[JeeperTim]

Alright here is my little problem. I have the option of buying a 79 ford f350
60s f/r w/3.54 gears for like 1500. Or I have the option of getting a hp44 and 60 out of a f250 with 4.10s for 300. I know the logical thing to do is to jump on the 60s but I dont have the tools or the cash flow to put new gears in the 60s. My thoughts are I can still do the work that needs to be done to my rig with the hp44 and 60 rear, and go wheeling for a while until I happen upon a hp60 w/ 4.10s to match the rear I will already have. I am trying to stay budget friendly and go wheeling at the same time. I have 35s right now and stripped out my r+p in my hp30 that is in my jeep now I would like to run a 38 to a 42 eventually and have started to stretch the jeep frnt and rear with xj springs. It just seems like a lot of cash for the gear install and price of gear,lockers,etc. What size tire are the max for the hp44 and whats the max for the hp60s. I dont have a lead foot when it come to wheeling things just like to break on me alot. Thxs Tim

 

[rehab]

i would go for the 60's and then sell all the good other parts on on the f 350, like the trans, t case and the engine if its good and make your money back. and since steel prices are so high, you could probably get 100 bucks or more just for the chassis and body parts.

more than likely, you will need to go deeper than 410 gears if you want to go 38's or 40's so re gearing would be good off the bat. that way you are not paying twice for gears and install kits and to have somebody install them.

if you are doing a 44, its really not worth your time if you are going to go bigger than a 35 in the future. but 300 seems like a fair deal. you can build the 44 to be almost as strong as a stock 60, but a price much higher.

search around on this site, there is a lot of good info about this stuff.

and you will probably get flamed for posting in hardcore, so be prepared.

 

[Mr.N]

Alright here is my little problem. I have the option of buying a 79 ford f350
60s f/r w/3.54 gears for like 1500. Or I have the option of getting a hp44 and 60 out of a f250 with 4.10s for 300. I know the logical thing to do is to jump on the 60s but I dont have the tools or the cash flow to put new gears in the 60s. My thoughts are I can still do the work that needs to be done to my rig with the hp44 and 60 rear, and go wheeling for a while until I happen upon a hp60 w/ 4.10s to match the rear I will already have. I am trying to stay budget friendly and go wheeling at the same time. I have 35s right now and stripped out my r+p in my hp30 that is in my jeep now I would like to run a 38 to a 42 eventually and have started to stretch the jeep frnt and rear with xj springs. It just seems like a lot of cash for the gear install and price of gear,lockers,etc. What size tire are the max for the hp44 and whats the max for the hp60s. I dont have a lead foot when it come to wheeling things just like to break on me alot. Thxs Tim

Hindsight will give you the best answer...

If the F350 is in good shape, I'd suggest that.
Sell a few parts, and recycle the truck to make some back.

For gears, can you follow directions and know how to take your time? --> http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Gear_Setup/

 

[KVOM]

You haven't stated what kind of budget you're working with. It sounds as if your current gearing is 4.10, so using the HP D44 would make sense in order to get your rig wheelable in the short term. In either case, what is the wheel lug pattern you have on your rear currently? You might want/need to get new wheels for the 35s if the 44 or 60 doesn't match.

 

[JeeperTim]

I plan on tacking out the existing running gear frnt is a blownup hp30 rear is a 8.8. Both have 5on 4.5 bolt pattern so swapping wheels is going to happen either way. Now my budget is about 500-700 monthly so I kinda scavange around or if its a larger purchase I save for a little while. I know when i make the switch to a hp44 or a hp60 frnt the tires that i have now will work with the 44 but are too small for the 60s.(35"claws) The other thing is I just dont know where to get my diffs setup at around here (La Barge Wy. close to Jackson Hole) and the cost of getting someone else to do it is usually outrageous not to mention I dont know if they actually know what they are doing or not. The cost for the tools to set up the gears arent cheap either(press, gear pullers, bearing pullers,micrometers, etc...) I would be able to get by a little while with the 4.10s but know deep down I still wont be that happy with it. So eith eir way I guess I have to man up and spend the cash to get the gears done or learn how to do it myself. The jeep wont be driven on the street that often except around town (very small town pop. like 500ish) so the gears wouldnt have to be perfect... I dont know this is just aggervating. If i did but the F350 complete what dose a 400/c6/np205 go for? Just for sakes of getting some money back it does supposedly run and drive but not sure. Thanks for all the addvice so far keep it coming Tim:shaking:

