full floating rear(with discs of course)

[scotty]

i have been kicking around the notion of making a full floating rear by using front parts. im thinking it would be easy as pie to attact a front spindle to the rear flange. then you could bolt on everyting from the front right on-hub(with a lockout!),rotor,etc. and the only thing youd need would be a custom axleshaft.

anyne have any experience with having axleshafts replined,cut down,or custom made?

for the shoort side, you could maybe cut down and spline a lnger side,so maybe only 1 custom shaft would be needed...

it would absolutely kick Great Googley MoogleyGreat Googley MoogleyGreat Googley MoogleyGreat Googley MoogleyGreat Googley Moogley to hook up the towbar,and unlock 4 hubs when im on my way to the woods!

ur thots? smile.gif

[Snakeyes_Tx]

Just use a Dana60 and rig it with Disc brakes? I believe Warn makes a hub kit for them to be unlockable. I know the Dana60-2 has the 6 inch offset for Quadratrac's so I know they're out there. Being Nodular Iron, you can always shave down the bottom half so it doesn't hang so much, and it's easy to convert a 44 front to a 44HD by changing the parts from the knuckle out to the hub. It's just a different backing plate, stub shaft, and rotor and bearing set. The 1/2 ton brakes are the same.

[Stuka]

The AMC20 is also a full floater and warn makes a premium hub kit for them as well. My uncle has themm onn his rig so he can tow it.

[jeepbob]

The AMC 20 is NOT a full floater. Full floating axles mean that there is no vehicle weight on the axle shaft itself. The spindle carries all the weight. Warn makes a kit to convert some CJ axles into a full floating rear although I do not remember which ones for sure I believe it is the D44.
You could put a drivers side drop d44f in the rear, lock the tierods with a bracket in the center (like GM did when they put pontiac 6000 drivetrain in the rear of the fiero) or make a 4 wheel steer unit with a hyd cylinder.

[Stuka]

jeepBob; ok my bad i guess. My uncle has a VERY nicely set up 76 CJ5 with a AMC20 rear. he put in forged single piece axles, and has rear locking hubs (warn premiums) and said the rear was now a full floater.

[Shake N Bake]

Neat idea... sounds kinda pricey tho... Why not just go to the wreckers get yourself a dime-a-dozen 14 bolt full floater, move some perches; Buy the (rather common now) disc brake kit and call it good? smile.gif

Andy

[scotty]

jeepbob,i have been thinking of going that route as well. i need to sit my narrow trac driver side 44 housing under there and look at how feasible that might be. would then leave that door open for rear steering someday,which would be really cool :D

the only thing i dont really like bout that deal is that unless ball joints,tierods,etc. are in tip top shape there would be alittle movement. i guess i could make something solid to keep the knuckles from moving. hmmmmm...

there are a couple of reasons that i dont want a d60 or corp 14 bolt: i like my d44 ground clearance. i can cruise right thru some really gnarly ruts with my clearanced offset 44s,and swapping in a corp 14 bolt would be like dropping tire size to 33s :eek: a 60 isnt much better,and most of them that you find are 30 spline,1.31" shafts,which are the same size as the 44. until i start breaking pinions or ring gears on a regualr basis,1 ton running gear is not needed,ill stick with my 11.5 inches of under diff clearance,thank you.

also,i have several 15 inch tires. so if i swapped in 1 ton running gear,id still need to run a 15 inch wheel,and 8 lug 15 inch wheels are not common in cheap,used condition,so id have to buy new ones at $50+ apiece. the 8 lug HD 44 does use a larger rotor(does take same caliper,but the rotor is different),so some creative grinding will be needed to make the 15 ich wheels fit.

making my own full floating 44 will let me use common front brake parts,lockouts,etc., let me keep very common 6 lug wheels,have no clearance prollems with the 15" wheels,and(dep on cost of custom shafts) hopefully cost half of what an aftermarket full floater 44 kit would cost( if they even make it for the widetrac 44 im using) and prolly half of what a lockout kit for a d60 would cost,since that would have to come with custom shafts,and prolly even a different hub assembly. and best of all,i could still cruise right thru the ruts that all my friends get high centered on tongue.gif plus,you could always use warn fusible hubs in the rear,which would make it very,very unlikely that youd ever break an axleshaft.

the front deal could maybe be done for almost nothing! ill have to look into that alittle further...

[ October 02, 2001: Message edited by: scotty ]

[Michael F]

Scotty, have you fixed your rear axle yet?

I vote for the rear front axle setup, it sounds like a hole lot less trouble. You could mount a stearing box to hold it in line and lock the input shaft to it down untill you can rig up the stearing!

[Stuka]

Well if you go with a front to rear setup...i would be concerned about keeping themm perfectly straight while driving. The back end would want to drif side to side. Also, if you did rig up steering...your gona need to make the rear wheel wells deaper soo the tires dont rub.

[scotty]

mike i did fix the disc brakes,in the form of a properly spaced flat bracket that is welded directly to the axlehousing.i an now use a new set of pads with the heavy duty k1500 rotors,and it is working much better. the turnig brake works now as well-i had both driver side wheels just barely on the ground and the turning rake actually let me back out under my own power instead of having to be rescued. pretty cool.

i had reinstalled my taperd blocks backwards to fix the pinion angle,but it was not quite enuff. that put the pinion just alittle shy(still pointing upwards) of beibg perfectly straight with the drivesahft,and the very soft springs,even with clamps,still let it move enuff to break u joints. this week i will be griding the perches off to rotate the housing,and workig on finding a set of chevy lift springs to use in the rear so i can eliminate the blocks.

i got to lookin at stuff and thinkin about it,and actually,im thinkin using front parts on the rear housing would be easier,just more expensive dep. on the cost of the cstom shafts.the front springs are closer together than the rear, so unless i move the leaf springs inboard to match the pads on the rear front end(did that make sense? :confused: ) i would have very little steering ability cause the tires would prolly hit the rear leaf springs very quickly.

it would be really esay to attach the front spindle to the rear axle. all that is needed is to mill it flat(which ive allready done) and either drill some holes or add some studs to bolt it on,taking care to get it exactly centered,of course. then all the front stuff will bolt right onto the spindle.

i am thinkig it may be a good idea to still press a bearing and collar onto the shaft so that it doesnt want to walk out.what are your thots on that? i dont know if there would be enuff lateral movement that the lockout would not hold it in or not.that would mean that youd have to take it all apart and remove the spindle to slide the axleshaft out,but that wouldnt be any different than the front.

ur thots?

[Mud Thrasher]

Hey Scotty, don't they make full floating kits for like CJ's and all? Maybe I'm showing my ignorance but couldn't you get one and make it work on your rig? A friend of mine that is on here took his cj and put locking hubs on his so he could flat tow it. Don't remember if it was full floating or not. But the thought of rear disc's does sound kewl though.