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MrKawfey
Dodge Dakota
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7/07/2005
14:09:10
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 Subject: Front ARB for Dana 35
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I have a '97 dakota with the stock Dana 35 IFS. ARB does not list a part number for this axle for the dakota. The dana 35 in our trucks is slightly different from the standard dana 35. I have heard people mention that they have been able to order a locker for a Ford application with the Dana 35 and then modify their axle housing to fit the ARB. Has anyone out there actually done this? If so could you please give me some more info on exactly what you did.
THanks,
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Leviticus
Dodge Dakota
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7/09/2005
01:34:29
|  RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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Ive not heard of this..but if its true id certainly like to hear more details!
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Guam
Dodge Dakota
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7/10/2005
07:01:57
| RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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i have an 02 with a Chrysler 205 mm (8.07 inches) in the front and have NOT been able to find a locker ANYWHERE. The rear is a 9.25 and has a Detroit, which is pretty darn close to as good as its going to get.
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MrKawfey
Dodge Dakota
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7/13/2005
10:30:39
| RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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Well so much for the ARB. I decided to go with the Aussie locker up front. I also have the 9.25" rear in mine (swapped it out of a Durango) and I am running the PowerTrax No-Slip in it. This locker is AWESOME! On the street it is almost transparent. Every once in a while I can hear it click as it disengages or a tire will chip around a turn, but other than that I dont even know it is there. I didnt change my driving style at all either. The one thing that I do notice is some backlash in the drive line. When you shift from park or neutral to drive or rev (or dirve to rev or rev to drive) there is some free play in the drive line that makes it clunk into gear. I have the auto trans, but i bet this would be worse with a manual. It is really no big deal though, just something i notice. Off road the performance is fantastic. The difference is amazing. I cant wait to put the front locker in. I will give an update with my impressions on the AUssie locker in about a week.
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david ledger
Dodge Dakota
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7/13/2005
16:59:47
| RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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MrKawfey - what front axle do you have and what locker are you going to install ? I have the Chrysler 205 mm in front in my 02 and have found nothing for a locker that will fit. Thanks.
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MrKawfey
Dodge Dakota
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7/14/2005
09:00:02
| RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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Unfortunately I don't believe there is anything available for your axle yet. The good news, however, is that the Rams (2003 and up?) use the same axle. This means that you probably just need to sit tight for a little while and somebody will make a locker for it. My truck is a '97 so I have the older Dana 35 axle. It seems like the only reason there were any lockers made available for this axle at all were because the Dana 35 was used in several other vehicles. Thanks to the engineers at Chrysler the case was modified to fit in the Dakota which made it impossible to use any locker that replaced the entire carrier (Detroit, ARB, OX, etc). Luckily the guts of the axle were the same old Dana 35 so any "lunchbox" lockers (Lock Right, No Slip, Aussie, etc) were able to drop right in. You should be able to find a rear locker for your truck with no problem. I think the biggest problem to finding a rear locker is that the manufacturers probably havent updated their application guides in a while.
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4wDakota
GenIII
7/14/2005
10:52:36
| RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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I wouldn't lock the front Dana M35. Seen too many of them blow up when they are open. A locker would put more stress on the aluminum case. If you're getting into ough spots that require a locker I'd look into swapping in a solid axle.
98 CC 4x4, 5.2 Auto 3.55LSD
3" Body Lift, 1" Torsion Bar Lift, 33" BFG A/T KO's
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david ledger
Dodge Dakota
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7/14/2005
17:57:17
| RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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the 9.25 rear axle is locked with a full Detroit and it works great. Good tip about the late model Rams having the same 205 mm front axle as the 02 Dak - I can see where maybe Detroit or ARB will make something for that axle in the future. i can get into and out of some really tough spots with the 3 wheel drive, but the 4th wheel digging would be icing on the cake. I f you here of anything that will work up front, let me know.
