Dana 60
Front axle is a GM 60 from an 86 truck. I tore it down and had the parts blasted, and then painted most parts. Most of the axle minus the housing was sitting on my kitchen table for about a year. Table is permanently bowed in the middle now. It is tough not having garage space. I picked up the ORD four link kit early this year. The axle brackets required a little work to get them to fit the axle. Most of the grinding was to the pumpkin on the passenger side. Castings changed over the years, so it wasnt a perfect fit. See the pic below to see what I removed on the pass side. I took the axle and brackets to Crane High Clearance to have them welded for a few different reasons. Mostly cause I was worried about welding to center section. ORD recomends welding for added strength. You could just bolt it to the center housing and then weld to the tubes and c. Crane is local for me, and they have a jig to hold the axle straight while welding. While they had it, I had them install 5.13 gears and a detroit. The first time I picked up the axle, I got it home and noticed all of the welds to the center section had cracked. See the pictures, and you will notice I also had them weld the tubes to the housing. Those welds cracked and the weld from the pass bracket to the center section all cracked. I took it back to Crane and they said this rarely happens and that they would fix it. They did fix it. For the record, they heat the axle with a torch and then mig weld everything. I hear of people using torch heat and then stick welding with a specific rod, so I was surprised. Also, I know of two other people that had Dana 60s straightened and tubes welded to center section by Crane without any cracks.
Cant get pictures to upload this evening. I will try again later.
