Dana 60 Rear and HD 44 Front...Thoughts ?

Hello,

This board has always been a great resource for me and I'd once again like the collectives opinion. I put a deposit today on a Dana 60 rear with a HD Dana 44 front out of mid 70's Ford F250 (both 4.10 ratio). I plan to retube both the front and rear keeping the offset and obviously narrow the shafts. While I'm at it i'll throw a Detroit locker in the rear. This will be a winter project for sure.

I plan to run 38's and just do some mudding and trail riding. Nothing too crazy as I have built this project from scratch and do not plan on destroying it. Street use will be to a minimum if at all. I know the Dana 60 will be bulletproof and judging by the sheer mass of the Ford HD Dana 44 I'm not expecting problems. Does anyone have any thoughts ?

Also, If anyone is looking for a nice SOA Dana 44 rear and Dana 27 front with 3.73, drop me a line. These axles both have custom stainless steel trusses and Brand new 11" brake conversions( less than 5 miles of use)

 

Those axles are way overkill for a light CJ. If you don't mind the expense of narrowing them down to fit, you should never have to worry about your axles, again. They'll more than handle the 38's under the usage you described. Even with the 283 sbc.

 

Overkill dude. I'll take those original axles for spare parts though!

Josh

 

Do it! My brother and I are putting those same axles under his Early Bronco. It's nice to be able to overbuild stuff sometimes and not have to worry about it again.

 

Are you going to leave them 8 lug and a true full float rear end? Should be pretty strong! I dana 60 my jeep, semi float. Fits great. If you are a jumper I have still seen dana 60 housings (stock) bend the tubes.

 

Nice pictures of your Dana buildup.

Yes, the 8 lugs will stay and the rear will be full floated. I'll probably truss the front and rear axles just because I like the look and the fabrication time is pretty quick. The only drawback will be replacing the wheels, which I'll post for sale over the winter. I have a set of nice aluminum mags, and depending on if they will clear the new rotors and calipers, I might machine them for 8 lugs also. Otherwise you'll see them up for sale as well.

Thanks for all the advice and opinions....
Extreem

 

The 60 is great for the rear. The 44 is not overkill for the front with 38" tires. The 44 will barely handle the 38" tires. If you add a front locker think ctm's and alloys.

 

I agree. I plan on going with CTM's in the front for the short term. If I do have problems I will probably upgrade to a 60. For now I only have access to the 44 HD fronts. I picked 2 up for a great deal. As far as CTM, Does anyone know a good source for these u-joints ? As far as a locker in the front, I still havn't made up my mind. I know ARB's rule ($$$$), and for the most part limited slips are subject to wearing the clutch packs. I'd like to put a Detroit Locker in the front but I don't know of anyone who had done this personally to get real feedback on the performance. At least in the reseach I've done, DL's seem to get a lot of negative comments when used in the front. If anybody would like to comment, it would be appreciated.

Extreem