312necro213

I went to pick'n'pull last week and was intrigued by the axles on this old 72 dodge it has both front and rear axles still there with all the tie rods drive shafts and leaf springs still attached. So I went home that night and did some research and come to find out that year had dana 60's front and rear.
Now the question . Before anyone says anything, I searched for a couple hours before I decided to post this. But, it always seems that somebody finds the post I am looking for in 2 seconds, so If this happens, I am sorry, but I did put in the effort before posting. So the question is, has anyone put dana 60's front and rear? This I am almost positive somebody has done, but the real question is how hard was it and how much custom fabbing was required on this project? I have a 1990 4runner sr5 with the 3.0. I am going to sas this summer and thinking of picking up these axles they are 400$ for the pair (everything included, the leafs, steering rods etc.) So any input is welcome, constructive criticism is welcome too, please, no flaming.

312necro213

Anyone? :/

RevNL

I sure wish I had the answers since we'll have similar questions, especially on the steering. How wide are the axles?

312necro213

That I don't know, I am going back tomorrow, going to measure them and see how much wider the stance will be, probably have to get a lot less backspacing on the rims if I end up doing this, you are more then welcome to post your questions here as well

312necro213

My main concern is how much is it to get new driveshafts made? Because I know for a fact I will have to get new ones, just wondering how much cash I am going to need to stockpile.

grayguy

Umm, aren't those still drums in the front? Didn't think dodge went to disk fronts until 74-75 and also, it's only a d60 if it's a 1-ton. Also, does that truck have the np203 or 205 t-case (aka, are there lock outs on the hubs) the 203 was a fulltime case, but I'm not sure if they did that in the 1tons or just the 1/2 and 3/4 tons. If it's not a 1-ton, stay away from it, very far away.

312necro213

Its got manual locking hubs in the front. Its also 3" wider on each side (6 inches total) than the stock width of my 4runner (If I did the measurements right) so Its plausable. What I am wondering is, are there better doner trucks for dana 60's that aren't more then like $300 a piece?

AxleIke

First of all, there are MANY people who hang 60's. SkyMFG makes a kit to do it.

They are full width, which is good.

If you keep them stock, they are cheap. To build them up, they are expensive. Depends on what you want to do.

Call your local driveshaft shop to get a quote on that. It varies from place to place.

This should give your truck a good enough drive train to completely wrinkle every body panel and blow out all the glass. I would invest in a good roll cage as soon as you finish the swap.

If you aren't using it that hard, you may as well just get a toy axle, it'll cost you half the money upfront, be 100 times easier to swap, and you'll save a bunch of money in trying to get the 60's to work.

312necro213

Thats what I am thinking, I am not really into rock crawling, trails, definately, but rock crawling is really the only place I would need 60's so I am thinking I am going to look for a toy axle perhaps I could find one in a junk yard in this area.

AxleIke

Well, you can definitely get toy axles at the junk yard. Over 200 bucks is too much.

Food for thought: Rock Crawling is really the only place you need a swap, period.

If you have the cash, and the will, by all means, go for it. But if you are just running trails, you are well below the limits of your IFS. If you want a cool looking truck on big tires, the swap is for you. If you want a capable truck, that will get you all the places you want to go, and not cost you an arm and a leg, then its not.

312necro213

Well the reason I am sas'ing it is because it just doesn't have the flex I need, I keep losing traction on the local trails because I can't keep all four tires on the ground, I have a shop at my disposal, I know most guys do it out of their garage so it should be a lot easier for me, time is definately not an issue as I have months to complete this, so I will have to go looking again because the local picknpull only has 3 toyotas in the entire lot and they are all carolas. The one time its bad that toyotas run so frekin long

AxleIke

I figured I wouldn't sway you, just offering up another option before you spend money. Sounds like you've got it all set up.

The SAS won't help with your traction much. In small cases it will, but you will still be able to flex beyond the new suspension. Only lockers can provide traction all the time. You may want to add them during the swap, as it will be easiest to do it then.

I find flex completely irrelevant. It doesn't hold me up at all on the trail. Ever.

yotasavg

that's funny ike, you and flyg were the ones that swayed me!!!guess it doesn't work everytime

312necro213

Ok, looked in a friends backyard... (its like a freakin pick'n'pull there) and he has two dana 60 axles... can't beat "if you can haul it you can have it" so I am going to take the dana 60's even if they end up not working at least I will have some basis So do you think overall it would be cheaper to go with the 80's toy axle for a swap or go with these danas? I know both require fabbing unless you buy kits. WaBFaB makes that kit for 1099 for the toy axle and I am about to look up the kit for the d60, And I would want to do a rear leaf conversion anyways so would it be more expensive for the d60's overall you think? or about the same?

312necro213

235$ for sky's full width conversion kit. but the kit isn't as extensive as Wabfabs is.

312necro213

Anybody have any idea what kind of axles a 74 dodge 1/2 ton powerwagon has? Been researching a while now and can't find it.

toy89yota

$200 a piece for 60's is cheap they go for $800-$1000 a piece up here

grayguy

I Dana 44. I believe that'd be a Fulltime axle (no lock outs). They have bearing issues when bigger tires are used (33'' +) Like I said earlier, I'd stay away from them. I ripped the 1/2 ton stuff outta my 76' PowerWagon and have some nice beefy Dana60's front and rear waiting to go back in.

Yea, $200 is VERY CHEAP for 60's. When I found line, I could have the 60's for $1000, or the whole 1-ton truck for $1500...I went the whole truck route...

312necro213

I pulled the axle off and looked at it and it is a 44. So would I be better off just getting a toy axle? I have access to one for $250. Could probably sell these two axles for 250 if I am not mistaken... I am just wondering exactly what kind of bearing trouble am I looking at? I will be running 34's or 35's.

bigarms23

if its a d44 you wont have bearing trouble if you get new ones keep that axle just cut the long side to match your 4runner rear axle but it sounds like a good axle besides that way there are no birfield joints