Front Dana 60 Axle Tech (Page 1) (Click on most pics for a larger version) Last updated: Monday, September 2, 2007 .

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Intro:

This article is intended to collect together technical info and practical hands-on data about the venerable Dana 60 front axle.  It is not a how-to article, but more a collection of information and facts.  With an article of this scope, it is very difficult to personally verify all the information or ensure complete accuracy, but I have attempted to be as complete and accurate as possible.  Keep in mind that nothing in the axle world is cast in stone, variations are always possible.

I do not recommend nor endorse any of the modifications shown in this article, the information is provided for personal information purposes only.  I am not an Engineer, metallurgist, or mechanic - I have absolutely no professional qualifications whatsoever in this regard - I have simply collected information from others.  Use of any of the information contained herein is at your own risk. It is therefore your responsibility to maintain safety in and around your vehicle at all times.  It is likely that some procedures featured here may void your vehicle's (or parts thereof) warranty.  It is also likely that some of the information featured shows procedures that may not be legal for street use in some or all states within the US and/or any other countries and may not be safe for on or off-road use.  The article's author, nor anyone related to this web page, cannot be held responsible for any damage, failure, or violations of the law, that might result from from the use of any information contained on this page, or linked to on this page . 

In particular I do not recommend the grinding of brake callipers, nor the conversion of dual rear wheel (DRW) hubs to single rear wheel (SRW) hubs, as these components were never designed to be modified and used in this manner.

There is no way all this information could have been compiled without the help of a great number of people - some knowingly, most not.  I harvested the information from about 1999-2002 mostly from the most excellent Pirate4x4.Com Bulletin Board, but also from other knowledgeable wheelers, manufacturer's web sites, and the personal experience of my club mates and I.  If you notice any errors, please let me know via our club bulletin board The Right Coast Crawlers BB.  If you notice pictures or large portions of text that are yours and you would like specific credit, let me know.  Also, if I have used pictures of yours that you object to, please let me know so that I can remove them. With that said, I must give thanks to the following list of folks, although the list is by no means complete:

Sherpa rig, Patooyee, 66CJDean, Wolf 359, Onetonwillysands10, Scott at Rockstomper, Emsoffroad, Alpo, Ant, Aggro, BadDog, BigDude,  PinBall,  Ultim8kaos, Chad.  

Extra special thanks to Steve Gerstner of Differential Engineering for taking the time to call me personally, all the way from Florida, to correct many of my mistakes and to share a little of his vast knowledge.  Steve is one of, if not the, premier custom axle builder in North America.  He has personally handled over 500 Dana60 front axles......now THAT's experience!!

The following documents located on our server provide additional information and data on the Front Dana 60

Dana Spicer light Axle service manual.

Dana 60 Service Manual  

The following companies and suppliers are sources of parts and info for the front Dana 60

The following are other great Front D60 tech articles:

ORCs 35 spline stub shaft upgrade article http://www.off-road.com/chevy/tech/dana35spline/  

ColoradoK5 article on installing a Boyce Equipment rebuilt Dana 60 http://www.coloradok5.com/boyce.shtml

ColoradoK5 Dana 60 calliper grinding article http://www.coloradok5.com/d60calipergrind.shtml

Alaska Offroad axle tech page http://www.alaskaoffroad.com/axle_tech.htm

Off-road.com Dana 60 tech http://www.off-road.com/chevy/tech/dana60

Mike Knorr's Building an RC D60 http://www.bc4x4.com/tech/2001/hpd60front/

Wolf359's Dana 60 upgrade article http://www.gohumvee.com/images/Tech/60axleup/index.html

The Dana 60 front axle is a heavy-duty 4wd front steering axle manufactured by Dana Spicer corporation.  It was most commonly used in many one ton and some 3/4 ton pickup trucks. 

Over the years there have been many different variations, from early Ford closed knuckle low pinion types, to the common GM kingpin low pinion, to the 94+ Dodge Dana 60 with a vacuum operated central axle disconnect, balljoints, and 32 spline inner shafts.

