72 w200 dana 44 to 60 swap

[2x1972]

New to the forum... I am wondering about swapping a dana 60 in place of the 44 in the front of my 1972 w200 318 np435 np205. I am looking in particular for an open knuckle axle with 4.10 gears and disc brakes... Discs arent necessary but you get the idea. I want to know what trucks i could pull it out of for a direct bolt in. Are steering linkages the same? I expect brakeline modification will be necessary, especially with discs, as well as driveline modification. Also how do i tell if i have a dana 60 or 70 in the rear? Thanks for any help!

[712edf]

1975 to 1980 had drive flanges because of the full-time transfer case, therefore Mile-marker selectable locking hubs would be needed in place of the drive flanges unless you want the front drivetrain to turn continuously.

1981 to 93 had selectable locking hubs. Some external design, some internal. I think the Cummins trucks had the 60.

To my knowledge all the front Dana 60's had discs & open knuckles.

Because the 60 case is bigger than the 44 this pushes the pinion yoke closer to the transfer case, thus existing driveshaft may be too long.

I am not sure of steering differences. I have truck with Dana 60 front & pictures of it should be on this site somewhere.

Bucky

[2x1972]

Thanks for the response. I know that the 71 and earlier models had drums, and i looked at an axle that was (allegedly) out of a 75 dually 1 ton. It had closed knuckles. I am worried that an axle out of an 80s or 90s power ram would have differences with the u bolt system, but thats all part of the adventure i guess!

[712edf]

While nothing seems to be set in stone with Dodge, 74 seems to be the last year for both closed knuckles & drum brakes on front axles. The 74 Ramcharger/Trailduster introduced (I think) discs & open knuckles, which came on trucks in 75....The 60 front showed up that year too as best as I can tell. The Dana 70 was the big boy front in the pre 75 era.

I don't know what all changed u-joint wise with the 80's/90's truck Dana 60 fronts. 1993 is the last year for the passenger's side drop axle & leaf spring front suspension.

[MoparNorm]

Some late '70's to mid '80's W300's had discs, opens axles, Dana 60's* and NP 205 without the cad axle stuff, are rare and bolt right up** to any year from 1961.


* '85 had a HD Dana 44 front.
** u-joints from 44 to 60 need to be adapter with a special u-joint.

[2x1972]

Thanks guys! Im thinkin i will pull one out of a 90-93 w350 as they are the most common being parted out these days. Its just money now... Anyone know an easy way to tell if my rear end is a 60 or 70?

[712edf]

Thanks guys! Im thinkin i will pull one out of a 90-93 w350 as they are the most common being parted out these days. Its just money now... Anyone know an easy way to tell if my rear end is a 60 or 70?

I think the hubs from a W300/W350 will have spacers for the dually style wheel. Unless you get one off of a SRW W350.

The differential should have a "60" or "70" cast into it on the lower side. Also seems like 60's had a 3" diameter tube & 70's were 3 1/2". The Dana 70 chunk will be alot larger because of the 10 1/2" ( or 10 3/4" can't remember) ring gear.

Bucky

[2x1972]

Thanks you have been a big help bucky!

[DODGEBOYS]

Thanks guys! Im thinkin i will pull one out of a 90-93 w350 as they are the most common being parted out these days. Its just money now... Anyone know an easy way to tell if my rear end is a 60 or 70?

you can NOT use a "married" t-case frontend in a "divorced" t-case truck and vice a versa / the pinion angles are completely different

[MoparNorm]

you can NOT use a "married" t-case frontend in a "divorced" t-case truck and vice a versa / the pinion angles are completely different

I'm not aware of any difference in pinion angles. Or in axle manufacturing model differences.
Care to elaborate?

[DODGEBOYS]

just try to put a 74 divorced frontend in a 1981 -up truck / the pinion yoke just about sticks in the dirt / been there done that years ago

[tinner12002]

I have a dana 60 as you discribed but its a mid to late 80s model with lockouts that I would be willing to get rid of. email me if you interested. I'm in west central Indiana. tinner12002@yahoo.com

[PapeCAT]

There is no problem however using a later married style axle on the earlier Divorced Np205 equipped trucks. As you will see - the pinion/yoke is angled up to point (more or less) up towards the T case itself. Just make sure to use the CV style shaft on the front output to avoid vibes.

[MoparNorm]

just try to put a 74 divorced frontend in a 1981 -up truck / the pinion yoke just about sticks in the dirt / been there done that years ago

Didn't you write the opposite in your first post?
I've installed "married" front ends in early trucks with no issues. The divorced pinons don't "stick in the dirt" on divorced trucks and they don't "stick in the dirt" on married trucks. Did you have issues with the shims, or lack of shims?
There is less than a 6 degree difference between the two differential angles.
It's more an issue with CV equipped axles vs. non CV equipped axles in regards to pinion angle. As long as you can still adjust for proper caster you are good to go.

[PapeCAT]

The D70F Closed Knuckle front I pulled out of my '72 W200 with Divorced Xfer Case had the pinion/yoke pointing towards the ground at about 6 degrees - to match with the Xfer Case front output pointing Up / Forward bout 6 degrees from neutral. This truck came stock with a standard u joint front drive line - not a CV style. If you tried to use the CV style shaft and a married setup it would give you the 6 + degrees of u joint angle when what you want to 0 degrees with a CV shaft (pinion/yoke pointed down the center line of the drive shaft.)