dana 60 front and rear question

Long&Low · Jan 1, 2014

You can also look for box truck Corp 14, if you pull off the dually stuff, you can get a narrower axle without major modifications.

You can also shave a good bit off of the bottom of the 14 bolt housing to regain ground clearance.

tarry99 · Jan 1, 2014

nickmil said: ↑

Yes their are 5 on 5 1/2" bolt pattern kits for a front Dana 60. There are no full float factory Dana 60 rear so can't use parts from one of those for the front.
I got my kit from Six States Distributing years ago but not sure if they are still available from them. Dynatrac, Tera Mfg, and others make kits for converting. Not cheap though.
A fairly easy rear 60 with 35 spline shafts to narrow if you can find one is the late 60's early 70's Jeep pickup 60-2 with 12" brakes. Semi-float axles, factory 35 spline shafts, 5 on 5 1/2" bolt pattern. That's what is under my '59 CJ-6 narrowed to approximately 58 1/2" wheel to wheel. The biggest issue is the 12" brakes but R&P has a disc brake conversion to eliminate this problem. The axle bearings aren't cheap either.
If you want narrow track CJ width axles forget about the 60 front. Not gonna happen as the front axle is just too big. I narrowed mine which started life as a '93 Dodge kingpin axle to about 60" wheel to wheel. Might be able to get just a touch narrower but not much. The castings are just too large. Both axles in mine are very close to Scout 2/Wagoneer width which is what I had under it before building the 60's.
I also have a wider than CJ frame under mine which made it possible to go that narrow on the front axle. If I had a stock width frame I would have had to outboard the front springs to get that narrow. I can probably take some pics tomorrow if you want.

Hey Nick , so what width frame rails do you have now Front & Back?....................I assume your spring mounts are centered on the rail?
Click to expand...

tomatolane · Jan 2, 2014

Another post i did reminded me of a question I have.

All the info I gathered on early cj5s before I picked mine, indicated they had a 50 inch wide WMS to WMS

But when I got mine and started to tear it down, I measured it , and got 48.75 WMS to WMS,

So my question is , what do all you guys with sept built 1970 cj5s with the 30 spline flanged offset Dana 44s measure WMS to WMS ?

Is mine normal?

CJ5Kyle · Jan 2, 2014

nickmil said: ↑

First, '76 is not widetrack. That didn't come about until late '82. '72-'75 30 front axles are the exact same width as '76-'82 and all are considered narrowtrack. The '71 and older 25's and 27's are only about 1 1/2" narrower total.

In your area full width may fit on the trails just fine. I don't know. In my area, there are trails that full width axles simply won't fit without cutting down trees. Whether an axle should be narrowed all depends on intended use and taste.

I have to ask, are these full width axles on a Jeep with an 81" or 84" wheel base or are they later model longer Jeeps or have extended wheelbases?
Click to expand...

Sorry. You are correct about the wide-tracs. Don't know why I thought 76+.

As far as the wheel base, I've seen them on short wheel base 5s, 7s, XJs, YJs, TJs. Almost everything.

nickmil · Jan 2, 2014

tarry99 said: ↑

nickmil said: ↑

Yes their are 5 on 5 1/2" bolt pattern kits for a front Dana 60. There are no full float factory Dana 60 rear so can't use parts from one of those for the front.
I got my kit from Six States Distributing years ago but not sure if they are still available from them. Dynatrac, Tera Mfg, and others make kits for converting. Not cheap though.
A fairly easy rear 60 with 35 spline shafts to narrow if you can find one is the late 60's early 70's Jeep pickup 60-2 with 12" brakes. Semi-float axles, factory 35 spline shafts, 5 on 5 1/2" bolt pattern. That's what is under my '59 CJ-6 narrowed to approximately 58 1/2" wheel to wheel. The biggest issue is the 12" brakes but R&P has a disc brake conversion to eliminate this problem. The axle bearings aren't cheap either.
If you want narrow track CJ width axles forget about the 60 front. Not gonna happen as the front axle is just too big. I narrowed mine which started life as a '93 Dodge kingpin axle to about 60" wheel to wheel. Might be able to get just a touch narrower but not much. The castings are just too large. Both axles in mine are very close to Scout 2/Wagoneer width which is what I had under it before building the 60's.
I also have a wider than CJ frame under mine which made it possible to go that narrow on the front axle. If I had a stock width frame I would have had to outboard the front springs to get that narrow. I can probably take some pics tomorrow if you want.

Hey Nick , so what width frame rails do you have now Front & Back?....................I assume your spring mounts are centered on the rail?
Click to expand...

Frame rails are 30" center to center. Front springs are centered under the frame rails. Rear are out boarded from the factory. I'm using a shortened Scout Terra frame with wheelbase right at 106".

Sent from my iPhone
Click to expand...

oddfirejeeper · Jan 5, 2014

tomatolane said: ↑

Are you still in contact with that friend?Or do you remember what the final width ended up being, WMS to WMS?
Click to expand...

i will get in touch with him and have him measure.

tomatolane · Aug 15, 2014

Hey update, guys.

Ended going with a quick change.It is a Richmond 4.86, aluminum full spool 10 inch ring gear wide 5 bearing ends.

Will post more pics when i get it in.
Salute!

Long&Low · Aug 20, 2014

Interesting choice.

jeepermc · Aug 25, 2014

Yeah.....That escalated quickly. Not your typical choice for a Jeep rear end...

tomatolane · Aug 26, 2014

LOL! yeah it is a "interesting choice"

I am going the vintage sand drag look, like some of the guys build vintage dirt modified looking rods, i have decided to do the vintage sand/mud racer look.

I love the look of polished magnesium, so i am having it and the winters wide 5 magnesium hubs polished.

Should look sneaky under it.4 link with coil over.

Now to pick the front end to accent it.
As nick pointed out if i dont raise the front or stretch it out, dana 30 or 44 will be about all i can fit under it. wish a quick change would fit LOL.

later guys, be back more after growing season/winter

Salute/hugs

tomatolane · Aug 26, 2014

cool old pics.

Check out the non full roll cage! LOL. With a blown 327 hehe

tomatolane · Sep 4, 2014

small update.

Got the new hubs and what not.Will be taking 3 inches out of the left side and 11 inches out of the right.Total length snout to snout will be 56" WMS to WMS will be 50.5.

When its all together It is insanely lite I can curl the thing LOL.The mag hubs only weigh 6 pounds, the rear end minus axle shafts weighs 82 pounds.

Starting the polishing, 320 grit, 600, and then 1000 grit. then the wheel and rouge.

one of the hubs and bearings, and rear cover in the 3rd to last stage .

will post more as I go.If I remember to take a pic some times I just get lost in the project and dont think about pics. I am a tard in that respect

My wife on the other hand is crazy with pics, and cards. If you stub your toe she will send you a friggin card lol.

latter

tomatolane · Sep 4, 2014

And add. It sure dose look like dana 60 hubs would fit on these wide 5 spindle/bearing snout.Anyone ever try that?Or the reverse? A wide 5 on a dana snout/spindle?

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dana 60 front and rear question

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dana 60 front and rear question

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