Rear-end welding in So-Cal

[optimusprime8]

I acquired a Jeep Cherokee rear end and would like to put it in my grandpa's Dodge truck. I am looking for a custom fabrication shop that can cut off all the old mounts on the Jeep Cherokee rear and weld the old Dodge mounts on it.

The only guy I found so far wants the whole rear end disassembled, but I don't think this is necessary. The Dodge leaf spring mounts are very small and could probably be welded without creating much heat.

Does anyone know a shop that would be willing to do this in the LA or OC area? I am in Long Beach, the closer the better.

I would buy a welder and do it myself, but that would involve rewiring my house for 220 and learning how to weld. For this small project, I would rather just pay someone to do it, but I do want it to be safe.

[pflaming]

I put this axle in my truck. Put 'chronology' into the search box and my project will be there. Several things, the Jeep axle houseing is fairly soft material so that a torch can cut through very quickly. The houseing is not a pressure chamber, so a hole means nothing except it should be welded shut so it won't leak.

The axle perches are simple to do. Do you have any contacts with your high school or college automotive folk. They might really enjoy such a project.

[austinsailor]

I'm not close enough to weld it for you, but I have done just what you describe.

I took a coil spring 3:23 rear out of a Chevy wagon, cut all the junk off, cut all the mounts off the leaf spring 4:11 rear of a Chevy van, welded it and it worked great for years.

What I did was mount the rear in the van with nothing welded, got it all in the right place, tightened it up, then welded. This way you know everything is aligned and going to fit. Once it's tacked you can remove it if you don't want to do all the welding around the gas tank or whatever else might worry you.

I'd be worried if I took it across town, had it welded, then hoped everything fit when it got back to the vehicle.

[John-T-53]

Doug Moore's muffler shop in San Clemente could probably hook you up. He's a great guy and you'll also learn a few off color jokes chatting with him.

It's a ways from you in Long Beach but this is the only place I know of down in the southland.

Good luck!

[optimusprime8]

I was thinking I could take the old rear end and the new rear end to a shop and they could use the old one as a template, then everything would line up. Is this not feasible?

Maybe I can cut off all the junk from the Jeep rear end with a grinder, then install it and mark where the new mounts will be with a paint pen or something.

[Plymouthy Adams]

make yourself known to a local car club and such...get to know the folks..who is who and who does light farm outout like this..the actual job of alignment and weld is just a couple minutes once the tubes are cleared of old mounts and the new ones are prepped to weld

[dezeldoc]

I can do it but i am about 2 hours north of you. pretty simple and straight forward to do.

[optimusprime8]

Do you need to have the truck or could I bring both rear ends to you and you could make the new one match the old one? I could come up to an event at Willow Springs and maybe you could do it then. If you need the whole truck, it's probably too far, unless I put it all back together so I could get it on a trailer.

Edited October 2, 2012 by optimusprime8

[Tony_Urwin]

You only need two measurements to have it welded up locally.

1). The distance center-to-center on the spring perches

2) The pinion angle

I don't remember the distance between perches, but I believe the pinion angle was 5 degrees up on mine. I got the spring perches at Northern Tool for less than $10.

[pflaming]

"Rear axle: 97 Wrangler to 52 1/2 T - Part II Perches" This thread will show you what I did, I believe all the measurements required are in those posts. I cut off the perches with a hand grinder/cutting blade, then cleaned them up and welded them on the Cherokee axle. The pics show all that.

Good luck

[Mike Petersen]

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[Plymouthy Adams]

updating a profile of general area and type of vehicle goes a long way in extending yourself to friendship and letting the forum know who you are and general location..(street and number not needed) you may have a person near you that can help..they all do not necessary read all thread but many will look at the profile...

[austinsailor]

You are correct that it can be done while not bolted up in the vehicle. But, someone has to know what they are doing and have more tools. It will limit who can do it for you.

If it's all bolted up where it goes, then welded anyone who is a half way decent welder can do it. It'll cut your cost and greatly expand your pool of welders.

Of course, you are right, both the axle and the vehicle will have to show up at the welder, which opens up another whole new can of worms.

[optimusprime8]

Tony,

Is this the spring perch you were talking about at Northern Tool?

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200330549_200330549

Or is it one like this?

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200514160_200514160

Looks like we don't have Northern Tool in California but I can order the stuff online.

[Tony_Urwin]

Still on sale! I got them delivered for less than ten bucks.

[1952B3b23]

Ive been kicking around the idea of a jeep rear axle in my 52, but i'm not sure if there's a specific year or years i should look for? Any advice on picking a suitable one would really help me.

