Will this truck have rockwells?

[jasonjc]

yes and it is a 52 sto with the old gas eng still in it missing lots of the small stuff.
The guys from Memphis equipment where there 30 min before me looking at all the 2 1/2 and 5 ton's bet they bid on most if not all of them.The state guy said that the new fed progam is give titel of this truck to the FD so in a few more year there will be no more GSA sales. And whit the GL title thing i think the price will be going up.

 

[civicnar]

Well does anyone have some rockwells that I can pick up cheap. I was hoping that this would be my source for my tight budget but that may not be the case. Also could I use the GMC axles to run like a 52" Michelin or possibly smaller and can I find lockers for them. I can get the set of three for $500. Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[jasonjc]

you can try Boyce equipment for parts for the GMC axles but i dont think there is much for them they have not been used in like 50 years. I think you whould be better off with Dana 60 or rockwells over the gmc's.Call around to scrap metal yards in OKC I know someone that just had a bunch of duces hauled off for scrap with axles still on them.Just don't know where in OKC

 

[civicnar]

I will try calling them but any leads would be great.

 

[rizzo]

Well does anyone have some rockwells that I can pick up cheap. I was hoping that this would be my source for my tight budget but that may not be the case. Also could I use the GMC axles to run like a 52" Michelin or possibly smaller and can I find lockers for them. I can get the set of three for $500. Any suggestions are appreciated.

I know a guy running 62 inch tractor tires on GMC axles. he has them welded and is breaking the front shafts on a regular basis. He has to be very careful.

 

[Twinpinion]

We discussed the strength before and nobody could come up with a definite on which joint was better. Anyone know now?

bfr do you have drive shafts with the axles?

Here:
http://www.jpmagazine.com/techarticles/154_0305_2_ton_rockwell_axle_install/index.html

Like six pages of info. I had some on the truck below.

The stub shafts will break long before the U-joints. And splines twist on the inner axles...and on the rear axles too. The Rockwell shafts are actually pretty weak if you have power, huge tires and a lot of weight. Even stock deuces twist the rear axle splines. Pull a shaft and take a look. The axles I pulled from a duece already had a little bit of twist to them. If you look close. Some of the rear shafts have several dimples in 'em to keep track of it. The dimples are supposed to be inline down the shaft. Mine were twisted and the splines were about 1/16 to 1/8 inch twisted too (a few degrees).

Anyway, the U-jointed ones are the strongest but it don't really matter since the stub (outer front shaft) will give out first.

 

[civicnar]

So can I not run a stock rockwell on some large 40 somethings or some 52's and be confident in them or will they need to be upgraded?

 

[jasonjc]

how much HP's and troqe???

 

[Twinpinion]

Ohh, don't get me wrong, they are strong axles. 40-44 inch tires with a built small block and lockers will be fine. 52s and a big block (with lockers of course) and you'll see things snap. If that's the plan look into the 47-spline 2-inch Ouverson stuff. But then again it depends on the terrain and driving style. That's just been my experience.

You can break anything. The Rockwells are simply a cheap alternative to 1-ton Dana axles. Plus they are a little stronger in some areas. I just think the shafts aren't all that great. I'd bet a GM 14-bolt rear axle shaft is stronger than a Rockwell stock rear shaft.

My truck was in at around 7,000 pounds and it had a pathetic AMC 304. I bet it was less than 200hp and I'm sure less than 300 lb-ft at the crank. But I had a lot of gearing. The tranny was a 6.32 First, the transfer case was a 3.8, and multiply that to the 6.72 in the axles and you get a crawl ratio of 161:1. That's a lot of leverage on axle shafts with 49-inch tires.

 

[G744]

Actually, from that day they were by Timken. Rockwell bought the rights to build them when taking over contracts.

All parts are interchangeable within the same series.

dg

 

[BigWheelBob]

I think 6.17, versus 6.72.