Dana 60 posi options

[dave666693]

I am building a 70 Blazer. It has a Dana 60 with 4:10 gears in back. Dana 44 in the front. 35" tires, auto tranny, NP205. I want to add posi/limited slip to the rear. City driving and mud/trails on the weekend. What should I be looking for to put in the rear end to make it posi. Don't want to weld it or lock-rite. Factory limited slip? Detroit locker? Electric locker? I will install myself with the help of an expert. Have about $500 to spend. Thanks for any suggestions, Dave

[snj8198]

If you are looking for a do all traction aide $500 is going to limit you on your options. If this is a daily driver/weekend warrior truck I would definitely save for a selectable locker:

ARB = pneumatic
OxLocker = mechanical
Detroit Electrac = electical

All of these are available for the Dana 60 but each is going to run close to $1,000 or more.

I am not familiar with many limited slip units other than the stock Eaton units and the Truetrac. Humbly, I feel the Truetrac is a wonder unit for a do all rig. Its worm gear design doesn't rely on clutchpacks that wear out or need additives in the oil, it's tough, smooth, reliable, and maintenance free. I like it's bias and if the driver can feather the e-brake on obstacles a guy can manipulate the unit to send torque to both tires to help on obstacles that an open diff wont manage through. But it's about $700ish.

As of mid last year the cheapest new option on the market was the Grizzly locker by Yukon Gear. It was ruggedly designed to compete with the Detroit Locker while undercutting its price structure but I've noticed the prices of them have jumped as of late making their price comparable to the Detroits in $550-600 range.

I think a guy would have to take a realistic look at what they want to do with the vehicle and what they are will to accept for potentially negative handling characteristics based on which direction they go.

Hope this helped a little bit Dave.

-steve

[dave666693]

I did some reading on the Oxlocker. Sounds like a good way to go. Were the Dana's in our trucks all 35 spline?

[snj8198]

Umm ?? I think in rear applications the 30 spline was more prevalent than the 35 but i guess I don't remember for certain. Pull a shaft to be sure on yours.

[a2tripp]

I have a detroit in my 60 with 35's in my 72 now, have had them on many full size vehicles, never, ever had one issue.

BUT if money were no object I wold go with an OX setup. Best of both worlds.

[Mike C]

Money being the defining factor always, right? For a daily driver, I agree that the TruTrac is the way to go. The cheapest way would to be to get a used TracLok, but they are know to wear pretty quickly so you should budget for clutches. Another good choice would be a PowerLock and rebuild it, but they are more expensive and harder to find. Randy's has a new one, but they want like $800 for it. The next would be a "lunchbox" locker, and here is a LockRight on sale for $309:
http://www.overstockdiffparts.com/Pa....aspx?CatID=36

Here is the TruTrack for $543:
http://www.overstockdiffparts.com/Pr...px?ProdID=3821

Overstock diff parts is an offshoot from Randy's. They still have one Electrac for the Dana 60 with 30 splines and 4.56 or higher gears FWIW. Until last week they had the 4.10 and down one also. This is the best of both worlds as a TruTrac when it is open and fully locked with the press of a button. And only $369 right now. I wish I had bought the 35 spline one for my jeep last week...

[Burt4x4]

I ran a D60 rear in my K5 for about 10yrs. I had a Powr-Lok posi. Awesome pre-loaded posi! Acts like it's locked and when it does slip I found by mashing the brakes on and off while on the throttle makes it grab nicely! Precision Gear makes them now..they are origianlly a Spicer product and are adjustable & rebuildable.
The tightest posi out there in my option
Here:
http://www.precisiongear.com/powerlok.htm

Good Luck

[Dunenutt]

Agreed, Tru trac is the way to go! On the street, you will not even know it's there. It acts like an open carrier, so it wont eat up your tires. Off road, it locks as soon as it detects slip. One drawback is, it wont lock if a tire lifts off of the ground. The solution is to tap the brake, or apply the e-brake. It is also almost industructable.

I have had alot of tru trac's, and in my opinion, it is the best all around 4x4 diff.

[maskale]

Originally Posted by Burt4x4

I ran a D60 rear in my K5 for about 10yrs. I had a Powr-Lok posi. Awesome pre-loaded posi! Acts like it's locked and when it does slip I found by mashing the brakes on and off while on the throttle makes it grab nicely! Precision Gear makes them now..they are origianlly a Spicer product and are adjustable & rebuildable.
The tightest posi out there in my option
Here:
http://www.precisiongear.com/powerlok.htm

Good Luck

I have this in my D60. I like it. I beat on it with a 454, 4:10s and 35's. Been great so far.