I am not even thinking about fuel mileage. With an performance clutch, reversing w/a trailer can be grabby & annoying. I also live on a hill which makes it worse. So I always hit 4-low, as lots of guy w/aftermarket clutches do when backing up w/trailers. I want a 2-low option.

 

JP and others,

I understand that some venders recommend non greaseable joints. This is a bad idea unless you are racing and need the strongest joint you can get, and only then if you have actually snapped one. I wonder if they recommend the non-greaseables because that's what they have?

It seems crazy to eliminate the ability to save those joints with a simple grease gun. Mine were dry, stiff and black inside at 100,000 miles and they could have been fine for a lot longer if I could have greased them. Plus, they are hard to get to and I only plan to do them once.

Put greaseable joints in during the hub install! Do it once and do it right. You'll thank yourself at every service.

 

I put the EMS kit in because of he cost of theirs compared to the then available Dynatracs. I thought I was saving money until I had to take the hubs to a machine shop to have the wheel studs pressed and as well as the ujoints pressed out of the old stub shafts. I know, I know, why didn't I just pound them in myself? I tried, but it took a 20 ton press to get the wheel studs in! The Solid Axle kit comes with most of the assembly done for you which is worth the $. The Dynatrac kit has a lot of one-off parts that made me a little wary about replacing parts down the road.

 

What I want to know is which kits come with parts that I can go to the local auto store to replace?


I think I've got an axle Ujoint going and am thinking of biting the bullet here. I just don't want to get into a you have to order from this company because its their special part deal.

 

I didn't run across any one off parts with my dynatrac kit. They use the same bearings that the dana 60 front axle has used for years. If you put it on a aam axle just write down the bearing and seal #s and keep them for future reference. All of the bearings and seals are available at napa.
The dynatrac kit is the same level as the ems extreme duty kit with the superior hd shafts. I can not get an answer on which 35spline shafts the solid axle kit comes with. For you guys that plan on pulling or drag racing I would take the larger shafts into consideration IMO.
I picked up nearly 2mpg.

 

the 35 spline kit was another $200 bucks on mine. I won't be doing any extreme duty with mine, but the added strength is worth the $ IMO. I think that the outer hub on all of the kits are irreplaceable other than the company you bought them from. I may be wrong but check into it before buying. EMS was a great resource on parts that they had. The biggest complaint I had from EMS was that the stub shafts weren't quite milled as precise as I needed to fit through the inner part of the front end. I had to mill down the stub shafts myself in order to get them to fit.

 

I looked into this do not do this modification based only on the possible mileage increase, with a possible increase in mileage of only 1-2 mpgs it would take 100,000 miles to pay for it self if you you spend around 3K for it if there is anonther reason as others have said then by all means go for it but dont do it just for the mileage

 

I think if you plan on keeping the truck long term it is worth it. For less than $80 I can replace all of the bearings and seals in the front end. What does it cost to replace 2 unit bearings? The front driveshaft and transfer case is no longer turning full time causing wear on the t-case internals and seals. In cab noise is reduced. I my case the steering lightened up when making sharp manuvers.
The dtrac hub is a standard dana 60 hub that has been machined to accept a tone ring on the rear for the abs it has the same taper and finish as an original 60 hub on the outside also so you have to use dana 60 centercaps to fit over the large hub.

 

could you guys post some pics of your rigs?

 

both dyna trac and ems had me on their waiting lists for two months ems called first and got the order

dynatrac took three more weeks to call me.

 

This is kind of what i was getting at. Seems like a ton of money for minimal return. But hey, what ever blows your hair back.... I am as guilty as anyone....

 

I put the Dynatrac in 3 months ago. I was tired of replacing axle u-joints and ball joints. The only thing that I regret is that I didn't do it sooner. The truck drives smoother than it did when it was new, I picked up 2 MPG and no more axle u-joint problem. As for the ball joints, we'll just have to wait and see, but so far so good.

 

A concern I made to Solid Axle support was the lack of instruction regarding there assembly. While it was very nice to have the Hub come fully assembled. I now have a hub installed and am not aware of assemblt/disassembly or what the serviceable part are? Support told me they are working on a manual and parts list and will send me a copy as soon as it is available. They sounded like honest hard workers and I will give them the few weeks they asked for to create this document. I am very hopeful I will not need to take this apart for quite some time.

 

Very nice!!

 

It may seem like a minimal return if you only look at he milege, but look at the cost of replacing unit bearings and then doing axle Ujoints too. Then look at the superior design of the free spin hub over the stock setup. Then consider 2WD low. Etc, etc. Pretty soon it makes a lot of sense and eventually it might be cheaper than not doing it, although cost was not the major point with me. I don't like the non serviceable unit bearings and axle U joints!

It's probably best for guys that plan to keep their trucks and like well designed stuff.