converting a dana 60 to disc brakes

grumpyvette · Jul 8, 2011

If you read a bit on this forum it would be hard to escape the idea that Ive been rather positive on the DANA 60 rear differential, its extremely durable, but in many cases it comes with drum brakes which are heavy and not as effective as a disc brake upgrade, so here,s some linked info on upgrading the brakes to discs, a trip to several large salvage yards may give you access to most of the parts or you might need to buy a conversion kit

http://www.tsmmfg.com/2660.htm

http://www.bsfab.net/?p=85

http://www.blackbirdscustomtrucks.com/index8.html

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/cc ... ewall.html

http://www.virginia4x4.com/dodge%20dana%2060.html

http://www.jegs.com/i/Right%20Stuff/965 ... /-1?CT=999

http://www.jegs.com/p/Right-Stuff/Right ... 9/10002/-1

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/gene ... index.html

grumpyvette · Apr 29, 2016

heres a few related dana 60/70 bits of info, keep in mind that a dana 60/70 rear differential and axles, gears etc. thats been correctly built with decent aftermarket components can easily handle in excess of 7000 ft lbs of torque as the stock rear differentials designed to handle 7000ft lbs or more making it significantly stronger than the common chevy 12 bolt or ford 9" these rear differentials came mostly in mopar 3/4 and 1 ton trucks but there were many other applications including several chevy trucks, any decent custom shop specializing in rear differentials can custom fabricate a differential based on the DANA 60/70 with disc brakes,and a bolt pattern matching your wheels with the correct clearances and of the required length to fit most applications, that will shrug of almost any racing abuse as long as fluid levels are kept correct . naturally larger racing disc brakes will require a 17"-19" wheel for clearance.
Ive used nothing but a dana 60/70 rear differential in my race applications for decades as I got really tired of spending hard earned cash on 12 bolt chevy rears only to reduce them to expensive twisted scrap , behind a stout big block engine once I used serious slicks and a decent suspension, Ive never yet busted a correctly built dana 60/70, even on a 750 plus hp application
If your looking in salvage yards for a dana 60 rear differential, the forward housing, on performance car versions has 5 lug axles,it has provisions to bolt on a snubber on the car versions thats missing on the truck versions and the
u-joint, yoke or hub used on trucks doesn,t interchange with the car version
some truck versions use different axles
there are 6 lug and full float versions in trucks and a very similar looking dana 70
and modified commercial versions like strange sells

http://www.strangeengineering.net/high-performance-street/dana-60-s60-mopar-8-components.html

http://www.offroaders.com/directory/axles/dana60.htm

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/60_front/index.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dana_60

http://www.sierragear.com/differential-identification/

You can find a passenger-type Dana 60 in one of these donor cars if equipped with 426 or 440 engines:
o 1966 Dodge Coronet and Charger, Plymouth Belvedere and Satellite
o 1967-'72 Charger, Super Bee, R/T, GTX and Road Runner
o 1970-'71 'Cuda and Challenger

The industrial-type axles can be found in any of these truck applications:
o 1969-'88 Jeep J-20, J-2000 and J-4000 pickups
o 1967-'77 Chevrolet and GMC 3/4-ton pickups
o 1975-'87 Chevrolet and GMC 1-ton pickups and Suburbans
o 1979-'91 Chevrolet and GMC 1-ton vans with dual rear wheels
o 1955-'99 Dodge 3/4-ton pickups
o 1993-'01 Dodge 3/4-ton vans
o 1955-'93 Dodge 1-ton pickups
o 1955-'85 Ford 3/4-ton pickups
o 1980-'98 Ford E200/E250 vans with single rear wheels
o 1955-'76 Ford 1-ton trucks

These differentials came in two basic designs. The passenger-car configuration included a three-hole mounting surface on the front of the housing to mount a pinion snubber, which keeps the rear end in proper alignment with the drivetrain under heavy torque. The industrial version was used in all truck applications and does not have this mounting surface. Because most of the industrial rear end housings are built for trucks, they tend to be too wide for most passenger cars, but the Dana 60 can be narrowed by cutting the axle tubes to the proper length and installing the passenger car-style end hubs. New passenger- and industrial-style hubs can be purchased, and aftermarket axles are also available in 30- or 35-spline varieties to fit any reduced lengths. New axles may be your best option for adapting an industrial axle to fit a passenger car. Although the B-body Mopars used a five-lug bolt pattern, most industrial-style truck axles used a six-lug or an eight-lug axle, which will be difficult to redrill to a five-bolt pattern.