The most desirable axles for heavy duty 4x4 use in stock form have open kingpin knuckles, 35 spline inner axles, 30 spline outer axles (stub shafts), and disc brakes.  Later model Ford high pinion (HP) Dana 60s with balljoints instead of kingpins are also desirable axles, though many prefer the kingpin knuckles over the balljoints.

The undesirable front Dana 60 axles will not be covered by this article, and include:

74-75.5 Ford low pinion drivers side closed knuckle drum brake with 30 spline inners, 19 spline outers, small ujoints and weak knuckles.

75.5-77  Ford low pinion drivers side open knuckle disc brake 30 spline inners, 19 spline outers, outer knuckle spindle pilot hole is smaller than 78+ axle and is therefore notched to allow 1480 series U-joint tp pass through.

94+ Dodge drivers side low pinion CAD unit bearing hub 32 spline 1.31” coil sprung Dana 60s

Any other closed knuckle Dana 60, like those from a Jeep M715 that had coarse spline axles.

Common applications for the desirable axles include:

GM 

1977-87 K30 1 ton 4wd

1984-88 CUCV

1988-91.5 V30 

All GM / Chevy versions were passenger side differential, regular rotation (low pinion) gears, disc brakes, 35 spline inners, 30 spline outers, internal style hubs, and kingpin knuckles.  

Dodge 

1975-89 D-600

1992-93 D-600

1981-89 D-700

1992-93 D-700

All these Dodge versions were passenger side differential, regular rotation (low pinion) gears, disc brakes, 35 spline inners, 30 spline outers, and kingpin knuckles.  1979-89 versions had external style hubs, with the earlier versions with full-time NP203 Transfer cases having external drive flanges, and later models having external lockout hubs.  The external lockout hub bolt pattern is 8 x 3.960".  The 90-93 versions had internal style hubs just like the Chevy and lockout hubs.  One caution with dodge applications, is you have to be careful to avoid the Dana 61 front axle.  1987-88 and 1991-93.5 Dodge D600 and D700 also came with Dana 61.  More info on the Dana 61 later in the article.

Ford

1978-79 F-350 and some F-250 (Snofighter and High GVW packages)
1986-88 F-350 with dual rear wheels (DRW)

1988-91.5 F-350 with single rear wheels (SRW)

1992-95 F-350 (all) (balljoint)

1996.5-98 F-350 (all) (balljoint)

2000 F350/F450/F550 DRW (balljoint, metric 8x170mm wheel bolt pattern F350 / 8x220mm F450/F550, unit bearing hub)

2000.5 F350/F450/F550 DRW (balljoint, metric 8x170mm wheel bolt pattern  F350 / 8x220mm F450/F550, unit bearing hub)

2001 F350 DRW (balljoint, metric 8x170mm wheel bolt pattern, unit bearing hub)

2001-02 F450/F550 DRW (balljoint, metric 8x220mm wheel bolt pattern, unit bearing hub)

2002 F250/F350 SRW (balljoint, metric 8x170mm wheel bolt pattern, unit bearing hub)

2002 F450/F550 DRW (balljoint, metric 8x220mm wheel bolt pattern, unit bearing hub)

All these Ford versions were drivers side differential, reverse-cut (high pinion) gears, and kingpin knuckles to 1991.5 and balljoints thereafter.  Most Ford D60s are internal style hubs, but external type lockout versions do exist.  2000 and later Ford D60s have balljoints, a metric wheel lug pattern of 8x170mm up to F350 and 8x220mm for F450/F550, different brakes and spindles, sealed "unit-bearing hubs", hub-centric wheels, different length axleshafts from the earlier D60s, and larger Superduty specific tie rod ends.  From 2000 on, the Ford D60 front axle is also known as the Model 60F2000+ or the 248M.  248 just happens to be the equivalent in millimeters of 9.75" - the diameter of the D60s ring gear. 

IHC

1975 1300 camper Special

35 spline inner, 30 spline outer, external lockouts

Differences between the front Dana 60s:

This paragraph is just a quick summary of the most notable differences, more detailed info is spread throughout the article in the dimensions table, parts interchange table, etc.

