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Dana 70

nova

nova

1/2 ton status
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Laporte, IN
I'm thinking of switching out my 14 bolt for a dana 70. yes i know the 14 bolt is better but i want more gearing.
My question is what dana 70 do i need to match up to my gm dana 60 front axle. From what i read on it (bill vista) a gm single wheel dana 60 is 69.5 inches wms. Any help would be nice! What vehicle should I look for and year and it's wms if poss.:thinking:
thanks
 
I have a Dana 70HD , the guy I got it from said it came from a 79 Dodge 1-ton . But if I had to do it over agian , I would have used a 14 bolt ,they are so much simpler to set up the gears and there are alot of them out there
 
I do not know specific WMS dimensions but just some helpful info - try and look for a "B" series D70 ( very common in Dodge trucks ). Most will have a large B casted in the top of the pinion oiling channel to identify it. "B" series D70's are probably the most user friendly when finding gears/ lockers and related parts . Not all 70's are equal and they do not interchange parts as easily as the 14FF.


Tom
 
What years are WE looking for...I want to do the same thing to my Burban....I just need more gear than what the 14 gives.....
 
I don't know the WMS figures for them but a good sources for "B" series 70's would be late 70's to early 80's Dodge and Ford 1 ton trucks.
 
Anything else Nova and I should know......I am partial to black, but a blue one would be cool......jj
 
And you're not going to; Dodge used them, Ford used them, and GM used them, with a myriad of different WMS. The GM one could probably be ruled out because they are narrow (65") or WIDE (74"). I'm not too familiar with the Dodge models, but Ford used the D70 "U" during the 80's and this is probably the one to look for, as parts are readily avalable and the bottom is smooth as in aerodynamic(too cool). There was a post recently about these differences either on here or over on Pirate, very thorough discussion.
I've got an 89 Dodge (cummins donor) for parts, I'll try to check the WMS this afternoon.
Jimbo
 
Jimbo* said:
And you're not going to; Dodge used them, Ford used them, and GM used them, with a myriad of different WMS. The GM one could probably be ruled out because they are narrow (65") or WIDE (74"). I'm not too familiar with the Dodge models, but Ford used the D70 "U" during the 80's and this is probably the one to look for, as parts are readily avalable and the bottom is smooth as in aerodynamic(too cool). There was a post recently about these differences either on here or over on Pirate, very thorough discussion.
I've got an 89 Dodge (cummins donor) for parts, I'll try to check the WMS this afternoon.
Jimbo
Click to expand...

I agree with the above post.

When I was upgrading from the stock D60 rear in my Ford, I considered a D70, Sterling 10.25, and even the 14B. I ended up with the D70 U model because it was a bolt in for my truck, and also because of the smooth bottom...if you haven't viewed the bottom of a D70-U, you won't understand "how smooth it is" compared to other axles. They are under some mid 80's F-250's and F-350's. Mine is out of a 1985 Ford F250 or F-350.

The D70-U does use slightly smaller bearings than other a D70 B or a D70 HD...I believe one of the pinion bearings is smaller in the U vs. the B. I'm nearly certain that the HD (dually rear end) uses larger carrier bearings than both B and U models.

Find a picture of the bottom of a U before you decide. Also the WMS to WMS is 64.5 or 65" on the 70 U out of a truck...this is a pretty common measurment for most trucks. You can also find the D70-U in some E-250 and E 350 vans from the 80's into the late 90's. I believe that the van rear ends are around 69" or 69.5" WMS to WMS.

Roy
 
I used to have a Dana 70 that came out of a '80 Ford cab and chassis. It had factory 4.10s and was in good condition. The problem with the 70s, like most Dana axles, is that the shafts are made from recycled beer cans and other assorted pot metal. I the third 1.5" 35 spline Dana 70 axle I broke took the spindle with it. I swapped it for a FF14 and I've only broken one axle in 3 years of much harder use than what the Dana saw. Also, if you're gonna swap in a rear axle with a different gear, then you're looking at rebuilding, locking, and repairing the brakes on that axle. Then you still have to regear the front to match. Plus, if you go too much lower than a 5.13, I would start to worry about how many teeth are making contact at one time. Why not just keep your axles the way they are and double the transfer case? It won't cost much more and it comes with all sorts of added benefits.
 
79Beast said:
I used to have a Dana 70 that came out of a '80 Ford cab and chassis. It had factory 4.10s and was in good condition. The problem with the 70s, like most Dana axles, is that the shafts are made from recycled beer cans and other assorted pot metal. I the third 1.5" 35 spline Dana 70 axle I broke took the spindle with it. I swapped it for a FF14 and I've only broken one axle in 3 years of much harder use than what the Dana saw. Also, if you're gonna swap in a rear axle with a different gear, then you're looking at rebuilding, locking, and repairing the brakes on that axle. Then you still have to regear the front to match. Plus, if you go too much lower than a 5.13, I would start to worry about how many teeth are making contact at one time. Why not just keep your axles the way they are and double the transfer case? It won't cost much more and it comes with all sorts of added benefits.
Click to expand...

I'm not claiming that a D70 is stronger than a 14B...IMO they are are very similar in strength...each having their pros & cons. However, I'm interested in your comments about axle material strength. Where does GM get their axle material from? Where does Dana/Spicer get their axle material from? What is the difference in strength? If you broke 3 D70 axles in a short amount of time, what exactly were you doing with the vehicle?

Roy
 
78Buford said:
I'm not claiming that a D70 is stronger than a 14B...IMO they are are very similar in strength...each having their pros & cons. However, I'm interested in your comments about axle material strength. Where does GM get their axle material from? Where does Dana/Spicer get their axle material from? What is the difference in strength? If you broke 3 D70 axles in a short amount of time, what exactly were you doing with the vehicle?

Roy
Click to expand...

Yeah what he said...what were you doing to break either. I have seen some stupid abuse put to bone stock 14 bolts. :ears: :dunno:
 
no kiddin, Id like to know what you did to break an shaft on either one of those axles. Ive seen some of them thrashed pretty hard with big tires and lots of horsepower and never seen or heard of anyone breaking a shaft.
 
79Beast said:
I used to have a Dana 70 that came out of a '80 Ford cab and chassis. It had factory 4.10s and was in good condition. The problem with the 70s, like most Dana axles, is that the shafts are made from recycled beer cans and other assorted pot metal. I the third 1.5" 35 spline Dana 70 axle I broke took the spindle with it. I swapped it for a FF14 and I've only broken one axle in 3 years of much harder use than what the Dana saw. Also, if you're gonna swap in a rear axle with a different gear, then you're looking at rebuilding, locking, and repairing the brakes on that axle. Then you still have to regear the front to match. Plus, if you go too much lower than a 5.13, I would start to worry about how many teeth are making contact at one time. Why not just keep your axles the way they are and double the transfer case? It won't cost much more and it comes with all sorts of added benefits.
Click to expand...


This needs to go on Mythbusters.

I thought it was common knowledge that the smaller pinions in the DANA are actually very resilient pieces. If you are breaking pinions before anything else, then you have an angle problem or a binding problem. Pinion size is NO concern of mine, gear selection is.


I plan on running the 7.17's in the front and rear....

It looks like a Dana 70 U out of a Terd Van would be our best bet......width wise anyways.......


For those that have swapped them for their 14 bolt FF, which one did you use and how much "massaging" was necessary to bolt the Dana in?


Thanks or the help!
 
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