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MrKawfey
Dodge Dakota
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7/15/2005
08:50:46
| RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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Thanks for the tip 4wDakota. I plan on doing a SAS sometime down the road (5 years maybe). The simplest solution seems to be a 78-79 bronco with the TTB front end and a 9" rear. Man would it kill me to have Ford parts hanging under my truck though. For now though I try to take it easy on my truck. I am not the guy looking for the hardest line to take. I got the front locker because i figured it would be better than the "spin - grab - spin - grab" jolting that my truck was getting before. The rear locker helped out a lot with this and since I put it in I have yet to be in a situation where I need the front locker. I run 38.5 x 16" swampers so there is not much that I cant get good grip on. I got the Aussie locker yesterday but I can't put it in until I finish fighting with AGR about my rock ram system. That is a whole different story all together. Its been a year and a half since I have been using the Rock Ram and when its working I love it, but I am on my third pump and fourth box.
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david ledger
Dodge Dakota
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7/15/2005
18:49:55
| RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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yep, taking the hardest line is not always the most fun anyway. its nice to actually keep moving forward and "enjoy the drive" instead of fighting the spin grab spin grab .
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MrKawfey
Dodge Dakota
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7/19/2005
12:09:54
| RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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Quick update: the install of the front Aussie locker is going awful. I get the distinct feeling that they have never actually tried to install one in a Dakota or Durango. I am working with them to get it straight. To their credit they are an extremely accommodating company. One of the best I have seen as far as accessibility. I will let you know how it works out.
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MrKawfey
Dodge Dakota
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7/22/2005
09:39:25
| RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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So apparently I am the first person to to try and install an Aussie locker in a Dodge Dakota. The company never checked to see whether the standard Dana 35 part number would work in the Dakota. As we all know Dodge was nice enough to put a real odd ball of an axle in the front of our trucks. I ended up going back and forth with Bill Cole who is the president of Aussie Lockers to come up with a solution and to say the least he is a amazingly nice guy. He is truly dedicated to his customers and thier satisfaction. We finally came up with a solution that I believe will work and I will let you guys know how it went as well as driving impressions.
I have to say, anyone thinking of buying a locker for the front or back of thier truck should get an Aussie Locker. Right out of the box, the Dana 35 locker was beefier than the NoSlip that I put in my 9.25" rear. The other thing that impressed me was the tolerances. The Aussie locker was much tighter and just fit together better. I also can't say enough about thier customer service. You could say that they are the Dell of the locker world.
Will post my driving impressions later
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Guam
Dodge Dakota
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7/22/2005
18:23:34
| RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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look forward to hearing how true 4wd drive performs. i'm jealous. could you please give me Bill Coles email or phone number, maybe he can figure something out for my 02 with the oddball 205 mm front axle. thanks.
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David Ledger
Dodge Dakota
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7/26/2005
21:55:30
| RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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After contacting Bill Cole at Aussie i know now that the only way i am going to get locked up on the front of my 02 with the Chrysler 205mm is to swap it out for an open diff from a 1997-2000 and then install the Aussie locker for the Dana 35. Has any body tried putting a front axle from a 1997 thru 2000 on an 02 or on a year model with the same axle as the 02 ? I dont even know for sure what kind of suspensions the 1997-2000's had - were they solid or independent like the 02 ?
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MrKawfey
Dodge Dakota
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7/27/2005
12:20:07
| RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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David, the front axle you have in your truck is (from what I have read in several places) the exact same one that they now use in the front of the Ram 1500's. I would say that there is a good chance that someone will make a locker for this within the next 2 years. Most likely it will be PowerTrax with either a lock right or a no slip. I have the no slip in the rear of mine and I love it. The 97-00 front ends were IFS with the Dana 35 axle housing. They were also a torsion bar spring. They started with a standard saginaw gear box for stearing and then went to rack and pinion (maybe in 99, not sure). I have a feeling that it would not be worth the effort to swap the older front end in. The easiest swap that I have seen on the Dakotas is the 78/79 bronco swap. The broncos are cheap and the swap requires very little modification to the Dakota frame or the bronco parts. The problem is, thanks to Dodge, we have an oddball lug pattern for the rims (6x4.5). This means if you do an axle swap in the front you need to do it in the rear too or run two different bolt patterns front and back. The nice thing about the Bronco swap is most of those had a Dana 44 in front and a Ford 9" in the rear. The 9" is a really stong axle so one beat up bronco gets you all the parts to beef the front and rear of you truck and still have matching bolt patterns.
