Dana 44 with 35s or Dana 60 with 37s?

[John_parkeriv]

I'm working on tying up the big mechanical parts to get my bronco back to running and I'm sort of divided on what front axle I'll end up running. Right now I've got the Dana 30 that came in the truck, and I don't really see that holding up with how I plan to use this thing.

The problem is I can't decide between a Dana 44 and 35s or a Dana 60 with 37s.

One one hand, a 44 isn't quite as cost prohibitive, and should be plenty strong enough for the type of wheeling I want to do; but if I ever want bigger tires, I'd be worried about it holding up.

On the other hand, 60's are a good bit more expensive and will NEED 37s to get any real clearance because of the pumpkin; but should be damn near bulletproof in the way I want to use it.

What are y'all thinking?

 

[Rustytruck]

don't forget to add while its all apart to cut and turn the C's for more castor that is an added cost. the upgraded 44 for 35" tires will require upgraded axle shafts to get the bigger u-joints. the Dana 60 will need new wheels or somebody that can convert to ford 5.5 x 5 bolt pattern an expensive conversion and you have to cut down the axle.

 

[Yeller]

I can't get a 44 to live on 35's.... but I can be a Neanderthal.... Its totally up to you and how hard you plan on going, chromoly shafts and milder, non throttle happy and not crawling boulders bigger than your tires and shoving them in undercuts you'll be fine with either choice, lots of 44's with 37's successfully running around and a few in my wheeling group, they just choose more appropriate lines than me.

 

[jmhend]

I can't get a 44 to live on 35's.... but I can be a Neanderthal.... Its totally up to you and how hard you plan on going, chromoly shafts and milder, non throttle happy and not crawling boulders bigger than your tires and shoving them in undercuts you'll be fine with either choice, lots of 44's with 37's successfully running around and a few in my wheeling group, they just choose more appropriate lines than me.

Haha, all about the lines. Oh man, so many thoughts. But I don't want others to jump on....love you man.

I am running a 44 (locked with 456 gears) and have had good luck. I'm also running WH 4.5" SL W/ 1"BL. All of the guys I wheel with are running 37's with Duff or Cage 3.5" SL and do just fine here in the NE.

Good luck with your decision.

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[Yeller]

Haha, all about the lines. Oh man, so many thoughts. But I don't want others to jump on....love you man.

I am running a 44 (locked with 456 gears) and have had good luck. I'm also running WH 4.5" SL W/ 1"BL. All of the guys I wheel with are running 37's with Duff or Cage 3.5" SL and do just fine here in the NE.

Good luck with your decision.

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Hahaha thanks! I think they keep me around because, 1 they like the show and know what not to do, 2 I aint skeerd of getting lost, don't know what's there or how to get there if you don't go. We should start a thread and not hijack......

OP again its your choice, if you don't try to hang with the buggies a 44 should serve you fine. If you ever think you want to go that hard just suck it up and get the 60, cry once and be done with it, going hard with a 44 always results in crying over and over. the ground clearance penalty is not as bad as you think, my shaved 60 is slightly better than a 44, but my 14 bolt is ground to a 13 bolt 1 rock at a time over the last 20 years. I've wheeled plenty with 35's and a 60, its fine, not near the anchor your imagining. The hard part is fitting that thing under the truck and keeping lift to a minimum, it gets full fast.

 

[hossbronco]

It all depends on what type of wheeling you’re doing. But if you’re teasing 37 inch tires now you may want the option later. I don’t see a huge problem with 35 inch tires on a Dana 60. Sure it’s less clearance at the diff, but it’s also a lot stronger.

If you’re going to build both axles up, then the cost difference isn’t that great. I tend to overbuild and allow for upsizing later, but if you don’t wheel very often, and you’re certain you won’t wish for larger tires or more power later, then a Dana 44 may suit your needs. Still, the Dana 60 is less likely to leave you stranded.

 

[John_parkeriv]

Hahaha thanks! I think they keep me around because, 1 they like the show and know what not to do, 2 I aint skeerd of getting lost, don't know what's there or how to get there if you don't go. We should start a thread and not hijack......

