The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop Upgrade to a Dana rear end?

I found a guy who is willing to trade a rebuilt Dana 6o posi rear end for my stock rear end. The Dana is a 55" width while mine is 52".

Can the 3" be made up with backspacing on the wheels?

I don't want the wheels to be sticking out to far.

I have heard good things about the Dana but don't know much about them. Any advice?

Ross

Hi!
If your Dana 60's were made in a couple of styles. I have what is called the semi floating type, the axles bear the weight of the vehicle. It came out of a ford econoline van. If you have this type, one axle tube is longer than the other and can be shortened by three or so inches. Moser will shorten the axles for you, or do the whole job for that matter. There is a lot of associated work that goes along with this. Spring perches need to be moved, shock brackets, and so on. I am in the middle of this swap. To date I have sawn the tube, reworked the tube end, and have had Moser shorten and respline the axle. I have yet to move the brackets and such. It is a lot of work...

What are you putting this under?

55 inches seems narrow to me. Where are you taking these measurements?

Dang! I was brain dead. Sorry.

Mine is 65" and the guy says his Dana is 68". I am going tomorrow afternoon to measure and check it out.

OldSub - thanks for pointing that out.

Sounds like it is a lot of work from what Rick says. Is this more work than what I would have to do if I use an old 10 bolt that wasn't 65"?

The biggest selling point in my eyes is that it has been competely rebuilt and has posi.

Is the performance worth it?

Ross

To do the narrowing does it need to be disassembled to keep the guts clean, I would think so?
A Dana by design is somewhat more difficult to take apart and reassemble, not like an Eaton that just drops in.

If you take it apart you will have to reassemble and check the pattern on the gears once done with the machine work and welding.

Grigg

Here is a good article on the Dana 60.

In the mid 70s, I had a Dana 60 in my 55 Cameo 1/2 ton. The rear end was from a 3/4 ton with leaf springs and the pads only required a minor amount of modifying to work with my original springs.
The wheels did stick out a little, but I was running 10 inch white spokes. I don't remember what universal I used to solve the problem, but the yoke is larger on the Dana 60 and I was able to find a universal at the parts store that matched the bigger yoke on the rear end to the smaller yoke on the driveshaft. It took a little measuring and searching, but the part was available.
The other alternative, is to cut off the yoke from the driveshaft and weld on a 3/4 ton unit. I have done this with other rear end swaps, and it is much more expensive than using the universal to match the driveshaft to the rear end.
I am now running a 76 Blazer rear end in the truck, but will be converting back to the original rear end. This rear end is wider as well, but fit under the truck with only minor modifications.
Bob

What Grigg says is correct. The gear set needs to be taken out and cleaned after or before the tube is shortened and then reinstalled. In addition to normal hand tools this requires a torque wrench, marking chaulk and a dial indicator. I assumed you had the tools and skills needed to set up a rear end. If you do, fine, if not, I would suggest you avoid the task!

Thanks for everyone's advice.

I am going to go for it. I saw it this afternoon and it is in excellent condition. It was rebuilt not to long ago. I believe am coming out of this deal looking good.

I am not going to do this work myself, I know this is way out of my league. I have a buddy who knows rear ends and has some connections.

It has got 411 gears in it now so I will eventually need to change over to 373. Looks like new gear sets are easy to get a hold of.

Since it is so much work to relocate the spring perches and shock mounts, I am thinking about installing a 4 link. (The company I am getting my IFS from has a great package deal.) I still have lots of research to do before I go with this option.

Well, thanks again for everyone's feedback.

Ross

Not true, that is probably the simplest part of the whole job.
But if you just need an excuse to upgrade to the suspension you really want, then take it.

Grigg

All right I think I have been caught.

Deep down, I like the idea of a 4 link, but I just don't know much about that type of set up. I have spending lots of time surfing the net to learn as much as possible before I make the decision. I have read that they take some experience to get them dialed in correctly.

Grigg - do you know much about the 4 link? If so, any advice?

Ross

Ross,

I have a question. You have a 55 3100, is this the truck you are thinking of putting the Dany 60 in? You mentioned that you are changing to an IFS. This would be a 5 lug setup. Most Dana 60s are 3/4 ton truck axles. They would be 8 lug. While the Dana 60 can be converted to match your 5 lug front, it is alot of work. The other question, why do you need a Dana 60 in a 1/2 ton truck? A late 80s Camero or Firebird axle is the correct width and has the correct 5 lug pattern. My thought is if someone gave me a rebuilt Dana 60, I would sell it and buy an axle that was closer to what I needed. I sure would not spend lots of money to get something that was not remotely close and then spend lots of money making it work.

Ross, the thing to remember, this is my oppinion and it is your truck. Good luck.

Lonnie

Hi Lonnie -

I really appreciate everyone's advice and information. I wish I had more experience in this!

I have spent hours in the last day researching information. The more I look, the more I find out about what changes I would have to make. Your point is right on, and as I crunch the numbers, your point is betting stronger.

I have looked into what I could sell this for and I might still come out ahead if I just sold it and used the cash for a correct width rear end. The bolt pattern is going to force me to buy new axles, which leads to other issues. The condition of the Dana is perfect, from what I have seen,I would think I could sell it for around $250-$300.

Well on the brighter side, I am learning a lot as I go!

Thanks again. I will let you all know what I end up doing.

The issue with the Dana 60 is not just the axles but the brakes and hubs as well. The Dana 60 is often used in high performance cars. When it is used in this setting it is either an old mopar axle or a custom axle that has had new ends welded on that will accomidate the car type axles and brakes. I have not heard of any other manufacturer using Dana 60s in cars, but someone may have. If you can make out on the Dana, sell it and get one that fits without too much work.

No, not really. I don't know much at all about what guys do to the suspensions of 1/2 ton trucks, or what is offered by the aftermarket for them.

Personally I have been looking at two different suspension systems for my 2 ton truck, one is a 4 link, (actually a 5 link) the other is similar, but different, both are air ride.
This one from Kelderman: http://www.keldermanairride.com/productdetails.php?id=450%2F550FRD4LNK
And this one from Hendrickson: http://www.hendrickson-intl.com/products/product_detail/has_single.asp

I think I'll run my leaf spring suspension (new springs) and air helper springs for a while, and be on the lookout for a used 12,000lb Hendrickson suspension, and/or save my money for a new Kelderman or Hendrickson suspension.

Grigg

there are many shops that carry 4 link rear suspensions. Here is a link to CPP. Cost, starts at $900.

Again I am not recommending CPP parts, they just have a large assortment of items.

4 link