Scool me on a old stock D60 with a 5 bolt hub

[Jay5.9L]

I found a guy selling a late 60's early 70's D60 rear with a stock 5 bolt pattern and a stock locker. I think it was from a ford truck. Would this be a good swap for my CJ-7? Is this less strong than the normal 8 lug D60, different in width, etc?

Thanks,
Jason

 

[gtidrivr]

It is hard to say with out knowing more, but here goes...

It should NOT be stronger, due to the fact it is only a semi-float axle not a full float, with that said I am assuming that they are both 31 spline axles. I am not sure ( more informed folk will answer this part) if there was ever a 35 spline semi float factory D60, but I believe there was.

It should be the same size as for width. Generally speaking if it comes out of a full size vehicle, it will be within inches of another.

Hope that helps a little.

 

[Caleb]

It is hard to say with out knowing more, but here goes...

It should NOT be stronger, due to the fact it is only a semi-float axle not a full float, with that said I am assuming that they are both 31 spline axles. I am not sure ( more informed folk will answer this part) if there was ever a 35 spline semi float factory D60, but I believe there was.

It should be the same size as for width. Generally speaking if it comes out of a full size vehicle, it will be within inches of another.

Hope that helps a little.

what he said

there was a stock SF 35 spline D60 (infact it was kinda common) but I can't say for sure if this one would be 35 spline or not, if its not then the 8 lug FF is going to be stronger. I personally would rather have a FF then a SF. I am pretty sure some of the SFs were more narrow but as gtidriver said, if its out of a full size then they are going to be about the same width.

 

[Jay5.9L]

Well assuming its not a FF, is it hard to change a FF 8 lug to a more CJ friendly 5 lug? I'm trying to see if this axle is with my time....

 

[Caleb]

Well assuming its not a FF, is it hard to change a FF 8 lug to a more CJ friendly 5 lug? I'm trying to see if this axle is with my time....

well, there is no stock FF 5 lug...so it is SF. To change a FF from 8 lug to 5 lug you will have to either have your stock hubs machined and drilled for the correct 5 lug pattern or buy some aftermarket hubs (I believe Six States sells these). Then you ahve to either have your stock drums drilled for the 5 lug pattern as well or convert to discs and find a rotor that will work for you (prolly from a Ford front D44???).

 

[Bud]

its probably the crappy 19-spline one

and you won't find a stock 35 spline d-60 axle in very many older vehicles (if any at all) that are full float. I've researched it with my buddy at Randy's R&P and there were only a couple of big a$$ vans that had them. Most were a 30 spline. So might as well crack the cover or pull a shaft and see what it is. You might be better off just getting a D-44, IMHO............

 

[Jay5.9L]

I heard that older D60 has those tiny shafts. I'll ask him to pop the cover and look.

Just got my info, can some one explain the difference between full float and semi float.

 

[N-Smooth]

pulled a shaft out of every 60 at PNP and a few at sommers this past weekend and none were 35 spliners, even the ones in the huge vans. :-\

as far as sf and ff differences, with a sf your wheel is connected to the drum which is connected to the axle flange so the weight of the vehicle is on the axleshaft kind of.
with ff you have a hub that the wheel bolts to and the axle shaft is fixed in the middle (similar to a frontend) so the axle as a whole supports the weight, not the shaft.
ff and sf are both good axles when built. a lot of beefy aftermarket axles are doing semifloat for reasons like they are lighter. any 35 spline alloy shaft is going to be strong whether it is sf or ff imo

 

[Milner]

I found a guy selling a late 60's early 70's D60 rear with a stock 5 bolt pattern and a stock locker. I think it was from a ford truck. Would this be a good swap for my CJ-7? Is this less strong than the normal 8 lug D60, different in width, etc?

Thanks,
Jason

As has been said....most likely not that great....
I would guess it is from a 64-66 ford 1/2 ton 2wd. Most likey a 30 spline and traclock/power lock. Just a clutch type posi....
More or less a 44 with a big ring an pinion.

