ok this might be a stupid question for some of you (sorry) but thats why I posted it here. Lets say that I wanted to build a 9" ford front axle with dana 60 knuckles, would the inner axles out of the 60 work (cut down and resplined of course)? or do I need to buy some custom forgings? I am tired of birfeilds and the sorry turning radius of the toyota axle, but would rather have something smaller than a 60 and stronger than a 44.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=420834

609 build.

thanks

Yes,

You can use the factory axles. But, you mentioned resplined so I am assuming that you are using the 31 spline diff?? If so, then you need new ones. The heat treating does not go far enough into the shaft core to handle the neck down. Plus, getting a good set of 4340 axles is worth it anyway. Good luck.

Ford never made a 35 spline 9" from the factory. When you buy a 35 spline 9" carrier, you are getting a 9" carrier that has the side pieces modded to accept a 35 spline Dana 60 style axleshaft. Therefore, if you buy a 35 spline 9" carrier & build the housing the correct length to use the stock inners, you can use stock 35 spline D60 inner axleshafts. You could cut down & respline the shafts for 28 or 31 splines to match the stock 9" carrier, but that completely defeats the purpose of building an axle with the big D60 outers.

Also, remember you need to set up the housing to accept axle tube seals to retain the oil in the front axle. Since the 9" was never used from the factory in a front axle application, there is no provision for a seal built into it.

Hans