ok now ive collected all the parts i need for the 35 spline conversion on my 60. so......... which direction should i go. by this i mean 1. i can cut the end of teh shafts so they match a ford outer, or 2. i can get spacers that are about 9/16ths thick for the spindle and use the stock chevy outers, the spacers are high quality but are also 100 bucks a piece. what have you heard being done? thanks , jiMMy

Well, the spacers will make steering a little more difficult, by incresing the scrub radius. They'll also put a little more leverage on the kingpins, no big deal though. The only disadvantage i can think of to cutting 9/16" off the end of the shaft is if you don't get enough contact spline in the lockout hub. Will cutting them affect the length of splines that contact the lockout?

I think cutting them is a better option.

If you could have enough hub contact on the splines I would cut them down also. Another option would be chevy 60 outters.....$$$ though......get cutting

I thought you had a chevy front end. Or did you get the wrong end of the stick and wound up with a chevy front end with ford outers.

If cutting the end off will work then i would most likely do that because At least 1/8 sticks through so you are only loosing 3/8 and i think it would be hard to stip out splines.
On the other han a drive flange is thinner and you could maybe fit it in with full contact, after the splines have been cut?

I realy don't know much about the ford outers but those are my thoughts.

Ian-

I don't think you can just cut off the stub because the bearing in the Ford spindle will not line up properly with the Chevy stub shaft location for it to ride.

On this stub modifiaction, we have be doing this for five years, remove .600 from the end and recut snap ring groove and releave the spline at the end for the gear to slip past a little.This stubs and locking hubs have be through hell, 8,000 lbs. tug of war on concrete, 50.000 lbs. seld pull's. "U" joint failures but not at the stub shaft. steve differential eng. inc.

I will second what Steve said...we have done it that way also, with equally great results. Wheelers/truckpullers here have been doing that for a long time and never an issue or failure caused by the modification that I have seen.

NoRM

Originally posted by steve gerstner
and releave the spline at the end for the gear to slip past a little.

Maybe this is a stooopid question, but what do you mean by that?

--D

Originally posted by RockRover


Maybe this is a stooopid question, but what do you mean by that?

--D

Chamfer (sp) or round the splines at the hub end so the stub can slide in and line up a little easier.

this might be a dumb question but why do you need to put the snap ring at the end of the stub? where is the stub going to go without it. i ask thins cuz i never ran thoes on my D44 it makes changing a u-joint that much easyer? do you need it?

I have found that NOT running a snap ring causes less than great seal/spindle relationship *the butterfly seal* and in some axles I think it allows the shaft to walk out and that seems to have an ill effect on some brand lockouts. I know I have also run the Dana 60 sans clip with drive slugs and have had good success. But I still prefer using the snap rings.

NoRM

Hey chris, on the dana 44 and 60 front the snap ring is very important on the stub axle.The stub must be retained from end play, it keeps the dust boot pulled up to keep the mud and water out and protect the thrust washer.The axle can not move back, if it dose the "U" joint will be out of alinement with the upper and lower joint of the steering knuckle,this alinement must be mantained when the steering knuckle is turned with the axle turning. steve differential eng. Inc.

humm i guess it is there for a reason....i will be sure and put them on my dana 60. Correct me if i am wrong but the axle still moves a bit when the snap ring is there is this accounted for when they mad the seals? mine didn’t seem to move more without the ring as opposed to with it....maybe my memory is a little off....:confused:

just stiring the pot :)

Yes that is right, the geometry of the steering knuckle carry's the inner axle sliding it through the seal and side gear about 1/8" from stop to stop, but the stud is held in place. steve differential eng. inc.

Dana 60 & 70 side view.

