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Dana 60 + no lube = not good

USSkoval

USSkoval

Thornbirds look cool... Yeah, I said it
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It turns out there was no lube in the front axle of my '79 with full time 203. Trying to get the truck home, something started to seize up and weird things happened. One of them was smoke coming from the front u-joint/pinion, and the truck wouldn't hold in park on a hill.

Everything is normal now just moving the truck around (for the most part), except there is a fair amount of rolling resistance. Pulled the cover and front shaft today and found three things. No lube, a very small amount of tiny metal shavings, and what looks like minor pitting on the coast side of the ring gear teeth. The ring and pinion cannot be turned by hand. I think the carrier bearings are seized, because I can get a little movement from the yoke with channel locks.

The 203 will be going bye bye, so no more full time 4x4. Can I just replace the carrier bearings and leave everything else alone? If so, will this effect the ring/pinion setup?
 
I'm sure its the pinion bearings that are totally destroyed, the carrier bearing probably are too but to a lesser extent (they're under much less stress).

On a low pinion front axle (like a Chevy D60) the coast side of the gear is being driven when you are going forward.

Even for a trail only rig I would replace all of the bearings. The ring and pinion are probably done for too but that's up to you and how bad they look.
 
I wouldn't chance it, time for a full rebuild, bearing kit/ rebuild kit, Ring and pinion.
new spiders/cross-shaft. might be easier to find a good used carrier.
I see plenty of Dana 60's used in the classifieds online here on KSL.com.
Buy a used rear, steal carrier, new bearings and install kit, away you go.

I know all about the expense of the 60...:doah:
 
i bet you fried all the bearings buddy. i got a 60 1 time with a poped pinion as the bearings got so hot in the pinion it twisted off.

dont toss all the 203 . save the adaptor and range box. just incase you ever want to go doubler kit.
 
Hmm, OK. Not quite what I was hoping to hear, it seems like no matter how much I spend on a car/truck, it always ends up being a project to some degree.

Oh, And I meant coast side when in a front application. I also forgot to mention that there was absolutely no gear noise at all. There was no indication that anything was wrong until there was the sound of bearing seizure at about 65mph:doah:
 
What gears does it have?

I have a set of 4.56s at home that I took out when I went to 4.88s to match my 14 bolt. But, wont be close to them until Easter to ship.
 
They are 4.56

If I pull the carrier and find that the pinion turns smooth, could the bearing still be shot?
 
Well, if you can wait till Easter... and you need the gears... make me an offer and we'll see what we can do. They came out of a newly rebuilt front end and look real good.
 
Here's a 60 that ran w/o oil for a looooong time...
100_1745.jpg

KOH065.jpg


100_1744.jpg

100_1743.jpg
 
Wow! When someone says no oil, I usually think they mean not enough oil. I doesn't look like that ever had any lube.
 
Funny thing is that happened at the Hammers, the guys did a R&P job out there in the dirt and ran it the rest of the week. Needless to say I was impressed.
 
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