F150 axle shaft tech

[blazinchuck]

Aight, after a short problem with the upper radiator hose yesterday...i thought i would install the f150 short shaft i got last weekend. installed a new spicer joint and began doing the swap.

at a glance, everything looked ok...except the spindle would not bolt on. so i removed everything and began to measure- the f150 inner was 1/2 longer than the EB inner!!

i know Ive heard this is a good upgrade, but i think there is alot of misinformed info out there. I decided to cut the shaft, bandsaw didnt want no part...so i used a cut-off wheel on the angle grinder.

bolted everything up and everything looked right(WRONG), i couldnt move the stub shaft at all! it was bound inside the spindle.couldnt install the locking hub. so i began removing everything again...now the inner shaft WONT come out! it took some hammering,chisel,pry bar,etc...and alot of cursing!! i finally got it out, and could see where i bolted in the spindle(was really pressing in the shaft...on the shoulder just behind the splines)

so whats the real deal??? do i need to chamfer that area behind the splines on the shaft? the EB shaft has a smaller area compared to the f150 inner. i dont have pics right now, but i can get them posted later this evening.

i wasted a lot of time yesterday, and have searched this many times...only to find "its a bolt in" "you may have to trim a 1/8""


i already have a chromo long side with spicer, i just wanted to upgrade the short side since i busted it a few weeks ago

[bucketobolts]

I ran a full size Chevy short shaft, but I had the Chevy disc conversion also.

[blazinchuck]

just found this great page and info

[COLOR="Red"]Early Bronco Dana 44 axle: The came with a Dana 44 starting in 1971, but the Dana 30 can also be found in that year. All EB's had 5-260 style u-joint axles from Ford, they never had the 297 style.. Thus it is a popular option to swap axle shafts for the large size. Most common is to swap the short or stub side, as it is so easy to do. Check main page for axle shaft chart, as it lists the different shafts you can swap in..
, It's a common swap to use an F150 short side shaft to replace the EB shaft. This is to increase the u-joint from a 260 to a 297. The EB shaft is 18 5/16" and the F150 shaft is 18 5/8 to 29/32". Thus it's common for the F150 shaft to be trimmed to fit on the pumpkin side. However the Chevy Dana 44 shaft is 18 1/2" so it would work better as an inner shaft than the F150. Also a Dodge W100 from 1972.5 - 74 with B.O.M. 603413 has the exact same length axle shaft at18 5/16" but with a 297 u-joint![/COLOR]

http://77cj.littlekeylime.com/web_rs44.html

[SC74]

Good Info and reading Chuck... hate that you wasted your time and energy on what others said would work.

[chuzie]

Dude, you got this info off a site titled "77 CJ." Need I say more?

[blazinchuck]

Dude, you got this info off a site titled "77 CJ." Need I say more?

dont you have some flowers to plant or something in Tampa now:thefinger:

and i didnt get "IT" from that site...it came from classic, but its funny that no ones taking over there. I called them OUT!

[broncosbybart]

That sucks! Live and learn, right? I was under the impression that the short side axles were the same as well. Makes sense that they aren't. I know that the housing is slightly longer on that side on a full width axle. Thanks for sharing that.

If you had that 2wd streetrod done, you wouldn't have to worry about it

The more I see those street rods, the more i like them! I think it'd be sweet to put a 4cyl eco tech in one (mileage and power).

[chuzie]

Here is the other chart.

There is no data on shaft diameter other than the spline diameter. So, there is really no way of knowing. Trial and error man.

[broncosbybart]

Chuzie, what are those funny looking things in the background? Doesn't look like a Bronco to me...

[chuzie]

Well, considering they came from a Jeep site, I can only surmise they are jeeps.