Building a 4 link chassis truck for a buddy, don’t have a narrowing jig so he had another guy come and narrow the rear end while I wasn’t there. I’ve got the driveline centered in the truck. Tacked the 4 link brackets on last night and realized he cut the axle tubes the same length which puts the passenger side housing end exactly 1” closer to the center of the truck. Besides wheel fitment how would this affect the tracking? The only solution I can come up with is to shorten the drivers side 1” and he’ll have to figure out what wheel offset he’ll need. Thoughts?

Would a 1 inch wheel spacer on the short side be too dangerous? Probably wouldn't have enough stud length for that anyway though. I had 1/4" spacers on both sides of mine and never had any problems but a 1" spacer would be quite a bit more.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 57chevy,

How does the driveshaft line up in the tunnel? Pretty sure the pinion is offset to one side so cutting both ends the same amount would keep driveshaft centered, I could be wrong there but do remember my axles out of my Dana having 1” difference in length but I didn’t cut it down it came that way in the car.

I'm no chassis guy, but I wouldn't build a whole truck from scratch around a rear that was cut wrong. If it doesn't turn out well, the first thing people will ask is "who built it?".... not "who cut the axle tubes?". I'd give the owner the unfortunate news that he needs to find another Dana 60 housing & add that to his budget.

So you have a housing that is off set 1 inch to the passenger side if the housing ends are centered? This is common for some chassis builders, as you move the drivetrain over for weight distribution and driver room. This issue should have been discussed before it was cut. I would center the housing ends to the car, and move the driveline over to match. This is purposely done on MANY SG roadsters for driver room and weight distribution. Or you could redo the long side and cut the axle down if you don't want offset.

RIP

If you want the pinion in the center, you need to re-tube it, or cut the too long side off, then choose your wheel backspacing.

How can one side be too short, and the other side not be too long, if the width is correct?
If the housing ends are centered the pinion will only be off 1/2"...If the housing is the correct length.

Question: How do you fit a rear end without having the wheel and tire combination to measure for fitment?

If you measured from the pinion center when you welded the 4 link brackets on then yes its off. If you measured from the housing ends the the pinion will be offset which is no problem. If not happy with current situation Dana housings are cheap start over on the housing and make right.

Apparently the guy had the wheels and tires in when he measured. I wanted the pinion to be in the center, as I’ve already mounted the engine and trans in the center. The guy came back over and told me I had the brackets in the wrong spot, which I knew I didn’t, but either way, I moved them to where they’re equal lengths from the housing ends, but now of course my pinion is shifted to the passenger side of the truck. At this point the guy just keeps bringing in other “more experienced” guys to second guess me, and I’m just ready to get it over with, messed up or not

First off, why are the housing ends welded on before the 4 link brackets? Second, cast center section rearends commonly are centered off the cast center and not the pinion mainly because they are so wide that the center may interfere with the suspension brackets. Centering the cast center also looks "right" from behind and they usually don't have nearly as much pinion offset as a 9", so it's not a big deal.