Dodge and Chevy  front Dana 60s are very similar, and in many cases fairly interchangeable - both parts and entire  assemblies.  Differences do exist, and some are:

1) All Chevy D60s are kingpin knuckle, whereas early (79-93 ) Dodge are kingpin and later (94+ ) are balljoint (and undesirable)

2) All Chevy D60s are internal style lockout / drive flange bearing hubs, whereas early (79-89 ) Dodge are external, and later Dodge (90-93) are internal.

3) Dodge and Chevy outer kingpin knuckles are very similar, and either will bolt to the other axle, but they are not identical - tie-rod placement is different - the Dodge mounts the TRE about an inch and a half higher. Tie rod end taper is the same for all Chavy, Dodge up to 93, and 78-79 Ford.  85+ Ford is smaller to 99, then 2000+ Ford Superduty is larger and Super-duty sepcific.

4) Chevy leaf spring pads are 3 inches wide and  32  inches apart (center-pin to center-pin), Dodge are 2.5 inches wide and 32.5  inches apart.

5) All SRW Chevy D60s are 69" wide wheel-mounting-surface to wheel-mounting-surface (wms-wms).  Most SRW Dodge are 67" wide, although some are reportedly 69" wide too. A Dodge DRW D60 is 75.5" wms-wms.

6) Chevy rotors are 1.5" thick, early dodge rotors are 1.25" thick, but the calipers are identical. Dodge D60s from the CTD years (90-ish to 93) have 1.5" rotors.

7) Dodge D60s from the CTD years (90-ish to 93) have a higher tierod location than the older Chevys.

Differences between the Chevy/Dodge D60 and Ford D60 are more numerous and apparent.  They include

1) Chevy/Dodge use a 6 bolt spindle mount pattern, Ford is 5 bolt

2) The Chevy/Dodge spindle and bearing/wheel hub are 5/8" longer than the Ford.  

3) The Chevy/Dodge stub shaft is 0.600" longer than the Ford stub shaft

4) Chevy rotors are about 1.5" thick, the Ford and Dodge rotors are about 1.25" thick 

5) Virtually all Ford front disc brakes used 2 piston calipers

6) The Chevy/Dodge outer knuckle is clearanced for their large single-piston calipers, the Ford are not.

7) The Chevy/Dodge caliper mounting bracket bolts on AFTER the spindle, as in knuckle-->spindle-->caliper bracket, whereas the Ford mounts the caliper bracket between the knuckle and spindle, as in knuckle-->caliper bracket-->spindle

8) The Chevy/Dodge are passenger drop regular cut low pinion diffs, the Ford are drivers drop reverse cut high pinion.   

9) Chevy/Dodge uses six 1/2" spindle studs, Ford uses five 7/16" spindle studs

10) Ford knuckles seem to have more issues with the upper kingpin area strength than others. Chevy/Dodge knuckle has thicker ribbing around the upper kingpin area.

11) Ford knuckles have a shorter steering arm than the Chevy/Dodge. A 1.5" diameter tie-rod on a stock Ford D60 will justtouch the diff cover at full lock. The same tie-rod on a GM Dana 60 would be just over 1/2" away from the cover at full lock.

Here is a table of front D60 axles showing Bill of Material (BOM) numbers, sorted by manufacturer. 

The same table is also available in Microsoft Excell spreadsheet format (.xls) so that you can save it to your computer and then easily, search, filter, and sort the data any way you like to get the information you need.

This table also lists all axle shaft lengths

The BOM is stamped on the axle housing tube as indicated in the picture below.  Unfortunately, they are not stamped very deeply, and in harsh winter climates are often illegible after many years.  In some cases, the BOM is also stamped on the outer circumference of the ring gear.

Stock Dana 60 front axle dimensions

The wms, spring pad span, and spring pad width are subject to error and variations.  Take with a grain of salt, and please send me corrections / info that you have, as well as info for filling in the blanks.

