How to: Easy dana 70 swap in 98ranger

[angelfly]

SO i just got done with swapping a dana 70b in the rear of my 98 ranger, I got sick of blowing shafts and eating up the outer wheel bearings with the shaft! Not to mention im driving a virtually stock truck and have also spun an axle tube so it was time for more beef!!!!

It came in the form of a $50 dana 70 I scored, Its either 31 or 32 spline i cant remeber off the top of my head, Its 4.10 gearing which is a vast improvement over my 3.55s

The truck ended up being extremely low and wide! i gained an extra 2.5in on each side of my rig. . .


So here it goes:

I started with first removing my old housing, along with my driveshaft, rear shocks, I disassembled the outer drum brakes and pulled the ebrake cable out and zip tied it up outta my way.

Next was drag the junk old housing out and find the nearest dumpster and toss the C-Clip POS axle You need to remeber to keep your hard brakelines, i also kept the spring pads and shock mounts and reused them to save money.

So next i took the time to go from one end to the other of the new axle replaced seals wheel bearings and wheel cylinders and installed new studs.
This was an extra step i chose to do because i didnt score a 70u. . . SO i took a day and ground and cut the bottom of my diff smooth.

So after that i started sliding the 70 under my truck, this thing is a heavy A$$ pig if u can i would suggest getting a buddy to come over and help, something i used to help myself I went and spent $20 on one of those furniture moving carts hold up to 1000lbs and u can get them for under $25

I ended up using heavy duty semi ratchet straps to actually lift the axle into position, i then set the pinion angle and tacked on my spring pads! I losly bolted my shocks into the mounts and tacked them onto the axle also. I then pulled it out one last time for finish welding and painting!

Ok so here is where i saved a shit ton of money compared to most others ive seen do this swap. . . I reused the hardlines offf the old 8.8 which worked out perfect alowing me to use all my original brake lines and didnt have to have new ones built, I also reused all my old brackets which helped me out alot!!

So obviously ur gonna have to shorten ur driveline, the snout on the 70 is probably a good 4 maybe even 6in longer then the ole 8.8, i was expecting to also to have to buy a conversion joint for my driveshaft to bolt up in the yoke, but again got lucky and found they are the exact same size u-joints!
So i went ahead and removed the flange off my driveshaft leaving it just with the ujoint ends, i have to cut a total of 2.65in out of the driveshaft tubing itself. Which gave me almost a perfect 50/50 split in slip in my driveline.

So then its just as simple as bolting up the axle one last time, hanging ur driveshaft and shocks and going for a test drive

Im running only 32in mts currently on lower then stock suspension, no blocks in the rear and completly uncranked torsion bars. I have the 44 for the front end going in after the new year, but i figured i could maybe help somebody else out attempting this swap over the winter!

Any questions or anything be happy to help! Ill come back and put a way more detailed list of parts and tools i used for everyone plus ill try to figure out the whole pic situation also for ya'all

Thanx everybody

 

[brinker88]

Pics or it didnt happen

 

[angelfly]

Im trying im omputer illiterate. . . I need a photobucket account i think

 

[angelfly]

[URL=http://s1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff473/angelfly1/?action=view&current=IMG01682-20111217-1059.jpg][/URL][URL=http://s1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff473/angelfly1/?action=view&current=IMG01687-20111217-1544.jpg][/URL]


HAHAHAH figured it out, so here u can clearly see the dana 70 and also how low and wide my rig is now

 

[brinker88]

That thing is ****in sagging on one side dude....lol So now you have 8 lug rear with a 5 lug front?

 

[angelfly]

That thing is ****in sagging on one side dude....lol So now you have 8 lug rear with a 5 lug front?

it actually sits perfectly level side to side and front to back now. . .

and yes for the time being i have 5lug front and 8lug rear I have my 8lug 44 sitting in my garage just still collecting parts. . . I had to kinda rush the rear in my truck since i blew another shaft in the 8.8 and was sick of fixing it!!!

 

[brinker88]

What size tires are you running to blow a shaft in an 8.8?

 

[angelfly]

What size tires are you running to blow a shaft in an 8.8?

32s haha but im pretty hard on it, and it sure as hell doesnt help it was spooled up in the rear which driving it daily definetly adds more stress

Honestly after 3 snapped shafts and 1 spun axle tube it was just time to upgrade!

I think it has alot to do with my driving style, along with the fact is i have taught 4 friends in the past 6months to drive a manual on my truck and it was really hard on my truck.

 

[legoms013]

32s haha but im pretty hard on it, and it sure as hell doesnt help it was spooled up in the rear which driving it daily definetly adds more stress

Honestly after 3 snapped shafts and 1 spun axle tube it was just time to upgrade!

I think it has alot to do with my driving style, along with the fact is i have taught 4 friends in the past 6months to drive a manual on my truck and it was really hard on my truck.

Musta been the stock 28 spline.....a 31 spline swap would worked too. Weld up the tubes and they don't spin yah know

That 70 is huge.....keep us updated as you swap to a D44 front, I look forward to it

 

[angelfly]

Musta been the stock 28 spline.....a 31 spline swap would worked too. Weld up the tubes and they don't spin yah know

That 70 is huge.....keep us updated as you swap to a D44 front, I look forward to it

Ya it was a 28spline, so ya it didnt help but wasn't worth the time to upgrade the explorer version. . . especially since in my neck of the woods they go fo$300 or more usually and i have a total of $110 into the whole 70 swap

But ya im hopefully starting the SAS after the new year!!

 

[cdawall]

How the hell are you driving that with 32's you smoke an 8.8? That's insane mine does fine with 35's and a torquier motor with a beefed traklok.

 

[brinker88]

"spool" and a lead foot?

 

[cdawall]

"spool" and a lead foot?

I have sat and bounced on mine :/ with 4.88's and kept it one piece maybe I know when to let off. I feel like this guy is going to smoke the D70 as well.

 

[dangerranger83]

When in doubt, throttle out?

 

[angelfly]

Like i said multiple people learning how to drive a stick dumping the clutch sure as hell didnt help. . . and yes i drive hard (stupid) sometimes. . .

If i fricken smoke a 70 im in trouble. . . isnt this the whole point tho of working on ur own rig???? You get to make it urs and find what does and doesnt work for yourself and build it to your liking???

Ive seen plenty of well built rigs that i would never want because of the way there setup, I know it looks pretty goofy right now but with the 44 in front and on 36 or 37s it will look good and still low to the ground!


Alittle more backdrop was, just a little over a month ago i was gonna sell this truck and just dump the money into my 79 but i couldnt let it go and decided it was time to start building it the way i want and not back to stock nemore I kinda also figured since i have OCD it looking like it does will just push me to do the front sooner

So i dont see how any of it is a negative, also im sure there are guys out there making an 8.8 survive with 40s and a full float kit but why?? u dump that kinda money into that axle then ur married to it!! u will never see a return out of it compared to building tons for cheap! just seems this swap was better suited for me rather then rebuilding the 8.8 again