1969 vs 1977 F250 Rear axle

[michaelbrainard]

Last week I posted my issues with a bent Dana 60 rear axle housing in my 1977 F250 Camper Special. I recently found a 1969 F250 and the onwer is ready to part it out.

How different are these two rear ends? I am not sure what the 69 has it in. Assuming it is a Dana 60...how different could it be? Another question...assuming my internals are ok, can I swap my internals, shafts and brakes to the older housing?

Sorry for the oversimplistic questions....new stuff for me!

[heep70]

I believe the width of the axles are different. I am not sure, but I the newer one is a touch wider making the axle shafts longer.

As far as swaping carriers, the older one is a 16 spline vs the newer one is a 30 spline. You would have to swap out side gears from one carrier to the next. Other then that the carriers will swap.

The 69, depending on what it is in could be an open carrier, trac-loc or even a power-loc w/ 4:10 R&P.


Is the axle shaft on the bent rearend also bent?

[michaelbrainard]

Is the axle shaft on the bent rearend also bent?


I don't believe so....the truck drives fine...rear end turns smooth...no noise that I can hear. The only tell tale sign is the cutting of the inside of the drivers side tire...and the fact that the tire appears to be tipping in at the top. I am going to run out and try to take a measurement from rim to rim at the top and the bottom.

Someone at work told me they had a similar issue, and found that the bearing race wasn't pressed in fully causing a slight twist in the axle...is this possible?

[heep70]

I never heard of that. There are two races an inner and outer. To me they would both have to be pressed at an angle. Plus everything is tightened together with the adjuster nut and jam nut (90ftlb). You would had heard a growling noise from the bearings being misaligned. Like I said I never heard of that, but maybe.

[FORDification]

The '67-'72 trucks rearends are narrower than the '73-up versions, by about 4 inches. You might not have noticed, but the rear wheels on our trucks don't track exactly behind the front, but because the '73-up rearends are wider, they DO follow the fronts. Plus the '67-'72 rearend's spring pads are farther inboard, so to fit one of these in your '77 you'd have to relocated those pads.

Not that it isn't possible to swap the '69 into your '77, but I think it would be more work than it's worth.