point to build up. I would think tire size would be your most determining factor, but not for tube strength, for gear and axle strength......

[woody]

He's dead on with that assesment. Impact is the real destroyer of tubes and mud is a forgiving impact. The 8.25 is very comprable with a 44 and a stock rear D60 isn't tremendously stronger, just a much better starting point to build up. I would think tire size would be your most determining factor, but not for tube strength, for gear and axle strength......

And available gear ratio choices. Unless something new is afoot that I'm unaware of, the MOPAR 8.25 is limited to 4.56:1 at the low end. The 8.8 Ford gets you into 4.88:1, but a Dana 44 (or D60) has a bunch of ratios lower than 4.56:1 available. If I had no fantasies of going lower than 4.56:1 - 35" max tire, AND I had one on hand, I wouldn't hesitate to build a 29 spline 8.25. As it happened with my current build, I scored an XJ 44 for xtra-cheep ($100 at the U-Pull) so I went that way.

[WobblesXJ]

Staying on the axle tube thickness and strength subject, anybody know how thick the ford 9" tubes are?

[cal]

That depends on the year and source of the ford 9". Mine were not very thick.

http://www.shadowco.org/~cal/4x4/F100/9inch/9inch1.jpg

[Jump This]

Maybe that is why Cal has his 30 sleeved with 3/4" thick gun stock! :D

[WobblesXJ]

That depends on the year and source of the ford 9". Mine were not very thick.

http://www.shadowco.org/~cal/4x4/F100/9inch/9inch1.jpg


You got yours from an F100? What year and was it a big bearing?

[cal]

I didnt get it from an F100, I *drive* an F100. 1962, and not sure if its big bearing or not. When I failed I swapped in an hp44/60 from a 79 f250. yay disc brakes.
-C

[WobblesXJ]

Ah, mine came out of a ~70-71 F100 and is a big bearing. Any clue as to if it's pretty comparable to yours?

[cal]

Probably not, they changed pretty much everything on the trucks in 1967.. Not much of the truck carries over.

-C