 

[Caleb]

the difference is FF supports the weight on the hubs and bearings where SF supports the weight (or some of it) on the shafts. I'll post a pic of the two a little later if someone doesn't beat me to it. For example, comparing two axles that are both 30 spline and the same material but one is SF and one is FF, the FF will be a stronger axle as a whole becasue it is not supporting that extra weight ont he shafts. Of course the shafts themselves are gonna be the same strength (or very similar) being they are both the same size and material.


EDIT: I started replying but got distracted so those others beat me to it...so what they said

 

[Jay5.9L]

Thanks for the info. I did a little research and found a good article on SF vs. FF. In my search I came upon DynaTrac's web site. For kicks I called them and they suggested a SF rear 60. They said that unless I was towing something big or had a huge amount of weight the SF would be fine and was mainly what they sold unless asked by the customer (for a FF).

FYI: A DynaTrac front D60 w/arb is about $5,900, rear w/arb $3,900

 

[Caleb]

Thanks for the info. I did a little research and found a good article on SF vs. FF. In my search I came upon DynaTrac's web site. For kicks I called them and they suggested a SF rear 60. They said that unless I was towing something big or had a huge amount of weight the SF would be fine and was mainly what they sold unless asked by the customer (for a FF).

FYI: A DynaTrac front D60 w/arb is about $5,900, rear w/arb $3,900

well, another safety/comfort feature of the FF is that when you do break a shaft you can pull the broken shaft out (getting the pieces out of the carrier) and then plug the spindle (usually put your broken stub back on) and drive out in 3WD. Can't do that with a SF since the shaft holds some of the weight of the vehicle.

 

[bobdog]

Theres no chance youv'e happened upon a Mopar tracpac rear is there. Ford 1/2 60s are no biggy but when you say "factory locker" it makes you think.

 

[thenag]

Of course the shafts themselves are gonna be the same strength (or very similar) being they are both the same size and material.
:

hmmm i have been told that full floater axle shafts are made of a stronger but stiffer material than the semifloat since they don't have to flex. sounded good when it was explained to me.

i have heard of 5 lug dodge d60 rear semi floaters, never heard of a ford, remeber ford put the ford 9 in a lot of trucks, they didn't need another 1/2 ton axle

i don't remeber if you are looking for full width or not, if you are looking for a tj, xj, yj, etc I have been a big fan of swaping in a rear axle out of an explorer. just about the right width, stronger than a d44, tons of aftermarket parts for them, the diff is a ford 8.8 that was put in all f150's and broncos from 84-96 and still in production in some form today.

if you are looking for full width it is really hard to beat a GM 14bolt, DO NOT BUY A STOCK REAR FORD DANA 60 for the money you can find 14 bolts (3/4 ton and 1 ton chevy trucks and vans), d70's (ford vans), ford 10.25's (85ish+ ford 3/4 and 1 ton's)

do remeber fullsize front d44 outers are all pretty much swap-able, you can go 8 lug, 5 lug, 6 lug, what ever you can find parts for. also as for the ford FRONT d44 and's d60 they had drum breaks until 77ish, and the drum brakes pretty much suck and if you want to stop you don't want one, they cannot be converted.

nathan
-no cool sig

 

[Caleb]

hmmm i have been told that full floater axle shafts are made of a stronger but stiffer material than the semifloat since they don't have to flex. sounded good when it was explained to me.

that was just my example showing how a FF is stronger than a SF of the exact saem characteristics...axles are made of different materials, it doens't matter if its SF or FF they are different.

i don't remeber if you are looking for full width or not, if you are looking for a tj, xj, yj, etc I have been a big fan of swaping in a rear axle out of an explorer. just about the right width, stronger than a d44, tons of aftermarket parts for them, the diff is a ford 8.8 that was put in all f150's and broncos from 84-96 and still in production in some form today.

um, last time I checked a D60 was a 3/4T-1T axle...comparing it to a C-CLIPPED 1/2T (at best) 8.8 is like comparing a buggy to a yugo.

if you are looking for full width it is really hard to beat a GM 14bolt, DO NOT BUY A STOCK REAR FORD DANA 60 for the money you can find 14 bolts (3/4 ton and 1 ton chevy trucks and vans), d70's (ford vans), ford 10.25's (85ish+ ford 3/4 and 1 ton's)

I'd take a stock D60 over a stock 14T (oh wait, I already did) boat anchor any day. Yes the 14T is a storong axle, but its also a HUGE axle. (yeah, go ahead with the unsprung blah blah blah...it still makes your rig HEAVY)

do remeber fullsize front d44 outers are all pretty much swap-able, you can go 8 lug, 5 lug, 6 lug, what ever you can find parts for. also as for the ford FRONT d44 and's d60 they had drum breaks until 77ish, and the drum brakes pretty much suck and if you want to stop you don't want one, they cannot be converted.

nathan
-no cool sig

where'd the front axle talk come from???

