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1984 K20 Dana 60 swap and suspension

redneckK20s

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 11, 2020
Member Number
3039
Messages
337
Loc
Farber, MO
Hey guys, total noob here and probably belongs in the noob forum but it's GM specific so I figured I'd start here. Story is I've had my '84 K20 for 12 years. It has a 10b front, 14b FF rear with 3.42 gears and factory garbage limited slip. It has a 454 with a 427 crank and too much cam for the cylinder heads, an SM465 and an NP208. 4 inch lift with cut fenders for fender flares and 38 inch Yokohama MTs. Right rear spring is completely wore out from axle wrap and me driving like a dick.

Bought an '85 K20 with a Dana 60/14b FF with 4.10 gears (maybe some kind of locker in the rear), 454/TH400/NP208 to swap the axles out and keep as a tow rig.

I want to keep the truck about the same height, the body went to shit so I plan on cutting the fenders up and maybe shortening the bed some day. I want the truck to flex well and ride as well as possible on leaf springs and I'm trying to keep a budget.

I've heard of swapping the rear 52" springs to the front (obviously removing leaves) and changing hangers. Also heard swapping to 63" rear springs from a newer model truck. Trying to do this on the cheap so I figured stock height 63" rears with some type of shackle flip kit to get the height I need and obviously different mounts to accomodate the longer spring. The front is what I'm not sure what to do on. Any guidance with someone with some experience doing this? I'm pretty dumb and new to this.
 
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Am I better off just sticking with stock spring length on the rear? I want to keep the truck street legal but it won't be road tripping or hauling more than just trail/camping gear.
 
Next question because I'm dumb: looking at stock replacement leaf springs, should I get leaves rated at the capacity for the weight of the truck or go lighter for a better ride?
 
Well, to start, 4.10 gears and 38" tires are not going to bode well for towing. Get some 4.56 or 4.88 gears in those axles before you swap them.....

Second, the longer the leafs, the better flex you'll have. 52" leafs in front with a b-52 kit, 63" Chevy rear springs and either leaf sliders, or reverse shackle flip. Get some Deaver springs if you can afford it, they flex like crazy. Also, changing leaf springs doesn't make anything illegal. Also get you an anti wrap kit for the rear and enjoy traction with no axle hop.
 
Thanks for the response! The truck with 38's will be a play toy and 4.10's will get me by until I can drop the cash on 4.56's or 4.88's and lockers, but i might go up in tire size then too. The other truck will get the 3.42 axles and it's got 33's on it. It's got a boat cam in it so it should pull the longer gearing with 33's ok I think.

I've been researching non-stop, I think the B52 kit with stock half ton rear leafs on the front, then the shackle flip kit on the rear with stock height 63" half ton springs on the rear. 6" shackles front and rear, also going to do the new shackle hanger kit on the front.

Any good solution for axle wrap on the rear besides a traction bar? Is it stupid to get a 5" lift rear spring and try mounting it under the axle to negate it a little?
 
Talking to myself in here but figured I should ask before a response pops up.

Big block truck, should I go for 4 leaf rear half ton springs for the front so I can remove a spring for tuning? Starting to think the extra 30 bucks for the extra leaf on the front and rear springs might be beneficial in case the truck is a bit too heavy for 2wd 1/2 ton leafs.
 
redneckK20s said:
Talking to myself in here but figured I should ask before a response pops up.

Big block truck, should I go for 4 leaf rear half ton springs for the front so I can remove a spring for tuning? Starting to think the extra 30 bucks for the extra leaf on the front and rear springs might be beneficial in case the truck is a bit too heavy for 2wd 1/2 ton leafs.
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I'm doing the same thing as you but to a swb. I haven't started yet but have been collecting parts.

For the front I have the current ½ ton springs that are on the rear of my truck and a couple of sets of ¾ ton rear springs.
For the rear I have '97 z71 ex cab rear springs. I plan on installing the best looking springs and making adjustments accordingly.

I have no other input except the I'm following this build.
 
Finally organized the shop. Should mention this will be slow going. I plan on ordering the B52 kit/front hanger kit, shackle flip and crossover steering as soon as I can so I can at least get the mounts mocked up with some junkyard springs if I can find them. I've heard the GMT400 tahoes have a 54 inch rear springs and they might be a littlw more available in junkyards at this point so I might go that route.

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I run 54” Tahoe springs in the front of my k20. 6 or 6.5” shackle, factory shackle hanger w/poly bushings, dodge ramcharger pitman arm and just moved the front spring mounts.
 
Twankie said:
I run 54” Tahoe springs in the front of my k20. 6 or 6.5” shackle, factory shackle hanger w/poly bushings, dodge ramcharger pitman arm and just moved the front spring mounts.
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Stock leaf pack or did you remove any leafs? Put you around 4" over stock? So far tahoe leaf springs look like they'll be way easier to find used.
 
Well I guess I'll consider this a build thread too. Progress will be slooooow because I don't make a ton of money but I'll add bits and pieces.

