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xj project dana 60's front and rear

8

89xjcm

NAXJA Forum User
Location
wichita, ks
I have an 89 xj that was going to be built with dana 44's out of an '87 waggy, however the xj project has grown to dana 60's and probably 39 in tires. I have in line a front dana 60 out of a '90 f350, but all I can find is information on '78-'79 snofighter type axles being put into xj's. Will the '90 f350 axle be ok considering the tube is quite shorter on the drivers side, or will I be able to fab around that massive spring perch. Just going to see if anyone has done this swap or had some tips to help me out. Oh also I am going with gas shocks up front and a custom long arm y link set up, no springs of any kind up front.
Thanks
 
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do you mean air shocks?
don't gas shocks still require a spring, where as air shocks replace them? maybe I'm thinking of 'gas charged' shocks.

I don't see why the newer D60 wouldn't work, if your going to be doing a lot of fabbing (fitting D60's requires some fab) I don't see why you couldn't make the newer D60 work.
 
since u have such a short area to weld to you might want to think about drilling and tapping that spring pad and bolting some thick plate on it so you can weld to it.
 
sorry beakie guess I should have clearified that more. I'm using the adjustable nitrogen filled shocks that do replace the springs. I am trying to keep it as clutter free with a ton of flex. I figured that fabbing was deffinatly in my future, I was just making sure there weren't going to be any major roadblocks that would happen once I get knee deep into this.
 
didn't think of doing it that way. My friend just said it would have to be tig welded cause nothing else would get the cast iron hot enough to make a solid weld. don't know which would be more trouble.... guess I'll find out. Thanks for the input.
 
89xjcm said:
didn't think of doing it that way. My friend just said it would have to be tig welded cause nothing else would get the cast iron hot enough to make a solid weld. don't know which would be more trouble.... guess I'll find out. Thanks for the input.
Click to expand...

if your wanting to get something hot, over a large area I would think TIG would NOT be the welding method you'd want to use. TIG puts heat in a specific area does it not?
ARC welding, with pre/post heating or MIG again with pre/post heating would get things hotter then the TIG would. TIG would get hot, but in only a small area... which could cause problems with the cast cracking.

as someone said, bolt a plate down to the spring mount, would work as a good baase to start building off of.
 
Not to take anything away from NAXJA (there is a lot of knowledgeable people here) but Pirate4x4 has a whole "Hardcore XJ" section where its all D60s, D60/70, D60/14B builds with custom built linked suspensions, air shocks, coilovers etc. Might be worth checking out if you already have not, just what out about what and where you post they don't like newbies very much.
 
JRW7072009 said:
Not to take anything away from NAXJA (there is a lot of knowledgeable people here) but Pirate4x4 has a whole "Hardcore XJ" section where its all D60s, D60/70, D60/14B builds with custom built linked suspensions, air shocks, coilovers etc. Might be worth checking out if you already have not, just what out about what and where you post they don't like newbies very much.
Click to expand...

Those guys are sick cool! :skull1::skull1::skull1:

Anyone who runs a 70 or a 14B is totally awesome and super hardcore!!!
 
cracker said:
Those guys are sick cool! :skull1::skull1::skull1:

Anyone who runs a 70 or a 14B is totally awesome and super hardcore!!!
Click to expand...


pffft, polished turd and 8.8 is where its at. 70's and 14b's are for pansies afraid of breaking anything (thats what I keep telling myself atleast)
 
i think the main reason youll want to stick with a 78-79 is they had the most amount of tube to work with between the inner c and the diff. plenty of people have made newer models work, so its not really an issue. just a convenience deal. with a little thinking and know how its easily doable
 
JRW7072009 said:
...Pirate4x4 has a whole "Hardcore XJ" section ...
Click to expand...
This very topic is being discussed over there right now.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=818378

If your plan is air shocks or coil overs you should have no issue with the later model D60. You can even use springs with a little more work and thought to get the coil buckets mounted in a good manner. Also, if you are going through all that work, you might want to rethink the radius setup.
 
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beakie said:
if your wanting to get something hot, over a large area I would think TIG would NOT be the welding method you'd want to use. TIG puts heat in a specific area does it not?
ARC welding, with pre/post heating or MIG again with pre/post heating would get things hotter then the TIG would. TIG would get hot, but in only a small area... which could cause problems with the cast cracking.

as someone said, bolt a plate down to the spring mount, would work as a good baase to start building off of.
Click to expand...

I haven't welded since high school although im sure i'm about to get a good reminder as soon as i start this project. I haven't ever done tig, I was just taking a friends advice. If there is a better way such as stick welding then I'll do my research before I start burning. I figured stick welding would be better as well if cast iron needs that much heat to get a good weld. I might go the route of bolting to the mount if the welding becomes a concern. Thanks
 
RCman said:
This very topic is being discussed over there right now.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=818378

If your plan is air shocks or coil overs you should have no issue with the later model D60. You can even use springs with a little more work and thought to get the coil buckets mounted in a good manner. Also, if you are going through all that work, you might want to rethink the radius setup.
Click to expand...

I have checked pirate and you'r right there are some hardcore wheelers with a great wealth if info. I apparently just didn't search deep enough. Thanks for the link
 
I would have went with a 78-79 but couldn't find one close buy at reasonable price, but it sounds like its not that big of a problem to mod a newer model one so I'll get some pics and let you see my build as it goes along. Thanks for the help
 
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