Dana 60 swap

[Mr. 250r]

A little story before i go into actual swap my brother decided to go through the coal mine pit i told him he would not make it through so he gets stuck, i attempt to pull him out and it breaks his front tow hook and the barge rope hits my back door and destroys it and the back left pillar is now dented

Then i tried pulling him out the other way which broke my passenger front axle so i called it quits for the day and looked for a new axle later but found a FF 14b and D60 from a guy on here, bought them went and got them and started the the D60 swap today

[Mr. 250r]

Out with the old and used the strongman to move the new axle around, didn't take but a few hours because it was the first time and did through trial and error but of course my u-bolt kit was wrong so i have everything done except the passenger side u-bolt

[Davidmichael]

looks good. I am starting the same swap. I will be watching this.

[Dieselwrencher]

Very nice and sweet rig!

[Mr. 250r]

unfortunately not much to follow lol it was the easiest thing I've ever done im having a harder time with bucket seats but i still gotta figure u-bolt problem and just tighten up shocks, brakes get the steering block and put the front drive shaft back in, and thanks diesel sucks i took through an atv trail got all kinds of dents and scratched and the back door dent *Little update emailed company about u-bolt problem and he is sending me correct size tomorrow so i won't be able to drive it till like wednesday or thursday* but i can mess with FF axle until then

[Davidmichael]

that's ok. Still sweet. Scratches and dents give vehicles character. Must be great to have the lifts handy.

[Mr. 250r]

yes that is a plus to my dad having a transmission shop whenever there's a rack open i get to use it but the strongman lift i used for axle never gets used
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[Dieselwrencher]

Yeah, hoists are sweet! That strong man would be awesome too! Everything I work on is heavy. The 5R110 we put in the bacl of my truck the other day will make ou think twice for an auto.

[Mr. 250r]

Unfortunately not only is the passenger side u-bolt wrong the bolts are also too long but they sent me a new u-bolt hopefully of right size and i can put a washer on the bolts to fix it for now and i also didn't get my kingpin block on Friday like i was supposed to to which is no surprise but here's some pictures of the old stuff that came out, barge rope that hit my door and my axle after i broke it

[TheWhiteElephant]

That Suburgan looks sweet!

[Dieselwrencher]

That axle looks sweet! I just blew the rear u-joint on my 95 F-350 hauling a trailer saturday. What fun.

[Mr. 250r]

unfortunately i tried putting on the steering block and of course finally something went wrong the last stud nut stripped so a friend is gonna try and get it off while im at work then if it is off i can get steering done and new u-bolt should be here tomorrow or thursday to finish axle swap
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[Mr. 250r]

made some progress today got the broken stud nut off then used a 5ft 1/2in ratchet and a very nifty stud removing piece and the studs came right out but now i need a bushing that goes in there and then put the driver side together, got the new u-bolt in but of course two bolts being too long wouldn't let the spring plate sit down all the way so rather than spacing them i just bought two slightly shorter grade 8 bolts for 5$ here's the steering block installed, and i was wondering in that last picture is that a steering brace because im pretty sure its bolted in while all the other stock stuff is still riveted

[Mr. 250r]

Swap is finally done everything is bolted up just needs an alignment and i fixed the transfer case leak while i was down there all the bolts were loose so now im leak free and fixed the license plate light which was unplugged, and the next part is the rear axle that came in the set G80 14b FF getting disc brakes and it sits next to the small graveyard of suburban 3/4t axles

[Mr. 250r]

Drove it for the first time and of course something is wrong lol it wobbles really bad at random speeds and sometimes has a weird clunking feeling when turning as well but hopefully the re alignment will solve some issues if not im gonna be spending more money, here's a picture of it outside next to my old suburban

[Mr. 250r]

unfortunately i have the wobble of death issue common with the 1 tons i didn't tell the alignment shop but they are going to look at it check the kingpins, realign it free as well and then check some of the other problems related to the wobble, on another note all the dana 60 stuff fit like stock including stock brake lines with a 4in suspension and 3in body, u joint fits as well, everything but passenger side spring plate
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[TheWhiteElephant]

Yeah, it sounds like the kingpins need replacement.

[rjn72]

not the actual kingpins, just the kingpin springs. I did it, it fixed it. That two new tires and an alignment equalss no more wobble. Also, the bigger the tires, the more likely to wobble.

[Burt4x4]

I know you said no more money butt...I would save up for crossover steering and eliminate thoes pesky springs all togeather!! Never get the wobble of death again

[1968vetL-71]

Are the front U-bolt plates from Sky Manufacturing? I just ordered those big beefy D60 plates that are 5/8" thick!! Dang those things are Heavy Duty!! Can't wait to bolt them up! Your suburban looks good, great build!!!!!

[Mr. 250r]

i was gonna do crossover until i saw what it does to steering box part of frame even with the brace with a brace i dunno and its more money i gotta spend when im trying to save up for motor, and no 68vet they are 4wdfactory
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[BLAZERMAN]

Originally Posted by Mr. 250r

i was gonna do crossover until i saw what it does to steering box part of frame even with the brace with a brace i dunno and its more money i gotta spend when im trying to save up for motor, and no 68vet they are 4wdfactory
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I've ran crossover steering on my K/30 for over 2 years with no frame issues, and I have a brace just never got around to installing it. Is this a problem on hard core 4 wheelers?

[Mr. 250r]

i can't say 100% for sure because i never ran it but from just researching it people say that it stresses the frame in the steering box area and just big tires apparently does the same, but right now my truck turns left and right fine no huge ass right turn or whatever so ill stick with stock until something happens
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[Burt4x4]

What your hearing is not because of switching too crossover. The steering box can be and does get rippped off the frame with factory steering. I have seen it happen. It is the larger tires/lift and rock crawling that puts the steering box at risk most of the time. FOr ANY offROad Chevy, mudd or rocks or firetrails or whatever I would add a steering box brace, plate, gusset..whatever you wana call it. The frame WILL crack and if gone undetected that box will ripp off. Leaving behind 50c piece size jagged holes in your frame were the steering box bolts use to bee

I'm just sayin.....

Crossover with Hydro Assist will greatly reduce the stress your steering box/frame has to deal with.

[Mr. 250r]

Well after talking to the 4wd place and seeing what he said they suggested a dual steering stabilizer because the 1 tons are notorious for doing this so he said they recommend the bds one which i got and it fixed my problem, haven't got above 45 but haven't had a wobble below that either