 

[NWFLYJ]

Did you say "I don't have a light foot" or "I don't have a lead foot" ? Remember the ole 160 Loop? :lmao: Just kidding, se ya soon Dad:emb2:

 

[JeeperTim]

i would go for the 60's and then sell all the good other parts on on the f 350, like the trans, t case and the engine if its good and make your money back. and since steel prices are so high, you could probably get 100 bucks or more just for the chassis and body parts.

more than likely, you will need to go deeper than 410 gears if you want to go 38's or 40's so re gearing would be good off the bat. that way you are not paying twice for gears and install kits and to have somebody install them.

if you are doing a 44, its really not worth your time if you are going to go bigger than a 35 in the future. but 300 seems like a fair deal. you can build the 44 to be almost as strong as a stock 60, but a price much higher.

search around on this site, there is a lot of good info about this stuff.

and you will probably get flamed for posting in hardcore, so be prepared.

Well I'm just trying to get my foot in the door here REHAB but if I do get flamed then oh well its a risk i'm pretty ok with to get some advice from more knowledgable guys that have been at this point before. I may not be on 1tons yet but I do wheel pretty hard and well for what I have. Thanks for the tip though. Tim

 

[NWFLYJ]

At least you don't have rebar or a rating on the Crumbley scale:laughing:

 

[KVOM]

The cost for the tools to set up the gears arent cheap either(press, gear pullers, bearing pullers,micrometers, etc...)

I did a search with Northern Tools, Sears, and a few others and came up with some prices for entry-level tools that you would need and might not have:

12-ton press: $85
Clamshell bearing puller: $350
Dial indicator with magnet: $130
Micrometer: $30
In-lb bar torque wrench: $55

Of course you need a few inexpensive tools like a punch to drive out the roll pin, dead blow hammer, brass drift, etc.

So for one month's worth of your budget (assuming you don't have to have the stuff shipped) you would be tooled up to do a gear setup. You will likely recover that cost in what you save over having someone else do the gears for you. If you have wheeling buddies in the area you can make some money back doing theirs once you get the hang of it. There is a great article here on Pirate on how to do gear setups.

Given your current situation and budget, your rig will be a garage queen for quite a while if you try to upgrade both axles at the same time (60s are expensive to build). OTOH you could build the 44 and wheel it with your 35s while building up the kitty. I am running Ford hub-rotors on my Waggy front 44 with a 5x5.5 bolt circle. If you do the same you can get some wheel adapters (e.g., Spidertrax) for the rear. This option gets you wheeling again reasonably soon. Then you can take your time building your 1-ton axles. Most of my friends here would recommend a 14-bolt rear over a 60.

An even quicker option to get on the road again, once you acquire the tools, is to regear your D30. First, you get some practice on regearing, and then you have something worth selling, so you'll probably get your money out of the gear set.

 

[bjb]

Buy the truck and the 44/60s. Pull the 60s out of the truck and put the 44/60 in. Sell the truck complete again. Bolt up the 60's and run them as is till ya get the tools/skills/buddy to regear and install locker . You are gonna have to spend the cash on lockers and gears no matter what ya do. Best to do it once for what ya really want/need. But again ya should be posting this shit in the newbie section.:mad3: I just feel nice today.:smokin:

 

[JeeperTim]

I dont think i can run 3.54 gears in the rocks right now just to get me by. But I do like your idea bout selling the truck as a runnig driving piece. Well I figured that I would post in the hardcore section to get the "hardcore guys" opinions and see what others have been through with their builds. But thanks for the info. Tim

 

[gtxracer]

Search locally for gear installers. Just because they're cheap doesn't mean they're not good installers. There's a local guy here setting up gears for $150 a pop. If you're good, like this guy, you can do 'em quick and for cheap. Look for 'em.