OP again its your choice, if you don't try to hang with the buggies a 44 should serve you fine. If you ever think you want to go that hard just suck it up and get the 60, cry once and be done with it, going hard with a 44 always results in crying over and over. the ground clearance penalty is not as bad as you think, my shaved 60 is slightly better than a 44, but my 14 bolt is ground to a 13 bolt 1 rock at a time over the last 20 years. I've wheeled plenty with 35's and a 60, its fine, not near the anchor your imagining. The hard part is fitting that thing under the truck and keeping lift to a minimum, it gets full fast.

Yeah, I'm already building my engine for more low RPM grunt than high horse power since I don't plan to spend much time at or above 4000 rpm. If the 60 isn't really that bad of an "anchor" and can be shaved down a bit, I'll probably go with one of those; if not just to save myself a headache in the long run.

 

[BUCKWILD]

And if you dont already have a 44 a 60 is not expinsive . An early bronco 44 brings a pretty Penney, cut and narowing a hi pin 44 will cost so why not just cut a 60 and go. lockers and gears are not that much more. Trust me I have spent lots of money on a 44 and could have done a 60 once and hade money for a new paint job

 

[jmhend]

And if you dont already have a 44 a 60 is not expinsive . An early bronco 44 brings a pretty Penney, cut and narowing a hi pin 44 will cost so why not just cut a 60 and go. lockers and gears are not that much more. Trust me I have spent lots of money on a 44 and could have done a 60 once and hade money for a new paint job

Hahaha thanks! I think they keep me around because, 1 they like the show and know what not to do, 2 I aint skeerd of getting lost, don't know what's there or how to get there if you don't go. We should start a thread and not hijack......

OP again its your choice, if you don't try to hang with the buggies a 44 should serve you fine. If you ever think you want to go that hard just suck it up and get the 60, cry once and be done with it, going hard with a 44 always results in crying over and over. the ground clearance penalty is not as bad as you think, my shaved 60 is slightly better than a 44, but my 14 bolt is ground to a 13 bolt 1 rock at a time over the last 20 years. I've wheeled plenty with 35's and a 60, its fine, not near the anchor your imagining. The hard part is fitting that thing under the truck and keeping lift to a minimum, it gets full fast.

Totally agree with both of these guys. IF / WHEN I break a 44 is when I will go with a 60. But because I have a 44 I kept it. If I had a Dana 30 and was looking for options then a 60 /14bolt would be on my mind.

Now, hard core wheeling? Absolutely 60, one or two off road trips per year? Maybe just stick with the 44.

Last question, where are you and what type of off reading do you have in mind?

 

[John_parkeriv]

Totally agree with both of these guys. IF / WHEN I break a 44 is when I will go with a 60. But because I have a 44 I kept it. If I had a Dana 30 and was looking for options then a 60 /14bolt would be on my mind.

Now, hard core wheeling? Absolutely 60, one or two off road trips per year? Maybe just stick with the 44.

Last question, where are you and what type of off reading do you have in mind?

I live in Florida, so not many offroading spots around here apart from mud pits (and that's not my thing anyway). I'd probably spend most of the time with this thing out on the highway either cruising around or going to a trail in another state. Some of the goals for this truck are MOAB and the Rubicon. I plan on more slow crawling then high speed runs.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Moab, Rubicon and lives in Florida. That is a multi day road trip to get there, and multi days to get home again. I would lean toward a 60 just for the simplistic strength. You are automatically upgraded to bigger brakes. I would not pay the asking price for the unicorn king pin 60. You are in the needs of a 60, so a more affordable ball joint axle should be plenty fine. If you are breaking that, the 44 was never an option.

My thoughts are the upper limit of a 44 is about 33" Unless you are going aftermarket wilwood brakes, that is the upper end of what factory ford/gm disk brakes. 35s will work, but the brakes are stressed more than I like. Axle shafts start needing the high dollar upgrades. But not too worried about the actual differential itself. The 44 center section is actually pretty good. There was the bastard Dana 50 which is pretty much a 44 center section with 60 outers. People did break those fairly easy in there 1-ton diesels.

Do the 60 and don't worry about it while far away from home.

