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Best donor vehicles for Dana 60s?

Do a SEARCH! There is a wealth of information on this topic.

Anyway, I'll be nice:
GM and Dodge D60s are going to be LP and passenger drop (in most cases), not a problem if you're planning on different t-cases.
Ford will be driver's drop with a HP (in most cases)., yet stay away from 74-77 Ford. Reason? They're LP, closed knuckle (early versions), and 19 spline outers.

That being said, mine came out of a 1979 Ford F350, but be prepared to pay premium for a set outa a truck like that if the person knows what they have...


Read here for all the information you'll need on a Dana 60:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/60_front/index.html

Quoted for quick reference:
BillaVista's Dana 60 Bible Excerpt said:
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]GM [/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1977-87 K30 1 ton 4wd[/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1984-88 CUCV[/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1988-91.5 V30 [/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]All GM / Chevy versions were passenger side differential, regular rotation (low pinion) gears, disc brakes, 35 spline inners, 30 spline outers, internal style hubs, and kingpin knuckles. [/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Dodge [/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1975-89 D-600[/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1992-93 D-600[/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1981-89 D-700[/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1992-93 D-700[/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]All these Dodge versions were passenger side differential, regular rotation (low pinion) gears, disc brakes, 35 spline inners, 30 spline outers, and kingpin knuckles. 1979-89 versions had external style hubs, with the earlier versions with full-time NP203 Transfer cases having external drive flanges, and later models having external lockout hubs. The external lockout hub bolt pattern is 8 x 3.960". The 90-93 versions had internal style hubs just like the Chevy and lockout hubs. One caution with dodge applications, is you have to be careful to avoid the Dana 61 front axle. 1987-88 and 1991-93.5 Dodge D600 and D700 also came with Dana 61. More info on the Dana 61 later in the article.[/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ford[/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]978-79 F-350 and some F-250 (Snofighter and High GVW packages)
1986-88 F-350 with dual rear wheels (DRW)[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1988-91.5 F-350 with single rear wheels (SRW)[/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1992-95 F-350 (all) (balljoint)[/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1996.5-98 F-350 (all) (balljoint)[/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2000 F350/F450/F550 DRW (balljoint, metric 8x170mm wheel bolt pattern F350 / 8x220mm F450/F550, unit bearing hub) [/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2000.5 F350/F450/F550 DRW (balljoint, metric 8x170mm wheel bolt pattern F350 / 8x220mm F450/F550, unit bearing hub) [/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2001 F350 DRW (balljoint, metric 8x170mm wheel bolt pattern, unit bearing hub) [/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2001-02 F450/F550 DRW (balljoint, metric 8x220mm wheel bolt pattern, unit bearing hub) [/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2002 F250/F350 SRW (balljoint, metric 8x170mm wheel bolt pattern, unit bearing hub) [/FONT]
 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2002 F450/F550 DRW (balljoint, metric 8x220mm wheel bolt pattern, unit bearing hub) [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]All these Ford versions were drivers side differential, reverse-cut (high pinion) gears, and[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] kingpin knuckles to 1991.5 and balljoints thereafter. Most Ford D60s are internal style hubs, but external type lockout versions do exist. 2000 and later Ford D60s have balljoints, a metric wheel lug pattern of 8x170mm up to F350 and 8x220mm for F450/F550, different brakes and spindles, sealed "unit-bearing hubs", hub-centric wheels, different length axleshafts from the earlier D60s, and larger Superduty specific tie rod ends. From 2000 on, the Ford D60 front axle is also known as the Model 60F2000+ or the 248M. 248 just happens to be the equivalent in millimeters of 9.75" - the diameter of the D60s ring gear.
[/FONT]
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
barillms said:
Just out of curiousitys sake, what are the best donor vehicles to look for when buying front and rear Dana 60s?
Click to expand...

At the risk of being cliche... Search... read, search some more there's tons of infor about axle swaps. D60's front and rear is only necessary if you plan on going with really big tires, 38+ and will require a lot related fabrication and strengthening of steering, drive shafts, and unibody reinforcing is probably in order too.
With that said, the best donor is probably a 1979 Ford F350. You get a high pinion, driver's side diff. You will have to bore the rear spindles to use 1.5 shafts, or you could go with D70 or corporate 14 bolt to get the 1.5" shafts stock.
 
Last edited:
Mine came from a 1982 Dodge W350 snowplow truck. It works great except I've blown up a stock inner and outer shaft, a drive flange, a Yukon 35-spline outer stub, and a full case Detroit locker.

Somehow I think that's probably more the fault of the driver. :gag:

I wouldn't recommend the Dodge 60 if you're running an NP231, or don't want to cut your floor at all.
 
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