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Dana 60 swap • Which one specifically?

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John_parkeriv

John_parkeriv

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Feb 24, 2020
Messages
192
Loc.
Arcadia, FL
I am running a 97 explorer motor, 4.56 gears, C4 with 37's. I drive it to wheel, then drive it home.

The bronco is a 76.
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If you go out and wheel yours on 37s, those little suckers must be stronger than I thought! Where did you get yours? Did it come in a crate or from a U-Pull yard?
 

Yeller

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Rogers County Oklahoma
If you go out and wheel yours on 37s, those little suckers must be stronger than I thought! Where did you get yours? Did it come in a crate or from a U-Pull yard?
he's not alone, I know of several that do this. Not sure what jmhend is running but the ones I know of are RCV and Yukon with spicer joints. Lots of guys really happy with their RCV's.

I just built a my first D44 for myself in nearly 25 years. Its in a drive it there, do whatever we're going to do and drive it home rig. weighs 4500#, has big power (honest 400ish) but only has 33's. will get driven 1000's of miles to and from the west.
 
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John_parkeriv

John_parkeriv

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Feb 24, 2020
Messages
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Loc.
Arcadia, FL
he's not alone, I know of several that do this. Not sure what jmhend is running but the ones I know of are RCV and Yukon with spicer joints. Lots of guys really happy with their RCV's.

I just built a my first D44 for myself in nearly 25 years. Its in a drive it there, do whatever we're going to do and drive it home rig. weighs 4500#, has big power (honest 400ish) but only has 33's. will get driven 1000's of miles to and from the west.
I have heard about these RCV axles, are they all they're cracked up to be? I know they're decently expensive, but that might outweigh the cost of all the other parts that go into a 60 swap.
 

Yeller

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for your needs probably exactly what you need, some added insurance

the weak link becomes the lockout hubs then the ring and pinion in that order. I'd pick up an extra set of lockout hubs or a set of drive flanges and call it done.

RCV axle shafts
 

nvrstuk

Contributor
Just a Bronco driver for over 50 yrs!
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Jul 31, 2001
Messages
8,614
Shave the 60 if your worried a out clearance- it will be the easiest part of swapping it in.

Here's my build.

This link should put you in the middle of the 60 install
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/t...5-lift-5-wb-stretch-2-floor-lower-p-s.278607/

There's a lot of info there but maybe something to help you out.

If you are only running 35's, not a lot of gear reduction, an auto and you remember to MEVER back up a hill in low range with the trips turned hard then a 44 with the the D50 r&p with RCV's will probably do you fine.

I know for rocks where you have extreme weight transfer and extreme traction then 44's have a much higher chance of grenading. Snow, sand and dirt are 10x easier on parts.
 
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John_parkeriv

John_parkeriv

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Messages
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Arcadia, FL
If you are only running 35's, not a lot of gear reduction, an auto and you remember to MEVER back up a hill in low range with the trips turned hard then a 44 with the the D50 r&p with RCV's will probably do you fine.

I know for rocks where you have extreme weight transfer and extreme traction then 44's have a much higher chance of grenading. Snow, sand and dirt are 10x easier on parts.
I plan on running a manual and potentially 37's in the future. Not sure how much of a difference that makes.
 

Hinmaton

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Oct 17, 2017
Messages
590
My rig when it was on 39.5” tires, 1974 low pinion dana44, lockers, standard Chromoly shafts, 5.13 gears, and 80:1 crawl ratio with my NP435. Never broke so much as a U Joint, but I blew up plenty of manual hubs. I wheel big rocks and hard trails.
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A well built Dana44 gets most all of it done.


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Broncobowsher

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Cost difference between a well built 44 and a slightly modified 60?
60 can still be modified further if ever need by.
 

Hinmaton

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Cost difference between a well built 44 and a slightly modified 60?
60 can still be modified further if ever need by.
I guess it would come down to how narrowly you define the difference. If you already have a 44 or a 60, the cost to build the 60 is just re-gearing it and a locker, where as building the 44 is as much as you can throw at it. On the other hand, it's all the down stream items of the build domino effect. With the 60, are you narrowing it? Are you going 35 spline all the way through? Are you going to put 35 splines in your rear nine? Are you going full width rear nine? Are you going with something bigger in the rear? Do you already have wheels that will fit? Do you have the tires that will fit those wheels? Are they 8 lug or are you going to try to stick with 5? How are your radius arms going to attach? are you building new radius arms? 3 link? High steer? ram assist? Do you need to completely re-design your steering now? New drive shaft? Ball joint 60's are pretty cheap, but they are 74" wide and have Unit bearings with stupid lug patterns. KP 60's are normal full width, but they are not cheap at all.
On the other hand, an expensive well built 44 bolts right into your Bronco and mates up really well with a well built 31 spline ford 9".
Hands down- the dana 60 is far superior in every way to the dana 44. If you have the money, time, and inclination to put one in your EB, then absolutely do it.
Do you need to put a dana 60 into your EB if you are going to run 37's? Nope!
 

