'79 3/4 ton front axle?

[Farmall Doctor]

I always thought I had a Dana 60 front axle under my Chev. It has a GM 14 bolt rear, NP203 transfer case, TH400 trans all behind a 4 bolt 350. I posted a picture of it on another forum and was questioned about the claim of 1 ton axles. It's definately not a Dana 44. Dana axles usually have the model number cast into the diff housing, but mine does not. On the backside of the pot it has some numbers cast to one side and GM3 cast on the other. It has 10 bolts on the cover, and anytime I have ordered brakes or minor parts for it I have always told them to go to the heaviest axle in the book, as it seems there were 3 available. Any info would be appreciated, I'd like to get this straightened out. How does this axle compare to the Dana 60? It carried a snowplow and hauled a backhoe full time for 14 years before I got it, and I also haul old tractors on a trailer. The drivetrain is all original with over 500,000KM.
Thanks,
FD

[44th Miss Inf]

The Dana 60 has a 4" hub. Probably an 8.5 10 bolt.

[b454rat]

Dana 60 doesn't have 4" tubes. Easiest way to tell a 60 from any other front, 1, it's huge, once you see the center section, compare it to another, you will never confuse them again. 2, instead of balljoints, it has kingpins, 4 bolts on top of the knuckle, where the steering arm is, 3, it has 3 u-bolts over other front axles that have 4. The center section is bigger, so a u-bolt wont' fit, so it has 2 studs that are threaded into the housing. Here is a pic of the kingpins,

[44th Miss Inf]

b454rat,
I never said tubes, but the HUBS are almost 4". They are considerably bigger.
Some of the later (94 up) Dodge D60s have ball joints. Not trying to compare the 2 just mentioning in case people need parts. Ford used a D60 also, but I think all of them (Furds) used reverse cut gears.
Virgil

[KSCHEVYUP]

Farmall Doctor: I also have a 79 chev 3/4T with 400 small block TH 400 and NP203,and GM Corporate 14bolt out back. Mine has the Corporate 10 bolt up front. Somewhere around 1978 GM replaced the Dana 44 with the Corporate 10 bolt. It is my understanding that they are about equal in strength. My 2 cents for what its worth

[Farmall Doctor]

Thanks everyone for the replies. The corporate axle must be okay if it has lased this long, so I'll leave things well enough alone.
Here's the link to some pictures of my truck. I started working on it in February.
http://members18.clubphoto.com/darry...64/guest.phtml
Thanks,
FD

[LONGHAIR]

There is always some debate about when the change took place.....('77-'78) but by '79 it is definately a corporate 10 bolt. There were different hub/rotor options though. The heavier ones had a "bolt-on" lock-out hub (or drive flange for full time). The lighter units had the smaller "slide-in" parts that were retained by a snap-ring. There is really no strength advantage either way because the weak point is generally the axle or axle joint.

[Blazer1970]

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

There is always some debate about when the change took place.....('77-'78) but by '79 it is definately a corporate 10 bolt. There were different hub/rotor options though. The heavier ones had a "bolt-on" lock-out hub (or drive flange for full time). The lighter units had the smaller "slide-in" parts that were retained by a snap-ring. There is really no strength advantage either way because the weak point is generally the axle or axle joint.

No real debate. 10 bolts definitely started to appear in 1977, and some (very few) Dana 44s were used through 1979. It is generally accepted that the smaller internal style hubs are stronger since they drive through a spline in the hub instead of through the hub mounting bolts as with the external style.

[Mudder]

I believe the 10 bolt came with a heavy duty hub also confusing a lot of people into beleiving it was a 60.
I believe the 60 has threaded studs in the housing on the passenger side instead of one of the ubolts. If it doesn't have that it's not a D60.

[LONGHAIR]

No real debate. 10 bolts definitely started to appear in 1977, and some (very few) Dana 44s were used through 1979. It is generally accepted that the smaller internal style hubs are stronger since they drive through a spline in the hub instead of through the hub mounting bolts as with the external style.

That is what sparks the debate..........the fact that the change took as much as 3 model years, with no real reason (as far as we consumers know anyway) for the scattering.

The bolt-on hubs were the heavy duty versions. They generally shift easier in cold weather, but in my experience the weak point is still the axle...not the hub itself.