The passenger car version of the Dana 60 came equipped with the Mopar "Powr-Lok" semi-float limited-slip differential option from 1966 to '69. The Powr-Lok differential used 30-spline axles. Pinion input splines on the Powr-Lok differentials were 10-spline by 1-5/8-inch diameter. Later years featured the rod and cone-type semi-float limited-slip positraction configuration, commonly referred to as "Trac-Lok," and a 29-spline by 1-5/8-inch pinion shaft and 35-spline axles. The passenger car axles shared common components with the Mopar 8-3/4-inch rear end we featured in an earlier column. The axle bearings, seals and retainer packages are interchangeable. Because the Dana 60 axles on the passenger side are always slightly shorter than the driver's side, the 8-3/4-inch axles will not interchange directly into the Dana 60. The replacement pinion yokes for the Trac-Lok differentials (Spicer number 3-4-5731X) are 29-spline and accept the larger Spicer 1350 series (part number 5-178X) U-joints. The advantage of using the GM-style 1350 series U-joints is that you can also use the heavier U-bolt retainers for the end caps, instead of the flat straps that were used on the original Detroit 7290-style U-joints. The pinion yokes for the pre-'69 differentials are only available in the original 10-splines for the Detroit-style joints (Mopar part number P4876804). The industrial axles featured in truck applications can be found in either semi-float or full-float configurations and used a larger axle bearing than the passenger-style rear ends. Possible ratios can range anywhere from 3.54:1 right up to 7.17:1; however, most passenger-car and 3/4-ton truck ratios you will find readily available will be somewhere between 3.54:1 and 4.10:1 (4.10:1 being the largest ratio that can be used without changing to a different carrier). Passenger axles with the pinion snubber-mounting surface are getting very difficult to find and demand a high price tag. The industrial versions are abundant and less expensive, and many aftermarket Dana 60s being offered are remanufactured industrial axles without the snubber mounting.

When scavenging through the aisles at a swap meet or at your local salvage yard, check your donor assembly thoroughly. Although these rear ends are super strong, they do occasionally have problems with spinning the side bearing races inside the housing. The driver's side of the case housing is the best place to check for this wear as this bearing race takes most of the load stress. This problem can be fixed; however, it is time consuming and expensive. It is best to stay away from axles with this condition if possible.

Needless to say, it is important that the donor differential be carefully checked for this kind of wear as well as any other components that can wear over time. You should consider changing the fluids, seals and axle bearings, at a minimum. Aftermarket suppliers have developed an axle-bearing package, which eliminates the need to adjust the end play of the assembly from the outer passenger-side axle flange, as is the case with the Chrysler 8-3/4 inch. The Mopar part number for this package is P5249444. It is very important to remember to keep track of where the shims are removed and how many are removed, when you are disassembling the differential. Shims are located in several places and it will be much easier to put a Dana 60 back together and check clearances if you can get back to where you started from using the same number of shims in the same locations.

As you can see from the list of donor trucks, installing a Dana 60 into any full-size pickup will be relatively straightforward. Most of the vehicles listed will have drum-to-drum axle lengths of between 60 and 68 inches. This also makes them a great candidate for installing in mid-'70s Chrysler B, C, and E-bodies as well as mid-size Fords from 1967-'73 and full-size Fords from 1960-'64. With an original axle width at 62 inches the Dana 60 is also a good candidate for 1955-'59 Chevy pickups. Spring perches will probably have to be relocated; however, these can be removed and rewelded, or new 3-inch-diameter spring perches can still be purchased from rear axle parts suppliers along with the other upgrade items we have mentioned. At 13-1/2 inches long, front to back, the Dana 60 may also require you to shorten your driveshaft as much as 2 inches on any Salisbury-style (non-removable carrier) axle. This is not necessarily the case when swapping with a banjo-style (removable carrier) axle such as the Ford 9-inch.

Doing some checking into locating a good used donor rear end, we found virtually no used passenger-style Dana 60s. We did, however, find many of the truck axles available relatively cheap. A 3/4-ton Dodge differential can be as inexpensive as $200, with most selling in the $400 to $500 range. This is a far cry from purchasing one of the complete remanufactured units currently being offered. A remanufactured unit with drum brakes can sell for between $2,100 and $3,600, depending on the length of the axles and the gear ratio. Replacement differentials with a rear-disc brake option are offered for between $3,000 and $3,800.

However, as you can see, with a little information in hand and a little hunting around, you can easily find a used unit and have it built to your own specifications for less than $1,400, including new axles, a limited-slip differential rebuild kit, and new ring and pinion gears. The added advantage of using what is considered to be the strongest passenger car differential assembly also will allow you to make many changes as engine performance changes, regardless of horsepower rating. Although the Dana 60 has been around for over 50 years, it is still a great way to upgrade your
Click to expand...

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...strongest-rears-differentials-available.1282/

http://www.moserengineering.com/com...-dana-60-built-to-order-rear-end-package.html

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ing-a-dana-60-to-disc-brakes.5083/#post-25173

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...fferentials-and-related-info.1261/#post-10180

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/narrowing-a-rear-differential.1934/#post-5126

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/the-dana-60-rear-differential.1035/
http://www.currieenterprises.com/cestore/dana60.aspx

http://www.blackbirdscustomtrucks.com/i ... ml#8dually

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/chas ... le_review/

http://www.lmctruck.com/features/cc/ccdfl.htm

http://www.drivetrain.com/parts_catalog ... parts.html

http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/tech ... ewall.html

http://www.mopar1.us/dana.html

viewtopic.php?f=71&t=1282&p=13095&hilit=dana+axle#p13095

viewtopic.php?f=71&t=5586&p=16984&hilit=dana+differential#p16984

Grumpy · Feb 11, 2021

https://classicdiscbrakes.com/

https://lugnut4x4.com/product-category/rear/dana-60/

https://www.summitracing.com/search/part-type/disc-brake-kits/axle-model/dana-60

https://www.rockauto.com/?a=msn-disc

http://www.ecihotrodbrakes.com/rear_discbrake_conversions.html

https://classicdiscbrakes.com/

https://lugnut4x4.com/how-to/which-dana-60-do-i-have/

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converting a dana 60 to disc brakes

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converting a dana 60 to disc brakes

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