So, I decided to build a new front end a couple of years ago when my Dana 30 came up bent housing (imagine that.) I'd been collecting parts for the better part of a year and finally started doing some actual work on the thing a little over a year ago. Just finished the hydraulics for the steering two weeks ago.

The first purchase for the project was a pair of end forgings I found on craigslist. One had about 4 inches of tube and the other had a good sixteen inches still in it. I paid $100 for the pair.

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/tubeandendforgingas1_sm.jpg


The tube had to be extracted from the end forgings so I could turn the ends down an eighth. The Dana 60 tube is 3 1/8" and the Currie housing center I bought accepts three inch tube for four inches. So after cutting the tube as close to the end forging as I could and then grinding out the weld as much as I felt comfortable with. I cut the tube with a sawzall and knocked the chunks out until the whole end forging was devoid of tube. It took three cuts altogether per tube.

Here are pictures for the first section. The second section removed was about 100 degrees around the circumference. As I would pound on the section of tube with hammer and chisel, I would grind a little more of the weld away each time. This way I removed as little material as possible from the end forging. The things are so hefty, I probably could have just ground the hell out of them in the first place but whatever.


http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/cuttingtubeinendforging_sm.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/tubeinendforgingcutsfromback_sm.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/tubeinendforgingcutsfromfront_sm.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/tubeinendforgingsegment_sm.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/tubeinendforgingsegmentremoved_sm.jpg

Here are the tubes after they've been machined for insertion into the housing. They still haven't been cut to length yet. The long side tube I picked up from Trevor at S&N. He was even kind enough to meet me in Bothell on a Saturday while his fiancee and her mother were shopping for wedding stuff. Otherwise it would have been a long haul to get my ass from Issaquah to Smokey Point during their shop hours. Thanks Trevor!

The second picture shows the end machined for the standard Dana 60 axle seal.

Machining costs: $100. Wish I had a big lathe or large mill but even if I did I wouldn't have the space in the garage for them.


http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/machtubes_sm.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/machtubesend_sm.jpg

Speaking of which:

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/ias_sm.jpg


$11.95 for the pair on ebay

After figuring the length of tube for each side given a goal of 62" WMS-WMS the tube was cut to length and fitted back into the end forgings. Well...

The short side went OK, The long side I had to take to a guy with a press and give him $20 for the push. He put it in a 60 ton press and said, "That thing took some work but it's done."

As for the short side, I first smoothed up any rough edges left from the welds and bevelled the end forging and tube slightly to help with getting things started. The tube went in the freezer overnight. The end forging went in the oven at 450 degrees for an hour. I put the two together and started hammering. Once I stopped getting any progress I was here:

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/tubeEFPostTemp_sm.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/tubeEFPostTemp2_sm.jpg


This left me about 5/8" to go. Here's what I came up with:


http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/tubeEFinClamp_sm.jpg

It's 3/16 angle, a couple of pieces of 1/4" plate and some 1/2" rod. Torque the nuts, pound on the thing, torque the nuts, pound on the thing... You get the idea.


I couldn't fit the long side tube in the freezer so I clearanced the inside of the end forging with a file and finished both it and the outside of the tube with some emery, baked the end forging again and pounded away. I think I got about half way compared to the short side.

After adding the Currie HD housing ($245) to the mix, here's the bare housing tacked to the tubes.

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/housing_tacked_sm.jpg

Whats your target price to end up with? I like it.
________
Krystal19 (http://www.girlcamfriend.com/cam/Krystal19/)

After figuring the length of tube for each side given a goal of 62" WMS-WMS the tube was cut to length and fitted back into the end forgings.

I've actually kicked this idea around for years.

What's the lengths of the tubes that you came up with?

Nice work, I'll be watching.

nice work man,

im 10 months behind you...

I had no target price when I started collecting parts. I tried my best to keep overall cost down by using eBay and such but my real goal was a 609 at 62" wms. In fact, I'm going to use this thread to accumulate parts, labor, and costs to give me a final number. Just a guess at this point - I'd say I have around $3500-$4000 into it - but that's just a guess and doesn't include incidentals like grinding wheels, miscellaneous hardware, etc.

Tube lengths: Including the four inches of recess into the center housing the toal lengths came out to 5.625 for the short side and 21 [ originally written: 19.75 ] for the long side. Final WMS - WMS came out at 61.75. The lost .25 happened when pressing the tube to far into the end forgings. Fortunately I waited until the housing was complete before measuring for shafts...

Hmm. . . . You just gave me a reason to keep my rear 9" housing sittin at my dads house. Thanks for the thread. Looking forward to the end result.

