dana 60 question

[short sub]

Ok i like my dana60 but there is one problem that i have had twice already. the 2 bolts that hold the leaf spring on the passenger side, right by the differential housing have broken twice. why have they done this- its happened to my friends truck also and i have seen it on various trail rides before too. is there a fix that we can do to stop this or is it time for coilovers?? currently we are running grade 8 5/8 bolts- some people say use a grade 5 and it wont shear off it will actually flex but i see it hard to go to a weaker bolt. any suggestions are greatly appreciated

thanks Ryan

 

[rubbinz raczn]

not sure on why the breakage but i have seen a kit that uses another ubolt to support the rh side so that must be an issue at times?

 

[az-k5]

Mine is a dodge version with smaller 9/16" studs. I haven't had a problem yet. Do you have shims? (if so I have a fix for you).

 

[short sub]

yessir i am running a poison spyder shim- i believe its a 6 degree. so whats this solution man??

 

[mikey_d05]

I agree, I'm gonna have to run shims when I put in my 60, what's this mystical solution?

 

[fortcollinsram]

You need to have your spring plate machined to match the degree of the shim you have so you don't side-load the bolts...Either that or get rid of the shim...I have NO shim and mine have never given me an issue...I am planning on getting a shim soon though and I am gonna have the pass. spring plate machined so the bolt heads sit flush against the spring plate...


Chris

 

[readymix]

Stack another shim on top of the spring pack oriented in the opposite direction of the lower shim. That way your bolts are not being sheared off.
It will make the spring plate parallel to the axle spring pad.

 

[mikey_d05]

Stephen from ORD shared that trick when I asked about relocating the axle. Didn't know if anybody had actually used it or not.

 

[az-k5]

I have a 6° shim in mine. I have to have it to keep the truck tracking in its lane (DD). I went out and got tappered washers for on top of the plate on the stud side only. Never had a problem in the last year. They haven't come loose or anything. You can use parts of another shim and just drill it too. (tappered washers can be hard to find)

 

[79Beast]

I had a similar problem with my D60. I'm running 8 degree wedges with 1.5" forward offset built in. One of the 5/8 grade 8 bolt sheared off and the other one stripped out the threads. I think it happened because they worked loose. Remember that what holds it all together isn't the shear strength of the bolts, but rather the friction between the spring perch and the spring which is a product of the clamping force. Anyhow, rather than going on about that, here's what I did to remedy my problem.

I drilled out both of the holes and installed 3/4" studs from a specialty fastener place local to me. I drilled out the holes in the spring plate to accomodate the increased diameter and also the angle from the degree shims. I made very sure the mating surfaces of the springs, shims, axle, and spring plates were clean of rust, dirt and oils. Then I put it all together and topped it off with brand new nylock nuts on the studs and all the Ubolts. I torqued all the nuts, drove it for a month, and torqued it again.

 

[surpip]

Little trick i was told by the guy who did my gears, take a piece of 1 inch bar stock and drill to match the studs, it will make them much stronger, he said they do this on his comp. buggy and they have no problems.

 

[mikey_d05]

Little trick i was told by the guy who did my gears, take a piece of 1 inch bar stock and drill to match the studs, it will make them much stronger, he said they do this on his comp. buggy and they have no problems.

What?

 

[fortcollinsram]

Little trick i was told by the guy who did my gears, take a piece of 1 inch bar stock and drill to match the studs, it will make them much stronger, he said they do this on his comp. buggy and they have no problems.

So like drill the bar stock with holes to accept the studs and tie the top of the studs/bolts together...?


Chris