Narrowing a Rockwell - Page 4 - Competition Diesel.Com

*Chris Tobin* · 01-20-2017, 02:06 PM

Might not be a bad idea to weld a piece of .25-inch plate steel over the welded section on two or four sides of the junction for additional strength. Wouldn't hurt anything and might save your day...

jones95runner · 01-20-2017, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RockinRam96

Wouldn't there be a big weight savings in going to a spool vs welding?

Depends on how much money you have. Your talking 5k+ to put a spool in a rear end, because you have to get axles and such to fit it.

We have less than 2k in a rear end ready to run with a 6.20 gears and 4 custom aluminum wheels from real, also our rear is 94" outside to outside with 16x12 wheels on factory alum sqhd hubs.

reddline · 01-20-2017, 03:31 PM

You can get custom axles from SCS or TRB, any spline you want, not much more than shelf axles, and don't take too long to get.

They are double ended, just get 2" 32 spline on outer end, any spline you want on inner end.

I've seen people try to use stock used axles, break on 1st pull, proby were cracked from years of use.

jones95runner · 01-20-2017, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reddline

You can get custom axles from SCS or TRB, any spline you want, not much more than shelf axles, and don't take too long to get.

They are double ended, just get 2" 32 spline on outer end, any spline you want on inner end.

I've seen people try to use stock used axles, break on 1st pull, proby were cracked from years of use.

I have build a handfull of custom sqhds. Last one I did ended up with over 5k in parts. My personal truck still runs a stock form sqhd with alum wheels. To each and their own but on the 5k I saved on losing 200# will go a long way on a motor. We have 4 sqhds in stock form running around here with I'd say close to 500 combined hooks and I've never seen a carrier or a a stock axle break.

SledPuller21 · 01-20-2017, 05:59 PM

If you ran cuts those stock axles wouldn't last long. And for most guys, I think 5k in a sheet metal rear to save 250lbs and have a bulletproof rear end is well worth it, most of our customers have also felt the same way. There is no consolation prize for who spends the least money, at the same time there's nothing wrong with building on a budget.

jones95runner · 01-20-2017, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SledPuller21

If you ran cuts those stock axles wouldn't last long. And for most guys, I think 5k in a sheet metal rear to save 250lbs and have a bulletproof rear end is well worth it, most of our customers have also felt the same way. There is no consolation prize for who spends the least money, at the same time there's nothing wrong with building on a budget.

I like building on a budget. All I have is a 40hr paycheck to pull on lol. But where can you get a sheetmetal rear end ready to go for 5k?

Last rear I built we had over 5k in parts and that wasn't counting a housing and that was shopiping around quite a bit for the best prices

Inbred Inline · 01-20-2017, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jones95runner

I like building on a budget. All I have is a 40hr paycheck to pull on lol. But where can you get a sheetmetal rear end ready to go for 5k?

Last rear I built we had over 5k in parts and that wasn't counting a housing and that was shopiping around quite a bit for the best prices

I was thinking this too, I know I have seen $12k for a turn key axle before

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jones95runner · 01-20-2017, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inbred Inline

I was thinking this too, I know I have seen $12k for a turn key axle before

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If I remember right we had around 6500 oem housing but everything else done right with a alum rear cover. And that was no labor. I think I was looking at around 7700 for a sheetmetal axle and I believe most wanted 8500+ for a turn key. Proformance pros being near the 10k range.

SledPuller21 · 01-20-2017, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jones95runner

I like building on a budget. All I have is a 40hr paycheck to pull on lol. But where can you get a sheetmetal rear end ready to go for 5k?

Last rear I built we had over 5k in parts and that wasn't counting a housing and that was shopiping around quite a bit for the best prices

I was referring to having 5k more in a sheet metal than factory housing. We build sheetmetal rears for $6800. That's aluminum hubs, all bearings and seals, driver plates, axles, mini spool, new 6.20 gears and factory 3rd member.