(I am taking a seat in your class and taking detailed notes. Subscribed)

Hmm. . . . You just gave me a reason to keep my rear 9" housing sittin at my dads house. Thanks for the thread. Looking forward to the end result.

that is exactly what i want to do, my only concern is that i wont have enough axle tube on the full width rear to use it as an offset full width front.

that is exactly what i want to do, my only concern is that i wont have enough axle tube on the full width rear to use it as an offset full width front.

IIRC, the tubes on most existing nines are 3" OD and I think they're a thinner wall also. A stock 60 end forging takes 3.125 OD tubes and stock tube is 1/2" wall.

I wouldn't use the stock nine tube if it wasn't 3.125 OD. I would imagine that adding a .0625 wall sleeve to the last two inches for pressing into the end forging would be a nightmare not to mention the reduced tube thickness and loss of related strength.

IIRC, the tubes on most existing nines are 3" OD and I think they're a thinner wall also. A stock 60 end forging takes 3.125 OD tubes and stock tube is 1/2" wall.

I wouldn't use the stock nine tube if it wasn't 3.125 OD. I would imagine that adding a .0625 wall sleeve to the last two inches for pressing into the end forging would be a nightmare not to mention the reduced tube thickness and loss of related strength.

oh i hear ya,

if i used it the whole deal would get a pretty beefy truss. metal is cheap compared to the price of a 60 housing.

Here's a list of the rest of the parts, minus a few incidentals like brake pads which I lost track of along the way, that went into the axle assembly:


Third member and pinion support (used, ebay) $ 69.90
New 1350 yoke $ 75.00
4.57 Yukon gears $ 129
Gear installation kit $ 59.99



Dodge knuckles (used, ebay) $ 185
Two kingpin rebuild kits with lower kingpins $ 178
Two New spindles (DANA 700013) $ 178
Spindle bearings and seals $ 26.95
New Hubs ( 5 x 5.5 ) $ 378
Wheel bearings and hub seals $ 90
New Warn lock-outs ( #11690 ) $ 158.99



Stub shafts $69.99 + $85
Spicer 5-806X u-joints $ 39.95
Custom 4340 Dutchman inners $ 350
1st gen ARB ( RD55B ) ( ebay, new ) $465



Caliper brackets, Six States ( SE SS7009B ) $ 90
Rebuilt Calipers $ 36
Powerslot rotors ( 8306PSL/PSR ) $ 162
machining for rotor bore $35


Total on these parts: 2861.77


Add in previous parts:

End forgings $ 100
Extra tube $45
Tube machining $100
Seals $11.95
Housing $ 205.95 <- updated


Total on these parts: 462.90

Grand total: $ 3324.67



The only thing I had to do at this point besides put the pieces together was measure for the inner shafts before I could order them. I put the tape to the end of the splines on the ARB, measured to the line between the upper and lower kingpins, added the length of spline inside the ARB and then subtracted 1/2". I can't seem to find those measurements right now but if I run across them I'll edit this post with them.



Here's some pix with all the above parts...


http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/wholeassembly_lg.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/thirdmember_lg.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/ujoint_lg.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/shortsideassembled_lg.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/shortsideend_lg.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/shortsidefrontinboard_lg.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/shortsidetopcloseup_lg.jpg

What brake brackets are those? It looks like the bolt on after the spindle like the factory brackets do. I am looking for something like that to ditch my huge heavy D60 brakes.

Why did you go low pinion?

What brake brackets are those? It looks like the bolt on after the spindle like the factory brackets do. I am looking for something like that to ditch my huge heavy D60 brakes.

Six states has some on ebay right now. Type in "dana 60 caliper brackets" in the search bar and you'll see em.

I purchased them from a different vendor for the purpose of running the chev 1/2 ton caliper on my 5x5.5 setup

Why did you go low pinion?

Less expensive!
No lubrication problems.
No RC 8.8 gears.
The pinion actually sits higher in relation to the axle than the Dana 30.

Less expensive!
No lubrication problems.
No RC 8.8 gears.
The pinion actually sits higher in relation to the axle than the Dana 30.

Guess I would figure in Driver Drop I would want a HP . Especially with all the work you went through putting this bitch together.

Did you build it just for the fun of it? Because I would think that for that price you could have just bought a more or less bolt in one.

Did you build it just for the fun of it? Because I would think that for that price you could have just bought a more or less bolt in one.

I wasn't gonna say anything but I got one last year from Currie with full Wilwood brakes, high-clearance option, 35 spine everything, 6 bolt unit bearings, nodular third with upgraded pinion support, steering arms, etc etc for the same money.

