Hey guys. First off the truck is an 81 K20, 14b FF rear, 454, Th400, Np205 running on 38.5's w/ a 10 bolt in the front. 6" Suspension and 2' Body lift.

I haven't really had any problems with the 10 bolt in the front, the only issues seem to be it goes through a set of balljoints at least once a year and I could really benefit from better steering. This truck is used to play in the mud during the summer (5+ times a month) and as a winter vehicle while the car is stored.

I was offered a Chevy king-pin D60 for $800 today and it got me to thinking. I have not seen it in person yet but have been assured it is in pretty good condition. I do not plan on modding the truck much more than where it is at now, maybe only crossover steering in the future.

So my question...Is the 10 bolt strong enough to stand up to a 454 and 38.5's or I am pushing my limits?

Sorry if I wrote too much, just wanted to give as much information as possible. Thanks alot guys.

Trevor

I'd say that yearly balljoint change says Yes, a 60 might be worth it to you.

You are pushing your limits.

Get the D60, it'll save you time, money, and hastle in the long run.

Get the D60, it'll save you time, money, and hastle in the long run.

X2 buy it and never look back.

Your week link is definatly the 10 bolt front end. If you ever decide to upgrade tires, add a locker, run rocks you will want that 60. I would call it a good envestment....

i did the same as you been, running 38s on 10 bolts for the past 5 years and went through like 3 sets of ball joints and a few bearings here and there.

dont forget your gonna have to upgrade to 8 lug rims and probably crossover steering if you want to go that route which is gonna run you around 600$

Yeah, a d60 is hands down stronger and better in just about every way than a 10 bolt. Problem is, it costs a lot more, and might take a bit of fabrication to get it in. You'll probably have to go with different size u-joints, yoke for your transfer case. Fords are nice because they have one spline yoke for output shafts, with two different seal sizes. Chevy's have different spline yokes front and rear, who knows how many seal sizes. So you might run into a little nightmare there.

Also, i'd be suspicious of someone selling a chevy d60 for $800. Chevys are probably the hardest to find of them all, so one in good condition usually goes for a lot more than that. I'd definitely take a long look at it before buying it. Even though they're beefy axles, there's plenty that can go wrong with them because of neglect. For example My ford hp60 was "in great shape!" and i got it for cheap, after tearing it down, all the seals were shot, the spindles were toast, wheel bearings had no grease on it rusted solid, kingpins siezed up, etc...

Having to totally rebuild a d60 isnt cheap, it could cost you easily twice what you paid for it, depending how strong you want to go. Just keep that in mind, if money is a problem.

they are out there, i found a complete 82 k30 with d60/14bolt combo running with a plow for $800. husband died and she was selling all 5 of his one ton trucks, i got the very last one like 24 hours from when the ad was listed

Thanks for all the input thus forth guys!!

The d60 is in good condition, pinion + gears look great. The guy is a close family friend who is selling all of his chevy parts, and me being me am being offered a pretty good deal. It could use new U-joints and other minor things, I think everything is in decent condition minus the calipers.

Anyone know of any good crossover steering kits for this D60 off the top of their heads before I begin looking?

Thanks again guys

Trevor


*EDIT* Forgot to add it is a 35 spline as well *EDIT*

i bought all my crossover stuff from shakerbuilt.com hes got pretty good pricing.

also another good thing about swaping to a 60 is bigger brakes.

dont forget your gonna have to upgrade to 8 lug rimshe's already 8 lug

Well what people arent telling you about putting a dana 60 in is the problems that some trucks get when you swap them in. Some trucks get death wobble(mostly happens with bigger tires like you have). For mudding the dana is bigger so you loose clearance so that might hurt you. It also weighs more so you need more power to move it. If its a mud truck and all you have to do is replace ball joints once a year leave it alone. Just buy some premium moog ball joints next time and they come with a lifetime warranty. BTW what ball joints are you running right now? That might be why you go through them so much.