 

[bobdog]

I really don't think FF vs SF is really a big deal in a Jeep. I would rather have a 35 spline SF than a 30 spline FF.

 

[gtidrivr]

I really don't think FF vs SF is really a big deal in a Jeep. I would rather have a 35 spline SF than a 30 spline FF.

This is a good point Bob. The people that are searching this thread to base their own opinion need to realise what the benefits of a SF & FF axle are to them, adn their rig.

I.E. Bob, is a very delicate wheeler. He is a finesse type of guy and has a very good looking Cj-7. I believe it has a SF rear end that is more than sufficient for its needs.

I on the other hand, and what you would call a " Throttle Jockey", adn mine was not so eye appealing. I had a 14 bolt in my Cj-7 for a few reasons.

1: It was HUGE, and I liked that. It gave me a sense of security that the smaller ones did not. I could bash it on anything and I never worried about it (housing) breaking before the rock or what have you.

2: It was full float. I went to the trail expecting to brake something. If it were an axle shaft, I had 2 of each spares, and it toof all of about 2 minutes to replace one if need be. It can also be driven with a broken axle, providing you have a way to put power to the ground still.

You must always figure out what is best suited for your rig. As said above, Bobs was not enough for me and mine was too much or too big for Bob.



And to that guy that was talking of the 9". Ford DID put a D60 semi float in a 1/2 ton truck! I looked at work today, and to my recolection a truck did have one in it.

 

[bobdog]

I.E. Bob, is a very delicate wheeler. He is a finesse type of guy and has a very good looking Cj-7. I believe it has a SF rear end that is more than sufficient for its needs.
QUOTE]

I am a finnese wheeler but that mild mannered SF 60 is built with 35spline 4340 through hardened Summers Brothers shafts that are way stronger than any stock FF 14bolt or 70 shaft. I am not aware af any aftermarket FF 35 spline shafts that would be stonger either.

 

[gtidrivr]

I.E. Bob, is a very delicate wheeler. He is a finesse type of guy and has a very good looking Cj-7. I believe it has a SF rear end that is more than sufficient for its needs.
QUOTE]

I am a finnese wheeler but that mild mannered SF 60 is built with 35spline 4340 through hardened Summers Brothers shafts that are way stronger than any stock FF 14bolt or 70 shaft. I am not aware af any aftermarket FF 35 spline shafts that would be stonger either.

If $$$ was not an issue, there could be something stronger. 300M from Jack @ CTM or Sandy Cone. I recently saw a $6000 14bolt and it was BITCHEN! It was a stock, shaved center section, had inner oil seals, 1/2" chro-mo tubes, custom spindles, custom brakes, 300M shafts... Bling freaking Bling!!

Bob I wasn't implying anything. I was just using you for a reference, since you were the last to post, and I had wheeled with you. But, you are right about the comparisons of the axle shafts. Shaft to shaft, I would bet on yours to, but in the event they both broke, who would be the better option to get our spares?

None the less, YOU must decide what is best for yourself. But IMHO, a FF stock D60 if more practicle for a driver such as myself, then a built SF 60 like Bob's. Parts are readily available in almost any junk yard for about $20 a shaft . That lowers the cost of the spare parts in your rig too.

Just remember, IT IS UP TO YOU YOUNG JEDI!

 

[bobdog]

I would have real problems if I ever needed a replacement shaft in a hurry. I am sure there is not one sitting on a shelf anywhere and I would wait to have one made. I doubt I will ever need one though.
If I had it to do over again I would probably build a FF rear. For the money they can not be beat. At the time I had my rear built no one was putting the big rears in Jeeps even 60s were very very rare.
P.S. Do you think I should carry a spare for that driveshaft?