mwouda
Has anyone narrowed a Dana 60 for a narrow trac CJ. I am looking to upgrade my M20 and have found this 60 pretty cheap. Are parts available, like axles and disc brakes for a jeep setup. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
tufcj
Depends on what 60 you get. If it's a 30 spline, the axle shafts are no bigger than a 44. Axle shafts will be custom, and you will have to run 8 lug, and probably 16" wheels. You add a huge amount of unsprung weight, and unless you shave the housing, you lose ground clearance.
I've been running a 44 with 37" tires for several years. I have tweaked the splines on one axle, but haven't broken anything yet. I can sometimes clear obstacles where a 60 will drag. I am pretty conservative with the skinny pedal, but I've also run some of the hardest trails around (Rubicon 2X, and the Dakota Challenge 3X), so I'm no slouch either.
I do have a Dana 60-2 from an early 1970s Jeep J truck. It's a 35 spline, 1.5" axle shaft semi floater with 5 on 5.5" bolt pattern. I plan on narrowing it one day to widetrack CJ, and it will also get shaved. I'm running a narrowed Dana 44HD up front, because I did break the Dana 30 several times (hubs, u-joints, and a carrier).
Bob
tufcj
jeepsr4ever
I run a 60" wide dana 60 in the rear of one of my ZJ's. You can run down to a 5 on 5.5 but you will pay $500 for the hub combo. You can get one size fits all shaft (in three sizes :mrgreen: ) From Randy's ring and peanut and you can upgrade the rear to 35 spline. After tearing up dana 44's and bending ford 9" housings I never looked back. I think Bob is on borrowed time on his Dana 44 :mrgreen: ( :shock: ) :mrgreen:
J4GRAND
I do have a Dana 60-2 from an early 1970s Jeep J truck. It's a 35 spline, 1.5" axle shaft semi floater with 5 on 5.5" bolt pattern.
Tufcj- any possibility you'd want to sell that axle? I have a 73 J4000 that it would go into perfectly.
tufcj
I had to look long and hard to find it, they really are pretty rare. I only have the housing and axle shafts. There are no gears, carrier, or brake parts. I'm really not looking to sell it, as it's future home is in my CJ.
Bob
tufcj
JERSEYJOE
I RECENTLY PICKED UP A DANA 60 HD WITH 35 SPLINE AXLES AND I AM PLANNING ON RUNNING IT IN THE REAR OF MY CJ.
I AM NOT TALENTED ENOUGH TO NARROW IT MYSELF SINCE IT IS MORE INVOLVED THAT DOING THE FRONT DANA 44 WHICH IS A LOT EASIER.
QUESTION : IF I NEED TO NARROW IT WILL THEY PULL THE TUBES OUT OF THE CENTER SECTION, CUT AND REINSTALL, OR CUT THE OUTER FLANGES OFF AND REWELD THEM?
tufcj
Probably depends on the shop. My 44 is narrowed, they cut the "bells" off the end, then cut out a chunk of the tube, and re-welded the bells. Been that way for 5+ years and lots of hard 'wheeling with no problems.
Bob
tufcj
JERSEYJOE
I GUESS YOU COULD DO IT EITHER WAY. I AM GOING TO DO THE DANA 44 FRONT WITH SOME HELP FOR ANOTHER FORUM. REALLY QUITE EASY. THE REAR IS DIFFERENT. I GUESS IF YOU CUT OFF THE AXLE SIDE FLANGES YOU WOULD NEED SOME SORT OF JIG TO INSURE THAT THE FLANGES ARE PERFECTLY ALIGNED DURING THE WELD ING PROCESS. I KNOW SOME PLACED CAN RETUBE A REAR SO THEY MUST BE ABLE TO REMOVE THE TUBES FROM THE CENTER SECTION.
tufcj
I watched one shop do a rear the way mine was done (cutting the tubes). They had a 1" diameter rod that was true to like .001". They had 4 pucks with a 1" center hole, and an OD that matched the bearing diameter of the carrier and outer bearings. Tubes were cut on a band saw, then the pucks put in in place of bearings and carrier bearing caps installed. They slid the rod all the way thru the 4 pucks to align everything on a near perfect center line. Final welding was all done with a TIG.
