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Dana 60 low pinion vs 60 high pinion?

21K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  oneton72gmc 
#1 ·
Not quite what the title suggests, what I am wondering what are the differences in the two bare center sections? Specifically the carriers?

I was wondering, could I just take a low pinion center section, modify the oiling, and run a set of reverse cut gears on the low pinion carrier?

This intriuges me cause I would like to do it, if it will work. I know Ford only used one carrier (from the factory) for all gear ratio's, however low pinion Dana 60's had a carrier split.

Has anybody else done this?
 
#4 ·
Reverse cut gears in a normal housing flipped upside down, obviously with the carrier backwards from normal and they would not mesh correctly?

This is why I had this in the tech section, the title implies newbie but I am wondering about the actual carrier differences.

So I could put an RC carrier in a normal housing and make this work then? What is the difference, does anybody know? I wouldn't think that the carrier could be that much different.
 
#5 ·
#1 - if you flip the housing upside down, the axle will run backward. There is no way to change this.

#2 - as has been stated, reverse cut (high pinion) gears will not work in a normal housing, period.

#3 - the carriers are the same high or low pinion.
 
#8 ·
oneton72gmc said:
So I could put an RC carrier in a normal housing and make this work then?
Yes


oneton72gmc said:
What is the difference, does anybody know?
None


oneton72gmc said:
I wouldn't think that the carrier could be that much different.
It's no different.
 
#9 ·
OK, I am getting two different answers yes and no, unless the yes is to the RC carrier into the normal housing which I now know.

So the two housings are different correct? I am not as retarded as I look I just act like it.

Is it because the carrier cannot be shimmed far enough away from the pinion in the standard housing? I seem to recall reading in Petersons that sombody flipped a standard housing upside down, but I can't remember what exactly it was in or what else they did. I am just basically testing to see if I could build a hi pinion 60 cheap, just cause I can. I already have a low pinion and want to have a HP front end cause it would be better, but I don't wanna actually buy somthing I could make cheaper.

If the housings are different, ok, great. But from what I see the reverse cut pinion has a much smaller pinion bearing diameter than a normal 60. Unless that is an RC44 pinion which it looks like it is.

Basically what I want to know is what are the exact differences between the two housings, I now understand that the carriers are the same, I just didn't think so because they didn't have a carrier split from the factory with RC gears.

From what it looks like now after doing some looking at at a low pinion 60, it seems like the carrier could not be moved over far enough to accomodate the opposite side gear contact of RC gears, is that the only difference and complication in the way? Or is there more that I am not noticing?
 
#10 ·
The difference between a high pinion (amboid) and a low pinion (hypoid) housing is the location of the pinion. An amboid pinion gear is mounted above the centerline of the ring gear and a hypoid gear is mounted below the centerline of the ring gear. Both are mounted on the same side of the ring gear so everything rotates in the same direction but because the amboid pinion is mounted above the cl of the ring gear instead of below, the gears must be cut in the opposite direction so that they will mesh. There are two pluses for a front drive axle, one is that the pinion now drives on the proper side of the ring gear, two is that there is now less of an angle for the driveshaft. If you were to take a hypoid housing and turn it over to put the pinion above the centerline, it would now be on the opposite side of the ring gear and the axles would rotate in the opposite direction. There is some confusion caused by the use of the misnomer that is sometimes used to identify the amboid axle that being "reverse rotation". There is nothing that is moving in a reverse rotation everything rotates the same direction between the amboid and hypoid gear sets.
If that is perfectly clear try pondering hunting, non-hunting and semi non-hunting gear sets.

Gus
 
#12 ·
speedo said:
The difference between a high pinion (amboid) and a low pinion (hypoid) housing is the location of the pinion. An amboid pinion gear is mounted above the centerline of the ring gear and a hypoid gear is mounted below the centerline of the ring gear. Both are mounted on the same side of the ring gear so everything rotates in the same direction but because the amboid pinion is mounted above the cl of the ring gear instead of below, the gears must be cut in the opposite direction so that they will mesh. There are two pluses for a front drive axle, one is that the pinion now drives on the proper side of the ring gear, two is that there is now less of an angle for the driveshaft. If you were to take a hypoid housing and turn it over to put the pinion above the centerline, it would now be on the opposite side of the ring gear and the axles would rotate in the opposite direction. There is some confusion caused by the use of the misnomer that is sometimes used to identify the amboid axle that being "reverse rotation". There is nothing that is moving in a reverse rotation everything rotates the same direction between the amboid and hypoid gear sets.
If that is perfectly clear try pondering hunting, non-hunting and semi non-hunting gear sets.

Gus
Thank you, that was an answer I was looking for, the answer and a good explaination. That makes sense, I don't own an HP front end, and have never really had the chance to look at one and ponder the differences side by side. All of my observations have been of the low pinion rear D60 housing that is sitting in my garage waiting for its 35 spline axleshafts and truss to throw under my truck.
 
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