Dana 60 size axles for M37

[J Lebowski]

MasterYota,

Maybe you should start a seperate thread on the FJ axle possibilities?

[MasterYota]

Thats not a bad idea, I'm sure BB would like to have his thread back!...

[MasterYota]

CTM joints

I've recently heard a rumor that CTM joints don't like hight speed use (I'm presuming that means highway speed operations). I was informed that the bushings within the joint suffer some type of heat related damage when the topic came up around the coffee table. I thought I would pass it along, just case there is any merrit to the topic. It might be worth a quick google search to see if anything comes up.

[pieter]

Right Side Complete

Totally Awesome!



Long side inner in place:

[MasterYota]

Fantastic! A viable axle swap kit in the works! Better get a patent on this setup...

Keep us posted!

Excellent!

[Bruce B]

MasYO,
I dont think the high speed problem will effect me. my old CTM 44 size ujoints did not have any signs of wear after 5 seasons of severe mud and water and only one time of tear down and greasing. the only way to grease the joint is a complete tear down since it is a closed knuckle. I only do min. road rides once a year, the rest is mostly trails.
I slam pack fill the knuckle using a paint stick and marine grease so the ujoint is completly surrounded. also the hub cavity between the bearings, the space between the hub seal and the inner bearing, the drive flange and the outter bearing are all packed with grease.
you can see in the right side complete pic the twelve-7/16 grade 8 studs with heavy nuts and grease fitting in the end of the drive flange. now i can touch up the splines and outter bearing with the grease gun and by removing the grease fitting and threading a bolt into the end it becomes a flange puller.
I am gunna run the orings on the ujoint on one side and remove them on the other to which one has the best wear results. I think the non oring side will "scoop" a little grease into the cups and be self lubing?? BB

[pieter]

Pictures of what Bruce is talking about...

[J Lebowski]

This is starting to look VERY good. It would be nice to be able to make the front axle work with the fine spline D60 shafts and big u-joints!

[MasterYota]

MasYO,
I dont think the high speed problem will effect me. my old CTM 44 size ujoints did not have any signs of wear after 5 seasons of severe mud and water and only one time of tear down and greasing. the only way to grease the joint is a complete tear down since it is a closed knuckle. I only do min. road rides once a year, the rest is mostly trails.
I slam pack fill the knuckle using a paint stick and marine grease so the ujoint is completly surrounded. also the hub cavity between the bearings, the space between the hub seal and the inner bearing, the drive flange and the outter bearing are all packed with grease.
you can see in the right side complete pic the twelve-7/16 grade 8 studs with heavy nuts and grease fitting in the end of the drive flange. now i can touch up the splines and outter bearing with the grease gun and by removing the grease fitting and threading a bolt into the end it becomes a flange puller.
I am gunna run the orings on the ujoint on one side and remove them on the other to which one has the best wear results. I think the non oring side will "scoop" a little grease into the cups and be self lubing?? BB

No worries here Bruce, like I said, it was a rumor. Probably started by someone running drive flanges on a pavement pounder who dosen't like maintenance. Thats about the only situation I can conceive that might produce results like early failure. I'm lovin' this thread so far - Keep up the good work!

[Keith in CO]

bearing / race combo PN?

. . . i called a out of state supply and they had a combo that i think will work. i orderd two and will know soon if we were on the same page, . . . if the bearing and race i orderd does not work i can atleast proceed for a possible "YARD test at some point. . BB

Do you have some PNs now or did you end up using the home brew bushing?

What became of the articulation issue with the D60 joint hitting the inside of the closed knuckle?

Thanks!

[extremetownie]

awesome. looks great.

[Bruce B]

Keith,
I was able to get a outter bearing and race combo that works without the bushing. It is a little narrower than I would have liked but should be fine.
I used two differnt brands of outters they are very hard to find right now. everyone is out. since Alloy USA closed it seemed to put the axle business in a tail spin.
The right side took very little clearancing on the outter yoke only. The left side needed more attention because the profile of the yoke on the second axle was so much differnt and the inside of the bell casting was not very consistant. I have both sides togather now but cant do the "Yard test" till i assemble alot of other parts that have been put off from the axle project.
Will prolly do 1 lap around the house, load it up and head to IA just like always. BB

[Bruce B]

yard test complete,seems like it will need a little more clearance at full turn. it will initally turn in and then turn back slightly as the axle makes a revolution. if you jack up the front and turn the tire or drive shaft by hand at full turn it is fine. under power must make the axle rub on the inside of the bell enough to cause the yoke to follow the bell profile.
after talking to extremetownie on how the rockwells are configured with the 2" axle upgrade (bushing at the end of the tube w/ujoint style joint) and he says no problems so far with that setup.
i think the "Mil-60s" should work out with the added yoke/belll clearance in the future. right now i am headed to IA the way it is. come say hello if you see me out there, BB

[J Lebowski]

Bruce,
Any new info on how the D60 innards setup is working?
This would work with Ray Suiters disc brakes?

On a side note one of the current 4x4 mags has a little blurb on some fellow who put in a Chev frt D60 on his M37. It states he cut the long side down 3" so he could connect the axle to the stock M37 spring packs. Not much info and the pics were small. :-(

I'd prefer something to Bruce's setup. Nice to have the original axles and Budd rims to keep the truck nostolgic - but stronger on the inside with those D60 parts. :-)

[Bruce B]

JL, I just returned from IA Tues. I had a loud noise in the front while turning left and removed the axle for inspection but all looked good. Soon the same noise could be heard while turning right. I ran it the rest of the week with lots of hard trail use,7 days total and although it sounded bad it contiued to pull.
As soon as I get time to clean it up and take all apart I will post the results. Possibly the diff or R&P????? Hopfully not the axles. Thanks for asking, BB