2 1/2 ton Army Axles

[timmirvin]

Are these in high demand/worth checking into.

I live just south of Ft Polk. And a couple ex-GIs have bought an old trucking yard and it appears that they are buying and salvaging old Army equipment. Not sure if they are going thru DRMO or have a contract with DOD/DOA.

WHen I left to go offshore last week they had 10 or 15 old 2 1/2 tons, 4 or 5 5 tons, and a bunch of water buffaloes, trailers, milvan dollies, etc.

Is this something I should check into when I get back on land??????

[Stuka]

Ahh rockwells. They are VERY heavy. If your going to be running 42-49" tires it would be worth looking into them. Otherwise they arent worth it IMHO.

[blt2krl]

Originally posted by Stuka:
Ahh rockwells. They are VERY heavy. If your going to be running 42-49" tires it would be worth looking into them. Otherwise they arent worth it IMHO.I'll second those sentements as well.

[FSJeeper]

Go back and see if they have any Chevy military CUCV trucks or Ambulances. They have the Dana 60 and 14 bolt rear which are perfect for our FSJ's.

If they know what they have, be prepared to spend at least $1,500 for a set.

[80258WT]

GO ROCKWELLS!! they are pretty cheap compared to a built fd60 and aren't that much heavier if you take off the drum brakes and get a pinion brake. I think they weight like 650 and a fd60 wheighs 510. The only downfall is that they only accept 6.7 axle gears and detroits but that is perfect for the new Super swamper IROK's in the 49".

[Stuka]

hey 80258WT: do you have any picts of your rig?

[Gwamp]

Note: You can convert these drum braked pigs to disc if you want. This avoids the clearence pitfall of the pinion brake. They come in 1 ton and 2.5 ton disc flavors. I have seriously considered stuffing a set under a rig at some point. Of course this would involve major mods especially in the front. they are not that much heavier than a 14 bolt/60 combo. What is a couple of hundred extra pounds on a FSJ anyways? :D Of course there are many other issues to deal with like gearing and steering but it is a doable deal.

[Stuka]

a few hundred extra pounts IN the fsj isnt a big deal. Its the fact that its unsprung weight. Which would want to try and keep down if possible.

[HeepofaJeep]

Originally posted by Stuka:
a few hundred extra pounts IN the fsj isnt a big deal. Its the fact that its unsprung weight. Which would want to try and keep down if possible.I would think that a couple extra hundred pounds would be much better added to unsprung weight than sprung weight.

Sprung weight-higher center of gravity and more topheavy.

Unsprung weight-lower center of gravity and less topheavy. If you are going to add any weight, I would try to keep it as low as possible.

[Will Morris]

Unsprung weight is also what makes the suspension move on a rockcrawler. Totally depends on your application, but yeah, I'll be looking to swap to 2.5 tons or something slightly exotic eventually. If you aren't driving it on the street much, I'd seriously consider rockwells. I'd go with them if I had to do it over again. We'll just have to wait and see what I come up with.

Will

[Stuka]

yeah depends what your doing. For the street having a lot of unsprung weight cann make for some nasty driving. (if put onto a vehicle without the sprung weight too counter act it)

but then if you have rockwells, i doubt its gona see much street hehe.

[80258WT]

Originally posted by Stuka:
hey 80258WT: do you have any picts of your rig?No not right now, but it is in progress and i am about 80% done with the buildup, but i am a poor bastard and it probably won't be finished on the trail for a couple more months (my ultimate goal is ejs next april). I have to get a digi cam first and that takes a 300 dollar bite out of my jeep cash. I need to rebuild the engine, tranny, front axle, make an exo cage and make a flexy front suspension (soa w/44044's w/out one of the leaves and bilstein 7100 shocks). I would love to get it finished but i am about 5 grand away right now. :D I had it drivable on 60's and coilovers all winter but it drove like crap and i want to max out the bling. SORRY FOR THE POST HIJACK

[TPICherokee]

I would be interested in some of the 2.5 ton axles. Let me know what you can come up with and I will get back to you. I think that my M715 needs some heavier axles for the 47" tires I will put on it. Thanks.

Brent

[seadog]

I might be interested also.I live pretty close to Ft. Polk also.

[Navajo]

I am looking for some 2.5 tons too if they where the right price

[BIG BAD JON]

$300 for a digicam? I paid $50 for mine. It takes some halfway decent pics... really good as long as you get the lighting right...

Its a Concord Eye-Q Go! Its pretty impressive for its size and price tag.

[FSJeeper]

The initial cost is not the problem with duece or bigger axles, it is the cost to modify them them for discs and set them up properly on a FSJ.

I have seen duece axles for as low as $150 each and there is a guy in Dallas selling them right now for $300 each. If you shop around you can get them cheap.

I have been going to the surplus auctions for years until they put everything on the net and drove the prices up way out of site. I have literally seen hundreds of dueces for for $25 for the whole truck at auctions.

Shop around and you can get them cheap, but be prepared to spend a lot setting them up.

[timmirvin]

I work midnite to noon right now....so haven't been ignoring everyone....

When I get back in I will check with the guys to see what they are doing with all the equipment I have been watching accumulate in their yard.

As for the pick-ups, I have seen a couple, but I think they are driving them. I cannot remember if there was an ambulance in the yard, but I think there was a maintenance contact truck, and that is the one that would have had the heaviest axles, IIRC.

[JeepnFirefighter]

Hey timmirvin if its not any trouble could you check and see for me how much they want for the 2 1/2 tons? Im planning on putting some on my Bronco.

[timmirvin]

Yep, sure can, that is if they are selling them. Not sure what they are doing with all this "stuff". So what happens if we have to buy the whole d**n duece????

Might make a pretyy good tow rig.......there I go again..... smile.gif ;)

[Cary]

Hi all,

Yesterday at the 4WD shop that I do some electrical troubleshooting for, I talked to a guy that is pretty advanced in Rockcrawling game. He brought the Rockwells in that he got monday from the man listed in the sources in New Boston Texas. I mentioned some of the problems that are listed here and got a few answers. The guys at the shop are tearing them apart today ad I will try and get step by step pics of the Rockwell buildup for a YJ with LT1.

The most interesting part is going to be his answer to the braking issues. Big disc driveshaft brakes. I also remember that he is narrowing them 7 inches.

Will keep ya posted on ideas and try and get some good pics.

Cary
the bald GUY

[netbear]

If your rig is off road only I would go for
the Rockwells and 44 inch tires. If you plan
to drive your rig on the street, then a set of
built up D60s would be better.

The Rockwells will require more work to
install than the D60s so a lot depends on
your abilities to do the work or ability
to pay a shop to do the work for you.

[timmirvin]

So...would they have to be narrowed for a WAG?????

[scotty]

WMS to WMS on a front rockwell is huge-something like 76 or 78" ? maybe more? cant remember.they are very,very wide. one trick the rockwell guys use is to flip the front hubs,this mounts the wheel about 4" further inboard per side,but also limits you to using a pinion brake,as no disc or drum will fit the flipped hub

[HeepofaJeep]

FYI the rockwells are exactly 82" wms to wms hubs out (stock) and 70" hubs in (modified) smile.gif

Just curious, what is the wms of a standard widetrack front axle??

[timmirvin]

Originally posted by HeepofaJeep:
Just curious, what is the wms of a standard widetrack front axle??Yeh....what he said????

Now ya'll have gotten me thinking.....

[blt2krl]

WT Jeep axle = 65in wms to wms
Full size truck axles are 69.5in for SRW and 72in for DRW