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David Ledger
Dodge Dakota
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7/27/2005
19:11:56
| RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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MrKawfey - thanks for taking the time to write this up. I think the best option will be to wait awhile for a locker that fits the Ram 1500. Meantime, if I can get my hands on a junk-yard front off an 00 Dak (your point about rack and pinion is a good one since the 02 has it) I might just pick it up to see if it could be installed on the 02. I'll skip the bronco option.I 've already dealt with the 6 on 4.5 lug pattern problem just trying to find wheels with good back spacing. best I've come up with is the Series 97 rock crawler from 4wheelparts with 4.25" of b/s. Have you found 6 on 4.5 wheels any where else with backspacing to push the tire out more ?
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MrKawfey
Dodge Dakota
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7/28/2005
10:43:58
| RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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Yup. I have found a few different wheels. Some are very expensive. I think Weld and Mickey thompson make some that are $200+ per wheel. I have two different sets, one for street tires and one for offroad tires. What I have are Eagle Alloy 589's which are 15x10. I run 38.5x16x15 swampers on these. They were ~$100 per wheel and the last time i bought one it was tough to get. The other set is a real odd ball but well worth the effort. I don't know if you are familliar with the American Racing type 39 wheel. It is the alloy wheel with the three swoosh pattern with the black paint inlay around the swooshes. They were a very common aftermarket wheel for trucks. They are still all over the place. They never made one for the Dakotas, but Ultra Wheel made a knock off that looked just the same (they were very sneaky and called it the type 49!) and they did make it for the dakotas. They actually had more backspacing than the AR rims too. They only made them for the Dakotas until about '99 and then stopped. It took me about a year but i found a set of 15x8's (i think this is the only size the made in this style) on ebay. I got them for about $100 for the whole set. On these I run 315/85R15 Denman Coyotes. I love these tires but alas they dont make them anymore either. They were the equivilent of a 37x9x15 tire. They are real tall so they look good on a lifted truck, but they are real skinny so they dont hurt my milage on the highway. I have about 60K miles on them and they still have about 30% tread left. Anyway sorry for the rambling. Just keep checking ebay in the wheel and tire section and do a search for dakota or durango. good luck
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Nanook
Dodge Dakota
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7/29/2005
02:00:59
| RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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MrKawfey,
Did you ever get your locker in? If so how did it work/ drive?
thanks for the info.
mark,
2002 SXT 4x4, 5spd (i don't know about the speed portion but it has 5 gears), 3.92 LSD, Extreme Air Intake, Gibson Exhaust, Thunderform, and a tow package
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MrKawfey
Dodge Dakota
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8/08/2005
13:11:40
| RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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Ok, the front locker is in. So far I have not spent much time driving it, but I can't even tell it's there. When I was installing it I went through their test procedure before buttoning up the diff and it made a ton of noise locking and unlocking, but once the cover is on and the diff is filled with fluid it was silent. so far I dont notice any change in the steering either. I have not yet taken it off road as I still have a few other loose ends to tie up before it is ready, but I will post as soon as I do.
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david ledger
Dodge Dakota
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8/09/2005
03:56:04
| RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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MrKawfey - good news! So if I were to install a front axle from a 2000 Dakota, being the Dana 35, in my 2002, what is the Aussie part number for your locker ?
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MrKawfey
Dodge Dakota
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8/11/2005
09:01:44
| RE: Front ARB for Dana 35
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The part number is XD13530. They pulled it off their website when i was going through the problems with my install and it doesnt look like they have put it back up yet. What they did after i got mine in was to send me parts from a couple of different lockers to test out the install in a spare case and carrier that I had. I took pictures of every thing and did a write up for them and sent it all back to them. After I sent it back they said that they would be adding back to their website soon. I would suggest that you do the install in the axle before you install it in the truck. It will make your life a lot easier to do it on the bench. good luck with the axle swap. If you do it, let me know how it went. I would be interested in finding out if it is a direct bolt in or if you need to make custom brackets.
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