Identification:

The following pics are of a 1979 Ford F-250 Camper Special High Pinion Dana 60

The 10 bolt diff cover measuring 10.75" x 11.5", 3.125" diameter axle tubes, and kingpin knuckles identify this as a 79 Ford HPD60
The easiest way to tell a D60 from a D44 is the diameter of the hub.  Lug pattern alone is insufficient as there were 8 lug D44s. The lockout hub on a D60 is approx 4" in diameter.
This is what a kingpin knuckle looks like
The RCD60 has a high pinion diff - notice how the pinion enters above the centerline of the axle tubes.  On an RCD60 the centerline of the pinion is 1-1/8" above the centerline of the axle shafts.

The following pics are of a 1980 Chevy K30 D60

Chevy D60 has passenger side diff and kingpin knuckles
Notice the Chevy pinion is much lower than the RC version.  In the reguar cut Dana 60s the pinion centerline is 1-1/8" below the centerline of the axle shafts.
This picture applies to any kingpin Dana60 front axle Photo courtesy Steve Gerstner

Miscellaneous Front D60 pics:

Chevy outer knuckles.  Note blue arrow indicates clearance for large single-piston Chevy brakes, and is different from Ford knuckles		Chevy 6 bolt spindle. Mounting holes are NON-symetrical and the spindle will only fit one-way Photo courtesy Shaker
Dodge D60 with external mounted drive flange.		Dodge D60 with external mounted drive flange, center dust-cap removed.
Dodge D60 with external mounted locking hub. Photo courtesy DRM		Ford 5 bolt spindle. Note non-symmetrical bolt circle. Spindle will only fit on knuckle one way.
Chevy D60, rebuilt by Boyce Photo courtesy Boyce Equipment		Chevy D60, rebuilt by Boyce Photo courtesy Boyce Equipment
Dodge DRW Front 60 external locking hub Photo courtesy Larryboy

Specs:

The following info is true of all front Dana 60s covered by this article.  

Max load (SRW): 4500lbs,
Max torque short duration: 5550 Lbs.Ft. Continuous: 1500 Lbs.Ft. - these figures unconfirmed
Axle tube dia. 3.125", wall thickness 0.5"
Weight center section = 120lbs.

Weight, fully dressed  single wheel front Chevy 60 complete, locking  hub to hub 518lbs

Weight, fully dressed  single wheel front Ford RC 60 complete, locking  hub to hub 460-480lbs

Max steer angle = 40 degrees

Cover Bolts: 10

Diff cover 10-3/4 X 11-1/2"

Side gear spline24/48 pitch,30T 1.250 P.D.
Ring Gear dia.=9.750", tooth width 1.4370"
Ring Gear Diameter: 9 3/4"
Ring Gear Bolts: (12) RH Thread 1/2" X 20
Pinion Shaft Diameter: 1.625"

Pinion Splines: 1.2760" 29 Involute Splines
Carrier split, regular cut: 4.10 down / 4.56 up

Carrier split, reverse cut: All use same carrier **

        ** Note: The carrier is the same for all Ford RC 60's UP TO 98, and is the same as the GM/Dodge 4.10 carrier - namely part # 706040X.
BUT -  the Ford RC60 was never offered stock with a ratio lower than 4.10 in those years. When aftermarket vendors started making gears lower than 4.10 for RC 60s - they made the ring gear thick, so it could just go on the stock carrier. So if you bought aftermarket 5.38 gears for RC60 - they would likely be thick.  Now - if you buy an aftermarket carrier (i.e. locker, spool, limited slip) for your RC60 - I imagine, depending on where you buy it from, they ask "year/make/model" and based on that would likely sell you the 4.10 down Detroit - that way - if you already had aftermarket lower gears, they would just go on the locker.  The problem you might run into, is this:. You buy aftermarket gears first - lower than 4.10 and they're thick. Then you buy a locker by ratio, not make and model, and naturally you'd think "I have 5.13 gears - I must need the 4.56 and up locker" but you get hooped because the gears are thick, and won't go on that carrier. Also note, The 2000+ RC60 Fords are offered with stock gears as low as 5.38 - but these are not thick to go on the same old 4.10 down carrier - they are thin and go on the same GM/Dodge 4.56 up carrier. The carrier break is 4.30 and down go on the 4.10 and down carrier.  I don't know if Spicer is the only manufacturer offering thin RC60 gears - but the bottom line is - when dealing with an RC60, you do have to match your carrier and gear set.

