Dana 60 u-joint tech?

Ok, I'm slowly building my front Dana 60/44 hybrid in which I'll be running stock Dana 60 35 spline inner axle shafts. What I'm wondering about today is if a stock spicer SPL55-4x or -3x u-joint is considered good enough, or if it is common in the 60 world to use full snap rings and bushings to replace the needle bearings like it is in the 44 u-joint world. Thanks for any inf. Jeff

Nobody have any useful information to share? Jeff

What size tires will you be running with it?
So far my friends who are running 60s have had pretty good luck with the stock junk. I have seen two break but both were running 39"+ tires, used a lot of throttle, and were on not the best of lines.

If you're going to run alloy shafts certainly go with the CTMs, if not just use the stock stuff and call it good.

look about half way down on the page.
http://longfieldsuperaxles.com/

300m joints. Get on the pirate board and watch the vendors section for sales.

Or if you really want the bling look right below them! Strongest joint out there for a 60.

I know several guys running 44" rubber on theirs with stock inners, 35 spline outers, and spicer joints. Rarely have troubles. Couple of them are not easy on their rigs either!

Thanks guys. I'm not that hard on stuff and I don't even have the tires yet, but I'm planning to build for 40's just in case. I'm running a Dana 44 front now in my XJ and most of the issues that I've had are with crushing needle bearings in the 760 u-joints and then breaking part of the skirt of the caps. I put bushings in the last set with stock shafts and they worked quite well. Then, I upgraded to Warn Alloy shafts and installed Longfield prepped 760's with bushings. They've been working great for me. However, he stopped making these and upped both his product strength and the cost. So, to shift gears, I'm now building a front axle with 60 joints for my MJ project and need to purchase some new joints. I certainly can't afford any of the super joints, but my gut feeling is that I should skip the damn needle bearings and get bushings for the spicer 60 joints if someone makes them. However, the needle bearings in the 60 joints may hold up substantially better than the needle bearings in the 44 joints, I don't know. I am just wondering has been shown to be trouble for those that have experience with 60 u-joints and what's available to help. Jeff

all my D44 shaft problems also stemmed from crushed needle-bearings. where did you get the bushings? or was it Longfields earlier treated 760x joint?

Jeff, I'm looking at the same thing, though I don't know when I'll get to it. I have a D50 out of an Excursion that I think I can get for $500 if I want it, but trying to decide what's on it that's useful (outers, basically). I'm figuring on using stock inners and Spicer u-joints when I build one. I think that's way strong for 37's or 38's, and plenty strong for 39's and 40's, but I have no personal experience to back that up. A local friend has been running stock shafts and joints in a front D60 with 39.5's with many, many trips to the Hammers, and it's a fairly heavy XJ, and he's never broken anything. I would bet that the yokes on the Spicer shafts are the weakest point in most situations.

BrettM said:

all my D44 shaft problems also stemmed from crushed needle-bearings. where did you get the bushings? or was it Longfields earlier treated 760x joint?

Click to expand...

Search my friend. READ too. I know you've seen it here before. Smokey Mountain Offroad is where I purchased my first set of 760's with bushings. http://www.smokeymountainoffroad.com/ Call them though as they haven't replied to my email questions from a few days ago yet. Longfields old treated/bushing'd 760's went in the Warn shafts. Jeff

that's what I thought you meant, but I've been looking for 760x bushings for most of a year and never found anyone that made them. I don't see them on that site, but I'll give 'em a call.