i am in need of a replacement rear axle ,current / blown is a D 70 4:10's and drum brakes,,can i upgrade to newer than 2002 ,i am aware of the disc brakes require the larger rim,,can i remove the " endplates" and reinstall my drum hardware ? will the spring perches align..we are in hurricane season,,i am in need of a replacement ASAP 1998 2500 4x4 5.9/12v

 

No, 2003 up are AAM not Dana axles.

You can also source it from a V10 Auto truck from 94-02.

 

why not just rebuild it ?? why just put a random replacement in if you need it to be reliable? I understand money is sometimes an issue, but if you go and buy another5-600 dollar axle assembly and turns out bad then how much money have you wasted ?? ring and pinion and install kit is cheaper than a whole assembly and a few hundo to have someone rebuild. then you have a brand new unit with a bit of a warrenty if something should go bad.

 

A few things to consider... Disc and drum axles have different mounting plate welded to the tubes so not convertible. Not sure if early second gen rims fit over disc brakes, I believe they do. Also if you do plan on rebuilding, check out the internals first, 70s have a habit of spinning carrier races into the housing, much more work to rebuild if that happens.

 

In 2010 I put a 2001.5 Dana 70 3.54 disc brake rear-end under my '95 2-WD 2500, and it's one of the best upgrades I ever did. I got it from DTR member RedlineAR, who runs a Dodge/Cummins salvage yard in Hartman, Ark. and who sells on ebay under the name RedlineAR. It is a Trak-Lok rear-end.

Reason I put it in is that I just got tired of the drum brakes never self adjusting. Or sometimes they'd over-adjust and I'd be running with a smoking drum. Braking is so easy now. Used to be I'd have to practically stand on the brakes--the fronts were doing all the braking, but with this rear-end the braking is spread around to all 4 wheels.

The 2001.5 and 2002 Dana 70 disc brake rear-ends are direct bolt-in swaps for the drum brake Dana 70.

Here it is sitting in the salvage yard:




Careful!!



Here I've moved the 2001.5 rear-end into position. I carried it over with my front end loader, and then used a 4X4 to lever it into place.



Here I've got it in and installed. I had to get rebuilt calipers for it.



The tire does stick out a little further than on the drum-brake rear-end, but that didn't bother me.



Here's the Thread I posted about it back in 2010 with more pictures:

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...y-95-a-274930/

 

I also found a D70 Disk off craigslist for $200 bucks, bolted up perfectly except:
ABS sensor from old axle must be re-used as the plug has changed
Brake lines had to be re-flared as the Disk axles are larger
E-brake, yeah- still not hooked up yet.


Performance is amazing though, works so much better!

 

Seems like an easy upgrade, I wonder if this could be installed on my 98.5?

 

Sure. You just have to locate a 2001.5 or 2002 rear-end with the correct ratio.

 

The 01-02 disc brakes diffs still fit a 16" rim.