To distinguish a 4.10 and down carrier (called a 3-series carrier) from a 4.56 and up carrier (called a 4-series carrier) you need to measure the distance from the face where the ring gear sits, to the end of the carrier, as shown in the following pic - labelled dimension "A".

For a 3 series carrier (4.10 and down, Spicer part number 706040X) Dimension A is 2.225"

For a 4 series carrier (4.56 and up Spicer part number 706041X) Dimension A is 2.360"

Carrier construction: malleable iron (fine grain cast iron)

Ring and Pinion construction:  8620 heat treated

Differential housing construction: Nodular iron

Axle tubes construction: mild steel

Inner knuckles (aka tube forks, end forgings, or "Cs")  - forged, premium low-carbon mild steel

Outer knuckle construction: malleable iron

Axle tube to diff interference fit: .006" - .010"

Axle tube to inner yoke (C) interference fit .003" - .005"

Distance between axle tube centerline and bottom of diff: 6.0"

D60 pinion nut size - 1 5/16

Diameter of kingpin cap - 2.25"

Differential fluid capacity - 6 pints (3.4 liters) 80w90 hypoid gear lube

Wheel hub hole for 1/2" wheel studs(Ford '76-'79) - 0.580"

Wheel hub hole for 9/16" wheel studs (ford 85-97) - 0.600"

The following parts interchange between Chevy, Ford, and Dodge front kingpin Dana 60s as indicated in the table below in the “interchange between” column, where C indicates Chevy, F indicates Ford, and D for Dodge.

The “Description” column is the name of the part as it is commonly known, and the column “Dana’s Description” is the description of the part according to Dana’s web site.

This info can be extremely useful when figuring out what parts can and cannot be used on an axle or custom project.  Note, the absence of a part on this list DOES NOT mean it is not the same / does not interchange – it simply means that there was not a Dana part number listed for that part for all 3 manufacturers on Dana’s web site.  This is usually because either a manufacturer uses their own part, own part number, or the information is no longer available.  For example, the diff cover gasket for a Chevy and Dodge Dana 60 is part number 34687, but for a Ford it is listed as “Ford 60F variable parts table” when you look it up on Dana’s web site, but I’m fairly certain all 3 are the same.  The same goes for parts like the diff cover fill plug and king pin cap grease fitting, which I’m pretty sure will all interchange but I can’t swear to it.  In the same vein, you can use information in the chart to infer facts, even though they are not presented as such.  For example, Dana does not list the same part number for Chevy and Dodge diff covers.  However, using the chart we can see that the diff cover gaskets and even the cover bolts interchange, so from that, and knowing they are both standard cut low pinion Dana 60s, we can pretty safely infer that the covers do interchange.

Other sections of this article lists parts that are commonly know to interchange between axles.

Refer to the diagram below for picture / location of the part.  Note, the pic is of a Dodge Dana 60. Click for large view.  For an exploded view of the Chevy Dana60 click HERE.  For an exploded view of a Ford Dana60 click HERE: (note, for these 2, the diagram numbers in the pics do not correlate with the table below).

Huge thanks so Steven J Meyer for providing much of the raw data on his website.

Front Dana 60 Pinion Yoke options:

Refer to following diagrams when reading chart.

NOTE: D is the Ujoint cap diameter

             E is the outside dimension across the joint from cap to cap

             R is the diameter of the machined seal surface

             Q is the length though the hole, and while not absolutely critical should be close o as to allow proper pinion nut tightening

             S is the total "length" of the yoke, and as such, assuming Q is close, will affect driveshaft length slightly

Bold text in the table indicates factory application, according to Drive Train Specialists.  Note the differences in max allowable joint angles - may be important / helpful in some applications.