Shortening dana 80?

9 LIVES

9 LIVES

Demolition Expert
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Oct 29, 2006
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Anyone have some tips/tricks or photos on how to properly chop the axle tubes and re-weld? Need to get the slicks under the wheel wells. Like photo below :rockwoot:


Everyone that I know of that has chopped the rear tubes to shorten has been a ford 9".
 

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Just drill out the plug welds going threw the center section to axles, remove axle tubes cut, grind everything really clean and smooth, put tubes back in center section set pinion angle, then weld.
 
9 LIVES said:
Anyone have some tips/tricks or photos on how to properly chop the axle tubes and re-weld? Need to get the slicks under the wheel wells. Like photo below :rockwoot:


Everyone that I know of that has chopped the rear tubes to shorten has been a ford 9".
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are you running 8 lugs on the front?
 
MDW said:
Thats no 9", thats a Dana 80
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What I meant by ford 9" is the few people who I asked about this had swapped in a ford 9".

I was going to ask you next:Cheer: Just didn't want to bother you?
Do you have any photos of how it was done?
 
95ctd said:
Just drill out the plug welds going threw the center section to axles, remove axle tubes cut, grind everything really clean and smooth, put tubes back in center section set pinion angle, then weld.
Click to expand...


I thought most have cut from the ends and not from the center section?
 
95ctd said:
Just drill out the plug welds going threw the center section to axles, remove axle tubes cut, grind everything really clean and smooth, put tubes back in center section set pinion angle, then weld.
Click to expand...

I'd recomend a jig to make sure everything is true!
 
I was going to ask this questiion in about a week...Picked up the short bed tonight! Next questions is, what are you guys doing for the axle shafts?
 
feelmecummin said:
I was going to ask this questiion in about a week...Picked up the short bed tonight! Next questions is, what are you guys doing for the axle shafts?
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you can get axles cut and re-splined, but I would just get one of the popular axle manufacturers to make you a good forged set
 
feelmecummin said:
I was going to ask this questiion in about a week...Picked up the short bed tonight! Next questions is, what are you guys doing for the axle shafts?
Click to expand...

I was going to call Moser and see if they could make me a set of their Custom Alloys for my 80

Chris
 
When we did mine we took ~4 1/2" out of each side. We air-arced the plug welds out, cut tubes off at the housing, torched the pieces out of housing, machined the tubes to the proper o.d., heated the housing, slid remainder of tube back in, and then welded everything. I started with Moser axles and they started to twist, so now I have Mark Williams. This pic is the tightest I can get a 35" tire to the leaf springs.
 

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We had a set done by an outfit in Southern Cali. I do not remmber how much it cost, but he handled the whole thing on our AAM 11.5" took 4 1/2" out of both side to total a 9" section.
 
Is it possible to do this work on the truck? I've been looking under the truck and it seems like you can do this while the axle is still in the truck?

Seems as though you can pull the axles out of the rear end. Cut the tubes on either end right where the leaf spring saddles are (going with coilover) remove a couple inches weld back the tubes and get new axles made. Would this work? This way you wouldnt have to worry about pinion angles etc...

Besides finding a way to cut the tubes striaght would this idea work?
 
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