SledPuller21 · 01-20-2017, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inbred Inline

I was thinking this too, I know I have seen $12k for a turn key axle before

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And harts charges twice what our 3.6 charger costs and makes less power so don't think cost means all that much...

Inbred Inline · 01-20-2017, 07:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SledPuller21

And harts charges twice what our 3.6 charger costs and makes less power so don't think cost means all that much...

Oh I agree money doesn't always win, your sheet metal rear end seems reasonable to me, didn't know anyone was building them that cheap honestly.

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bigstacks95 · 01-20-2017, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SledPuller21

I was referring to having 5k more in a sheet metal than factory housing. We build sheetmetal rears for $6800. That's aluminum hubs, all bearings and seals, driver plates, axles, mini spool, new 6.20 gears and factory 3rd member.

Thats a great price!! How much does your bare housing weigh? Housing axle tubes and spindles I mean.

SledPuller21 · 01-20-2017, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigstacks95

Thats a great price!! How much does your bare housing weigh? Housing axle tubes and spindles I mean.

138lbs

bigstacks95 · 01-20-2017, 09:16 PM

Impressive

jones95runner · 01-20-2017, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SledPuller21

I was referring to having 5k more in a sheet metal than factory housing. We build sheetmetal rears for $6800. That's aluminum hubs, all bearings and seals, driver plates, axles, mini spool, new 6.20 gears and factory 3rd member.

Not a bad price but when you said sheetmetal I guess I assumed full spool also. Thats what ended up driving our last build over the top. Dang full spool was almost 2k. Which would bring a sheetmetal rear over 8k.

I wished I would have weighed the stock housing one I just did. With the alum cover, spindles bearings hubs and all installed I picked it up.by hand and sat it in the back of my truck. I was actually very impressed with how light it was.

SledPuller21 · 01-21-2017, 06:30 AM

Full spool in ours puts it at $7800. Mini spools will take the abuse, but full spools saves some weight.

97crewcab · 01-21-2017, 07:33 AM

There have been enough places that have come out of the woodwork that now supply open driveline parts that there must be a demand for it. Not to mention the increase in cost in parts like the jump in the fab housing cost from advanced chassis at the end of 2015.

I am with Jones95runner on this. A budget axle will work for me.

Greensburg machine also has a mini spool for stock axles for under $500.
I need to find a scale that will weigh my parts to see where I end up with my axle.

jones95runner · 01-21-2017, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 97crewcab

There have been enough places that have come out of the woodwork that now supply open driveline parts that there must be a demand for it. Not to mention the increase in cost in parts like the jump in the fab housing cost from advanced chassis at the end of 2015.

I am with Jones95runner on this. A budget axle will work for me.

Greensburg machine also has a mini spool for stock axles for under $500.
I need to find a scale that will weigh my parts to see where I end up with my axle.

Yes it is nice that several places are picking up the parts for these axles now. I built mine over 6 years ago when there wasn't very many options to do stuff. Yes it is a little heavy, but at the time i needed to spend money on fuel and air more than i needed to have 10k in a axle and wheel setup. It has treated me well best I can tell. Now days there are several different ways you can go about it makes it nice.

duramaxzak · 01-21-2017, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SledPuller21

Full spool in ours puts it at $7800. Mini spools will take the abuse, but full spools saves some weight.

Do you use Advanced chassis's sheetmetal housing? I want to build one, but have heard of issues with them twisting.

Is there any othe options out there for sheetmetal SQHD housings?

reddline · 01-21-2017, 02:05 PM

The stamped factory housing has a good weight to strength ratio, no need for sheetmetal housings, waste of money.

The ones I've seen don't have any carrier bearing caps supports built into them, which means you can't use an alum dropout.
And it's not safe to use even a cast iron dropout with out cap supports.

If you narrow up a stock housing, it ends up pretty reasonable on weight, gonna be certainly lighter than a dana 80 housing.