That is some great tech Steve. Thanks for the diagram too, made it real clear. Glad I put the clips on my little stubs :D

steve thanks for all the advise and stuff, so far it look liek cut teh end off and cut groove into axel for the clip. any other ideas or tips for cuttign the axel and teh groove? thanks guys, Keith you reading this? smurff shop better be open someday, lol. ill call ya. jiMMy

kewl diagram

Originally posted by The Jerk
steve thanks for all the advise and stuff, so far it look liek cut teh end off and cut groove into axel for the clip. any other ideas or tips for cuttign the axel and teh groove? thanks guys, Keith you reading this? smurff shop better be open someday, lol. ill call ya. jiMMy

Yeah, I'm reading this....:flipoff2: I'm thinking back to when I had my front apart(only once). I remember that there was not grove in my stub(Dodge) for a snap ring, and wondered how the bellow seal was going to keep good contact with the spindle. I like JiMMy would like some fancy tips for how to cut a groove in the stub.

im thinking just mark it and use a cut off wheel and slowly move around the shaft.

im curious as to why your outers dont have the groove keith, the ones i bought are the only ones they sell(so i was told) and they come up chev/dodge on teh invoice. hmm, we will hav to check it out! jiMMy

Jimmy,

ya need to put that groove in the stub with a lathe, not a cut-off
wheel.....

using a dead-center in the lathe chuck, and a live center in the
tailstock, and a dog-leg on the stub shaft going towards the
lathe chuck.

spin it for the new groove, then use a cutoff bit to begin to shorten the stub, then finish it with a bandsaw or cuttoff wheel.

--Sherpa

Apparently mere posession of these axles (uninstalled) elevates you from stinky pinky (http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=77797&highlight=stinky+pinky) puss (http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=85702&highlight=puss+Jimmy)-dom.
only a matter of a couple more 44 shafts and so forth till u can be cool...
...for you 30 spliner 60 guys, suck it already and go spend some money for the beef!
... just think how much cooler you'll be when you actually get 'em installed! :rolleyes: :flipoff2: :rolleyes:

Seriously, man, don't hose up those purty new axles with a cutoff wheel, it won't cost much at all to do the job right. Cut the groove in on a lathe, so that the clip takes a good, even seat... if you've gotta shortcut anything, then shortcut the shaft cutdown/chamfer, since there's no real load at the outermost tip of the stub. That said, once you setup the stub up on the lathe, you might as well cut the ring land, start the cutoff, and knock down the spline tips. :grinpimp: As with most machining, the setup takes the bulk of the time.

Randii (jealous)

I've never run the snap ring on the end of my Ford 60 stub shaft. As a matter of fact the directions that came with my Warn premiums said it was not necessary to reinstall them.
Also, isn't the spindle bearing too small for the 35 slpine shaft? Do you just use a different bearing or what?

30-spliners and 35-spliners use the same spindle. therefore the
inner=spindle bearings are the same.

the only difference is that the 30 spline shaft tapers-down to
a smaller diameter AFTER the spindle-bearing surface.

that is all. GO BACK TO YOUR REGULAR PROGRAMMING NOW!

--Sherpa

Like Sherpa said cut the new snapring grove firts and then cut it off. If you send it to a real shop to have it cut down they will use a chopsaw too so go for it. Heat is the only real enemy so take your time. I wouldn't leave the snap ring off. 60 parts cost to much to take a big risk of letting water get in there and have the wheel lock up and destroy some shat.

On those dana 60 front's that do not have a snap ring, like the ford from 1992 to 1997, these have a bump stop on the tip of the inner axle and set on the cross pin,setting the location of the center of the "U" jiont in place.If you need a little more spline engagement for the stub and locking hub, you can replace the 382A with a 382S, this is the inner hub race, it is good for 1/8". steve Differential eng. inc.

Just what I needed to know, thanks

Originally posted by SHERPA
30-spliners and 35-spliners use the same spindle. therefore the
inner=spindle bearings are the same.

the only difference is that the 30 spline shaft tapers-down to
a smaller diameter AFTER the spindle-bearing surface.

that is all. GO BACK TO YOUR REGULAR PROGRAMMING NOW!

--Sherpa