1970's Dana 60 axle on a bronco

[sdbuggyboys]

I am in the middle of a frame-up resorationon of my '75 bronco and am looking to upgrade the axles. There are a pair of 1970's dana 60 axles for sale on craigslist and I am wondering how easy these will be to put on my vehicle. I am also wondering what a good idea would be for a lift kit. This will be my daily driver but I also want this to be trail worthy so I want it done right. So I guess the bottom line is can I use 1970's dodge axles on my bronco and what type of lift kit and suspension should I do.

Thanks or the help

 

[ford man]

dana 60s

If they were ford it would work but dodge are pass drop I belive.Meaning drive shaft on the wrong side.

 

[Broncobowsher]

70's stuff, GM and Dodge are passenger side. Only Ford was drivers side.
If doing a tube buggy they are a find because they are cheaper and you can build around them. But for a Bronco they are fairly worthless.

If the thought of getting a passenger side drop transfer case to match came across your head, let me smach that thought as well. The engine (and transmission and transfer case) are all offset to the passenger side a few inches in normal Bronco install configuration. As tight as people have the the transfer case to the drivers frame rail now you would have several inches less room on the passenger side. If you are thinking of moving the whole power train to the left, steering clearance, no known exahsut will now fit, if clutch linkage that will be hosed. Huge can of worms that simply isn't worth it.

 

[Apogee]

Not only are the Ford D60's driver's side drop, but they're also high-pinion, making them the easy choice under a Ford. I've seen guys retube Chevy/Dodge D60's to set their differntial location, but in the end it's still a low-pinion diff.

 

[sdbuggyboys]

great thanks for the info!

 

[Scrapper_MV]

I have a Dana 60 high pinion rear end and it is a problem off road. Its very strong and I'll never break it, but it just hangs down too low and gets hung up on rocks all the time. I went to bigger tires (37") but it still gets hung up a lot.

It's not easy to shave, so a new housing is the only solution.

 

[sdbuggyboys]

so what would be the axle to choose. The stock 9"? or maybe one with a thicker housing? I know that they are pretty thin

 

[Apogee]

I have a Dana 60 high pinion rear end and it is a problem off road. Its very strong and I'll never break it, but it just hangs down too low and gets hung up on rocks all the time. I went to bigger tires (37") but it still gets hung up a lot.

It's not easy to shave, so a new housing is the only solution.

Wow! Dana 60 HP rear axle? Are you running rear steer or something?

If I was converting to 8-lug with a 1-ton swap, I would opt for the D60HP front and either a D70U rear with a smooth bottom or Sterling as they have pretty good clearance. Either way, anything less than 40's with 1-ton running gear can get a bit interesting in terms of diff clearance...but that's the price you pay for axle beef unless you go the Volvo/Mog/custom portal route.