Thanks,

-Chris

[Plymouthy Adams]

lots of folks say measure the backing plate to backing plate..backing plate to backing plate is not the way to measure the later rears..you have to consider the size of the rear brakes..larger modern axles with the larger brakes loose their back to back meaurement width due to the larger brakes but the hub flange could match..so in reality you must first make the decision do I want original wheels or upgrade..in keeping original wheels your donor axle will have to meet the "track" requirement with the wheel you intend to use. Modern wheels if on the axle when measuring usually have a more positive offset and thus the track meausrement is not to be the same as with your stock wheels..they are tucked back into the wheel well this way..thus the error in measuring..so to prevent all the hoopla and such and ensure you get it right....use the mounting flange to mounting flange measurement to get the proper width...prior to going to look..check the tire profile and clearance you have with the stock set up in regard to tire to fender and tire to frame distance..this is the small window you have for considering any axle that will be close to your original width.

I have used a number of modern Mopar rears in the past..each was selected for the particular build..most of my builds get suspension, engine and tranny upgrades so I could not say this particular one or another for you to use as I do not know your intended apps..ratio is a major cosideration based on the end use..consider this equal importance along with the mounting dimensions..

[HanksB3B]

Chris,

That's something on my wish list for sure. I think Jeff Balazs (can't find the link) is just about complete with his Cherokee swap so hel'll undoubtedly have some good advice. In the mean time I found this link which may be of some help.

http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=26779

Take lots of pictures o.k. ? and good luck,

Hank

[Tony_Urwin]

If you choose a rear axle from a 93-98 Grand Cherokee, be aware that there are two different axles- the Dana 35 and the Dana 44. Both are good axles, but the Dana 44 is a stouter version. I believe (not sure) that the Dana 35 was used on the 6-cylinder models, and the Dana 44 was used on the V8s. The Limited model definitely came with the Dana 44.

[Jeff Balazs]

Chris & Hank;

I think Tim Adams made some very good points in his comment. I will say it this way......each build type has different points to consider.

If you are staying with the stock engine there are at least a few different Cherokee axles that may fit the bill depending on what you are trying to achieve.

I went with a Dana 35 out of a 2WD 2000 Grand Cherokee. Since I am staying with the old flathead I feel that the axle is plenty robust. Big things for me was the 12" disc's, a 3.55 final ratio and the 5x5 wheel pattern. This axle allowed me to keep a pretty stock appearance on my 3/4 ton while giving me the better brakes and higher ratio. This is huge as far as I am concerned as this truck will be my daily driver. Easy fit too. Swap the shock mounts and it was a perfect fit. All I had to do to get my original 15" rims to fit was a bit of light grinding on the calipers and add some 3/8" thick wheel spacers. I believe the rear gained about an inch in overall width.

This was the best option I could come up with for my build. Might not be the same for a guy with a 1/2 ton.....different wheel pattern? or the fellow that is stuffing a 440 into one of these trucks. You really have to look at each build carefully.

Hope this helps.

Jeff

[1952B3b23]

Thanks a lot for all the help, and Hank i'll be sure to take plenty of pics along the way. There is certainly much more to consider than i had originally thought of when i first considered the idea. Im planning to stick with the original flat head in my '52 1/2 ton so i would want something with a higher ratio then what i currently have (4.10). I hope that this would allow me to get a better cruising speed. Disk brakes in the rear would be nice but i'll even settle for updated drums. I'd like to keep the 5x 4.5 stud pattern because i already have a set of wheels i want to use. I guess my problem is i dont know what year jeep rear ends i should start looking at that would fit my requirements. I know very little about jeeps in general, any suggestions would be great!

Thanks guys,

-Chris

[1952B3b23]

If you choose a rear axle from a 93-98 Grand Cherokee, be aware that there are two different axles- the Dana 35 and the Dana 44. Both are good axles, but the Dana 44 is a stouter version. I believe (not sure) that the Dana 35 was used on the 6-cylinder models, and the Dana 44 was used on the V8s. The Limited model definitely came with the Dana 44.

Thanks Tony, i'll start looking into those years and see what i find. I will keep the group updated.

-Chris

[Dennis_MN]

http://www430.pair.com/p15d24/mopar_forum/showthread.php?t=11168&page=2&highlight=Axle

Follow this thread down towards the bottom for my post Denni_MN

Also check the link out within my post. If your truck is newer than 49, you could be lucky and find a conversion u-joint to go from jeep to Dodge

I did have a post where I used a small grinder to grind off all of the slag from the guys cutting torch when he trimmed off all of the Jeep mounting stuff.

The operative word here is heat. I had my axle rebuilt with new bearings and seals, then I had the perches welded on. I had 1 seal fail (out of 2) and it was a bugger to fix after it was mounted on the truck. The Dana 35 uses a C-clip inside the punkin to hold the axles in place. The Dana 44 uses a plate on the outboard end to hold them in place. I figured that the odds of breaking an axle with my driving was pretty remote so I didn't care.

[Plymouthy Adams]

there are converison joint available to convert Dana U-joints to the 13XX series Spicer..

[Jeff Balazs]

If Chris' 52 is the same as mine...... the stock Pilothouse rear U-joint is a perfect fit to the Jeep yoke....just have to use the Jeep mounting hardware. No muss...no fuss

Jeff