Heavy rear for mid 80's ram charger?

I am afraid that if I do a big block swap in my mid 80's ram charger that rear will not take the torque. Is there a dana out there I can look for that will work and if I can fit more rubber under all the better.

Cheers Don.

You will find Dana 60s under 3/4 ton Dodge trucks of those same years. That's where I'd go, use the entire axle and change wheels.

R.

The big rear axle from the factory was the 9.25. Small axle was the 8.25.

Rumor of some 5 lug Dana 60's used in 70s vintage big block trucks but I've never seen one. Most Dana 60 are 8 lug.

Unless you're making lots of power the 9.25 should be adequate, I'd upgrade to a crush sleeve eliminator.

Agree the 9.25 should take it fine as long as you are running street tires.

If you will run slicks or plan on mud bogging with heavy rubber different story.

i think the 5 lug dana 60 were used only by IH------94-01 mexican ramchargers use a heavy duty dana 44---at about 120k my 2000 mexican spit out the dana 44--i upgraded to a 2002 9.25 disc brake from a 1500 truck.....bob

IH, Ford and Jeep used them in late 60's and early 70's heavy halfton.

An 8 ug 60 rear can be bolted in, but you'd need different wheels front and back unless you swapped the front to 8 lug as well

there are guys running dana 60 front and rears on the ramchargers too----my son is running dana 60,s on his dakota---where there is a will there is a way...

So we get to the question of2 or 4 wheel drive?

Yes I guess I didn't mention that she is only a 2 wheel drive with a 360 now. I would like to drop in a big block.... because I have a few and I can. Just afraid the rear will not take it. I don't expect to run much more then street tires but you know the track will call.. it always dose with a new build.

when chrysler designed the 9.25 they wanted it just as strong as the dana 60---they fell just short in that the c-clip axles have a built in fail point----but the mopar c-clip is massive compared to most----i keep expecting to see lots of gm and fords with roller bearings and c-clips littering the highways----but it isnt the case....

The loads on the "C" clip axles at the C clip probably isn't very high under normal conditions. If you are circle tack racing, or doing hard corners on blacktop, constantly, the C clip may be a weak point, at some point, maybe.

Probably the weakest point on a 9 1/4 is the axle bearings running on the axle surface, or the crush sleeve at the pinion gear collapsing and allowing the drive shaft flange to loosen up and drop the pinion back into the housing. Those are the two most frequent failures I've seen on Mopar 9 1/4 rear ends, and for as many of these rear ends as I've seen, it probably wasn't much of an issue.

I would not be concerned with a 9 1/4 under a Ramcharger with a big block, unless drag racing was the main intended purpose. Regardless of the opinion of many on this board, a 9 1/4 is a tough rear end. Gene

Funny the main target for the demo derbys is to hit the rear tires hard from the side to pop the C clip off. The next turn they make the axle slides right out.

Sooo there should be a 9 1/4 under here then eh?

i think the biggest problem on the 9.25 is that guys re-use the crush sleeve---you only get to torque it once---thats why those stretch bolts are used on heads--you gotta throw them away---use the solid sleeve-----and if you are planning on the demo derby give one of us guys a chance at rescuing the dog before you put it down....dodge...

Dono, OK, so I ASSUMED the guy wasn't going to enter his truck in a demo derby, or I would have included that with the disclaimer of circle track racing, and consistently doing hard cornering on blacktop.

Thanks for the tip on demo derbying a 9 1/4 though. Should I decide to enter one with a 9 1/4, I will add the extra step to build up the ends of the C clips so they won't fall out. How many times to they take a direct hit before they fall out anyway?

Under normal driving conditions, and a few trips to the drag strip from time to time, YES, I see no reason a 9 1/4 shouldn't be under that Ramcharger. Gene

i have a narrowed 9.25 to A body width with 8.75 axle ends to eliminate the C clip---you have to buy a custom axles for it-----drag race guys have to use a C clip elimination kit and the ford 9 inch axle end is the most common one to use--(-you can use 8.75 axle ends also like i did)----my axle runs a 2.7 posi that i first envisioned as a bonneville axle for my 64---it now is under my 50 hudson as a cruiser set up......

Cool so you use the green bearings and no thrust block 9.25" splines with 8.75" shaft dimensions and bearings.