Dan

A big block sitting on top of a 10 bolt is never a good idea. And who ever said a chevy 60 is the hardest to find is smoking crack. everyone knows the 78-79 ford hp 60's are getting fewer and farther in between. And $800 isnt bad for that axle. If it has the same gear ratio thats a big plus. also most chevy 60's ive had, have the 1310 yokes on them so your d shaft will go right back in. its pretty much bolt in and go. alot easier to convert to hi steer and will fair better under your bb chevy.

Just put a D60 and 14 bolt under my toyota paid 100 canadian for the 14 bolt from a 96. and 450 canadian for the 60 from a 76 crew cab. Sold my toyota axles for 500 bucks the next week. front 60 needs 2 u joints, and the drums were seized on the rear. the 4,10 gears in both pumpkins are cherry and the pinion seals dont even leak. 50 bucks and 2 ujoints is definitely worth it!!! Gonna get some discs and calipers for the rear the front ones are like new. if my 22re and marlin crawler on 36s can kill toyota axles. then a 454 with 38s can easily kill a 10 bolt. the 305 in my 2wd 1500 is pretty hard on the 10 bolt rear with stock 30 inch tires.

And who ever said a chevy 60 is the hardest to find is smoking crack.

I didnt have any problem at all finding a 78-79 hp ford, got it for cheap too, even though it was all screwed up. I've never even seen a chevy d60, everyone i know who has a chevy ends up putting a dodge d60 in it. Maybe it's just a regional thing...

Desertdueler - Moog Balljoints have been used for about 7-8 years now and for 7-8 years now the uppers have had to be replaced on average, at least once a year. This truck was and is driven frequently. For about 8 years before I got the truck the individual whom built it from the ground up used it as his daily driver, everyday.

So the D60 would obviously be the best thing to do in the long run, but I might be able to get away without it. Hrmm

As soon as I get back from working on the truck in a few hours I will be spending many hours researching steering options as well. I need something better than stock for this thing. The bump steer and steering radius sucks.
I would prefer more of a "kit" though, time will tell.

Thanks a ton for everything guys, it really means alot.


P.S. I am going to buy a red-star tonight just for you guys ;)

I didnt have any problem at all finding a 78-79 hp ford, got it for cheap too, even though it was all screwed up. I've never even seen a chevy d60, everyone i know who has a chevy ends up putting a dodge d60 in it. Maybe it's just a regional thing...
it must be a regional thing. around here, chevy 60's out number the ford ones by at least 3:1. and dodge's are even rarer.

Here GM D60 outnumber 78/79 Fords 6:1 at least,maybe 10:1 :mad3::(.

Around here dodge d60's go for 400-600$, chevys go for 800-1000$ and fords go for 1400-1600$ (all internal hub kingpin). If they are that cheep in your area you can make a lot of $$$ because ford only make the desirable d60 for a couple of years.

Now if they are ball joint d60's or d50's they arn't worth much and are common.

I didnt have any problem at all finding a 78-79 hp ford, got it for cheap too, even though it was all screwed up. I've never even seen a chevy d60, everyone i know who has a chevy ends up putting a dodge d60 in it. Maybe it's just a regional thing...

Your region sounds kind of retarded. And I'm not sure I believe that Ford's are so easy to find. GM outnumbers them by a good 50:1 ratio here in Rock Central. :D

Yeah, a d60 is hands down stronger and better in just about every way than a 10 bolt. Problem is, it costs a lot more, and might take a bit of fabrication to get it in. You'll probably have to go with different size u-joints, yoke for your transfer case. Fords are nice because they have one spline yoke for output shafts, with two different seal sizes. Chevy's have different spline yokes front and rear, who knows how many seal sizes. So you might run into a little nightmare there.

