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Dana 60 from 3/4 T Chevy shortened for 87 XJ

J

jlake000

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Randle, WA.
I am working on putting a 383 stroker with a th350 & 1st gen np205 t-case into my 87 cherokee. The problem I have is that with my 205 t-case its gonna put my front axle to the passenger side instead of the drivers side. I found a pair of dana 60 axle and housings out of a 3/4 ton Chevy truck for 150 bucks. Thats the cheapest i have been able to find any axles for my lil jeep. Has anyone shortened a set of these 60's for there xj? Any and all advice would be great. Thanx, jlake000
 
I would think that a Chevy 60 shortens like the rest of them. Being on the west coast, you should have plenty of shop options to help you out. You might even consider keeping them full width. It would be alot(read ALOT) cheaper. You might want to think about tunnel clearance with the pass side drop. I've never done one, but I know the tunnel is made for the drivers side drop.

Good luck and have fun with it.
 
I think that everyone's heard of Pirate 4X4, maybe you haven't. These guys use these 60's and 14 bolts all the time. Lot of good info over there, especially from Bill Vista. Here's a link to their tech section and Bill's articles on the 60's. I'm sure you'll find something in here to help you. Scroll down through, there's a ton of info there.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/
 
Unless they were swapped in, and i doubt it. You didnt find a pair of 60's. You found either a 10bolt or a d44 and a 14 bolt. 44/14b are still good axles. But chevy never put a d60 front in a 3/4 or a d60 rear in anything.
 
csudman said:
Unless they were swapped in, and i doubt it. You didnt find a pair of 60's. You found either a 10bolt or a d44 and a 14 bolt. 44/14b are still good axles. But chevy never put a d60 front in a 3/4 or a d60 rear in anything.
Click to expand...

This is actually not true. I've personally seen a stock rear 60 in a early 70's box truck and they were common around that time. As for the 60 fronts, 3/4T Burbans came with 60's as an option in various years and I believe that 3/4T Pickups could have been specially ordered with them as well. There was a time where you could buy everything you wanted by just checking it on the list unlike now where you have to get a "Package" which includes a wood grain dash and door cup holders with the upgrade to a D60 front. :D
 
scorpion said:
This is actually not true. I've personally seen a stock rear 60 in a early 70's box truck and they were common around that time. As for the 60 fronts, 3/4T Burbans came with 60's as an option in various years and I believe that 3/4T Pickups could have been specially ordered with them as well. There was a time where you could buy everything you wanted by just checking it on the list unlike now where you have to get a "Package" which includes a wood grain dash and door cup holders with the upgrade to a D60 front. :D
Click to expand...

Thing is, that may all be true. I think i dissagree with the burb thing. But either way. My money is that this guy isn't getting 60's from a 3/4 chevy.
 
I have a set of 60's from a military surplus 1 ton. I don't remember what year it was. And I guess it's possible that they were swapped. It was a cobbled mess. But I think 60's were an option. If we had pictures we could tell for sure.
 
Hows it goin out there? As for whether the axles i have are dana 60 or d44's to be honest with you i really dont know what the hell they are or how to even to tell what they are. I got them from my wifes uncle who is a deasel mechanic and he said they were dana 60's. Personally i dont really know much about axles as far as whats good and whats not. i just want to build one sick jeep that can take whatever punishment i throw at it. I got the axles, housings and everything connected to them for 150 bucks so i figured i couldnt go wrong there. So how do you tell whether an axle is a dana 60 or a d44? Thanx, jlake000
 
I just narrowed a Ford 60 for the front of my XJ. Just blow off the inner C's and move them where you want them, pretty straigh forward, just take alot of measuerments and make sure they go back on straight, and at the right angles.
 
Just checked the bolts to see what size they were and they are 1/2 bolts on the dif cover. So it appears that I have a set of d 44's. Well at least the front end is a d 44 anyway. I also have the rear end from the truck as well. Did they ever make a d 44 rear end? If so how do I tell? Same way with the dif bolts? Just checked that too and the rear end is a 1/2 inch as well. So much for the d 60's huh. Oh well, I still got a pretty good deal on them. Thanx everyone for your help.
 
jlake000 said:
I am working on putting a 383 stroker with a th350 & 1st gen np205 t-case into my 87 cherokee.
Click to expand...

Not trying to discourage you or anything. But you are trying to put this setup into a XJ and cannot figure out what kind of axles you have? Maybe you need to research the project a little more................:lecture:
 
You didn't discourage me one bit. This is my very first 4x4 build. I never claimed to know a whole lot about any of this. If i knew it all I wouldn't be on here asking stupid newbie questions tryen to learn something. Thanx for the response anyway
 
Regardless of the type of axles(probably a d44 front and 12 or 14 bolt rear), you still got a great deal. Keep the axles full-width. Stock chevy parts are the cheapest around. If you have them shortened think about the extra dough you'll spend on the custom axleshafts and also remeber you'll need spares.
 
Just FYI. Most chevy truck front axles are 7.5" wider than the rears. Do a little research, but I believe you can cut the driver side (long tube) down then re-weld the knuckle, and fit a shorter factory d44 shaft out of a waggoneer or possibly a 10 bolt (depending on spline count)? That way you dont have to send your longside shaft out to be cut down and resplined and also spares will not have to be custom made. Check out yukon gear and axles website, as they list particular lengths for axleshafts available in .pdf format. Im sure you could find something that would make this work.

HTH
 
jlake000 said:
You didn't discourage me one bit. This is my very first 4x4 build. I never claimed to know a whole lot about any of this. If i knew it all I wouldn't be on here asking stupid newbie questions tryen to learn something. Thanx for the response anyway
Click to expand...

Thats one hell of a first build.........good luck...........:cheers:
 
90KrawlerXJ said:
Regardless of the type of axles(probably a d44 front and 12 or 14 bolt rear), you still got a great deal.

Keep the axles full-width.
Click to expand...

I would say that I think full width axles on XJ's are lame, but I won't since I have some friends who are running them. :)

This guy's from Washington, and while I've never wheeled there, I've heard stories about trails with tight trees and real sharp turns......not too friendly to full width rigs.

It's not hard to cut down an axle, nor is it expensive to pay a shop to do it. If you cut it down to another stock axle size, then axles and spares aren't expensive. Full widths aren't really cool, just cheap, and many times they don't work as well as regular width axles.
 
if you need that big of an axle you will probably be lifting the jepp right? with the added height it is a good idea to run full width axles to keep stability. the added with will allow your tires to stick out further providing a stance as well at protection of you sheet metal. there is no reason to shorten the axles unless you plan on staying below 35 inch on your tires. as far as the axles go if you have 8 lug axles. the front is more than likely a 44 or 10 bolt (the 10 bolt is based on the 44 and alot of parts inter change between the two) the rear is either a 14bolt full floater or a 14 semi floater (14 bolt metric axle) the full floater is the better but both are pretty stout. the front should be very capible of handling up to 37in tires with a healty small block and the rear if it is a metric 14 bolt should handle up to 42in tires. so depending on your plans these axles are more than enough for you needs.
 
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