I shaved my Chevy D60 same as my 14 bolt. The 60 now measures 5" centre to bottom. Same clearance as a TJ D30.
All the strength of one ton - with all the clearance of quarter ton ;)

Here is a pic of it shaved (performed with a skil saw):
http://jeep-club.irtech.com/phils_mods/d60cut.jpg

Here is the plate I made for it:
http://jeep-club.irtech.com/phils_mods/d60plate.jpg

I dropped it off at the shop last night to have the ring gear ground down 1/8" (it fits in, but is touching the plate now) and to have the plate welded to the diff (beyond my welding skills).
Costs less than US$80, and I will have it back tonight.


Phil

How thick is the plate? Looks kinda think to have room to drill and tap it for the cover bols holes :confused:


Otherwise, looks good!

It's just the angle of the pic. It's 1/2" thick and will have 5/16" button head bolts in it.

Thanks,

Phil
I sure am happy it came out as high as the D30, now I wish I had of gone a 1/4" more on the 14 bolt, then BOTH my axles would be the same clearance as stock :(

:eek: :eek: looks sweet:beer:

That's awesome!:eek: :eek: :eek: :D

I wish I would've had the balls (skills, tools, and enginuity) to do that with my 60/14bolt

Make sure you post plenty of pics when they are finally installed and you can measure the clearance at the diff. It'll be outrageous:vader2:

It really is easy. Take the diff apart. Measure where you want to cut (or just copy someone elses measurements fi you don't trust your estimating). Cut it with a skil (circular) saw (that will go all the way through the 60, but I had to finish the last bit of the 14 bolt with a sawzall as the skil did not cut deep enough). Then clean it up with a grinder, and make the plate with a torch (you could use a jigsaw too I suppose if you don't have a torch).
Then either take it to someone that can weld cast iron to steel (or do it yourself if you are skilled at that), and have the ring gear machined down. Then reassemble and check the gear pattern (No reason it sohuld change, but good to check anyway).

It really is easy. Especially if you have not already installed the axles (took longer to unbolt them and re-attach them than the cutting).

HTH,
Phil

Hey I got a question for anyone that's done this,

What are you doing for a diff cover? Are you custom making them, or does someone sell them for shaved diffs? I'm real tempted to do this to the axles I'm currently rebuilding, but have been hesitant becuase I'm not sure how to go about building a custom diff cover. Any thoughts on that issue?

Chad

Here is the thread for my 14 bolt which contains the picture of the 14 bolt cover:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=37983




My front cover will have a 5/16" bolt in the 1/2" plate too.

Phil

Kick ass man!!! Nice work :smokin:

Can you use a porta-band to cut the diff??
Thanks, Ricky...seeya...

I can't answer than one, don't know what a porta band is. Anyone else?

Phil

I don't see why not. portabands rock!

Then either take it to someone that can weld cast iron to steel (or do it yourself if you are skilled at that
Phil [/B][/QUOTE]

It is cast steel not cast iron

Thanks for the clarification. Another reason I didn't weld it ;)

Phil

Hey 1ton - what kinda blade did you use on your skill saw? I've got a 7.75" blade skill saw and was wondering what brand/kind of blade you used??

It looks like it came out good. I shaved mine down too. not quite that far. did not need to grind gear. That mild steel plate that I welded in is wearing pretty good though.

Walter makes zip cuts in 7" x 1/16" x 5/8" hole.

Kyoder, what do you mean wearing pretty good?

Thanks,

Phil

is there someone out there on the east coast somewhere that would shave a pair of 60's for me? to be PERFECTLY honest i really dont want to get into something like that myself because i just dont trust chopping something like that apart and expecting it not to bend or spread under the stress.

is there someone decent on the east coast that could shave one down a bit (not to the extent of cutting the ring gear)

Why not post - "East coast machine shop to shave D60's wanted" in the wanted section? I'm sure someone would chime in.

Phil

Originally posted by 1TONTJ
Walter makes zip cuts in 7" x 1/16" x 5/8" hole.

Kyoder, what do you mean wearing pretty good?

Thanks,

Phil

The mild steel has some groves in it from grinding on rocks. I'm planning on making a couple of passes with some hardfacing rod. My jeep gets some real world abuse. PRO-ROCKS,CALROCS and bachleur party runs.!!!

Thanks for the info - I will keep an eye on mine.

Phil

Not that you trust me DP, but I can prob do it. Or call Jack at No Excuses, he might be able to help 1-800-923-5337

Let me know. I am sure I can weld it, or have it done, I would jsut need time and notice to arrage it with the shop.

I may just get brave and try this on mine :D:D:D:D

Any more pics would be cool too :)

Originally posted by DRM
I may just get brave and try this on mine :D:D:D:D

Any more pics would be cool too :)

What pics do you want?

Phil

Here's a couple pics of mine. I used 5/8 plate on the bottom so tha the 3/8 bolts would have some meat around them, and so the plate wouldn't have any chance of bending under impact. I also grooved it for ring gear clearance. I also shaved 1/4" off my gear. Making the cover is pretty easy, just start cutting and pounding, then figure out where to add metal. It's an excellent time to make a rock ring.

http://www.siscom.net/~kc8gab/sr/pig9.jpg
http://www.siscom.net/~kc8gab/sr/pig7.jpg
http://www.siscom.net/~kc8gab/sr/pig6.jpg
Easy

Nice looking work easy.

I am doing 5/16" buttom head bolts though the 1/2" plate. Should be fine.

Yours looks very nice though.

Phil

Originally posted by KYODER


bachleur party runs.!!!


I thought I was the only one to do that! Nothin better than naked chics and 4wheelin. If I could just figure out how to do it at the same time....

Anyone worried about housing flex or warpage from this kind of mod?

Originally posted by DRM
Anyone worried about housing flex or warpage from this kind of mod?

No housing is huge/strong/thick steel plate welding is not enough to mess it up.
Just my opinion though.

And I did check the gear pattern during re-assembly to make sure ;)

Phil

I'm not too worried about it, it's not like we're the first ones to do this either. I've used the thickest plate out of everyone I've talked to though. I rechecked my gear pattern after a run too, no changes.

Easy

Originally posted by 1TONTJ
I can't answer than one, don't know what a porta band is. Anyone else?

Phil

Just to fill you in, a port-a-band is a hand-held band saw. They are awesome to use to cut metal while on the truck or in a vise.http://www.sears.com/data/product_images/tools/standard/00926849000-dv.jpg

Originally posted by KYODER
Then either take it to someone that can weld cast iron to steel (or do it yourself if you are skilled at that
Phil

It is cast steel not cast iron [/B][/QUOTE]

my high pinion 60 ffront, and my standard pinion 60 rear were BOTH cast iron, not cast steel, as I had been told by several people. We put a grinder to them, and were getting small red sparks, as opposed to the large yellow sparks off of the axle tubes.

OOOOOOHHH YEEEAAAHHH BAAAYYYBEEEEEE !!!

I can't wait to go pick my D60 and 14bolt up!! Gonna give 'em a tight shave! :evil::D