It's still very cool to see one built at home.

Did you build it just for the fun of it? Because I would think that for that price you could have just bought a more or less bolt in one.

You know, I never bothered to price them out. I suppose though that I'd be surprised to learn that I could buy one for what I built it for.

And definitely yes. I wanted the experience of building it myself and the cool factor of being able to show it off and say, "I built that."

http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/8679/excelentcg2.png (http://imageshack.us)

A little back treading here to the housing assembly. Here's how I figured end forging rotation on the tubes.

I'm shooting for a factory spec of 7* castor.

First some measurements from the old Dana 30.

Pinion angle: 11.5 degrees
Driveline length: 34.875 inches
Axle tube diameter: 2.5 inches
Distance from axle centerline to pinion yoke face (u-joint centerline): 11 inches
Distance from axle centerline to pinion centerline vertically: 0.5 inches



This sets up the following trigonometry problem:
http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/FrontAxleGeometry.jpg


Given Pythagoras (A squared plus B squared equals C squared,) we solve for drop and horizontal distance between transfer case yoke and pinion yoke.

Drop (a) = 6.95”
Distance (b) = 34.175”



The Ford nine inch measures 10.625“ from axle centerline to yoke face (u-joint centerline,) and 2.5” from axle centerline to pinion centerline vertically. Additionally I pushed the axle forward an inch and the larger tube diameter meant the spring would mount 0.5” higher than current. I came up with the following numbers for a and b for the new axle:


Drop (a) = 6.95 (current drop) + 2 (difference in axle centerline to pinion centerline vertically) + 0.5 (additional spring mount height) = 9.45 inches
Distance (b) = 34.175 (current distance) + 0.375 (difference in axle centerline to yoke face (u-joint centerline) + 1 (distance moving the axle forward) = 35.55 inches



Using Pythagoras again we come up with a driveline measurement of 36.78 inches. In a right triangle, the sin of either of the two non-right angles is given by the formula: sinØ = opposite / hypotenuse. So, using a sin table I find my new pinion angle = 14.89 (or 15) degrees.


Since I'm shooting for seven degrees castor I must have a total of 22 degrees separation between pinion angle and end-forging angle.



In theory that all worked out quite well and actually got me real close. I ended up not using the coils due to a loss of space with the new 60 outers and went with coilovers. I also ended up pushing the axle out another .75 inches. In the end, with pinion angle equal to driveline angle I made 7.5* castor so it was good to put the thought in up front.

Great work, Anyone that says they can build it high pinion for that price is missing some critical parts.

Hi 9 with an arb is $2499, if you guys can buy a housing, outers, brakes, and shafts for $800 I wish you would share your sources.

Also back tracking - figuring out tube lengths for each side. Two considerations: overall wms-wms (62" as already indicated,) and keeping the pinion in the same place laterally so the drive line falls straight.

First, a few measurements:

Stock, left side WMS - pinion centerline: 21.5"
Dana 60, WMS - inside of end forging: 12"
Length of tube inside end forging: 1.625"
Nine inch center, left side - right side: 22.625"
Nine inch center, left side - pinion centerline: 10.25"


So, the new 609 left side WMS to pinion centerline measurement = old left side WMS to pinion centerline measurement plus one half the change in overall WMS to WMS = 22.25" Since the WMS to inside end forging measurement plus the left side center section to pinion centerline measurement = 22.25", the end forging butts right up to the housing center on the left side. This gives us proper pinion placement. With four inches inside the center section and 1.625" inside the end forging, the left side tube length is 5.625".

That accounts for 34.625 of the 62 overall inches. Twelve of the remaining 27.375" come from the Dana 60 outers on the right side (right side WMS to inside of right side end forging.) That leaves 15.375" of bare tube between the housing and end forging on the right side. Add four for inside the housing center and 1.625" for inside the end forging and total tube length right side = 21"

Here's a couple pix:

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/shortsidetubesettocut_sm.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/shortsidetubemeasured_sm.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/shortsidetubebeingcut_sm.jpg.JPG

Once the tubes were machined to fit the Currie center section, the fit was just slightly sloppy. So I made a light clamp to hold the tubes flush in the center section and tacked at 120 degrees around the tubes to get it as straight as I could in the garage without a press or jig.


http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/housingjig_md.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/housingjiggedWanglefinder_md.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/housingjiggedWanglefinderfromend_md.jpg

I had put a nine in the rear of the ZJ back in 2001 and when I ordered axles from Moser for it I had them drill two bolt patterns in the flanges: 5 x 4.5 (to match the stock front 30,) and 5 x 5.5 knowing that one day I'd be going bigger in the front.

