Rear Axle Swap Suggestions

I've called a few custom axle places (currie, yukon, etc) and no one could make em. I got lucky and found a set on craigslist. I was looking hard at the currie 9" diff made for our trucks, but it uses 35 spline axles and that raises the price of the carrier and 3rd by alot.

 

The currie one is a very nice part and it's hard to count it out. That thing will be over kill for sure in there. I am sure I could probably find a 3rd and get it together but just doing some quick searching, it's a $4K endeavor out the door...

This whole thing has lead me to having to take a hard look at my future plans for the truck. I have the big aspirations, and then my brain saying no way... I think once I settle on a direction for the next year, I will know what I need to do.

Oh and you can buy housings from Toyota, $890 from the dealer haha

 

Maybe someone should point it out to Currie that they would sell a whole lot more of those if they shipped them with 31 spline axles. Even 28 spline axles for the car third member would be plenty strong enough for most people.

 

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I think your best option is to look hard for a used axle from a similar truck until you find it.

If you go the custom route with either of these companies (diamond, currie, dynatrac, etc.) it's going to be overkill - even if you just want an empty housing to transplant everything - and very expensive if they could make what you need. It would be worth it if you had plans to build a rig for more aggressive wheeling. But for just a replacement axle not worth it IMHO.

 

Thank you for your thought out reply!

My only concern is I drive my truck pretty hard... even in its current condition. Always trying to haul ass over the whoops or climb stupid stuff. I bent a spindle recently and I think about it all the time now when I wheel. I don't want to worry about a rear housing as well. Or maybe I could just stop driving my truck like I stole it haha haha.

 

That's a good start lol.

Well, if you like to push your truck hard then build it right and don't look back. Gotta pay if you wanna play

 

tundra axle?

 

Hi Tom!

I've been trying to read up on this but I don't think the ABS, brakes, speedo stuff is compatible. Or if it is I am not sure I have the time to figure out that mess...

Right now I'm thinking in three directions...

1. The diamond housing swap with all factory parts inside. It's cheapest (besides a stock housing) and it has some extra beef over stock. It also allows the retention of factory everything.

2. The fuck it approach... Get a ruff stuff custom housing and whatever axles, hubs and brakes I want. Most factory features are out at this point, but it's super simple and super strong. This can be done for probably $2k with some cheaper parts that are on the market, Taco doesn't need crazy stuff.

3. The middle of the road, the F9 from Currie. It's way overkill with 35 spline axles. They have really done their homework and all the factory brakes, sensors, etc all bolt up. The only thing is I have to find a 9" 3rd member to install as well. This is also the most expensive version as it's probably close to $4k with the Air locker. But the most comprehensive and it has it all.

I just need to decide what I want to ultimately do here and it will get me pointed in the right direction... Tom you know me, impulsive and I change directions with the build. But you know I always seem to run hard no matter how much I say I'm gunna chill... so ya.

 

Anthony from DTF has a 2nd gen Tundra axle on his truck and that sh!t is wide!

If you're just bending or twisting the housing you could truss it - gotta do it right not to bend it though. Enough long travel guys do it to find some info on it.

 

Let me throw some more money into the mix. You would have people bowing at your feet with 1 of these in that Currie axle.
http://www.truehi9.com

 

I have a Dynatrac ProRock 60 being built for me so I cannot comment on the Currie at all. I will say that the price on the Dynatrac website is solely for housing, that price does NOT include gears, locker, wheel bearings, gaskets, or possible drive shaft shortening that is also needed for it to actually work.

I will not comment on what I paid out the door as I won the ProRock 60, but the giveaway did not include the rest of the stuff, so I will keep the price that I am paying to have a complete rear end built and shipped between myself and Dynatrac.

I will say that I am having 4.56 gears put in along with an ARB Airlocker installed, so when it gets delivered all I need to do is swap over ABS, Lines, Put New Wheel Bearings, and so forth and should be good to go.

If you are not about crawling or such, I would say your best bet honestly would be to find a used elocker rear end that someone has removed or will be removing... IE like me, and put that in your truck and then upgrade gears for those 35" tires that you want to run.

 

I thought that too, but I called then and they said that they can't do a smaller spline do the the size of the bearing to spline ratio ( or something like that). And thats why no one else makes replacements other than toyota.

 

If you are not abusing the truck and not rock crawling put another elocker rear under it. If not abused it should hold up fine, evem with crawling on 35s. You can buy 2 more housings as spares for same price as options you have explored. If not crawling it should hold up fine in my opionion and people run them with 35s and wheel the pissed out of them without much trouble.

 

Isn't the Dynatrac axle the most expensive option? I'm still curious why its so much more expensive than the Currie, I must be overlooking something?

 

I'm gonna have diamond build me a full float 9.5" rear with disk brakes and Arb locker. They quoted me around $6K. I already have a fully built diamond in front. And that was around $7K after shipping.

 

I'm with this guy. Get another housing and have a fab shop truss it up.

 

Trust me I am really considering a stock housing as well... But if this one is bent, probably from my hard uses, I will just bend another one.

Yes you can truss factory rear axles. And this is something I have considered. I know a lot of people have done it. But I am not convinced to at what level of success. My axle is 1.5 degrees in on the drives and 1 degree in on the passenger. I find it hard to believe that some guy or even small shop can truss an axle and have it land square, even with weld patterns. I have been welding for 20 years now and I know for certain that this thing is gunna move. The guys that have done it, they probably ate tires or drove it in more dirt than roads and never noticed the issue. Like a few have said, you can drive with a rear axle bend and it doesn't always effect the trucks drive-ability.

That said you can have a shop like currie or others straighten a trussed axle and that is not something I have completely looked into yet. It's actually a common thing the real axle builders do. They truss and machine after welding or straighten. The other issue is also axles. If there were some nice chromoly axles I could pick up it would make a strong case to go ahead with trussing and better axles, but I haven't found a source for those either... So ya...

HOWEVER, PLEASE KEEP THE INPUT COMING!!!! Just because I have a specific need doesn't mean this isn't great info to help others. And you guys have really helped me confirm ideas and work through stuff in my head.

Ultimately it's like this, no I am not a rock crawler, no I am not a pre-runner. I am a jack of many styles. I hit the rocks and technical trails hard, and I love to drive 75 mph in the dirt until my suspension can't keep up. I don't need a crazy axle but stock just doesn't seem like the right fit for my "style" of wheeling hahahaha.

 

And with that note I got to doing a little thinking and shot an email to a great machinist that does this sort of thing. Thinking of maybe buying an elocker housing, replacing the tubes with something thicker, truss and having him tru it up. I will see what he comes back with price wise. If it's north of $800 to build and straighten I might as well go diamond...

 

Someone should come up with a Ford 8.8 swap kit.There's literally gazillions out there.