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The dana 70 thread

536K views 739 replies 248 participants last post by  cj8scrambld 
#1 · (Edited)
Welcome to the 70 bible. I don't claim to be the be-all, end-all, expert on these, although I have learned quite a bit about them while assembling this. If you have good info to share, post it up. If you want to know what version of the 70 you have, read this and look for yourself.

I want to add more info about the Super 70 (the 70-1SU?) to this, if you have any or know where to find any good info, please share with the class.

Identification...

The 70 uses (basically) the same cover as a 60 (everyone knows how to spot a 60 right?). The bolt pattern is the same and for all practical purposes the covers are interchangeable. As far as I know the easiest way to tell a 70 from a 60 is the lip on the bottom of the pumpkin. Most stock 70 covers will cover all the way to the bottom of the 70 housing, but the mounting lip is about 1/2" wider than a 60. With a 60 cover on a 70, the thicker lip is very obvious, but with the stocker you may have to look closer.

There are a lot of different versions of the 70, for the most part the parts are pretty interchangeable between them. They came in trucks, vans, and industrial equipment in a wide variety of widths, with bolt patterns ranging from heavy duty 6 lug, the standard 8x6.5”, and up to 10 lug, and have several different spline counts available. Almost all of them are 8 lug, with 35 spline or 32 spline shafts.

The tubes are fatter than a 60, and thicker than a 14 bolt. My 70-B uses 3-9/16" tubes (a 60 front or rear is typically 3-1/8"). The 70-HD has 4" tubes. Tube thickness seems to be ½” on pretty much all of them. The tapered down sections are rolled smaller, so the wall gets thicker in these sections.

Here is a pic of a 70-B, showing both the lip on the bottom (that is a high pinion 60 cover on it), the lip on the top, and the taper down on the tubes (note that I cut the stock brake flanges off). The wider lips are not normally so obvious, because factory 70 covers have wider flanges, so look closely when your axle hunting.

The lip on the bottom can be shaved down for the same ground clearance as a 60. I reccomend using a saw to remove most of the material, then finishing it out with a grinder.



Here's a better view of the taper down...



Variations...

There are several versions of the 70:

*70 (.500" pinion offset, used from late 1950's to '71 according to dana) these would likely have the lower spline counts, least desirable
*70-B (.625" offset, '71-82) Probably the most common version. Generally 35 spline, but checking is the only sure way.
*70-U (.625" offset, '82+) There seems to be less of these than the 70-B. Known as the "Teardrop 70" because of it's smooth underside. Shares all bearings with the 60
*70-2U (unknown offset) same pinion and carrier bearings as U, but big wheel bearings.
*70-HD (.625" offset, '68+) These come in big trucks, lots of them out there but many in weird widths.
*70-3HD (.969" offset, '87+) Out of newer trucks, not a lot of low gears available for these ones.
*70-High Pinion (unkown offset, 2000ish+ Kodiak/Top Kick K4500/K5500 fronts) 10 lug high pinion 70, with 1550 joints (a 60 uses 1480) 5.13 gears are the only ones available for these axles.
*70-1SU (.625” offset) Super 70. Little info available, Dana lists only available ratios as 4.10 and 4.56. Teardrop housing and HD tubes and outers.

Often the variation will be cast into the housing, but not always, and in the case of the 3HD, it may be labeled as 2HD according to rocklobster87. The only way to know for sure is to check the BOM number. It is a 6 digit number, typically starting with a 6, stamped into the axle tube just to the right of the diff, when looking at the cover. Go to www2.dana.com and look it up to see what you’ve got.

The 70-U uses a smaller pinion bearing than any of the others (the same as a 60) All the others use the same inner pinion bearing. Carrier bearings and outer pinion bearing are the same as a 60. Wheel bearings vary, and can range from the same part numbers as 60’s and 14 bolts, to bigger.

The carrier bearings on the 70, 70-B and 70-U are all the same size (same bearings as a 60 carrier). The HD carrier is .125” narrower than the others, and can be use in the other 70’s with the addition of a 1/8” spacer. This leads me to assume that a normal 70 carrier won’t fit in a HD.

