d 60 info

[hot rod heep]

found this and thaught  some of u may use the info 


FEATURE ARTICLE from Hemmings Muscle Machines
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Dana 60 differentials
Hemmings Muscle Machines - APRIL 1, 2006 - BY JIM O'CLAIR
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Few rear-axle configurations have been as widely accepted by all American manufacturers as the Dana 60. It was used as original equipment at one time or another by all four of the U.S. automakers and International trucks in the 1960s through the '90s. Although Chrysler was the only manufacturer to feature the Dana 60 in a passenger car, it appeared in an enormous number of trucks from all suppliers in many heavy-duty applications and gear ratios. It has been used as a front differential in four-wheel-drive vehicles as well. At a hulking 500 pounds, the Dana 60 is definitely not going to save you any money at the gas pump, but the mammoth 9-3/4-inch ring gear size makes it a real workhorse for heavy loads or high-torque drivetrain combinations. The Dana 60 can easily handle drivetrains producing 600 horsepower, and is commonly accepted as the strongest passenger car axle you can find.

Mopar first introduced the Dana 60 in the late 1950s on some heavy-duty 1/2- and 3/4-ton 4WD pickups. Ford also used a Dana 60 in its heavy-duty pickup trucks in the late 1950s. For the next five decades, all major American manufacturers used this axle in either front- or rear-axle configurations. For this month's article we will focus only on the Dana 60 that was used in rear-axle applications. Chrysler began using the Dana 60 in 1966 big-block B-body passenger cars (specifically the 426 Hemi and the 440 engines with a 4-speed transmission).

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You can find a passenger-type Dana 60 in one of these donor cars if equipped with 426 or 440 engines:
o 1966 Dodge Coronet and Charger, Plymouth Belvedere and Satellite
o 1967-'72 Charger, Super Bee, R/T, GTX and Road Runner
o 1970-'71 'Cuda and Challenger
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The industrial-type axles can be found in any of these truck applications:
o 1969-'88 Jeep J-20, J-2000 and J-4000 pickups
o 1967-'77 Chevrolet and GMC 3/4-ton pickups
o 1975-'87 Chevrolet and GMC 1-ton pickups and Suburbans
o 1979-'91 Chevrolet and GMC 1-ton vans with dual rear wheels
o 1955-'99 Dodge 3/4-ton pickups
o 1993-'01 Dodge 3/4-ton vans
o 1955-'93 Dodge 1-ton pickups
o 1955-'85 Ford 3/4-ton pickups
o 1980-'98 Ford E200/E250 vans with single rear wheels
o 1955-'76 Ford 1-ton trucks

These differentials came in two basic designs. The passenger-car configuration included a three-hole mounting surface on the front of the housing to mount a pinion snubber, which keeps the rear end in proper alignment with the drivetrain under heavy torque. The industrial version was used in all truck applications and does not have this mounting surface. Because most of the industrial rear end housings are built for trucks, they tend to be too wide for most passenger cars, but the Dana 60 can be narrowed by cutting the axle tubes to the proper length and installing the passenger car-style end hubs. New passenger- and industrial-style hubs can be purchased, and aftermarket axles are also available in 30- or 35-spline varieties to fit any reduced lengths. New axles may be your best option for adapting an industrial axle to fit a passenger car. Although the B-body Mopars used a five-lug bolt pattern, most industrial-style truck axles used a six-lug or an eight-lug axle, which will be difficult to redrill to a five-bolt pattern.

The passenger car version of the Dana 60 came equipped with the Mopar "Powr-Lok" semi-float limited-slip differential option from 1966 to '69. The Powr-Lok differential used 30-spline axles. Pinion input splines on the Powr-Lok differentials were 10-spline by 1-5/8-inch diameter. Later years featured the rod and cone-type semi-float limited-slip positraction configuration, commonly referred to as "Trac-Lok," and a 29-spline by 1-5/8-inch pinion shaft and 35-spline axles. The passenger car axles shared common components with the Mopar 8-3/4-inch rear end we featured in an earlier column. The axle bearings, seals and retainer packages are interchangeable. Because the Dana 60 axles on the passenger side are always slightly shorter than the driver's side, the 8-3/4-inch axles will not interchange directly into the Dana 60. The replacement pinion yokes for the Trac-Lok differentials (Spicer number 3-4-5731X) are 29-spline and accept the larger Spicer 1350 series (part number 5-178X) U-joints. The advantage of using the GM-style 1350 series U-joints is that you can also use the heavier U-bolt retainers for the end caps, instead of the flat straps that were used on the original Detroit 7290-style U-joints. The pinion yokes for the pre-'69 differentials are only available in the original 10-splines for the Detroit-style joints (Mopar part number P4876804). The industrial axles featured in truck applications can be found in either semi-float or full-float configurations and used a larger axle bearing than the passenger-style rear ends. Possible ratios can range anywhere from 3.54:1 right up to 7.17:1; however, most passenger-car and 3/4-ton truck ratios you will find readily available will be somewhere between 3.54:1 and 4.10:1 (4.10:1 being the largest ratio that can be used without changing to a different carrier). Passenger axles with the pinion snubber-mounting surface are getting very difficult to find and demand a high price tag. The industrial versions are abundant and less expensive, and many aftermarket Dana 60s being offered are remanufactured industrial axles without the snubber mounting.

Doing some checking into locating a good used donor rear end, we found virtually no used passenger-style Dana 60s. We did, however, find many of the truck axles available relatively cheap. A 3/4-ton Dodge differential can be as inexpensive as $200, with most selling in the $400 to $500 range. This is a far cry from purchasing one of the complete remanufactured units currently being offered. A remanufactured unit with drum brakes can sell for between $2,100 and $3,600, depending on the length of the axles and the gear ratio. Replacement differentials with a rear-disc brake option are offered for between $3,000 and $3,800.


This article originally appeared in the APRIL 1, 2006 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines.
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[4x4xdodgeman]

thay did not do there home work on this every good. 1964 ford 1/2 ton truck 2wd had dana 60, with 5 bolt axels. I had found 2 rear ends from around this years of trucks.