I needed to be able to run a 5 x 5.5 bolt pattern on a 15" wheel on this axle. There are no stock 60 applications that run a 5 x 5.5 bolt pattern so I had to turn to the aftermarket. Fortunately the parts for this exist as do the parts to allow the use of a fifteen inch wheel with 3/4 ton calipers.

There's just one small problem: The spindle needs to be clearanced for the caliper...

You can see from the following pix that the knuckles don't have to be touched.


http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/knuckles_sm.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/spindleandbox_md.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/caliperandbracket2_sm.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/testfitcaliper1_sm.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/notchedspindle2_sm.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/rotorandhub3_sm.jpg

Lowers went on first. They are three inch, quarter wall box with one side cut off and holes drilled. Nothing too thoughtful here, the left side went on first since there wasn't a lot of room to place it. I lined up the top just below the housing center line and fit it so there would be enough room to place and remove the nut when the third member was installed.

The right side was a little tricky. It was placed the same distance right of the centerline as the left side was left of the centerline. Since the left side was welded to the housing, I added a 3/16 piece of plate behind the right side bracket so that when it was welded to the tube the brackets would be even front to rear. Finally, to level the brackets vertically I ran a piece of straight 1/2" rod through both of their bolt holes and made sure that both it and the housing were level when it got tacked to the tube.

Then the small amount of left side bracket protruding below the housing and the majority of the right side bracket ( that was protruding below the tube, ) was boxed in and ramped so nothing would catch trying to run them over the rocks.


The lower links were installed, the pinion angle set and the upper link was measured for and created. Then two tabs welded were bolted to the upper arm and welded into place once the link was installed.



http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/brackets/LlowerBrkt_md.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/brackets/RlowerBrkt_md.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/brackets/LfrontLowerlinkAtAxle_md.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/brackets/upperbrkt_md.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/brackets/upperNtbarBrkt_md.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/axe/brackets/upperNtbarBrktClose_md.jpg

Sweet thread. It's nice to see a price total.

Hey how has the axle been holding up???? Did you end up trussing it?

I just got the rig out for it's first shakedown run a couple weeks back. The axle worked flawlessly for me and I have no plans to truss at this point. I'll try to get a couple decent pix of it in action next time I'm out.

Thanks for askin'

I just got the rig out for it's first shakedown run a couple weeks back. The axle worked flawlessly for me and I have no plans to truss at this point. I'll try to get a couple decent pix of it in action next time I'm out.

Thanks for askin'


Killer build thread! Thanks for sharing :beer:



Chris:cool2:

This thread brings the awesome. Thanks for the ideas, I'm currently aquiring parts for mine as well. Where did you get the caliper mounts?

This thread brings the awesome. Thanks for the ideas, I'm currently aquiring parts for mine as well. Where did you get the caliper mounts?

The caliper mounting brackets came from Six States in Salt Lake City. Their part #: SE SS7009B.

Sweet Work. Thanks for the post!


Powerslot rotors $ 162
machining for rotor bore $35


Do you have the part number on those rotors, or their specific application you choose?

what size tire and wheel combo will you be running?
BTW, great build thread!:smokin:

The powerslot numbers are 8306PSL and 8306PSR. IIRC, they are from a late 80's CJ. Wagner #: BD60458

Currently running 37" MT/R's on 15x10 steelies with 5x5.5 bolt pattern and 4.5" BS

Here's a coupla cell phone pix from a few weeks ago

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/images/2.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~susyfoto/images/3.jpg

uh... low pinion? jeesh.. for that.. you could have just put a 60 in it.. doesn't look like you are pushin' that many ponies to warrant the strength in the pinion.. :shaking:

uh... low pinion? jeesh.. for that.. you could have just put a 60 in it.. doesn't look like you are pushin' that many ponies to warrant the strength in the pinion.. :shaking:

More weight AND a loss of great clearance.

bump because this is cool tech.

uh... low pinion? jeesh.. for that.. you could have just put a 60 in it.. doesn't look like you are pushin' that many ponies to warrant the strength in the pinion.. :shaking:

Is the low pinion 9" front stronger than a HP 9" front (hi9)? I have seen a lot of conflicting info in this... It seems IF the 9" (front setup) is going to be stronger in a low pinion setup, why not just use the HP60?? It may be a tad weaker than the 9" (again that is arguable I think?) but your going to have the pinion up out of the rocks. I'm still new to the 60 tech stuff so forgive me :/