Dodge 3/4 Ton Axles

There’s a set of axles from a ‘77 Dodge W200 on Craigslist not far from me. A Dana 60 rear and 44 front.

They’re spring over axle suspension, so not ideal, although they do have leaf springs. Both are allegedly 4.10 ratio, which would be decent under my CJ5. I suspect they’re way too wide, though…

Would it be worth pursuing?

Jon B.

 

IIRC, they had full time 4wd with the NP203, so no locking hubs, and the steering is set up like a Chevy where the drag link is front/rear, not side/side like we’re used to.

Not necessarily deal breakers, but good to know going into it.

 

Yeah, the front axle is kinda since it doesn't have lockouts, buttttt.... if you find a front axle from an 80's dodge, you can swap the knuckle/spindle/hub on to earlier axle. The later ones have a two peice shaft on the long side with a vacuum disconnect. You'll need the stub shafts too. Went through this on a friends W100 truck. Was a real PITA, but was worth it in the end.

The half tons are also 5 on 5.5"

 

The 60 should be a full float?
You could have them narrowed.
Maybe rob the parts from a chevy 44 for lockouts?
Back in the day I narrowed up a 60 rear and a 44 front for my cj5.

Honestly, I feel a 60 is overkill in a '5. I would possibly build a 44 for the front and keep the 44 in the rear.

 

IIRC, not all the Dodges of this era were full time, and the ones that weren't had regular hubs.
Having said that, IMO these are way too wide for a CJ.

 

Way too wide for a CJ. Wheels would be close to completely outside the body. I think the track is a little over 67”.
-Donny

 

About the equivalent of full size GM axles as far as width. Some had the early form of unitized bearings and some had locking hubs as mentioned above. If you want to narrow them and go spring over, ok, but if not there are much better options to start with.

 

The results of this Google Image search will give you an idea as to the aesthetic of full-width axles under a CJ. As others mentioned, they're going to be W-A-Y too wide unless you're going for a crawler of some sort. The ripple effect with suspension (as @nickmil mentioned), and also with steering, isn't worth it IMHO. I haven't put axles like this under a CJ, but did put ~65" wide 1-tons under a 2005 LJ. It turned out great, but also cost a LOT of money.

https://www.google.com/search?q=jee...HSOzBM0Q_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1589&bih=808&dpr=1

 

I would stay away....axle shaft are a pain to find....