Because of the different pinion offsets available, it’s important to know exactly what you have when looking for gears and carriers.

If there are other ways to distinguish the variations with visual checks, post up what you know and pics if you can so we can make this as complete as possible.

Differences and similarities with the 60...

The std 70 uses some of the same bearings as the 60, the outer pinion bearing is the same one (splines and seals are also the same as a 60, so yokes are totally interchangeable), but the inner pinion bearing is significantly bigger. The carrier bearings are the same as a 60 also.

The inner wheel bearings are bigger than a 60, but the outers are the same. Here is a pic of a 4.10 pinion out of a 60 and one out of a 70. The bearing in front of each pinion is the inner wheel bearing. Which is the 60 and which is the 70 is pretty obvious.



Here's another view...



Shafts...

There are also different axle shaft spline counts available. The 35 spline is the most desirable (and I believe the most common too). Off the top of my head, here's the list, 16(?), 23, 30, 32 and 35 spline. Can anyone confirm these, I'm like 80% sure about those #'s.

Donor vehicles...

There are just about a million different applications that came with Dana 70 axles. There are too many to make a useful list. There are links to Dana's backdoor website below that list most of the applications. There is a ton of info in them, so make sure you're in a comfortable chair if you choose to navigate through them.

Misc info...

The ring gear diameter is 10.5"
The 35 spline versions are the same spline as the 35 spline 60’s and 9 inches we are all used to
The pinion nut requires a 1-5/16” thin wall socket, and should not be torqued beyond 300 lb/ft
The axle shaft flanges are typically larger than 14b and 60’s, and often use tapered cone washers on studs :smokin:
The oil capacity is about 3 quarts, Dana recommends 80w90 gear oil
The housing is ductile iron (a high quality type of cast iron)
The input torque rating is 7000 lb/ft max, 1750 lb/ft continuous for most (all?) versions from what I have gathered, the main differences are in the GVW rating.
Swapping SRW hubs on a DRW housing will make the axle effectively wider, not narrower.
Disk brake swaps are pretty much just as straightforward as they are on a 60. ¾ ton GM D44/10bolt front rotors, and the common 7-1/16” GM calipers.

Helpful Links

Dana BOM lookup page
Dana 70 Maintenance Guide
Dana 60/70 Powr-Lok LSD Service Manual
Dana Ring and Pinion Pattern guide
Dana shim kits
Ford application guide 1995-2005 (70 info p.34 to p.39)
Dodge application guide 1999-2001 (70 info p.40 to p.44)
Dana axle application/BOM guide 1979-1998 (all models, not just 70)
Dana axle application/BOM guide 1967-1978 (all models, not just 70)
Dana Light Axle General Information Guide, about a million applications and their BOMs (for all models, not just 70), from 1979-2005)


I'm planning on updating this post with anything you guys have to add, since it's missing more info than it has. It should make a pretty handy reference for all us 70 fans.

-Redd
 

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#255 ·
If you are gonna put new bearings on the locker you could cut the old bearings off the carrier. Use a cut off wheel to cut the bearing cage off then cut into the inner bearing race with the cut off wheel. Cut most of the way through the race then use a punch and hammer to split the race. At that point the bearing race should come off with little resistance so you can get the original shims.
 
#256 ·
So I ended up just gently gouging the bearing races off, got the shims, but now I don't have races that I can hone out and use for set-up.

Instead of putting the shims between the inner race and the carrier, is there any reason i can't just slide the shims between the outter race and the housing? Seems like it would be easier to switch them around and they fit pretty nice. I've only ever set up yota diffs with the adjuster rings, and it seems like putting the shims between the outter race and housing would mimic the adjusting rings style. Or just give me a big STFU if i'm out in left field. :flipoff2:
 
#259 · (Edited)
ok, long story short.

-bought a pair of axles from vendor on here
-pulled from running truck but i havent seen these...not worried because i take his word, he is a respected vendor here

-dually axles

this was what he sent me in a pm..

