Thanks, there certainly is plenty to think about and consider to make these swaps.
About your "pucker factor", It too had that same feeling when I started this project. I tried and measured all the axles I could find, the conclusion was that my only and best option was to narrow one. I looked into it and found very little if any info on doing it. Eventually I found a well known axle shop that commonly "drops" axles, and they were willing to narrow the axle for me, and stand behind it even in a 2 ton truck.
They were a long way away and paying to ship two axles there and back plus there probably reasonable fee added up to a lot.
I decided if they could do it I should be able to find a good welder close to home that can do it too.
A friend of mine is a blacksmith and an excellent welder, he knew exactly what to do and was willing to help. I took all the measurements, cut it and ground the weld prep, then clamped it in position on his welding table. He followed the procedure of pre heating, welding while monitoring the temp, post heat, and slow cool, I chipped slag and wire brushed so the process would go faster.
That first axle went into my 1952 1 ton pickup, which I then had the alignment checked, it was perfect, and the next week a friend and I started out on a little test drive.. 28 days later, and about 8,000 miles we arrived back home, we made stops in CA, Vancouver Island, and Niagara Falls among other places.
The axle performed just fine, absolutely no problems or signs of impending failure.
Also note that the physical size of the new front axle, the I-beam section, is about twice as large and heavy as the original one, this helps to reduce the "pucker factor". Also important is a good weld is stronger than the parent metal.
The first axle swap was a success, and I am 100% happy with the results and confident this is a safe method if carried out carefully.
The second axle swap I did was for a 1961 F350 that has a Detroit diesel 6V53T engine and a Roadranger transmission, lots of front end weight, more than even the original axle wanted. For this one I used the axle form a medium duty Chevy truck, again it is physically much larger than the original. I did all the prep and again my fried welded it for me.
I then took the truck, which weighed 10,000 lb empty, on a cross country trip, to an ATHS show in CO Springs, then on to Idaho to pick up an AD cab, to Washington to pick up a 54 COE, back through Idaho for a 3,000 lb industrial machine, and continued on home. The trucks and load weighed around 23,000 lb. Again, the truck and axle performed flawlessly on about a 7,000 mile trip in less than 2 weeks, half of it with a substantial load.
In summary, I too was concerned about narrowing and axle, I did the research, found someone who knew what to do and how to do it safely, and I have tested two different axles in real working trucks. The first axle is now under my 2 ton, and I will use it as a real work truck, no concerns.
I no longer have hesitations about axle narrowing when done carefully, and plan to do a few more for.
Grigg
