Rockwell questions

upnover

upnover

Grumpy, decrepit Old Man
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Mar 20, 2005
Location
Morganton NC
This is something I do not remember being addressed here in this forum.

1. How do you tell the difference in the U-joint vs the Big birfield type front Rockwell? Pictures would be good here.

2. Are there any differences in rear Rockwell's?

3. Are all Rockwell's the same ratio's

4. What are locker Choices? ie Detroit's, welded and so on. Prices are a plus here too.

5. Any Wheel info helpful

6. I know some use disc on all four corners others use only pinion brakes. Pro's? cons? and costs?

7. How much clearance is gained when you compare Rockwell's to Dana 60 or 14 bolt?

8. I have heard biggest obstacle in mounting the Front is the clearance of drive shaft and oil pan. How much lift do you need?

9. If you go with disk or no brakes on the corners can you still run 15" wheels and if so, what backspacing is required?

I know these are a lot of questions, and I am not planning this right now, but the thought has been in my head a while. Just curious as to what all I would need, costs and so on.
Thanks in advance
 
I certain;y don't know everything about these, but I will answer what I am fairly certain of..

1: cut the boot open and look.
2: Not that I know of.
3: As long as they are 2.5 ton military trucks, yup. 6.72 IIRC.
4: Open, detroit (drop-in spider gear replacement), Miller-spool (there's a great example of one in one of the threads), I *heard* Tibus was coming out with a selectable?
5: You name it... centers are plentiful, stazworks, usa6x6 (blech), modified Hummers, etc.. Just depends what you value more - your time, or your money.. :lol:
6: Wheel brakes are obviously the best solution, but they are expensive, require the hubs out, and the ones I've seen require 16.5 or larger wheels, depending on which kit you go with.

Pinion brakes are FAR less expensive, work great offroad, in hard braking with an open diff can get hairy, can heat up on-road, and in the off chance you break a shaft or 2, won't slow down that wheel(s). That said, I've watched a rig with 1 pinion brake easily stop a heavy rig in 4wd, but I'd always run a front and rear..

7: Not sure, but IIRC, a shaved pan = Dana 44?
8: IMO, this totally depends on your drivetrain and rig.
9: hubs in, I *think* it was 3.5" BS minimum?

My personal thoughts is if you're going with custom wheels, would be a large wheel (at least 16.5") with LOTS of backspacing (something like a 10" wheel with 8-9" backspacing), hubs out. This would give you a similar overall width to a rig with the hubs in, and 3-4" BS wheels, but if you ever decide to go with wheel-mounted brakes, you're good to go. (I'd love to have wheel brakes on the front, and one pinion brake in the rear.)
 
the driveshaft clearance is accomplished using a 2 piece front driveshaft moreso than extra lift...

as for everything else, i concur with rich.
 
You may want to pm tempoffroad he took a stock CJ7 and had it on rockwells and at Tellico in 3 weeks, ran everything and broke nothing. He's a cheap bastard too, he'll let ya know what really works and the cost. I think he's running recentered hummer wheels with the hubs flipped, 44bogger rear/swamper front with pinion brakes on both ends.
 
And don't forget Aaron871's bastard M715 sporting totally home built 2.5T Rockwells w/ AutoZoo pinion brakes running "HO-made" recentered rims & 42"-44"s....
 
Rich basically covered it, i'll add a bit...

4. Ovurson offers a locker also that's much better than a detroit. i think a spool as well?

6. with some of the recent backyard tech on pirate, wheel brakes are becoming much more affordable. you can get out with a GOOD setup for ~500-700 in parts depending on exactly what calipers you go with.
7. with a stock pan, around 60 clearance. shaved you can get them just better than a 44. that's only one point, where the ring gear is. if you do a mohawk style, you can take the sides up even further to nearly even with the bottom of the tube (not quite even, bearing caps hang down a little).

8. yep, really depends on your rig... but, most people i've questioned are running 4-6 inches of clearance between the chunk and the closest offending part. driveshaft usually isn't a big concern unless you've got things REALLY crammed in there like pheery's buggy. personally, i've only got 2 inches but i'll have a thin bumpstop on a crossmember that will limit center uptravel. i'm at the max of where i want my overall height to be, so if i need any more clearance it'll have to be with a drivetrain lift.
 
A far as wheel options, what do all these wheels you guys have been listing run cost wise? Ie: what do you think the best option is price wise, adapted wheels or custom made ones? One more quesiton as well, what cost wise am I looking at for custom made wheels ie: really wide wheels. I've heard of people cutting two wheels and putting them together is that how it's generally done, cause it kinda sounds sketchy.

In the end the wheels i get will cater to the tire i decide to run but im sure it will be big nonetheless so wide wheels are prob a neccesary.

Thanks
 
jrraw23 said:
A far as wheel options, what do all these wheels you guys have been listing run cost wise? Ie: what do you think the best option is price wise, adapted wheels or custom made ones? One more quesiton as well, what cost wise am I looking at for custom made wheels ie: really wide wheels. I've heard of people cutting two wheels and putting them together is that how it's generally done, cause it kinda sounds sketchy.
In the end the wheels i get will cater to the tire i decide to run but im sure it will be big nonetheless so wide wheels are prob a neccesary.
Thanks
Click to expand...

I have 5- 15x10 rockwell pattern rims I'd let go if I felt I could replace them quickly enough. They have 6" of backspacing and I wish they were only about 4". I haven't welded any beadlock rings into them because I'm thinking of getting/ making some with less backspacing. (my rear tires bump the frame at full lock)
 
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