[57taskforce]

Once you get the backing plate mount flanges welded to the axle, now is a good time paint or do whatever other things you may need like replace bearings, seals, studs, calipers, rotors etc. Put it all back together one last time and your all set. I haven’t installed the axle in my ‘72 K20 because I’m not to that part of my build yet. When I get to that point I will address park brake cables, plumbing and 4 wheel disk master cylinder Choices along with anything else that comes up. Another thing worth noting on the hub seals is that GM has a much better updated seal design in the late model axles. I use this seal anytime I replace one in the older style axles. It’s a 2 piece design with a built in wear sleeve for the spindle and it works quite well. I will link to it at the bottom of this page. Also there are two types of hub nuts/retainers. My axle has the single hub nut with the key stock and circle clip that holds it all together. The other style is 2 hub nuts that jam together with a locking tab ring in between them. For hub nut torque I always have set the inner nut to 50 ftlbs while rotating the hub then backed off the nut and re torqued to 35ftlbs. Then add which ever locking mechanism style your axle has. If pictures are needed of the two different styles I can add them.

If interested in this swap, the cheapest route is likely to find a complete factory disk axle and rob all the brake parts off of it. I was fortunate enough to get 2 of these axles from work, for pretty cheap. They came from wrecked company trucks that were going for scrap. I was able to sell both the axles less the brake parts for 250 and 350. So If you do buy a complete axle you can likely make some of your money back if you don’t have a use for the axle. Another viable option would probably be a pick n pull for the brake parts only. Below I will attach a few pictures of the swap complete on stands, as well as the backing plate flange welded to the axle. I hope to swap it into my truck this spring. If anyone has any questions or if something is not clear post it here and I’ll see what I can do to help.