Axle question front and rear ?

[roxxx]

I am not a bogger /off roader and wont be Hauling any trailers . My motor will be at the most a 427 400/450 ish HP
So what should i use for the axles ? Dana 44 or Dana 60, I would even go smaller on the motor if need be . In the passed i have used 60/70/80 but these were diesels . Anyways will the 44 handle the occasional romp with that type of HP

Thank you

[willett]

44 will be fine for occasional use. Just don't hammer the sh*t out of it. Chromo axles might not be a bad decision if you find yourself getting stuck once in a while

['63GENIII]

396 , 5 spd, 44 front and 60 rear. Hasn't had any problems yet.

[andrewmp6]

What year truck and what size tires will you be running?

[wilkin250r]

Although engine size is a factor, axle strength is more related to tire size. Regardless of horsepower, 44 inch tires put significantly more stress on the axle than 29 inch tires.

So the question becomes, what tires are you planning? And you've told us that you're not a bogger/off roader, so what is it that you DO plan on doing with this truck? General use/daily driver? Hauling firewood? Show truck? Street/strip racing?

Are you building from the ground up, or do you have axles already? 400HP isn't obscene, and you're not offroading, so it doesn't sound like you're going to be stressing the axles significantly. I would say whatever you're running right now is probably going to be just fine, provided you have the correct gearing for your application.

[roxxx]

Daily driver/ Highway queen
35 for tires. it is a running leaking truck now with 33 inch . I am thinking a small block 383 or 400 rather than a Big block Just want street gear ,even thinking of a chain drive T case which I have never done before. never used anything But NP205 and D60F for front ends and D70 or D 80 for rears

No need to Haul with it , I have an old cummins and shares in Loctite for that

[wilkin250r]

You could get fancy with the axles if you wanted, but my opinion is that your current axles are plenty strong enough for your application, upgrading is just adding work and costs, both of which could probably be better spent on other areas of the restoration.

[Mr. 250r]

stay with the 44 since its not being beat on

[350TacoZilla]

I will agree with what all have said except you said front and rear. I would suggest these axles

if you want 6 lug run dana 44 front and a 14 bolt SF rear from a heavy 1500 or light 2500 90's truck they are stronger than 44 rear or a 12 bolt and you can keep the bolt pattern the same front and rear.

if you are looking 8 lug then a 44 front with 8 lug hubs and 14 bolt FF rear, they are bullet proof and you can almost trip over them in 70's-2000's trucks 2wd or 4x4 3/4ton-1ton in any junkyard across the country.

also just a tip if you have a 6 lug 44 but want 8 lug you can swap the spindle,backing plates,rotors hubs etc from the weaker 80's 10 bolt 8 lug fronts. You may not need the spindles but some 44's had the smaller bearing spindles.

[roxxx]

Originally Posted by 350TacoZilla

I will agree with what all have said except you said front and rear. I would suggest these axles

if you want 6 lug run dana 44 front and a 14 bolt SF rear from a heavy 1500 or light 2500 90's truck they are stronger than 44 rear or a 12 bolt and you can keep the bolt pattern the same front and rear.

if you are looking 8 lug then a 44 front with 8 lug hubs and 14 bolt FF rear, they are bullet proof and you can almost trip over them in 70's-2000's trucks 2wd or 4x4 3/4ton-1ton in any junkyard across the country.

also just a tip if you have a 6 lug 44 but want 8 lug you can swap the spindle,backing plates,rotors hubs etc from the weaker 80's 10 bolt 8 lug fronts. You may not need the spindles but some 44's had the smaller bearing spindles.

Thank you 350TacoZilla and the rest of you for taking the time to answer .
Very informative . last light duty truck was a 1970 4x4 chev short box stepside I had was when I was 16 or 17 since then its all being Cummins