Brakes Delima

Went to do rear brakes and ran into major issues, now need whole rear end.

Couldn't get the passenger side rear brake drum off so I checked where the leak was and tightened the brake line and it stopped, checked fluid in m/c bone dry filled it pumped pedal but no brakes, m/c empty again, the drivers side wheel cylinder blew, started, took off wheel and drum was split in half from the brake shoe wearing it too thin.

now the real issue, can't get the drums off and they are a weird set up, not sure if it's the right rear end or not, one guy says yes another says no.

Ever see a setup like this? The differential number is 741 last 3 #s

drums off.

Don't know what it is but I can see how it's put together...
Looks like chrysler or amc. anyway you'll have to pull the hub off the axle then press out the wheel studs to get the drum off.
I can't see the center section if it's a c clip axle you might be able to pull the axle without removing the hub but if it uses wheel bearing retainers bolted to the axle flange inside the drum...you'll have to pop the hub off the axle.
they make a puller. heat applied to the hub will help as will shock. to shock a pressed taper you place one hammer on one side and strike the hub on the other side to pinch it around the taper shaft. the microscopic distortion breaks the press fit.
It works on ball joints and tie rods but that hub and axle look like they are seriously mated

I'm just gonna jerk the whole rear end and replace it, I need some ideas as to what else will fit and be an easy swap.

how about a center to center measurement on those spring perches? might make it easier to guess what miay fit... then again, with a gas axe and a mig, ANYTHING will fit!

43 1/2" center to center spring perch

Alright I really need some help here

I found rear ends out of later model Dodges 86 and they have the same measurements for the spring perches, any other reason they will not work?

Is the driveshaft hookup the same?

I can get one from the U Pull it for $70.00 exchange

liljgoneman said:

how about a center to center measurement on those spring perches? might make it easier to guess what miay fit... then again, with a gas axe and a mig, ANYTHING will fit!

Click to expand...

Yup...
After I acquired a little grinder, torches, and a buzzbox I stopped researching what fits and just started making things fit...
I lost my mig to pawn but I can gas weld the thinner stuff really good. I have seen old steam pipes gas welded and i took welding classes long time ago so with the right tips you wouldn't even need a stick welder if you had the torches.

Only other things I can think of are if they match track width measure (flange to flange) and pinion yolk size. And I can't see either being a problem. Maybe a Dodge guru will chime in.

Might even want to start a new thread with 'Dodge rear axle questions?'

rear end width

check this out, this question has been asked many times. save the link.
http://www.carnut.com/specs/rear.html

LOWANDRATY said:

check this out, this question has been asked many times. save the link.
http://www.carnut.com/specs/rear.html

Click to expand...

Doesn't really help my situation cause it doesn't mention truck bodies.[S As I said before the measurements are the same just worried about matching to the drive shaft, guess I'll find out tomorrow.

Thanks for the link though[cl

rear end

The link is there so you can take hub to hub measurment from your rear end and figure out what is the same width, you would need to cut off and reweld spring mounts, if your going to get a diffrent rear end, get the drive shaft also, that way you could cut the 2 shafts and make 1 work for you, front part to fit your tranny and the rear part to fit the new rear end, you can make anything work with a little time and effort. There are a lot of home made driveshaft here.

other axles

Don't overlook other options.
There are custom u-joints available with 2 different cup sizes for driveshaft/rear axle mismatches.
If you can find a dana 44 rear axle out of an old dodge, ford, international, or gmc it looks small but is an 8.5" ring gear and is rumored to be tougher than the 8.5 gm 10 bolt.
Some older ford f100's had a dana rear with 5 lug wheels but those are rare
Posi units for the dana 44 on ebay are super cheap.
the 8.8 " ford is another good unit.
9" fords are a dime a dozen and they now make new replacement axles splined such that you just cut them to your length in a chop saw

when you set it up you want the pinion on the axle to have the same angle as the transmission shaft. They dont have to line up but they do have to have the same angle.
this can be accomplished with an angle finder that has a bubble level built in. If you were to point the transmission at the rear axle and line up the shafts it would almost never rotate the u-joint bearings and they would flat spot and not last as long.
This is why the factory builds them out of alignment.

you can grind out the welds on the spring pads and reuse them or just get new ones, they are cheap.
Once you have them loose you can reposition them.
I do them one at a time
If I'm keeping the same angle on them I cut one loose, move it. I use 2 magnetic levels. I don't level them I just use the length of the level to eyeball when the loose one matches the angle of the one still welded on the axle tube.
After tacking the losse one on , I do the other one. If you end up a few minutes of a degree off it won't ever matter this isn't milwrights work, everything your attaching to is flexible, It just needs to be close.

If I'm changing the angle I leave the pads loose on the axle and bolt it in loose enough I can move it around till it's right then I weld them up.
some times I take the axle back out after getting them tacked close and make sure I have the same angle on both pads.

I'm hoping to just be able to bolt it right in with no mods.[S

Charley Davidson said:

I'm hoping to just be able to bolt it right in with no mods.[S

Click to expand...

You might get lucky use the ol tape measure till you find the ez one.

you're sweatin the small stuff...

Charley Davidson said:

Doesn't really help my situation cause it doesn't mention truck bodies.[S As I said before the measurements are the same just worried about matching to the drive shaft, guess I'll find out tomorrow.

Thanks for the link though[cl

Click to expand...

g.m. tranny, aftermarket driveshaft, ford 9 inch rear..... STOCK off the shelf $9 U joints.... in this case, parts is parts.