I bought a 87 ramcharger new with a dana 44 in front and a 9.25 in the rear with 3:55 gears, small painted steelie rims and small tires. It had a 360 with 4 barrel quadrajet carb from the factory.

As soon as I got it within a couple weeks I put a 3" rough county suspension lift on it, installed 4:11 gears front and back, Big heavy steel rims with 33.5" tires on it and nitrous oxide under the quadrajet. It ran 14.5 seconds in the quarter mile with the nitrous at the drag strip numerous times. I was just as fast as the stock 5.0 mustangs of the day and had a blast racing my buddies in there stangs.

I beat the crap out of that truck for 7 years and 89K miles before I sold it. I towed a 21 boat with it for a few years 4 plus hours to lake Cumberland about twice a month. Neither diff ever went out and I know the guy I sold the truck to and he still has it.

The drag strip deal was not easy on the truck, I would do 4 wheel drive smokey burnouts on nitrous and then race it in 2 wheel drive. I also raced in the sand at the sand drags but that is real easy on the diffs in the sand.

Everyone said I would blowup the motor but never did. Was a crowd favorite.

Mexico received D60 rears in 5lug. Otherwise trucks only had 8lug D60s for Dodge.

My Ram charger I am speaking about is only two wheel drive with a 360 motor and has 5 on 5 all around.

here is hoping your rear is a 5 on 5.5----and either you go to a stock dodge truck 9.25 or pony up money to have someone build you a custom dana 60.....

If you can find a Jeep Gladiator with a Dana 60-2 in back you are nearly there. The casting in the case web says 60-2. I have one of those units and had the drivers side axle tube and axle narrowed by 6". The axle shafts take Set7 Timken tapered roller bearings and are 35 spline, stock with a 5 on 5.5" bolt circle. I was going to put it under my '87 D100, but I bought a '98 Ram 2500 and sold the D100. Now I will probably put it under the '72 Cuda and narrow it again with different axles & brakes.

The attached photo is of the Jeep that uses a Dana 60-2 rear with 12" brakes and 5 on 5.5" bolt circle. If you use 16" wheels they will clear the brake drums.

It's fine. Remember than many factory cars and trucks came with the 9.25 behind big blocks between 1974 and 78

dodge had a 8 3/4 that was a 5 on 5.5 for the 4x4 trucks\

a c-body 8 3/4 is same width as a d-series truck RC/TD 9 1/4- 8 1/4

can be had small or large wbp

I used a 8 3/4 A-body 8 3/4 to tub my 88-440 truck. a-body truck share the same 43" perch centers so it a bolt in on top of the leaf with car u-bolts/shock plates

if you don't want narrow a c-body 8 3/4 only needs perches moved to 43" centers and on top of tubes for axle under leafs.

B-body D60 is what I would look for. then it only needs a perch spacing change

or take a 8 lug D60 and have it narrowed to 59" have car bearing cups welded on and buy Moser C-body axles good to 500HP.

I put an 8 3/4 rear in my 86 RC 2wd with the last few years that had the 5 on 5 1/2 pattern axles(72 through 74 4wds?).

I'm now running a Dana 60 8 lug rear with 8 lug(heavy 3/4 ton front end) up front....all from an 85 2wd 1 ton. NOT that the 8 3/4 failed. I just like lots of woe...with the bigger breaks....lol.

I'm not a fan of the 9 1/4.....it seems that I've seen more of them being replaced than 8 1/4s......but what causes them to fail......who knows.

As in was it operator error......like taking them under water or letting them leak until there is no oil left, again my two cents.....which around here doesn't mean much. LOL

most issues I have seen or had have been the pinion nut coming loose/pinion bearing wipe out/crush sleeve adjustment or lack of.

every one I invested in got a new set of bearing and set up with shims and solid spacer. never issues after that with them.

I prefer the 8 3/4 for gear change and I can run non adjustable green bearings and Moser axle any size needed.

30 min R&R and either a 2.76 3.23 3.91 gear ratio under my bench.

I have revised my post about the Dana 60-2 and included a reference photo. See it a couple of posts above.

I also have a 9.25" truck rear in my stash and when I have a chance I will drop it off at the recyclers. Years ago, at the yard I worked at, we took in a Dodge truck that had a 9.25". The pinion nut loosened and when the axle seized up the truck was wrecked