Ok, I've decided that for the wheeling that I want to do, and the size of the tire I want to run (38's) Dana 60's are the way to go. The question is: out of what vehicle?

1. I'm looking for a width of between 60" and 65"

2. For the front, a Driver's Side drop.

3. I'd prefer a full-floater for the rear, but that is negotiable.

Also, not having looked at alot of D60's, are most of them 8 lug?

And, BTW, I did search for 'Dana' and 'Dana60' but didn't find anything usefull.

Thanks,

- Mike

Front (open knuckle)60's only came in full size Chevy's, Dodge's, and Ford's. YOu want a Ford 60 for the driver side drop. As for your width issue though, you need to have it cut down. No one makes one that skinny from the factory. You can also have one custome built if you want to give up the $$$$

For the rear, lots of options available. Try vans, jeep trucks, and older fords...

Have fun trying to find a front 60 here in AZ. Ford fronts will even be harder to locate.


All 8 lug.



For the rear you can find them 65" wide. Look in older dodge trucks and vans plus big ford vans from the early 80's.


Just curious why you want passenger side drop on the front axle... what tcase are you running?.

You can probably find some D60's out of J trucks for the rear they are 8 lug though and 30 spline... Your gonna want to go up to 35 spline of course so you just need new ends cause alot of 60's cant fit 35 spline so you just get new ends, so you dont need to cut them. As far as the front save the wieght and the big diff unless you like dragging your diff everywhere I'd go 44 front with 60 rear its a nice setup i am doing it and I am running 38.5x14.5 havent run them yet but I know alot of people who thrash on the 44 with 38's and they have no problem plus 44's are a dime a dozen out of a waggy dont need to cut them....

Originally posted by AtomicBeesting
Just curious why you want passenger side drop on the front axle... what tcase are you running?.

I'm going to be running a 700R4 (or 4L60E) and it has more room for a driveshaft on the drivers side. I'll be running an Atlas, so I could actually go either way. In my current Jeep I have a 4L60E and a Dana 300 and have about 1/8" between the driveshaft and the oil pan on the tranny -- and thats after a little "clearance" grinding.

Thanks everyone for the info. I've got plenty of time to locate these parts, I'm expecting this project to take at least a year to build, probably closer to 2 years.

I was originally going 44 front (waggy) but after watching alot of the wheelers I know (that do the type of wheeling I want to do) go first with a 44 and then later scrap it and go 60, I decided I'd just skip the 44 "Phase."

(See signature for Project webpage)

Allright since your on the subject, which rear D60 has a 35 spline floating axle? do the older Ford or Dodge vans have these?

BlueYJ :cool2:

Ebay if you want conveinence

mike

many of you are forgetting that the older scout and jeep trucks used a 35 spline semi-floating d-60 in the rear that is 62-65" wide and 35 spline. these are not only 1.5" at the splines, but get bigger all the way to the bearings. true, its a semi-floater, buts its massive, strong, and best of all, 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern.
they are pretty rare though...

Originally posted by BlueYJ
Allright since your on the subject, which rear D60 has a 35 spline floating axle? do the older Ford or Dodge vans have these?

BlueYJ :cool2: D61's

Originally posted by AzXTV


I was originally going 44 front (waggy) but after watching alot of the wheelers I know (that do the type of wheeling I want to do) go first with a 44 and then later scrap it and go 60, I decided I'd just skip the 44 "Phase."



You're on the right track. A friend is doing the same thing. He spent money having a 44 swapped into his YJ, bought Moser axles, and the first wheelin' trip he broke a Spicer u-joint and it egg-shaped the yokes enough that they are junk. Now he is starting over with a 60. Funny part is he has a tired carbed 6 cyl. and 36's and was not romping on it all that hard.

Also, 35 spline is not necessarily required, depending on your driving style. 30's are easier to find and cheaper. You could go with the 30 spline for now, and if you start breaking them, go to 35's later. My front 60 has stock Chevy 30 spline axles in it with a Detroit and big block torque. I have broken and pretzeled some other stuff, but never the axles or even u-joints. Don't think I'm easy on it either. :p

:usa:

To have a D60 with 30 splines defeats the purpose I think, what for an extra 150-200 bucks for the new shafts cause you have to get the 30 spline re cut and resplined unless you use full width.....

Sometimes bigger is not always better I have ssen plenty 44 with big tires 38's and up even have no problem the 297 joint is not that weak I know alot of people that run 44 front and rear and have no problem whatsoever but then again you can just have bad luck you know I think the 44 front and 60 rear is a killer setup. and the D60 front is alot of weight ALOT massive brakes blah blah blah, Anyway smoke weed and drink beer thats what I say.......

Originally posted by AzXTV


I'm going to be running a 700R4 (or 4L60E) and it has more room for a driveshaft on the drivers side. I'll be running an Atlas, so I could actually go either way. In my current Jeep I have a 4L60E and a Dana 300 and have about 1/8" between the driveshaft and the oil pan on the tranny -- and thats after a little "clearance" grinding.

If you look at a stock CJ7 engine it is offset over an inch closer to the drivers side for front driveshaft clearence. Often when people perform engine swaps they dont maintain a similar type of offset and in turn run into front driveline clearence issues.

I know a few guys with SB 350's and TH350 with no driveline issues issues. My CJ has a 350 and I was able to clock my 300 and move the driveline even further away from my tranny.

Im just saying this if you find it difficult to locate a ford front 60 here in AZ. You might want to consider sticking with passenger-side drop.


Im heading the ooposite direction. I have front and rear 60's sitting in my yard but Im going 44's instead. I've lost my desire to crawl a mile in 4 hours and now would rather explore AZ's backroads in a well built trail jeep.

Arrrrggghhhhh THAT KIND OF TALK MAKES ME SICK TRAIL JEEP COME ONE.....

As far as the D-300 goes it can be used with driver or passenger side pumpking of course passenger but there is also a flip kit for the 300 its pretty trick so you can use the driver side drop with the 300

Down East Offroad makes it (252)246-9440

Originally posted by AtomicBeesting
If you look at a stock CJ7 engine it is offset over an inch closer to the drivers side for front driveshaft clearence. Often when people perform engine swaps they dont maintain a similar type of offset and in turn run into front driveline clearence issues.

Nope, I made sure to maintain the stock engine off-set. The problem isn't between the driveshaft and the frame, but the driveshaft and the tranny pan at the corner closest to the transfercase. I really didn't have any problem until I clocked the D300 so that it was nearly flat.

For my project vehicle, I'll just avoid the problem and go with a driverside drop. Even if I have to buy one of those expensive custom D60 front axles.

- Mike