9inch 14 bolt dana 60

zukijames

zukijames

Well-Known Member
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not moab anymore
what would you run and why..

so far most of what i've read between 60 and 9 is half and half

9 is lighter and gets 1% more power to the tires..

60 is big.. and they say the R&P is weak

14 bolts are huge cheap and strong..
 
in what?
what kind of wheeling?
etc etc etc. :D

I'd run the 14bolt, but I only drive big fullsize stuff. In something smaller, I'd consider the 60. The 9inch is alright.
 
it is but saving money in one place could help other places.. cheap 14 bolt and better coil overs is going to go faster than .. fancy custom 9 and airshocks
 
zukijames said:
zuki buggy built 22r looking to race dirt riot hopefully..
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Behind a 22r under a Zuk a 9" in almost any form would be indestructible... A 14 bolt would just be a huge, heavy burden. Lots of unsprung weight is not good for going fast...

A stock 31 spline 9" is just as cheap as a 14 bolt at the junkyard... what are you doing in the front? what bolt pattern will you need to match?
 
If the vehicle in question is light enough, (yours is now) a 9 will be fine, they are pretty tough. I have broken two of them, one in an EB with 35 inch tires, the other in a 79 Bronco with 38s. I have not broken a 14 though.
 
Badbuggy said:
If the vehicle in question is light enough, (yours is now) a 9 will be fine, they are pretty tough. I have broken two of them, one in an EB with 35 inch tires, the other in a 79 Bronco with 38s. I have not broken a 14 though.
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Was the EB equipped with the awesome 28 spline version or did ya upgrade to 31 spline? :D


Aftermarket shafts in a 9" make it much much better.

im running a pricey 9" rear, but it sure is light and has lots of clearance.
 
My 9" rear has held up to some abuse on my heavy pig (pushing 6000# +) on 39" Krawler Reds. I've got the Yukon Nodular 3rd and 35-spline shafts in it, but I haven't had any issues with it yet.
 
My point, you have to upgrade a 9 , if you want to make sure it is strong. Upgrade= $.

Sure the Bronco was a 28 spline, but I broke the housing in two, hill climbing.
 
Was your housing trussed? If so, got any pics so we know how not to truss it? ;)

You're right though, it's either a 14-bolt rear that's pretty bullet proof in stock form, or put $ into a 9". I opted the 9" because I needed a 6-lug pattern to match my (at the time) front D44 and since I'd be upgrading shafts I could do a 6-lug pattern. Had I known I would be doing a front D60 just 8 months later I would've done the 14-bolt to save some money. However I haven't had any issues with my 9" and I'm sure I'll love it even more when I swap it under a lighter weight buggy and I'm not dragging a boat anchor behind me.

It really depends on what size tire he'll want to be running and what motor is pushing it though. A well-trussed 9" (even with stock 31 spline shafts) can hold up to a lot of abuse.
 
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Badbuggy said:
Sorry, no pictures, this happened before most of the people on this board were born. Around 1983 or so. No Truss on that one.
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Yeah, I wouldn't really trust a 9" without a truss no matter how light the rig is. 9" axles are definitely not known for having a strong housing. 1983 though this probably wasn't a widely known issue. I wouldn't know though because I wasn't alive yet haha.

I say a big bearing 31-spline 9" trussed and you're good! I picked mine up for $70 on one of the 1/2 off days out at Pull-N-Save. But that all depends on what front axle you're going to run since this is 5 on 5.5 lug. Maybe a 14-bolt is your best option if you're going to do a D60 front....?
 
so im thinking about .. these

http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/LC95HOS.html

i can get 2 9.5 diffs for 250 each..
maybe these knuckles. http://pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=997804 or to save money i could run stock ones but ..then i will have to trade my double ended ram for a single.. and steering behind the axle makes it tough to mount links


im getting burnt out on this build before i start i should have just kept what i had

these axles front and rear will weight about the same as a front 60 ..

with a 9 i dont even know where to start..

if this is a stupid direction let me know

if someone has some links to some 9 inch stuff or something

thanks for all your help guys..

im about ready to sell all my parts and buy a xj on 31s and wheel dirt roads and have fun with out the hassle that this build is turning into.


trouble with the guy building motor.. every thing i plan to buy keeps falling through blah blah

i might need to spend less time web wheeling and more time at a shrink!
 
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