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Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 Dana 60 Hub removal and converison to Ford Knuckles

533K views 715 replies 159 participants last post by  NorCalJalopy 
#1 · (Edited)
So all in the efforts to avoid replacing a wheel bearing and stop the death wobble, I converted my 97 Dodge cummins knuckles to 92/93 Ford knuckles.




Place two pickle forks behind the rotor and hit it really really really hard and it'll come off!




Me setting up the ball joint installation/removal tool

My techinique for pressing the ball joints in and out. =] Gotta put my whole body into it!

Dodge Knuckle off, time for ford knuckle!!!
 
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#198 ·
Dodge dana 44 hubs

there are a few cheaper ways to convert dodge 1500 to free wheel.
1) A dodge 44 is a dana 44 with dana 30 inner knuckles. You may be able to retrofit jeep dana 30/35 outer knuckles to the dodge 44.Some jeep models even have the same 5 on 4.5" bolt pattern for the wheels.

2) A cheaper convertion kit (under $1000)is available from ems offroad.

For any convertion you will have to bore out the wheel centers to get them on or replace them outright.

Care should be taken with convertions, they are not for racing,rock crawling, or harsh (deep mud/water) offroading! This is mainly due to the small needle bearing used to support the outer saft in the hub. It is easly destroyed when you turn sharply and "punch it".
 
#199 ·
damn good thing this is about dana 60 hubs!

lmao, this thread is about dana 60 fronts that are being outfitted with dana 50, 60, ttb50 and after market dana = outers... has nothing to do with dana 44 anything other that a few... well lot of the trucks that had dana 44s now have 60 cause they better at not bending and blowing to hell.

I have never seen or heard about any one ... ever blowing a shaft bearing turning sharp... are you talking about the bearings in the u-joint?

and what he hell is "convertion"?

also just putting the words dana 30 in this thread makes you dumb. putting it in the context that one could read it as jeep dana 30/35 outer knuckles. makes you clown shoes dumb! RBVs had a dana35 front and it has worse bearings than the unit bearings on the 1500... which should only be brought up if you have swapped a d60 in it... cause this thread is about dana 60s and replacing unit bearings with serviceable roller bearings on a dana 60 standard spindle.

to the op, damn good information... even better knowing you do this kind of stuff for your pops and do it with odd and ends. Love making something out of nothing! well done!

B
 
#201 ·
Perfect! And now we know! Too bad you found out the hard way.

So the D60 ball joints fit in the TTB50 knuckles allowing it to bolt to the inner ball joint c's, BUT the spindle surface is too far inboard to clear the 60 shafts. Also the steering arms are at an odd angle that probably would induce steering issues.

I do wonder though what the difference measurement wise is in the spindle mounting surface distances to the BJ pivot line? Could a spacer be used to allow it to work and still maybe have some engagement in the knuckle bore? If so, a steering set up and track bar set up could be built to fix the geometry... It could be another swap and maybe even cheaper, but requiring more work? Be something interesting for someone to play with...

82F100SWB, looks like you were wrong about the TTB50 knuckles not being able to be bolted to the 60. It might be best if you go back and edit your posts and clarify so people don't get confused.
 
#203 ·
Perfect! And now we know! Too bad you found out the hard way.

So the D60 ball joints fit in the TTB50 knuckles allowing it to bolt to the inner ball joint c's, BUT the spindle surface is too far inboard to clear the 60 shafts. Also the steering arms are at an odd angle that probably would induce steering issues.

I do wonder though what the difference measurement wise is in the spindle mounting surface distances to the BJ pivot line? Could a spacer be used to allow it to work and still maybe have some engagement in the knuckle bore? If so, a steering set up and track bar set up could be built to fix the geometry... It could be another swap and maybe even cheaper, but requiring more work? Be something interesting for someone to play with...
yea i was wondering if a spacer sort of like the caliper brackets for the d44 would work.
 
#211 ·
No luck at all eh? Glad those knuckles worked out for you man! We actually just sold our (79fordgirl and my) truck that she did the conversion on. Keep up the tech and keep posting what you find with your steering set up.

Personally, if I could, I could keep the tie rod on top of the knuckles and maybe clearance the sway bar brackets???
 
#214 ·
pluggin away at it still.

Steering is in... got dark on me before i was able to get a good pic of the draglink in referance to the trac bar.


this is at full lock to the left.


debauting whether or not to try and see if i can indent the cover some. wont turn any father, knuckle steering stops hit the axle... which also happen to align perfectly. almost like they were meant to be there haha.

does not get as close when turing to the right.
 
#217 ·
yeah the stuff i used was from the 95+ ford.

the thing is keeping the draglink parallel with the trac bar.

if i didnt have the carli coils up front i think it would be dead on perfect. they add about 2inches or so of lift up front.

couldnt flip them on top of the d60 knucks as it hits the sway bar brackets.
 
#231 ·
I never had the idea to try putting the 60 BJ's in a 50, from the parts I've changed out the 50 lower looks to be a smaller unit, but, it may well be an optical illusion on the diameter of the lower.
Either way, if you are doing the knuckle swap, a TTB 50 is not a useable donor, you must get the knuckles from a 92-97 F350 with a D60. To make it short and sweet, if it isn't a standard monobeam axle hanging off of leaf springs with a panhard bar under the truck you are getting your parts from, it isn't going to work.
 
#232 ·
WOW! I have read and re-read this so many times my brain is now soup. From what I can piece together, is this going to work?

Stock Dodge knuckles, re-drilled Ford D50 TTB spindles (including hubs, bearings and lock outs), 78 Ford F250 rotors, stock Dodge brake calipers, and a stub shaft from a BJ Ford D60.

This seems to be the easiest way to do this swap on the west coast, as all the good D60 axles are not here:mad3: . Thanks in advance for any input.
 
#233 ·
WOW! I have read and re-read this so many times my brain is now soup. From what I can piece together, is this going to work?

Stock Dodge knuckles, re-drilled Ford D50 TTB spindles (including hubs, bearings and lock outs), 78 Ford F250 rotors, stock Dodge brake calipers, and a stub shaft from a BJ Ford D60.
Stubs from any 78-97 Ford D60 work. The rest is correct.
 
#236 ·
very nice work. Just to keep the thread alive... What parts did you use from the f350? Fordgirl started an excellent write up, but we may need to condense this beast... Which I can do as I try to avoid working at all costs... :p
 
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