Can anyone tell me if the rear Dana 70 out of a 93 Dodge Cummins 3/4 ton will swap into a 2nd Gen truck? I just got a great deal on one with a Detroit locker. Thanks.

 

Not sure the entire assy will work. The gear set and D locker will fit 2nd gen if is a 70 also. You may lose ABS (no sensor) but not sure. Look for sensor on each.

 

The diff has the same top mounted sensor as our 95; not sure about the 99 though.

 

Any ideas guys?? Someone must have done this before...

 

Find a '93 with the aforementioned D-70 and measure the width of the springs, (2-1/2" or 3") and measure the WMS to WMS on your current and new-to-you D-70. Measure across the centering pin holes (ctr to ctr) on each pair of axle perches. If all of these are the same measurement, you are good to go. You'll need a pair of tall jack stands, a high lift jack, a big bottle jack, a pair of floor jacks are nice, some WD-40, an impact wrench with long tube socket (i think 13/16ths on the U bolts, maybe 7/8ths). You'll need to disconnect the shocks on the axle end, the e-brake cable, and the rr u-joint of the drive shaft. Not a big job, if grunt intense. Those axles are h-e-a-v-y. Best to scoot them around on that pair of floor jacks.
Do you know what the gear ratio is in your old one and the new one? It should be on an aluminum tag on the diff cover, usually expressed as a pair of numbers, one is the number of teeth on the pinion, the other the number of teeth on the ring gear. Divide pinion teeth into the ring gear teeth to get:
1. 3.31(only on the earliest 12 valves)
2. 3.54 likely up to 2002
3. 3.73 likely only after 2003
4. 4.10 likely up to 2002
If it's a 2WD and you don't carry much load, hope it's a 3.54:1 pig.
Let us know how this comes out.
regards, as always, jefe