I'm going to give you all the info I know. The axles came out of a running K30 1985 truck. It was a truck for a well digging company. The axles were under a running truck. Orig. owner of the truck needed the motor for another rig so he sold the axles out of it.
I started looking for info on rear disc swaps for dualy axles and saw a few people say that the DRW 14 bolt didnt start happening until later mid to later 80's trucks and that most of the earlier 80's trucks would be drw dana 70's


can anyone clarify? doesnt really matter much to me either way..i got a decent deal and ill use which ever. but im bored and figured one of yall may know.
 
#260 · (Edited)
It depends on if you're dealing with a pick up or cab & chassis truck. ALL pick up duallies up to 87 (or 91 if square body style) had D70HD's. If it's a square body style dually and has a 14 bolt it'll be a cab & chassis and the axle should be narrow.

88+ nbs trucks are the primary source of full width dually 14 bolts.
 
#263 ·
I've been searching for a pair of those for at least 4 yrs. now. How'd you come across them? 5.13's are the only gears I've seen. There was an article in Petersen's, a few months ago, stating the GM Topkicks & Kodiaks will be no longer produced & I don't know what else uses those HP D70's. It also said Yukon makes replacement 5.13's instead of the factory $500.00+ R & P.
Are you going to step down the tubes at the end to accept D60 outers? Randy @ Advanced Four Wheel Drive Systems has built one w/ an ARB. IIRC, when talking to him, he had to buy both the D70 & D80 ARB units, combine parts, & do some special machining. What locker you going to run?
 
#264 ·
A buddy of mine works for Dana so after finally tracking down the part number he was able to order them. I got 3 gear sets, 2 housings and 1 open dif. I also got the shop drawings with all the part number to source the parts locally. The gear that come from Randy's come from a place here in MO, I think they are almost $300 from them. They still have parts but not complete axles at Dana.
Not sure what I'll use for a locker. It will have after market 60s for the front not sure on tube size yet. The rear will have spindles and tubes from a newer D70S
 
#266 ·
The guys at http://www.custom-differentials.com/ built a front Dana 80, as seen in the July isue of Four Wheeler. They used flanges to bolt up the D60 outers to the D80 tubes. By doing it this way allows the pinion to be rotated in minimal angles for easy adjustment. They are local to you in Bloomsdale, Mo. I have a factory spreadsheet w/ all the part #'s too. Does your friend know if the HP D70 is used in any other vehicle application?
 
#272 · (Edited)
Just brought home a 79 Ford F350 with a 70. Heres what I can tell real quick like.

Dana 70, Dually, 64" wms-wms, 35spl shafts, I have not yet pulled the cover. Not sure what the pinion offset is.

I think this is factory axle. The only reason I am sceptical is because it has a getto home made flat bed, the front is a srw 8-lug D44 and its 30+ yearrs old. :flipoff2:

By the way this is going in my TJ....
 
#274 ·
Three issues you kids can help me with:

1.) I converted the rear 70 to disks with Gravelmaker's caliper brackets, 3/4ton GM rotors and the JB7 calipers- I haven't actually put the calipers on yet but everything looks like it's going to line up just fine. I also ordered Blackbird's hose kit, as I see recommended on this forum for this swap- BUT I got to be honest- I'm a retard when it comes to hydraulics and electronics so I'd like to see a good write-up of that aspect of the hosing and whatnot, how things go together and so forth. Anyone know of a link that that one here?

B.) I order the stage 8 X locks for the rear, but when I went to throw them in yesterday, the key tab for the lock is too big for the keyway on the spindle- Called them and they acted like I have 4 heads (in a nice way- they just were under the impression that my spindles should have the same diameter key as the D60 spindles do so they couldn't help me much). As technical reference my spindles gap came in at ~4.5mm wheras the key for the spindle spider locknut thing from Stage 8 came in at ~7mm wide. No worries there, I'm machining the key down to the 4.5mm size as everything else about the spindle seems to line up perfectly (diameter, thread etc..) but I am just curious if this is a well known fact or if I have some particular brand of Dana 70 rear that is funky like this. Please let me know what you think here.