Also, i'd be suspicious of someone selling a chevy d60 for $800. Chevys are probably the hardest to find of them all, so one in good condition usually goes for a lot more than that. I'd definitely take a long look at it before buying it. Even though they're beefy axles, there's plenty that can go wrong with them because of neglect. For example My ford hp60 was "in great shape!" and i got it for cheap, after tearing it down, all the seals were shot, the spindles were toast, wheel bearings had no grease on it rusted solid, kingpins siezed up, etc...

Having to totally rebuild a d60 isnt cheap, it could cost you easily twice what you paid for it, depending how strong you want to go. Just keep that in mind, if money is a problem.

what planet do you live on?:shaking: $800 for a chevy 60 is high. and for the most part it will bolt in. there is nothing to think about. buy it, bolt it in and go have fun.

what planet do you live on?:shaking: $800 for a chevy 60 is high. and for the most part it will bolt in. there is nothing to think about. buy it, bolt it in and go have fun.

I can't find any under 1000 dollars here :(

what planet do you live on?:shaking: $800 for a chevy 60 is high. and for the most part it will bolt in. there is nothing to think about. buy it, bolt it in and go have fun.

800 for a front dana 60 is not high. you are smoking crack:shaking:

I didnt have any problem at all finding a 78-79 hp ford, got it for cheap too, even though it was all screwed up. I've never even seen a chevy d60, everyone i know who has a chevy ends up putting a dodge d60 in it. Maybe it's just a regional thing...

As mentioned you are smoking crack.

$800 is a decent deal on a Chevy D60...not a steal by any means.

You are conflicting yourself about the availability of Ford vs. Chevy D60's, as you state that it's easy to find a '78-'79 Ford axles...which was made for a whole whopping 2 years. Chevy used the same basic D60 front from '77 to '91, a whole 15 years.

No fabrication is involved in replacing a Chevy front 10-bolt with a Chevy D60. Assuming the 10-bolt is stock, the everything is a bolt on. The brake lines, pinion yoke, and steering all match up. All you need to do is get the correct u-bolts and spring plates.

The truck in question should already be 8-lug, so nothing needed there. And as already mentioned the steering the existing steering will bolt up, so if he does not already have cross-over it won't be any different than with the 10-bolt. Plus it's cheaper and easier to do cross-over on a D60 since the passenger side steering arm will just bolt on versus trying to find a flat top knuckle for the 10-bolt and do the machining work.

800 for a front dana 60 is not high. you are smoking crack:shaking:

I'm loving all the crack smoking references. Notice he is from PA. I am from OH, and I can relate. Here on the east coast there are a lot of snow plow trucks that do expressly that (plow snow) all of their lives. I don't know what they spread on the road in Washington, but here it's SALT, SALT, and more SALT. Not uncommon to see almost new vehicles having rust through issues.

That being said, there were alot of K30's here. Often people would buy a tired ass plow truck for their driveway, and it would just sit there. It would become an eyesore, and they'd either scrap it or sell it for extremely retard cheap.
Ford D60s of any vintage are hard to come by here, but they can be found. I know where at least 3 78-79 HP60 trucks are, that still run (and aren't for sale yet). Tons more Dodge/GM around.

I got my Dodge '60 from a junkyard for $150, and while that is the exception and not the rule, I have seen plenty for sale in the $400-$600 neighborhood that were perfectly serviceable. EDIT: not to mention the # of 1 ton 4x4 trucks I have seen for under $1k. It all boils down to region.

I used to replace my ball joints quite often on my 44 as well. Then I started using spicer joints, and found alot less wear. Plus you have to preload the joints to the correct spec, otherwise you will wear them out from crappy installation.

I score my Dana 60 very cheap, but I do miss the ground clearance of the 44.

Once you get done with everything on the 60, you will have an axle that will last you a lot of years with very minimal maintenance as compared to the 10bolt/44 stuff. Also, $800 is a pretty fair price. I have seen them go for much more.