01-20-2017, 02:06 PM	#61
Chris Tobin Name: Chris Tobin Title: Too Much Time Status: Not Here Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Dayton, TN Member`s Gallery Posts: 2,662	Might not be a bad idea to weld a piece of .25-inch plate steel over the welded section on two or four sides of the junction for additional strength. Wouldn't hurt anything and might save your day... __________________ Chris Tobin Editor--Ultimate Diesel Builder's Guide Freelance Editor and Photographer Working with DIESEL WORLD, DIRT SPORTS, MUSCLE CAR POWER & STREET TRUCKS magazines tobinemail@aol.com I might be able to help get you in a mag. Custom poster size photos available. PM or email for info.

01-20-2017, 05:59 PM	#65
SledPuller21 Name: SledPuller21 Title: Never enough Status: Not Here Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Pa Member`s Gallery Posts: 2,214	If you ran cuts those stock axles wouldn't last long. And for most guys, I think 5k in a sheet metal rear to save 250lbs and have a bulletproof rear end is well worth it, most of our customers have also felt the same way. There is no consolation prize for who spends the least money, at the same time there's nothing wrong with building on a budget. __________________ 2007.5 6.7 QCSB 6in Superlift Murdered on BMF 20's 1995 ECLB-"Strung Out" 2003 QCLB "Strung Out II" 2013 USA-East Open 2.6 points champion Apex Diesel Performance & Machine

01-20-2017, 09:16 PM	#74
bigstacks95 Name: bigstacks95 Title: Diesel Doc Status: Not Here Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Falls Village, CT Member`s Gallery Posts: 2,030	Impressive __________________ --Dave-- 58 Dodge Power Wagon 3.0 Limited Pro Stock diesel pulling truck 2020 Ram 3500 HO/Aisin Laramie/night tow rig

01-21-2017, 06:30 AM	#76
SledPuller21 Name: SledPuller21 Title: Never enough Status: Not Here Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Pa Member`s Gallery Posts: 2,214	Full spool in ours puts it at $7800. Mini spools will take the abuse, but full spools saves some weight. __________________ 2007.5 6.7 QCSB 6in Superlift Murdered on BMF 20's 1995 ECLB-"Strung Out" 2003 QCLB "Strung Out II" 2013 USA-East Open 2.6 points champion Apex Diesel Performance & Machine

01-21-2017, 07:33 AM	#77
97crewcab Name: 97crewcab Title: Wrong. Status: Not Here Join Date: Aug 2006 Member`s Gallery Posts: 2,804	There have been enough places that have come out of the woodwork that now supply open driveline parts that there must be a demand for it. Not to mention the increase in cost in parts like the jump in the fab housing cost from advanced chassis at the end of 2015. I am with Jones95runner on this. A budget axle will work for me. Greensburg machine also has a mini spool for stock axles for under $500. I need to find a scale that will weigh my parts to see where I end up with my axle. __________________ 94, 95, 96, 97 Dodge Videos Facebook

01-20-2017, 03:31 PM	#63
reddline Name: reddline Title: Diesel Enthusiast Status: Not Here Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Iowa Member`s Gallery Posts: 126	You can get custom axles from SCS or TRB, any spline you want, not much more than shelf axles, and don't take too long to get. They are double ended, just get 2" 32 spline on outer end, any spline you want on inner end. I've seen people try to use stock used axles, break on 1st pull, proby were cracked from years of use.

01-21-2017, 02:05 PM	#80
reddline Name: reddline Title: Diesel Enthusiast Status: Not Here Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Iowa Member`s Gallery Posts: 126	The stamped factory housing has a good weight to strength ratio, no need for sheetmetal housings, waste of money. The ones I've seen don't have any carrier bearing caps supports built into them, which means you can't use an alum dropout. And it's not safe to use even a cast iron dropout with out cap supports. If you narrow up a stock housing, it ends up pretty reasonable on weight, gonna be certainly lighter than a dana 80 housing.