Current goal is to get the '85 (stockish) street legal so I can use it to get around in the snow this year. Currently working on rewiring the taillights from the cab back because I'm pretty sure I sliced them lifting the bed off to mess with the fuel system.

Picked up a set of used 285/R17's off of my dad's Avalanche to put on the '84 so I can roll it in and out of the shop without completely deflating the tires. Might end up staying on the '85 after the axle swap because I don't know who in my area will drill out the H2 wheels for the D60 hub.

The 10b/14ff 3.42 geared setup on the '84 has nearly brand new hubs and functions perfect, so that swap may need to happen sooner rather than later. Just need U-bolts to make that happen, swapping the other axles (D60/14ff 4.10) from the '85 on to the '84 is going to take the B52 kit and shackle flip from DIY4x as well as all new (unless I can find used) leaf springs, so that might need to wait.

The D60 has a hole in the LH hub cap and a spring hanging out, so I'll at least need a set of lockout hubs to make them functional.
 
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Well I'm an idiot and lost my splined lugnut key for the '84, trying to pull the wheels off to swap on the baby tires to make it more easily mobile. Guy I bought the '85 from has an SM465 and hydraulic pedal setup he's going to trade me for the TH400. Want to put the '85 where the '84 is so it won't trap everything during the tranny swap.
 
redneckK20s said:
Well I'm an idiot and lost my splined lugnut key for the '84, trying to pull the wheels off to swap on the baby tires to make it more easily mobile. Guy I bought the '85 from has an SM465 and hydraulic pedal setup he's going to trade me for the TH400. Want to put the '85 where the '84 is so it won't trap everything during the tranny swap.
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Weld a pipe to the lugnuts and use a pipe wrench to remove them... Or just buy a new socket.
 
Been on the hunt for the socket, can't find it anywhere locally. A friend maybe has one I can go pick up. Last resort will be to go buy some cheap sockets but I don't know how many I'll go through with 32 lug nuts. Maybe should have mentioned since this is a build thread, but I currently don't have 220v in my shop so no compressor or welder for me at this time. It's on the long list of needs.
 
Can you post a picture of the lugnuts? And some kind of measurements?
 
I hammered a 12 point 3/4 and got one off, took it to a buddies to make sure what he had would work.

Good source for U-bolts anyone? Want to get the 10b and 3.42 14bff swapped in to the '85 as quick as possible to get it driveable. The 4 speed swap will add a significant amount of time, but it gives me another excuse to yank the dash to fix wiring and swap pedals.
 
"I don't know who in my area will drill out the H2 wheels for the D60 hub."


I didn't have to do anything to get my H2 wheels to firt on my 60.
 
Tagjeep said:
"I don't know who in my area will drill out the H2 wheels for the D60 hub."


I didn't have to do anything to get my H2 wheels to firt on my 60.
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Everyone and their freakin mom has told me I'll have to but won't know until I try.

Got the wheels off. Had to use a 4lb hammer and a piece of wood because they were all stuck like chuck. Harbor freight bead breaker is waaaay too small to try those 38's so I'll have to take them somewhere tomorrow. Trying to post pics but it's not going well.
 
Got the 285/70's mounted, should fit out of the door now.
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Next step is to get both trucks moved around and some more shop cleanup. Going to start dropping the TH400 tomorrow most likely.
 
Parts shopping with imaginary money again. I'm getting confused with the crossover/high steer. I want to do crossover steering for sure, but I plan on doing the B52 kit with either 52 or 54" springs in the front, but that means I can't do the high steer. I'm on DIY4X's website and I see a crossover steering kit or a combo crossover/high steering kit. Looks like the high steering kit eliminates the king pin springs, but it doesn't look like just the normal crossover steering accomplishes that.
 
redneckK20s said:
Parts shopping with imaginary money again. I'm getting confused with the crossover/high steer. I want to do crossover steering for sure, but I plan on doing the B52 kit with either 52 or 54" springs in the front, but that means I can't do the high steer. I'm on DIY4X's website and I see a crossover steering kit or a combo crossover/high steering kit. Looks like the high steering kit eliminates the king pin springs, but it doesn't look like just the normal crossover steering accomplishes that.
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https://irate4x4.com/newb-4x4/123815-dana-60-crossover there is good information in this thread. Location plays a big role in buying and paying shipping on these parts as they are HEAVY.
 
More future planning if anyone wants to chime in. Both trucks have NP208's. I've got a line on a couple of different 205's in the area. The tow rig will be fine but the wheeling rig I'd like to have a 205 in. But it I'm going for it, is it worth doing a doubler at the same time? Any way to pair up a 205 and a 208 or am I wasting my time? Sorry I'm full of dumb questions.
 
For doubler on the cheap its hard to beat the np203\np205 setup. I'm sure someone somewhere has done a np208\np205 doubler but off the shelf 203 kit would be my suggestion for parts availability down the rd. I agree for the tow rig that the np208 is fine, if you want more strength there down rd I would go np241.
 
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