Oh, and get the 60s. Why the hell do you even have to ask? It might take you a year to get them where you want them, but think about how many times you'll be wheeling with 60s VS how many times you'll be wrenching with a 44. I know I sound like a hypocrite because I run a 44, but chromos and CTMs will be able to handle the 37s I throw at it. :flipoff2:

 

[95yj]

Search locally for gear installers. Just because they're cheap doesn't mean they're not good installers. There's a local guy here setting up gears for $150 a pop. If you're good, like this guy, you can do 'em quick and for cheap. Look for 'em.

Oh, and get the 60s. Why the hell do you even have to ask? It might take you a year to get them where you want them, but think about how many times you'll be wheeling with 60s VS how many times you'll be wrenching with a 44. I know I sound like a hypocrite because I run a 44, but chromos and CTMs will be able to handle the 37s I throw at it. :flipoff2:

I'm one of those guy. I enjoy setting them up, and with the amount that I do, I make decent money that is just jeep money. I've probably done 30 axles in the past year, without one coming back because of a faulty install.

 

[austin1387]

Get the 60's now. If you wait to find a 60 with the right gears to replace that 44 in the future you will be out extra money. A single semi built front 60 will bring a grand any day of the week, and your going to get a set for 1500$ and be able to sell a truck off in parts to make your money back.

Look at it another way, You can either put brakets on the axels and make new drive shafts once, or put the 44 in now and have to do it all over again later.

I hope I dont seem like Im flaming you but I have made this mistake before and am trying to keep a fellow wheeler from making a bad decision.

 

[cdub0451]

Tim, WTF are you thinking. Get the 60's. I'm sure you can sell your body to some lonely oil field guys to make some extra money. :Insert Brokeback Mountain joke here: Seriously. Get the 350 try to sell off the other parts and start small i.e. weld diffs for now, do ring and pinion later when more funds come around and drive that bitch like you stole it, cause I know you and you ain't got no light right foot. Don't feel so bad. My shit is gonna be broke after this weekend. Especially with your dad agging me on to do stupid shit. Oh yeah. What in the hell are you posting this in the almighty HARDCORE section. :flipoff2:

Christian

 

[JeeperTim]

Hardcore aint really that hardcore all the time so I figured what the hell. I mean cmon look at the top or hardcore and you will see someone asking about fitting 35s on a xj thats not hardcore, atleast I'm trying to get some one ton stuff under my rig ya know. I hope you have a ball this weekend watch out for my dad for me and get lots of pics. Lata Tim

 

[bspencer]

get the 60's... save up adn build them right.... heck you can probably find some goos used parts to put back into your jeep so you can wheel it until you get teh 60's done

 

[cj5.5]

So $200 for the 79 I got last week was a good deal? 60s, 4:10s, 4 gear, 205. And an 8' Fisher plow. I talked him down from $800 'cause its got a blown hub and exhaust leak. And, I'm just gonna plow with it. :flipoff2:

 

[gtxracer]

cj5.5 - I just wanted to speak for everyone when I say this - we all hate you. You scored an entire truck with 60s for $200. Drink bleach and build that bitchin rig of yours :grinpimp:

 

[JeeperTim]

No the truck with the 60s in it is a f350 one ton. But I think that some f250s came with them but only in the camper special models and noot all of the camper models had them either. And Cj5.5 I bet you live on the east coast somewhere those dana 60s seem like they are a dime a dozen over there but not on the west coast though. Thanks for all the input Tim