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chevy vs dodge ???

M

mollyman

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okay i have a chance to buy a dodge dana 60 front. the only 2 differences i know of are that the perches on a dodge r 1/2" farther apart than chevy and the spring perches themselves on a dodge r 2 and 1/2" wide versus 3" wide on a chevy. how big of a deal r these 2 issues cause the axle is a good deal but its not a great deal. also the guy has offered to move the perches for me if i want, so this means he would move the drivers side perch the full 1/2" cause obviously u cant move the passenger side, is that okay to do?? any help would be great if it matters my front springs are tough country and i have no idea how wide they r i am no where near them to measure right now also i dont want to do tappered bushings cause i have heard of guys doing that. is a dodge the same strength wise versus a chevy??? thanks!!!!
 
dodge usually have external flanges, and the wms is 67" instead of 69"
 
but what about the width issues?? overall and the spring pads being 1/2" narrower?? and what about moving the drivers side perch the 1/2"
 
You will need move the perch. Even still, getting the center pins to line up is gonna suck. There are a couple guys on here who have done it.
 
When I got my blazer it had a fullsize Jeep D44 axle in the front and a Dodge 60 axle in the rear. Both are narrower. Both worked fine. You just gotta pull the springs in and maybe grind the pad.

What's the price on the 60?
 
chevy springs are 3" at the ends, 2.5" in the middle, so the width doesn't matter, and 1/2" is only 1/4" per side. Don't move just one pad, it'll be offset. Pull the springs together with a come-a-long maybe even by hand and bolt it in.
 
it has 4.56 gears open carrier but it also has drw hubs i am still worried about the width cause i only run 10.5 wide tires so it might look goofy plus it will be off center from moving the spring perch
 
Not all Dodge D60 fronts had external locking hubs or flanges, it depends on the year. Earlier ones did, but starting somewhere around the late-80's early 90's through '93 (for '94 they switched to the balljoint, CAD, unibearing styles) they had normal internal locking hubs or flanges just like Chevy.

If it is an older version with external hubs, you just can't simply swap in Chevy style locking hubs as the whole wheel hub assembly is different.

I will also assume if it's a DRW version than it has the wider hubs just like the Chevy's used which would make it quite a bit wider than most rear axles.
 
If it's DRW you will have to change the hub assy that goes on the spindle, has the bearings in it, the the studs are in it, it's where the disc and the wheel bolt to and the locking hub goes in the center. No big deal.

Go to the 60 bible on pirate4x4 in the link i posted.

I run DRW hubs on my blazer because I have 44" tires and they hit the steering box if I don't have the DRW hubs on it to space them out. The front is a lot wider than the back but my blazer is an offroad only truggy. See how you can see the steering knuckle, etc. since I have SRW wheels on DRW hubs? I think it's like 3-4" wider per side.

WIDE.jpg

REAR.jpg
 
Hasn't somebody come up with offset spring eye bushings that make up for most of that spring pad distance?
 
I bolted a D60 dodge into my 79 blazer no problem,,,the difference on the spring pads is no big deal...No need to move spring pads etc.....

As far as the external lockouts,,I run the Selectro external ( the only one made for external hubs )
Looks like this..

hubs-classic.gif


To change to internal spline lockouts, the hubs will need to be changed.


The dodge has 30 spline outer and 35 spline inner that neck down on the ends of the shafts. If you find a set of stock drive flanges chances are they will be 30 spline. Not 35's.

The outers would need to be upgraded to 35's to run inner lockouts or 35 spline drive flanges,,and if your gonna do that, you might as well do the inner's also.

I have not broken the stock ones yet,,,but I'm sure it's going to happen.
when I do,,,it's gonna be new hubs,,inner / outer shafts, drive flanges...;)
 
Switching the wheel hubs from DRW to SRW is not hard to do, the problem is that you have to buy the SRW hubs and after that cost is factored in it's no longer that great of a deal.

From my experience it's pretty hard to find a D60 in the junkyard, and if you most places are leery about letting you rob the hubs off of it.
 
I can get new SRW hubs for $125 ea.

My buddy has selectros on his buggy. They are vulnerable since they stick out and the studs always work loose.
 
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