 

[Rustytruck]

moab and the rubicon then do a 60 doing those with a 44 and 35 will leave you wanting more. and while your at it you will want the 37 too and then proper gearing for it all. Get the shot gun ready to rob a bank or kill the rabbit you are chasing. Just might want to buy someone else's already done toy and sell your current Bronco. Good luck on getting the rabbit.

 

[bigmuddy]

Whats the weight difference between the D44/9" and D60/9"?

 

[okie4570]

I've run a 44 with chrome moly and 36" for the last 7 years with no issues other than a broken Warn hub, and a lot of the same places as Yeller, but not the same boulders and I'm not as neaderthal as he is most of the time lol. If I was ditching a 30 I would just go to the 60. I already had the 44 so I went chrome moly and so far it's been fine. This is with a stock 302, locker, chrome moly axles, Dana 20T, 4.11 gears, np435 trans, Warn hubs and 36" swampers.

 

[Yeller]

Whats the weight difference between the D44/9" and D60/9"?

For most builds it is not as much as one would think. The 60 is only 50-70 pounds different in weight it depends on version, width, brakes etc. 9” weights can vary widely, it is very easy to add 100# without a truss, nodular centers, fabricated housings and FF hubs adds up very fast. .

 

[Yeller]

I've run a 44 with chrome moly and 36" for the last 7 years with no issues other than a broken Warn hub, and a lot of the same places as Yeller, but not the same boulders and I'm not as neaderthal as he is most of the time lol. If I was ditching a 30 I would just go to the 60. I already had the 44 so I went chrome moly and so far it's been fine. This is with a stock 302, locker, chrome moly axles, Dana 20T, 4.11 gears, np435 trans, Warn hubs and 36" swampers.

A good example of what I was saying above.

 

[Hinmaton]

This choice is a classic domino effect moment.
If you choose LP D44: they are plentiful and cheap, you can re-use almost every part from your D30 set up including your steering, radius arms and your wheels and tires.
If you choose D60: they are expensive unless you buy a SD60, you will need bigger wheels to fit the bigger brakes, you will need a lot of offset in your wheels unless you are going to narrow the axle. You will need all new steering. You will need a new radius arm setup, new coil setups, new driveshaft, new shock set up.

Now if you were building a purpose built crawler, then heck yeah- don’t waste your time on a D44. But if you’re trying to get your project back on the road and it’s a dual purpose type of truck… why knock that domino over?

And let it be said: I wheel hard, run 40’s, pick the hard lines, and hit the big rocks and I just sold my D44 w/ 5.13’s that has never broke once, not so much as a 1310 U Joint.
It has more to do with the way you wheel it. I’ve wheeled with guys that blow up 300m RCV’s in their D60’s left and right.
What is your rig going to be doing and how are you going to be wheeling it?
Buy the axle that is right for that.

My two cents-

Hinmaton


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[bigmuddy]

in the CB classifieds, looks to be a great deal when upgrading to a D44.https://classicbroncos.com/forums/t...ckright-456-gears-heavy-duty-steering.313992/

He sells a lot of bronco parts. Located in Pekin IL.

 

[jamesroney]

in the CB classifieds, looks to be a great deal when upgrading to a D44.https://classicbroncos.com/forums/t...ckright-456-gears-heavy-duty-steering.313992/

He sells a lot of bronco parts. Located in Pekin IL.

Thats a Low pinion Bronco housing with Scout 44 knuckles and outers with the oddball 8 bolt spindles, and external bolt on hubs. You can see where the drag link arm has been chopped off in the pic. Also, it's a lock-rite lunchbox locker. Most people prefer the Ford or GM conversions. Caveat Emptor...

 

[bigmuddy]

Thats a Low pinion Bronco housing with Scout 44 knuckles and outers with the oddball 8 bolt spindles, and external bolt on hubs. You can see where the drag link arm has been chopped off in the pic. Also, it's a lock-rite lunchbox locker. Most people prefer the Ford or GM conversions. Caveat Emptor...

Understood. IMO nothing wrong with a LP Dana 44 with a lockrite and 4.56 gears for 1,200. Frankly, it checks a lot of boxes for many people that are going to be driving primarily on the road to go get coffee with the occasional offroad excursion.