Why oh why, dana 60 questions

[shelby987]

Well, a dana 60 front has fallen into my lap for $500, SRW, complete from hub to hub. I am told it is from an 85 dodge 3/4t that was special ordered with these axles, it comes complete with spring plates.......my plan had always been to replace my dana 44hd with a 60.....but much much later......with this new option I have a couple of questions.
when i go to look at the axle, what problems should I look for?
With 119k miles on the axle, what will NEED to be replaced, what should be replaced, etc?
The gears do not match my eaton 4.10 rear, it has 3.53? gears, can I swap 4.10s onto this carrier? Either way, what cost am I looking at to have 4.10's put into this axle?

Thanks everyone!

[Burt4x4]

I don't know if the dodge d60 is any different than a GM?
The miles say wheel bearings & seals, easy job if you have the W/B nut socket.
The king pins getting some maintence too wich raises the question of steering? Any plans for crossover? Good time to get rid of thoes pesky king pin springs ~ conatct www.wfoconcepts.com for more info. Removing the springs will remove any chance of death wobble
If you take the axel to an R&P shop before you put it under the truck and while you have the hubs off it will be way cheeper to get the new R&P setup.
Not shure if you need a new carrier or not...may be a good time to save up for a posi or anything better than a simple open carrier.
Good Luck!
Burt

[hilbilly]

the spring perch's are slightly different. I'm pretty sure the carriers are 4.10 & numericality (sp?) lower. a complete d60 for 500.00, you can't go wrong with that piece @ that price.

[1969 GMC]

I would check the little spindle bearings, in addition to brakes and kingpins.

A couple of things to keep in mind, the Dodge D60's of that vintage are 67.5" wms-wms, or 2 inches narrower than Chevy 60's. The spring pads are 1/4" narrower per side, this will be easy to overcome with offset bushings on the springs (or just prying the springs in). Stock Dodge tie rods are higher up than Chevy tie rods. You can go with 4.10's on your open carrier now, I'd suggest keeping an eye out for a Lock-rite, they are fairly inexpensive for the D60 (if you are looking for a front locker).
The biggest problem will be your hubs. Check to see if they work ok and there aren't any obvious problems like they are broken and/or missing.

Hubs aren't as easy to come by for this axle, because they are external, which means the locking hub or drive flange bolts on to the hub like in a rear FF axle, not using a splined hub like Chevy D60's. You can only get new hubs from Milemarker Selectro (the big knobs) or Superwinch. A couple aftermarket places offer drive flanges too, or you can find an old set of stockers from an earlier Dodge with a NP203. Your front ujoint is a weirdo, will need to get a new yoke to match your drivetrain, not sure if there is a conversion joint tho.

I think I've covered all the big differences, I have a '78 Dodge D60 waiting to go under my GMC. It was stock with 4.10's, open carrier, and drive flanges instead of hubs. I like to call these axles the best bang for the buck in D60 land.

[earl87gta]

for that price even if it need a total rebuild I would get it. 4:10 gears are easy to find so no big there. I bought my d60 for 450 and had to rebuild every thing and I still think its a good deal. the only thing that would keep me from getting that 60 is if the pinion baring went out in them they say some times when it goes out it eats the case up and it can be fixed you would think you could sleev it or use a larger baring but from what I here you cant. for the front u joint get a 1410 from a chevy and use it I dont see why it wouldnt work you can even use 4:10 gears from a chevy I think I know where you can get a set cheep.
I bought a my parts to rebuild mine from partsmike and i got my 4:56 gears used from a guy here in town. I did by new chevy SRW hubs for mine and if you need routers I would do the same there 150 a sided loaded or $80 for just the routers so I decided to spend the extra 100 on all new hubs. I spenty around 1000 in parts all to gether so for 1round 1500 I have a comlpetely rebuilt d60. I did upgrade to 35 spline stubs since I needed new locking hubs one of mine was no good so that was around 200 I could have saved. I do still have an open carrier ill just ad a lock right or easy locker later down the road.

[1tonswb]

Just make sure its not a dana 61 front. Dodges came with them.