Bruce M

Can the backing plate, drum, and hub off a Dana 80 be installed on a Dana 71?
I found the Dana 80 at a junk yard. Could not tell the year of the Dodge because the front end had been cut off the truck and the dash was gone.
The rear end was still there, but no ratio tag and a hole was punched in the cover plate. The cover plate had been removed for some reason because red gasket cement was showing around the cover.

Bruce M

Being that no one answered my question.
Today I went back to the junk yard and found the rear end with one drum and the ring and pinion gone.
Removed one hub with 9/16" studs which was $10 dollars and tried it on a my rear end. It fit fine.
I think I can still use my brake shoes and backing plates, But don't know if my drums can be reamed from 5/8" to 9/16" and slide onto the 80 hub or will I need to use 80 drums.
I still would like to know if anyone has done this to have removable drums or did they just go to disk brakes which would cost a lot more.

waynegdg

5/8" is bigger than 9/16", so I would think you would have to use the 80's drums...