Pickle's Solid Axle Swap

[cgalpha08]

Ah, that makes sense, I imagine you off-road however? I might seriously consider the $4000 deal for the J8 front and rear axle I mentioned earlier if they are willing to ship, both axles use the same bolt pattern, designed for the JK series and the D60 is narrowed quite a bit, and they are basically brand new

I do a fair bit yes. Idk much about the j8 axles or the differences between all of the jk/jl axles so I'm afraid I'm not much help there.

You can probably find a set of ford super duty axles locally for cheap

 

[pickledill]

Well update time. I got a D60 and a D44 for $4300. they do apparently use ram 1500 brakes from what I've read, theres not much info on these axles. I do really like how the brakes are on my h3, probably the most solid and firm brakes I've ever used but maybe thats all down to how you adjust them.

I am also doing a engine swap with the axle swap. Just pulled my 6.2 out of its donor and will probably get the entire block redone

 

[rascole]

Good find, you have your work cut out for you, but it will be worth it.

 

[cgalpha08]

Well update time. I got a D60 and a D44 for $4300. they do apparently use ram 1500 brakes from what I've read, theres not much info on these axles. I do really like how the brakes are on my h3, probably the most solid and firm brakes I've ever used but maybe thats all down to how you adjust them.

I am also doing a engine swap with the axle swap. Just pulled my 6.2 out of its donor and will probably get the entire block redone
View attachment 33689

I'm following! Interested to see where you take this!

 

[pickledill]

Minor update, I know this thread is me mostly babbling about and I'm awful at structuring my paragraphs but maybe one day someone will find it useful.

I did some width measuring today.

My current setup with the aftermarket wheels it came with is 77" maybe 78" I didn't do a good job tbh in the snow
Factory vehicle width is 74.7 according to google but lets call it 75"
These new axles and 0mm offset wheels with 11.5" wide tires will come out to exactly 77 (76.9") on paper



so it seems that it will be exactly like my current setup, which I can't say I'm too fond of. The clear coat on my rear fenders no longer exist from rocks, I can't say if thats from not running mudflaps or the wheels stick out out past the fenders, going with the later because I don't think GM would let that roll off the production line with such a huge flaw


I could run wheels that do have a 18mm offset which would bring it down to 75.7" but man those wheels are UGLY and heavy, I'm pretty picky on wheel options and I've only found one other set which look much better, I'm also not sure what kind of backspacing I need, jeep people run about 4.7" maximum on 35's but I'm not a jeep so I don't know

The polished one is what I have selected so far, not a fan of it being 9" wide or the hub bore(can be fixed) but I'm pretty picky. The black one I might consider, I don't think it looks anywhere as good and the brand name does not scream reliable to me

 

[cgalpha08]

I think you should get the axles under the truck, centered, and then measure for wheels. I only say this as there is a lot of crap you gotta stuff in there and a wheel that is that "sucked in" might have some rubbing issues.

 

[EndeavoredH3]

X2, figure out how the axles will sit before committing to a wheel.

I’d grab some cheapos for moving it around/fabricating. Then when you’re confident you know where it’s all going to end up, commit to a set of wheels.