Bob
tufcj
jerry
We narrow a coup;e 44 front and rears the front we cut outside off got it the right leight heated the knuckle up used a gage till exspand to fit back on the tube let it cool and weld it.
the back we had a piece made that a 44 hub bolt to and put it on and weld it we had to have axle made.
My son shorten the inside axle on the fount and weld it he broke one he has been running them about a year. He is not easy on things . He has twitched the spline on the rear ones he had made.
Jerry
JERSEYJOE
Bob Tuffcj: Do they re use the ends or are they available new?
tufcj
They re-use the bell ends. You can get ends that accept the Ford 9" big bearings from Currie Ent. Then you end up using non-stock bearings.
Bob
tufcj
JERSEYJOE
NO I AM GOING TO RUN THE 3/4 TON 8 LUG SET UP WITH A DISC BRAKE CONVERSION AND HUMVEE WHEELS. I WAS WONDERING HOW THEY MANAGE TO CUT THE ENDS OFF AND RE USE THEM. PLASMA CUTTER?
tufcj
They cut my 44 housing using a special jig they had made up, and an industrial band saw. They cut just inside the area where the tube bells out. They TIG welded the end back on after cutting out the needed length of tube (I think it was 3.5" on each side from mine).
The axle shafts were then turned to the 1.31" diameter, additional splines machined, then cut to length.
Bob
tufcj
ironman_gq
did they sleeve the joint where the two pieces of tube come together or is it a butt joint. If they just butted them together and welded them i would be worried about it cracking along the weld. I think the right way would be to pull the tubes from the housing and shortening them on the housing end and then pressing them back in. just my two cents but I know a few things about weld joints and a but joint isn't good enough for an axle. thats why the tubes are pressed into the housing and the inner C's.
tufcj
As far as I can tell, they were just V-grooved and butt welded. They were done by a certified welder with a TIG. Unless you look closely, you can't even see the welds, and they're NOT ground at all. Wish I could weld like that (wish I had a TIG).
Bob
tufcj
JERSEYJOE
OK Now I need some help. Instead of cutting the only J-20 Dana 60 that I have left, I bought a Dana 60 HD but I am not sure what type of truck it came out of. Seems that the Dana 60 HD is different from the standard Dana 60 in that the case is reinforced , the tubes are thicker, and the spindles are larger to allow the use of the 35 spline axle. The one I bought is the perfect width and no narrowing is needed. My probllem is that I want to convert to disc brakes and I need the proper conversion kit. From what I know the Dana 60 HD is like a Dana 70 on the outer spindles. The hubs are bigger than the J-20 Dana 60's. Anyone know how to ID this? The flange welded to the end of the tube has 4 bolt holes.
ironman_gq
call the guys who make the conversion kits and start feeding them measurements and see what they have for you. It might be the same as the 70 but why order the wrong parts when you can do it right the first time. :-|
JERSEYJOE
GREAT ADVICE IRONMAN. I DID JUST THAT AND NOW I NEED TO GO AND MEASURE. ARE THEY SOME STAMPINGS ON A DANA THAT TELL IT'S ORIGIN? IF I KNEW EXACTLY WHERE IT CAME FROM IT MIGHT HELP ME.
happyhoppy
Might be able to help a little here...
I purchased a Dana 60 shortened to CJ Narrowtrack, 8 Lug, Full floater. Looked like an easy conversion as the rotors were already installed. Purchase brackets, use Chev Caliphers, etc -
but it wasn't that easy.
The bill of materials number was gone off the axle tube and I looked under a lot of trucks in parking lots until I found the right one. 1992 Dodge.
Only vendor that gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling was www.blackbirdscustomtrucks.com
I emailed pictures and sketches and this is who I am going with. Complete with shipping will be $475.00.
Safety is one of my biggest concerns - as well as Ebrake issues. (Not to many vendors liked to commit to that part.)
If anyone has purchased the conversion brackets from Ebay I'd like to know how you made out. I'm pretty limited in brake knowledge and can see myself doing a lot of part searching!
