The full floating axles are SPLINED on both ends, so they only DRIVE the wheel and do not support the weight of the vehicle. With that said, they are much safer! The main advantage that we use them for in the pro-touring world is to eliminate brake pad “knock-back.”

A full-floating axle carries the vehicle’s weight on the axle casing, not the halfshafts; they serve only to transmit torque from the differential to the wheels. They “float” inside an assembly that carries the vehicle’s weight. Thus the only stress it must endure is torque (not lateral bending force).

A full floating axle consists of a wheel hub assemble that is separate from the axle shaft. A spindle bolted to the axle tube supports the wheel hub by means of a pair of wheel bearings. Therefore, the weight of the vehicle and its cargo is transfered to the axle tube, rather than the axle shaft itself.

As such, a full-floating axle system is considerably stronger than an equivalently sized semi-floating system. For those of you who carry heavy loads, this means your axle load capacity is greatly increased with a full-floater.

By design, all steering (front) drive axles are full-floating, but rear drive axles may be semi-floating or full-floating. …

The Dana 60 rear axle was first introduced in 1955 as a full floating axle in Ford F-250’s and is still used today. Manufactured in both full float and semi float variations. The semi float axles have GAWR up to 5,500 lbs and the full float axles were rated up to 6,500 lbs.

Three quarter floating axle: The axle shaft is keyed rigidly to the wheel hub. This arrangement provides the driving connection and maintains the alignment of the wheel. The construction at the inner end of the axle shaft is the same as with the semi floating type. This axle is not supported by bearings at either end.