3.) Finally, the wheel studs I am running are the Dorman 303's not the 283's that it seem like everyone else is running. Obviously they are about 3/8" longer than the 283's but aside from this is anyone seeing a problem I'm missing here? I.E. why is no one else seem to be running the 303s?

Thanks guys.
 
#275 ·
Looks like I get no comments from the gallery so I'm going to post what I came up with myself:

Three issues you kids can help me with:

1.) I converted the rear 70 to disks with Gravelmaker's caliper brackets, 3/4ton GM rotors and the JB7 calipers- I haven't actually put the calipers on yet but everything looks like it's going to line up just fine. I also ordered Blackbird's hose kit, as I see recommended on this forum for this swap- BUT I got to be honest- I'm a retard when it comes to hydraulics and electronics so I'd like to see a good write-up of that aspect of the hosing and whatnot, how things go together and so forth. Anyone know of a link that that one here?

Still looking for any insight on this but I have a plan...

B.) I order the stage 8 X locks for the rear, but when I went to throw them in yesterday, the key tab for the lock is too big for the keyway on the spindle- Called them and they acted like I have 4 heads (in a nice way- they just were under the impression that my spindles should have the same diameter key as the D60 spindles do so they couldn't help me much). As technical reference my spindles gap came in at ~4.5mm wheras the key for the spindle spider locknut thing from Stage 8 came in at ~7mm wide. No worries there, I'm machining the key down to the 4.5mm size as everything else about the spindle seems to line up perfectly (diameter, thread etc..) but I am just curious if this is a well known fact or if I have some particular brand of Dana 70 rear that is funky like this. Please let me know what you think here.

I machined the key on the Stage 8 spindle "spider" lock down to 4.5mm so that it fit, I don't know if I have a special spindle or what- but it seems to work now- Also none of the hub sockets I had fit- the spindle nut from Stage 8 is designed to work with a 4 prong spindle lock of some sort but apparently none of the 4 that I have were the right size. I actually had a 6 prong hub socket that was the right spread (but obviously the wrong number of prongs) so I ground 4 of them off and it fits well- it only needs 30 ft lbs. so I think I'll be good with 2 prongs for the install- I need to find the right one still though so if you know of the exact part- please let me know.

3.) Finally, the wheel studs I am running are the Dorman 303's not the 283's that it seem like everyone else is running. Obviously they are about 3/8" longer than the 283's but aside from this is anyone seeing a problem I'm missing here? I.E. why is no one else seem to be running the 303s?

Looks like I'll be fine with the 303-s they certainly are a but longer but they seem to work with my close ended lugs

Thanks guys.
Does anyone know of a service manual for the full float rear 70? Obviously everyone has seen the 70 manual the Billavista has linked in his little diddy on the 70 but that is really only geared towards a front axle, as all the exploded diagrams and service information really never addresses any of the full float info. I'm building an axle for the first time and before I waste 3/4 of a gallon of syn. diff fluid I want to make sure everything is assembled correctly, that I am not missing any seals etc so I'd like to find either a reference manual or an exploded view. FYI my particular axle is from an 80 F350 van. Thx in advance
 
#279 ·
Someone want to help me out here? DANA Master site is only going back to 78 for me, and I believe* this was a 77 without checking the paperwork.
Title said deck truck, so it may have been ordered as a cab and chassis

It's a rear D70(no HD/U/etc), 3.5" tubes, 35 spline shafts, 4.10 gears, open carrier
Should have measured WMS before I tore it down, but it was around 65" ish?

Date stamp
2 14 8a2

BOM
603869 21

I thought it was an HD at first(eyeball tape measure lied to me) and I thought all the cab and chassis where HDs anyways. Just trying to find out what the hell the specs are before I slam it into the rig.......
 
#283 ·
D70-B, 78 F350, Dual Wheel, 1 piece case, 4.10 industrial gears (most likely very noisy) 5/8" offset pinion, 35 spline 35.05" shafts on both sides.

What else do you need to know about it?
 
