2005 Ram 2500 Free Spin Install & Other Goodies

[JD Miller]

Did you get the DynaLoc hubs or Warn Hubs kit?

There are a few free spin kit manufacturers , not sure which is better, if any.... Why did you pick the DynaTrac ? You got any any knowledge of the other kits?

I think I was looking at getting the Dynatrac, cant remember my research or why though

 

[legopnuematic]

Did you get the DynaLoc hubs or Warn Hubs kit?

My friend went with the Dynaloc hubs. He went with them because they stick out less far than the warn hubs do, and he liked the looks of them.

 

[nvrenuf]

Did you get the DynaLoc hubs or Warn Hubs kit?

There are a few free spin kit manufacturers , not sure which is better, if any.... Why did you pick the DynaTrac ? You got any any knowledge of the other kits?

I think I was looking at getting the Dynatrac, cant remember my research or why though

When I eventually buy a kit for my Dodge I'm going with whomever uses the shortest bearing hub and then put some Spicer locking hubs on it.

There's a recipe of Ford parts to convert a 2nd gen Dodge axle to have locking hubs.

 

[CountKrunk]

Great friend you are.

 

[Grit dog]

Just found this thread. I have the same 05 dodge but mine is a 3500. That should have came with a posi rear.

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Ive been thinking about doing a front locking hub kit.

My '99 CTD 4x4 dana 60 has the sliding collar disconect

What the hell happened to that front carrier?

Center axle disconnect came back in 2013/14. Still spins the knuckle u joints 24/7 but it’s an improvement.
But honestly, if you look at it objectively, installing locking hubs, no matter how you slice it, has negative ROI unless maybe you’re gonna run em 250k miles or more.
Considering the unit bearings last 150-200k mi on average, even if you claim .5mpg gain, which is a bit optimistic, you’re not breaking even for a long time. And you get to become an expert at hub disassembly and packing bearings, regularly.

 

[legopnuematic]

Finally was able to make it back up to the shop Friday after work. Between the snow and me being under the weather, waiting for parts hadn't been up there since the last time we worked on the truck.

My friend had taken the hard parts with him to his work and blasted everything. Used some Rustoleum professional flat black as a base/ground coat on everything. I have found that for certain uses this stuff works better without a primer. The professional stuff is also much faster and better drying than the regular cans in my experience.

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Normally I have used Eastwood spray gray, had seen someone using this Seymour brand product on another forum, I liked the look of it and what is cool is it (and their aluminum and stainless finish) is on the shelf at the local auto zones. About $12 a can, Eastwood is about $20 a can at the moment.

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[legopnuematic]

Shane had decided to go with a new carrier, also new bearings and ring gear bolts. Will be transferring the spiders over.

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Some cast over the flat black base.

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Some flat black on the hubs to keep the rust away.

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[legopnuematic]

Installed the new axle shaft seals, and clean of the inside of the housing.

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New ball joints.

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Canada Eh.

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Pressed in.

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[legopnuematic]

Went to install the knuckle U joints, first one on the long axle shaft was fine, short (drivers side) shaft could get one ring in, couldn't even begin to see the other groove. Some measuring revealed the ears had sprung inward. Porta power with a short ram and lathe bit for a spacer spread it open and back to where it should be.

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Ready for reinstall.

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Next will be to swap the ring gear over to the new carrier and get that buttoned up, then knuckle install, slide shafts in, then begin that actual free spin install.

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[legopnuematic]

Continued work yesterday. Ran into a bit of a snafu with the knuckle U joints. I had realized after assembling them on Friday that there are shims required as the 2003-2008 aam u joints are 2.920 between the snap rings, these kits are made to work with the 2000-2002 Dana 60s like what is in my Dodge. Those are 3” between the snap rings, so 2 .04” shims need to be installed. That way they can sell the same kit for 00-08 and only source one outer shaft.

The long axle shaft went together without any issues. The short side is putting a big fight up. Simply put the math is not mathing. Buddy is going to source another Spicer u joint locally and we will compare and see if there is a difference.

I hate to blame it on the u joint being mfg incorrectly, especially being a Spicer part, but in the current world we live in, I wouldn’t rule it out entirely. Easy enough to get another to have an A-B reference.

Beyond that, got the new carrier prepared and transferred the spider gears (after cleaning) and ring gear over from the old carrier. Pressed on the new carrier bearings. So that will be ready to install back into the housing.

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[nvrenuf]

Post up a pic of the ujoint shims if you can.

 

[legopnuematic]

Post up a pic of the ujoint shims if you can.

In order to get pictures of the physical shims, have to wait until I’m back up at the shop.

These are some screenshots of them from Dynatracs literature/listings. They match what we have, 0.04” stamped steel shims. They do measure out to .040. Checked the width of the inside of the ears and they are (both side outer shafts) 3.00” so with two .04 shims that takes it to 2.920. The math jives for that.

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[nvrenuf]

That’s perfect, thank you!

 

[legopnuematic]

In some further digging/research of this, it appears that spyntec and Yukon also use shims for the 03-08 trucks. They all use the outer shafts for Dana 60s, 35 spline. Wouldn’t be surprised if they are sourcing them all from the same place.

I have found a few older forum posts that people were having fitment trouble with the same P/N Spicer joints that we are using, one person used one of the later joints and one of earlier joints and swapped 2 caps to make a conversion joint.