Newbie Dana 60 Questions

[brian052484]

Sorry for the lame questions, I'm not new to Chevy tech, but definitely green on the subject of Dana 60s.

I've found an old military style D60 with drum brakes and 6 lug hubs, which the guy thinks is from a 1960's military application. Is a Dana 60 a Dana 60, or are there good and bad ones to get? I can probably get it for <= 400, but was wondering if I should steer away from this, or what. Any Suggestions?

btw.. tryin to get a pic from the guy, I'll post it if he sends me one.

[77k5]

Is this a front or rear end?

If its a front, the drums are crap and it will have closed knuckles (also crap). I don't know about the 6 lug thing. Not worth $400.

If its a rear, its not worth anywhere near $400.

[brian052484]

Yes it's a front. The ad does say it has closed knuckles.

Can it not be converted to discs and ball joints (or something?) cheaply?

I think I decided not to buy this one... after reading up some on 60s, and which ones are "desireable" and "undesireable"

[KWTMECH]

Closed knuckle---not desirable. Save your money for something better

[rockbender]

Stay away from a closed knuckle a friend gave a dana 80 closed knuckle front for a chevy. He said it's like 800 dollars in parts to convert. MY ass it is you end up spending about 2500.00 after new knuckles, C's Custom Axles everything.
No where near worth the expense you can find a good built 60 in here for cheaper than that. FOr that price I would rather convert a unimog axle to disk brakes with 8 lug bolt pattern.

[brian052484]

haha geez. I looked up some prices on Kingpin inner C's and knuckles, would be at least $1000 for just that, then I've got gears, locker, etc. $2500 is probly shootin low for a nicely built one.

Thanks for the info!

[Red Chevy]

That axle should have either 5.38 or 5.83 gears, can't remember which. The last one of them, and the only one, that I tore into had these gears and 35 spline shafts. Most will say they have the small shafts, but I have seen one with the 35 spline's. The 6-lug pattern is unique to this axle and could probably be expensive to convert to disks. It can be done with the existing closed knuckle setup, but all in all a lot of hassle.

On a second thought, if u could vet the D70 rear axle that this front was paired with, it would be worth the $400 for the set of f/r gears and the rear detroit in the D70. The only thing is that the 70 is a course spline shaft.

[dahoyle]

Sounds like an old Jeep M715 front axle to me. I don't know of any GM military specific applications from the '60's. in any case I would steer clear of it, and there's no way I'd pay $400 for it.

Also, The D70 from that particular setup is not up to par with most of the junk yard units.

[Davethorik]

Originally Posted by dahoyle

Sounds like an old Jeep M715 front axle to me. I don't know of any GM military specific applications from the '60's. in any case I would steer clear of it, and there's no way I'd pay $400 for it.

Also, The D70 from that particular setup is not up to par with most of the junk yard units.

I don't believe GM had any equivalent vehicles in that time frame, and certainly not with a 6-on-huge lug pattern. Definitely a Jeep axle.

[g-wizz]

Originally Posted by brian052484

Yes it's a front. The ad does say it has closed knuckles.

Can it not be converted to discs and ball joints (or something?) cheaply?

I think I decided not to buy this one... after reading up some on 60s, and which ones are "desireable" and "undesireable"

its probalby from a m 715 or similar jeep truck. no one has ever totally proven why closed knuckle dana 60s suck. i have hear the u joint is smaller in them tho. also they are probably course spline but that the same as the closed knuckle shit may or may not be weak. bottom line there is probably no after market for that axle wich alone is a good reason to steer away from it... maby.

[brian052484]

Well Thanks for all the great advice fellers. I didn't buy it, thankfully!

[6.2Blazer]

Sounds like my reply is a little late, but oh well.

I was also going to say it sounds like an M-715 axle (built in '67-'69) as that is about the only closed knuckle, drum brake D60 I know of from that era. A guy here at work owns one and is really involved with an M-715 club so knows all of the details.

I don't think the closed knuckle itself makes it that undesirable, but it's more the fact that is has drums, funky bolt pattern, and smaller shafts and u-joints (he's not here today, so I can't get the actual specs). It's also set up for spring under. Basically you would have a bunch of time and/or money wrapped up into it