so what's the 411 on these things.

here is what i know. it does not have any locking hubs but other than that i am clueless. are they real 60's or the bullshit 50 like in fords? are they worthy of building?

I have no idea:flipoff2:

there 60s but they have that damn axle diconnect on the long side shaft. they have sealed bearing i think so there is no greasing them. i guess they are just drive plates on the ends. you could just put in a arb and relace the long side shaft with a solid and go awn and get it. or just use the outers for parts. mike

tell me about the axle disconect. how does that work? is it a 2 piece inner axle?

any idea about the spline count?

i think its just like the yj jeeps i have looked at a couple of the axles and thats all i can figure out. i haven't heard of anyone breaking one but i have never heard of one on a serious rig. they just have a cast iron section on the longside axle. with what looks just like a yj 30 just bigger. they spin the spider gears all the time going down the road.

30 spline but easy to put in a locker and change that. Vacuum disco so yes it is a 2 piece axle so you will need a seal surface about 1/2 way down the axle. I have seen in Four Wheeler that Dynacrap sells a kit to get rid of all this so I know it can be done.

if its cheap get it, replace all the stuff from the knuckle out with older style stuff, the new dodges have a sealed hub assymbly that doesn't allow for packing the bearings, it also(as everyone else has said) has vacuum disconnect, but just get a full length shaft for the long side, the hub assymbly has a plate that bolts to the knuckle and then the sealed bearing and then the plate with the studs on it, the inner is splined and the outter shafts are threaded on the ends and a nut holds the shaft to the hub, u could build one but it would also be costly, not sure on how much it would cost, and if it would benefit to wait for an older style

32 spline inners

Someone thinks they are good as they stole the front axle out of a dodge where a freind of mine works

Camo, it's a D60 center section (R&P) but like gearman said 32 spline shafts. Picture a YJ D30 on steriods. Its the same deal only bigger. The center isn't even a HP although it's on the drivers side. Just read an article on them in the last issue of Turbo Diesel Register. Someone (and I can't find the mag) is making a kit to convert it to a real D60. 35 spline onepiece shafts, spindles, hubs and lockouts. But by the time you get done with all this, the donor better be free. Also going to cost you a differential carrier and gears. Only gears offered from dodge is 3.54 & 4.10. Has to be a 3/4 ton donor for the shaft/hub conversion unless you want to buy new rotors too. The swap kit doesn't work with the one ton, i.e. duallie front ends.

My .02 not worth the hassle...

Other than having the driver side drop, the axle shafts are no larger than the 1/2 Dodges, except for the yokes. They are 30 spline 1.3" shafts. I just got done comparing them with my buddies.

The CAD is a vacuum actuated collar. The area where the collar slides is nice and beefy, but fewer splines, 21 I think.

The Dynarape kit to convert to manual hubs is $3500 or so for the complete Stage 3 kit with all the bells and whistles.

My friend just swapped a 60 under his 1/2 ton Ram and upgraded to 1.5" shafts and 5.13's with an ARB. All 35 spline stuff. He had custom shafts made to bypass the CAD. He had to make some custom seal bushings and stuff because he could not locate seals that matched the axle shaft and the I.D. of the axle tube. See http://www.marksmark.net for articel and pics. Find the My4x4, then use the jump bar to find front axle stuff.

Here is an image of the shafts from my 44 (remember these are identical to the 60 except the larger yokes). The top is the outer shaft, CAD end and the bottom is the driver side end for the diff.

http://www.pavementsucks.com/miscimages/shaft_comp.jpg

the unit bearing on the ends is no big deal, mine just failed in my cummins dodge at 150,000k. thats in a heavy truck that has spent its life working, under a lightweight vehicle they will go forever. the downside is the shafts are no stronger than a 44 only the joints are better

IMO it wouldn't make a good starting point for a wheeler. Basically the sorriest excuse for a front 60 yet.

Crummy shafts
CAD
Unit bearings
Ball Joints
No hubs

Yes you can convert it to real 60 stuff (except the ball joints), but its big bucks. The only way I could see doing it is in a Dodge.


Pete

do you need coil and control arm mounts? If not consider a front 60 out of an early 90s Power Ram. My friend picked up a front/rear set for $800.

Originally posted by camo
tell me about the axle disconect. how does that work? is it a 2 piece inner axle?

any idea about the spline count?

it's a fwking joke. I think a month back of FOURWHEELER mag had a locking hub conversion wright up