Dana 44/9" or Dana 60's? Why and where to buy?

[XT700]

It appears I will be in the position to buy complete front and rear axles to upgrade the running gear under my 71. The question is since I've already converted the 44 to discs and have a 76 big bearing in the shed, should I put in heavy duty axles, ARB's and new gears and call it good. Or, should I have a set of Dana 60's built to bolt in and upgrade for the added strength? I'm not really sure how much stronger the 60 is then the 9" but it should be an upgrade over the 44. I do plan to do some rock crawling, places like Paragon etc. but still want to have the truck streetable.

If complete new axles are the solution where should I look, obviously, Currie and Dynatrac come to mind but there must be a lot of other vendors also?

As always all comments, positive or negative are appreciated.
Thanks, Walt

 

[bax]

I would keep what you have and make them stronger. The 9'' and the 60 IMO are about equal. The 60 up front is better than than the 44 but the money spent on the 60 getting it how you want it can also be spent beefing up the 44. So I am no help. I love the 60 but how much crap are you going to put it thru.

Bax

 

[pahoughton]

The primary issue is your tire size. I'm building a fairly significant rig and sticking with the 44/9" combo, but I also plan on staying with 36" tires. And building both axles as STRONG as possible 35sp for the 9 and yukon (sp?) axles and joints for the 44. If you plan on 38" tires or bigger, you should probably put a 60 in the front. I have not heard of any instance where a 35 spline 9" rear axle breaking. I also believe the D60 rear is 35 spline full floater.

 

[XT700]

Good point on the tire size. Doubt I would ever go beyond 37" and even that is questionable as it would put me squarely in the sights of the law as far as bumper height. I also doubt that I will ever have a huge HP and torque motor. Probably a 5.0 HO or 351. I like the sounds of building what I have as it will be much less expensive.

Thanks, keep the replies coming.

 

[Bronco Brian]

. I also believe the D60 rear is 35 spline full floater.

A Dana 60 will most liky be only a 30 spline ( most common ) But there are a few 35 / spline 60 stock
also all Dana 70 are 35 spline

 

[kb6677]

Good point on the tire size. Doubt I would ever go beyond 37" and even that is questionable as it would put me squarely in the sights of the law as far as bumper height. I also doubt that I will ever have a huge HP and torque motor. Probably a 5.0 HO or 351. I like the sounds of building what I have as it will be much less expensive.

Thanks, keep the replies coming.

Hi Walt,
I noticed your earlier post mentioned running at Paragon. Just for reference-one of the first MEB Roundups during the "always rains" at Paragon summers we had LOTS of broken parts with wheel speed in the mud and contact with rocks-saw for the first time two detroits break as well as D44 with warn shafts. So, to the point, HOW you drive should make a significant impact on your decision on your choice-are you going to run the "hard trails", do you drive in a "go or break" style etc..... Your right foot will ultimately impact the lifespan of your D44 If you decide to do a "bolt in" D60 email me off the list-I have a very reputable shop who builds cheaper than Currie or DynaTrac- tripleb@bellsouth.net
HTH,
Karl

 

[XT700]

So at this point I'm getting the feeling that the 9" can be built strong enough but going to the 60 in the front might be a good idea. I tend to prefer finesse over hammering the throttle, at least in the other things I've done. Serious offroading/rock crawling is a new thing for me.

Karl, I'll send a seperate email to get the info on your builder.

Thanks, Walt

 

[Scoop]

So at this point I'm getting the feeling that the 9" can be built strong enough but going to the 60 in the front might be a good idea. I tend to prefer finesse over hammering the throttle, at least in the other things I've done. Serious offroading/rock crawling is a new thing for me.

Karl, I'll send a seperate email to get the info on your builder.

Thanks, Walt

Another consideration about the 60 is ground clearance especially if you are going to run 37's or smaller tires. For the same size tire the 44 will have better ground clearance which can be significant at Paragon on the rocks.

 

[thesnake]

I'd suggest going thru Mike at Complete Off Road for the beef, good prices and not too bad on shipping either.

J.D.

 

[XT700]

I am planning on getting the 9" parts from Complete Offroad, my cage and some other parts have already come from Mike and I have been very happy with his prices and service.

How significant is the ground clearance difference between the 44 and the 60? I am 90% sure that I will never go over 37" and will probably stay around 35" most of the time. Perhaps for that tire size and the fact that I won't be running a huge motor, the 44 can be built to live without breaking?

Another thought, although I have a 76 big bearing rearend to build, is there any reason to consider a new housing while I am doing this. BCB and WH both have new strengthened housings that run around $400, is this a good investment or will te original housing be fine?

Thanks, Walt

 

[OX1]

I don't see the need for a new housing. I have hammered my stockish 78 beater with the same housing (little wider), 35 swamps and a spool with no problems and that is a much heavier rig.

On the 44. If your going to wheel in the NE and your going to run hard trails, your going to have to get into it at some point (talking spinning, bouncing abusive type action I like to call pinball wheeling). It's greasy in lots of spots unless there's been a 2 week dry spell. I've seen the balljoints give up, but again, that was a heavier 78/79 bronc. I have wheeled a bit with a stockish rub on 37's with that quasi 44 front and the chick driving it does hammer down when she needs to. She claims she has only broken one front shaft, but she also uses the ARB sparingly. I think I'd run the 44 as you could probably sell the entire built 44 for what it will cost you to get the upgraded parts, so long term you most likely won't lose much if you decide you have to go 60 later on down the road.