Broncobowsher

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There are also ball joint D60s that use conventional wheel bearings, that would be the middle ground between the king pin 70's axles and the unitbearing 21st century axles.

As pointed out there are a bunch of upgrades that can be done to a 60 front. Full 35 spline axles, etc. But my point is running stock parts in a 60, how strong are they? Better than a stock 44. Fairly close to a built 44 but not at the built 44 price. And if you ever need more than a stock 60 offers, you can do the upgrades later (like a full set of 35 axles). A built 44 is already a built 44, if you need more there is nothing left to throw at it.

Yes, there is a whole pile of economics and fab costs that you can put into it. Steering for example, are you really going to try and run stock steering on a built 44? No, you will upgrade, how different is it between upgrading steering on a 44 and conversion steering on a 60?
 
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John_parkeriv

John_parkeriv

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Arcadia, FL
There are also ball joint D60s that use conventional wheel bearings, that would be the middle ground between the king pin 70's axles and the unitbearing 21st century axles.

As pointed out there are a bunch of upgrades that can be done to a 60 front. Full 35 spline axles, etc. But my point is running stock parts in a 60, how strong are they? Better than a stock 44. Fairly close to a built 44 but not at the built 44 price. And if you ever need more than a stock 60 offers, you can do the upgrades later (like a full set of 35 axles). A built 44 is already a built 44, if you need more there is nothing left to throw at it.

Yes, there is a whole pile of economics and fab costs that you can put into it. Steering for example, are you really going to try and run stock steering on a built 44? No, you will upgrade, how different is it between upgrading steering on a 44 and conversion steering on a 60?
So it's going to snowball either way it goes...
I'm running the stock 30 rn, and all the mods in the world couldn't save that thing.

Would it make more sense to just go with a 44 or future proof with a 60 in y'all's opinion? I think I'm leaning more towards a 44 since they were an OE option and would probably be easier to swap. They're also a bit cheaper around here.
 
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John_parkeriv

John_parkeriv

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Did a little digging on marketplace and dug up a 44 around me for about $150. It's out of an '01 dodge and low pinion...

Would that work as a core, at least for the housing or should I keep digging? The good '76-'77 HPs are a bit hard to find for less than a 60 down here.
 

Broncobowsher

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It can go either way. Personally I think 33" is the biggest a D44 is comfortable with (adding a few minor upgrades, blazer axles).
The brakes on a 44 start getting taxed pretty hard above 33s, that is where I really like the big brakes on a 60.
As for stock, the initial bolt in of a 44 is stock, but all the upgrades are aftermarket. And that gets into the service items as well. Where a 60 will take more work to install, but you can run many more off the shelf service items. The bigger wheel bearings on a 60 will take the loads of taller tires and there is no big bearing upgrade for a 44.

As you can tell, there is no clear way to go. I started off with a 30, shaved the teeth off the ring gear and blew out a king pin. Got a deal on a 44, disk braked it, popped an axle, did a little upgrade, popped another axle, did the high dollar shaft upgrade (but not RCV super high dollar), had to do some steering upgrades. All this on just 33s. One of the things that kept me from going to larger tires was I kept running into the limitations of the 44 on only 33s. The 9" had good guts, but was welding cracks in the stock housing, that was going to be another upgrade needed if I went bigger in the tires.
 

Broncobowsher

Total hack
Joined
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Messages
34,835
Did a little digging on marketplace and dug up a 44 around me for about $150. It's out of an '01 dodge and low pinion...

Would that work as a core, at least for the housing or should I keep digging? The good '76-'77 HPs are a bit hard to find for less than a 60 down here.
That axle will be as much work, if not more, than making a 60 fit. Nowhere close to a bolt in.
 

1969

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Feb 28, 2022
Messages
450
I am about to put 05+ super duty axles with the WFO radius arm kit and some other stuff from them on coilovers, and leaf springs in the rear. Should be pretty straight forward. I started a build thread on here, currently am waiting for all the parts to show up so I can start the swap.
 

jmhend

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Dec 25, 2007
Messages
2,733
If you go out and wheel yours on 37s, those little suckers must be stronger than I thought! Where did you get yours? Did it come in a crate or from a U-Pull yard?
Sorry for the late reply. No I am using the factory dana 44 that came with the bronco. I am running chromoly axles with a locker.

Yeller is right... My 15 year old son was driving and broke a hub (on the same trip that Hinmaton posted pictures of.
 

jmhend

Bronco Guru
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Messages
2,733
Did a little digging on marketplace and dug up a 44 around me for about $150. It's out of an '01 dodge and low pinion...

Would that work as a core, at least for the housing or should I keep digging? The good '76-'77 HPs are a bit hard to find for less than a 60 down here.
John, where are you again? There are several dana 44's out there. Specifically from a Bronco if that is what you're looking for. Or call your local salvage yards. There is still a lot of fab to get a hp dana 44 to fit.
 
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