800 for a front dana 60 is not high. you are smoking crack:shaking:

I have never smoked crack but I did pay $350 for my Chevy Dana 60. I rebuilt the brakes and bolted it in. I have been running it for 2 years now with the bearings that came in it. most of the guys I wheel with all paid less then $500 for a 60.

If you find one in a junkyard around here they usually sell them for $150-200. its just another axle to them. eventually the supply will run out when all the farm/plow trucks have rotted away, but for now a 60 in the northeast isn't that expensive.


kind of makes you wonder how many Dana 60 equipped trucks have gone to the crusher for scrap before having the front axle salvaged.

I live in Ohio and a couple of hours away from PA, and I really want to know where all of these super cheap Dana 60's are. A good friend and me would be willing to travel to anyplace in Ohio or the surrounding states and pick up as many of these $150-$350 Dana 60 front axles as could fit on an 18' flatbed trailer. We will even through in a "finders fee" to the person who can guarantee these are available. PM me.

I'm not saying that good deals are not out there on front D60's, but it's not exactly common or easy for somebody to decide they want a front D60 and find one that day for under $500. I grew up around farms and have spent the last 10 years "casually" keeping my eyes peeled along every backroad and farm for an old truck with a D60 sitting behind a barn, and checked every little old junkyard I've ever come across. I've only found a couple of D60's in the junkyard and one were cheap ($750+), but I did finally find a complete and running (although very rotted and worn out) Chevy K30 for $750.

I live in Ohio and a couple of hours away from PA, and I really want to know where all of these super cheap Dana 60's are. A good friend and me would be willing to travel to anyplace in Ohio or the surrounding states and pick up as many of these $150-$350 Dana 60 front axles as could fit on an 18' flatbed trailer. We will even through in a "finders fee" to the person who can guarantee these are available. PM me.

I'm not saying that good deals are not out there on front D60's, but it's not exactly common or easy for somebody to decide they want a front D60 and find one that day for under $500. I grew up around farms and have spent the last 10 years "casually" keeping my eyes peeled along every backroad and farm for an old truck with a D60 sitting behind a barn, and checked every little old junkyard I've ever come across. I've only found a couple of D60's in the junkyard and one were cheap ($750+), but I did finally find a complete and running (although very rotted and worn out) Chevy K30 for $750.

I live in NE oh, right on the PA border. I've checked all the local junkyards around here, and i've only found 1 d60, the guy wanted a grand for it. I kind of laugh when someone said it's just another axle to the junkyard guys, around here at least, they know exactly what it's worth and what someone is going to do with it. I got my hands on a ford d60 just because i found some idiot kid that had one, and was desperate to get rid of it. Heck, i had trouble getting my hands on a np435/205. Finally got the last one on the lot from the biggest junkyard around. Maybe ohio junkyards just suck.

Maybe ohio just sucks.
fixed it for you

As everybody else said, $800 is not a bad deal for a Chevy Dana 60.
Death wobble is a result of worn out kingpins, and a new kingpin set will run you $50 ish. Replace the wheel bearings and seals while you have it apart, order some outer axle seals from mad4wd.com ($55) and go to hell with it. I just did a 10 bolt to 60 swap and there were no "nightmares" and had lots of fun putting it in. In fact it was too simple and too easy (must have done something wrong):flipoff2:
Pics

Edit: and the nasty axle at the bottom is my 10 bolt.

I just robbed you guys from ohio on one of the cheap dana 60's. I give $560 for it and it was attatched to the rest of the truck. Oh and it was a ford hp60 to boot.

If time is on your side, you can find the smokin deals. I give $400 for the 60 i run in my jeep. But I was in no hurry and just kept a lookout in the local classifieds. Just because you dont see "dana 60" in the parts section, doesnt mean the truck Joe Blow is parting out doesnt have one in it.

i sold my dana 60 two or 3 years ago for 1400 bucks.

he smiled, and loaded it by himself.

gotta love that.