As for clearance, you can shave the 60 and not worry much about strength. Many say, well you can shave the 44 too, but will you still have enough strength in the diff casing after doing that and pushing the diff to the edge??

 

[XT700]

Thanks for the info, looking more and more like I can get by with building the 44. I have the matching front disc brake 44 that came out of the 76 so the good part is I can build that one and just swap it in.

What about u-joints? There seem to be a number of options but I really don't have any idea what is best.

Thanks again, Walt

 

[bmc69]

I've hammered the HP D44 in my trail EB pretty hard..turning 39.5 IROKS..and have yet to break anything. Good axles (Superioor Super-chromos, Yukons or Warns) a are a 'must' as are a really good u-joint like CTMs or Superjoints to go in them. Balljoints are a known weakness in the 44s..but I run only Spicer or Moog ball joints and have not yet broken either.

All that said..I do not let the front end on mine spin and hop with the 'reckless abandon' of some who are running 60s or other bigger beef up front..like Ox, Karl, and Randy H., for example . I run mine, usually, with the fact that it 'should' break, but just has not yet, always in the back of mind.

 

[NeverSatisfied]

If you plan to run the more difficult trails, I'd go with a front 60. I just bought mine through Doug at www.extremeaxlesales.com I had them rebuild, regear, lock, shave and convert it to 5lug. Doug usually has a few 60's in stock and runs a top notch operation. You could save a few bucks by finding a 60 in a yard and building it yourself, but that takes a lot of time. It was easy making one phone call, waiting a few weeks and then having a 700lb. crate show up

Once you price what it costs to build a 44 right, it's VERY comparable to what they can do on a 60 when you include what you can sell your disc 44 for. I'm only about $500-700 deeper into my 60 than what I had into my D44.

It just doesn't make sense to throw $3000 at a Dana 44 and then still have to worry about taking it easy when you're in a bind.

 

[XT700]

Thanks for the link, I'll check out their site. If I decide to go with a 60 I'll have two 44's to sell. The one from the 76 that is complete but rusty and the one under the 71 now that is rebuilt with 77 brackets and all new disc brake components with 4.11 gears. I think the 76 is 3.54's, both are open diffs. Any idea what the might be worth? The potential worth of them will significantly influence my axle choice.;D

Thanks, Walt

 

[tonto]

I had a D-60 built for my front end, by the time I bought a Ford Hi-pinion 60 had it shaved, R&P & locker installed and converted to 5x5.5 wheel bolt pattern I’m wishing I had a 9”/D-60 built with Chevy D-60 outers (easiest to convert to 5x5.5), can’t see the cost difference being that different in the end .
Even shaved the D-60 is still big and may give some people oil pan clearance issues with full suspension compression, unless your running 5”ss of suspension lift, I moved my front end forward 2”ss years ago so it looks like I’m o.k. with oil pan clearance & 3.5”ss of suspension lift.
The 9” center section will give you better oil pan & ground clearance and can still be shaved for additional ground clearance.
I wouldn’t waste time on converting a stock D-60 for the rear, even shaving it’s still a rock anchor , build the 9” or get a hi-pinnion D-60 from Dyna trak or Currie

 

[NeverSatisfied]

I second the 609 front. Definitely do it if you can. I wish I had the time to put one together myself as this is a very affordable option if you do the work, but when I priced a complete 609 front from Sunray or Currie it knocked my socks off! It was around 2k more!

Extreme Axle Sales developed a 5 on 5.5 kit for the ford knuckles that's on par/cheaper than the chevy kits.

A built 44 from the ground up vs a stock 60 rebuilt, geared and locked are about even up dollar wise. The 609 is the next step, but also at a cost

 

[XT700]

I'm running 3.5" suspension, now I wonder about the oil pan clearance issue, one thing always leads to another.

This 609, that's a 9" center section with D60 outers? How custom does this stuff become, my worry is that if I did break an axle it could be long wait for a replacement. Of course the obvious solution is to keep spares but that might not be possible financially.

Thanks, Walt

 

[NeverSatisfied]

I'm running 3.5" suspension, now I wonder about the oil pan clearance issue, one thing always leads to another.

This 609, that's a 9" center section with D60 outers? How custom does this stuff become, my worry is that if I did break an axle it could be long wait for a replacement. Of course the obvious solution is to keep spares but that might not be possible financially.

Thanks, Walt

Exactly, A 609 uses cut 35 spline Dana 60 shafts, So you just specify your length when ordering alloy shafts or you cut and spline stock shafts. You really need to put some stress on stock 60 shafts to break them running 37-39" tires, or you can put alloys in and upgrade to 35 spline outers. The only guys I've wheeled with that break them are throttle jockies on 44"+

 

[XT700]

Just looked at the Sunray site, they have a clearance comparison. It shows a shaved 60 is within a couple sixteenths of a stock 44. Of course their shaved 609 is slightly more than a half inch less than the shaved 60. Right now I am leaning toward the 60, seems like the clearance below will work for me, just need to confirm the clearance above to the oil pan. Anyone know for sure if a 60 will clear the oil pan with a 3.5" lift? I suppose longer bump stops could be used but I'd hate to go to all this effort and then limit suspension travel.

Thanks, Walt