Flipping a dog Dana 60 for my Chevy?

[Canadianmoose bogger]

Hi guys just asking for some opinions and advice. So I got my 14 bolt mounted with the 40 inch v treads on the rear of my bush buggy. The problem now I couldn't find a ford or chev Dana 60 at a price I could or would afford( cheapest was 800). Me and my brother bought two dodge Dana 60 s from a 97 cummins and a 93 as they wer 400 for both witch we thought was a good deal. I got reverse gears ordered and am mounting the axle upside down. So I was wondering if there's any problems I may have and if I really need to reposition the axle tubes. And please keep in mind that we are building bush buggy so saving money is the goal.
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[freexj]

If its a slow speed rig I think you are going to be ok. I was unaware of " reverse" gears. Are you talking about "hi pinion" gears like out of a ford?
Also on a steer axle it will not support weight upside down.
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[Bo Duke]

I'm confused

Originally Posted by Canadianmoose bogger

The problem now I couldn't find a ford or chev Dana 60 at a price I could or would afford.

Which do you need? A Ford or Chevy? Fords are drivers drop, Chevy's are passenger drop.

Originally Posted by Canadianmoose bogger

Me and my brother bought two dodge Dana 60 s from a 97 cummins and a 93

Which are you using? The 97 is a drivers drop with ball joints and unit bearings. The 93 would be a passenger drop with lock out hubs.

I'm pretty sure you can't flip an axle over and run it upside down, even with different gears.

[Canadianmoose bogger]

So I will have to pull the axle tubes and reposition them? It's a blazer with vtreads running stock 350. Not much speed or weight. And is fully trailered
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[ghettoluxury]

If you run the axles upside down you will need to grind the welds off of the inner C's and rotate them then re-weld the joints. The steering knuckles will not support the weight or turn properly.

[Canadianmoose bogger]

Ya that what I figured. Just started pulling it apart
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[Canadianmoose bogger]

Just looking at my tcase witch I think is a 205 was wondering how hard that is to flip drivers. It look like I can separate the back half and turn it with out changing my levers.
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[Chevy1TonFun]

Sounds to me you are making things really difficult for your self. I know you are trying to save money. I would suggest you save your self some money, time, and a lot of cuss words. I would get the axle that fits what you have. If you keep the axles, then get the right tcase in stead of modifying it. I've need heard of flipping a t case for an opposite side drop. Just buy a ford 205 its a driver drop.

[Canadianmoose bogger]

Ya that's kinda what I was thinking to. It's hard to find cheap old truck parts up in this neck of the would. Thank for the help
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[Redcap]

Originally Posted by Canadianmoose bogger

Just looking at my tcase witch I think is a 205 was wondering how hard that is to flip drivers. It look like I can separate the back half and turn it with out changing my levers.
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Are you trying to do things the hardest way possible?

[Canadianmoose bogger]

If your not going to give advice y would u post. I have all the time in the world right now so I'd rather spend that then money right now
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[RanchTruck]

Dodge should be driver side drop, chevy np205 should be passenger side drop. Switch transfer cases, don't flip the axle. As well as being a lot more work to flip the axle, the pinion bearings won't get lube because the splash lube passages are wrong. I strongly doubt you can even fit High Pinion reverse cut gears in that housing.

It's a ball joint D60 with a vacuum operated axle dissconect and unit bearings, so you got it cheap because it's not desirable.

Use a later chevy transfer case with the driver side drop.

[Canadianmoose bogger]

Ok thank u. Ya I knOw most people don't want them but that's ok. I have an old 241 laying around so I think I ll use that. Thank for the help
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[odog]

I see what you are after now, and like you said, more time than money. If you have enough stuff laying around, t cases and the like, try to mix and match what will fit and make it work. But you need to kind of test fit everything before you get to far along to make sure you dont run into problems that will ultimatly cost you more than buying the right parts originaly. Im thinking adapters to tcase and trans, shorter or longer drive lines and things like that. I wouldnt flip the tcase, I dont think it works this way, and like others have said, flipping the axle isnt a good idea either. If you are truely trying to do a low buck build, RESEARCH and test everything BEFORE you buy any parts. You are on the right track hear, as everybody is willing to help and offer an opinion.

Good Luck and let us know how you progress.

Erik

[63GMCKid]

You do realize that if you literally flip the center chunk 180* (making the drivers side the passenger side and vice versa), the ring gear will be on the wrong side and the front axle will turn in reverse. And the term "reverse cut" gears are kind of misleading, it will not reverse the direction that the axle spins, they change the orientation of the teeth on the ring and pinion so that the gears drive on the drive side of the teeth and not the coast side (This is why high pinion axles are stronger up front as a general rule, because they drive on the drive side, not the coast side like most low pinion front axles do).

Also, if you have a Chevy NP205 case, and a 93 Dodge D60, the 93 D60 is going to be passenger drop, so you wont have to modify it or switch tcases. If you use the 97 Dodge D60, which is drivers drop, you will have to switch to a Ford NP205 since that is a drivers drop axle.

If you absolutely had to, you could drill out the plug welds and have the tubes pulled from the 97 D60, and have them flipped one side for the other, but the amount of time and money required to do that properly will end up costing more than buying the right axle, especially if you screw it up during the re-tube process.


This is the same thing that confuses people about turning a rear axle into a front axle. You do not need to flip the diff over, if you do it will turn backwards, the front and rear ring gears have to be on opposite sides from each other to get both axles to drive in the same direction. And high pinion axles like a Ford D60 still have the ring gear on the same side as a low pinion axle, its just that the ring and pinion have the hypoid cut of the teeth going the opposite direction from the teeth of a low pinion gear set, so they drive on the drive side and not the coast side, and they still move in the same direction as a low pinion gearset.

[Hoods69BadBowTie]

Some very interesting and great info in this entire post. The one thing I agree with is don't try to flip the axle to make it work upfront that sounds like a huge pain in the ass all the way around just my .02 cents. I think you are on the right track now. Let us know how it goes I want to see some pictures it sounds like a pretty sweet project

[Mr. 250r]

Unfortunately finding a D60 cheap is basically impossible just wait it out because somebody is gonna break down and realize that this chunk of metal sitting around collecting rust is not actually gold and will sell it for a decent price that you might be lucky enough to find lol

[SS Tim]

Just a question if you are not loading the axle much why not use the stock Blazer axle? If it is only a matter of pattern to match the rear and you have a Dana 44 the K20 ends should fit without reinventing everything.