#287 ·
You betcha! :D
 
#289 ·



Heres the D70 I have...... It has 456s and a powerlock. It came from a 70's for flat bed truck. I would guess to say this is a cab and chassis rear axel?
If I run the 14 bolt SRW hubs will it increase the width from 66" to?
ALso I need the Cab & Chassis rear disk brake conversion, even thow im runing a single wheel. I decided to keep this because its got a power lock and I found a set of 488 gears. I Also have a FULL Cromo 8 lug D44 and also enough parts to build a complete truck. So when my K20 is done im buying a blazer. Project spare parts.....
 
#290 ·
was there ever a dually dana 60?

a 74 dodge dually motorhome came in today. looks to be a 70, the diff hangs down a bit below the cover.
but it has straight, not tapered tubes, which LOOK to be 3"(i didnt crawl under to measure) and 30 spline 1.18 axles. the ID of the spindle was 1.60.

uses a stud/cone/nut to retain the axle. and some big 5/8 wheel studs, with coined 1 1/8' lugnuts. and the body tag lists it at 6200# GWR.

seems light for a 70.....

i didnt get a pic. all i have is my phone, and i wasnt going to crawl underneath for a shitty pic:flipoff2:

just curious what this thing is.
 
#292 ·
Dana 70 HD - Case Trencher

So i picked up a pair of dana 70hd axles out of a case trencher. My plan is to use one for a front and one for a rear on a buggy i'm SLOWLY building. Looking for some info, i pulled the axles and covers.....didn't figure the ratio, but believe its a 6:68 to 1 (668 stamped on the ring gear)....

They have 1.5" 35 spline shafts

I believe a govt locker or similar, see pics

4" tubes

6 studs on axles flange

Does anyone have any experience with these?

How strong is the locker?

want to run 47"-54" tires agressively with HP (eventually 500+)

I plan on making a front with good 60 outers and use 4340 shafts......i will more than likely slide 3" tubes inside the 4" to work with 60 outers

Are the spring perches on trenchers usually on top or bottom, how do you tell the direction of the axles....it seems these were run upside down??? like a high pinion. the perches seem to be on the top side of the axles??

here's some numbers on the ring gear:
668 12 0790 Dana D 3 5 307 P8R 25 43 8

Any input is always appreciated. Thanks Mike........

And YES i've already searched and found some info, mostly here on Pirate...just looking for more.

I have pics on a similiar link on greatlakes4x4 below

http://www.greatlakes4x4.com/showthread.php?t=185697
 
#293 ·
Build a D70F

Great thread! I have two dana 70 rear axles first is a U out of a F250 C&C and the outher is a B dulie rear axle out of a Uhaul truck. I'm thinking of putting togather a dana 70 front and have a few questions. What are the strength gains of a low pinion dana 70 over a high dana 60 in a front axle configuration? How strong is the D70 gear set when run on the coast side of the gear set compared to the high pinion D60? From what I have read the 35 spline D60 and D70 shafts are interchangeable ? so I wouldn't have to buy custom shaves for a front axle build correct? If the shafts are the same then which inner axle seal are better to run the new style on the older style? Sorry if I have missed these answers in the thread above.
 
#294 ·
not sure if its true on a high pinion 60, but my concern on strengths between a 60 and 70 is they share the same pinion shaft diameter of 1 5/8"

I found mine are a 7.17 gears w/power-lok locker....my worry is the few teeth engagment between the ring and pinion......does anyone have experience running these gears with large tires?
 
#297 ·
most of the time, what breaks ring and pinions is shock loading. if you drive smooth and easy and dont shock load the ring and pinion, you wont ever have a problem. When you have problems is at times when you lift a tire and get some momentum going with it. when it touches down, gains traction, shocks the axles, the ring and pinion are punished. you can rip a tooth off the pinion, but more likely you will rip teeth of the ring gear first.

I have witnessed a Ford with 4.56 gears on landing from a jump. the pinion nut got stripped off, and the traction from landing literally pulled the pinion out of the housing. the guy was doing about 50, decelerated in the air, and when it landed, the tires werent spinning. 6500 lbs on the rear axle, and it sucked the threads right off the pinion.
bad sookey.
 
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