318, I wish I could find a tranny and case for what you paid. Hell twice what you paid would be nice. The cheapest NV3500 Ive found in the last 2 months of looking was 750 with no t case.

Ok fellas. Pictures for the non believers are on the way(wife stole my car that has my camera in it). Lol....I was one of em.

Heres the info on the swap. Spring perches align PERFECTLY. Axle adds around 2" overall width to the truck, which of course will vary your over all width depending on your offset on your rims. The fittings on the brake lines are the same, so you just swap out the lines to your old connector and away you go. Even the bolt that holds the splitter(no idea what its called) on to the axle tube is the same.

If your going to run this axle stock the ONLY change you have to make except possibly gears is a rear U joint(MUCH larger and stronger) and you have to cut your shock mounts off the old axle and weld them to the new one. Any welding shop should be able to do this very inexpensively, expecially if the axles are out of the truck. Even the ABS sensor plugs right in.

Here are some links to the disc conversion I talked about. My final cost for it will be under 250 dollars. Not bad at all. 450 bucks for a disc braked heavy duty axle.

Here is the rotors and the bracket to mount your caliper.

http://diy4x.com/cart/index.php?rout...&product_id=50

Those guys have AWESOME customer service. I even got a reply to my email on sunday. Try getting that from a big retailer. They mention two types of calipers. You can get 3/4 ton chevy loaded calipers from advance auto for 53 bucks. The eldorado ones have bad reviews and are expensive. And with that and some labor your done. No more squishy brakes after a puddle or water crossing, no more messing with shoes and drums. They also stock spare rotors in case you need to redo it later on.

I have a couple things to add to my expenses.

90% tread life 35x12.5 BFG MT originals 150 bucks
15x9 white spoke 8 bolts 80 bucks

I actually want to run a bigger tire, but for the price and the tread I couldnt pass. They measure out right around 34.5" so they should be great for mocking up my suspension and getting me going.

Pictures inbound. I am extremely happy with the swap. Axle looks like it was made to be there, and its still a DODGE product.

 

Sweet! I can't wait to see pics! I want to see one with that axle hanging off a rock :P JK

Too bad you don't live near NC, skyshark, cause I had posted a link to someone around me selling an NV3500 with the t case bolted to it for $500, and I bet you could talk him down further.

**EDIT** I was just looking around on that site... they have some dirt cheap shock mount tabs and some good looking traction bar mounting brackets! I might have to order some for my new chrysler 9.25 thats going under the 2wd. Thanks for that link!

 

Send me the link if you would. Its only 150 200 bucks to ship an assembly like that. If he would do it it would still be much cheaper than finding one here.

And yeah they have some cool stuff on there. All geared towards the DIY crowd so its pretty user friendly.

Lol. That axle wont be smashing rocks till I find a front axle and a tranny. Then Ill be happy to send you that picture.

 

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...nsmission.html

You know what you ought to do. I have been thinking about this for a while. It might cost too much though, I haven't looked into it. You should take that 8.25" you just took off, cut the axle tubes down to the size of the front axle and get custom axle shafts made for it. It would be much stronger than the little 7.25" and give you a wider selection of gears if you decided to change them some day. It wouldn't be a hard project at all if you can weld.

 

I can find a much stronger axle for cheaper. Although yeah, that wouldnt be that hard. Im actually trying to basically give away that 8.25. 40 bucks, it hasnt sold yet.

THanks for the link. Ill see what I can do.

 

If I had (1) a need for a spare 8.25" AND (2) a way to get it down here, I'd ****** that right up.

But, if my 8.25" decides to let go on me, I'll be 9.25".

 

Yeah there isnt a whole lot of demand for them. I think I just found a dana 60 from a 98 dodge diesel for 250 bucks.

 

Thats cool! I can't wait for pictures too! Dang everyone is upgrading there axles! That locker is the only thing holding me back.

 

You mean the locker in your axle crazy? Im sure someone here would buy it off you.

you can buy a detroit for the 70 for nearly the price of a lockrite for a 8.25. I think its only 350 for a detroit.

 

Ya locker for rear end. Ya I would have to buy the axle and the locker. And that is more $$$. I will never live without one again. But right now with the locker I'm happy with it. This axle has been more than strong enough for all the abuse I throw at it. The cheepest larger axle on craigslist is a dana 60 for $700. A dana 70 with a locker for $3,500.