Dana 60 front into ½ ton Ford
by
Norm Tischer &
Mike Masse

Parts required:

One 1978-79 Ford F250-350 reverse rotation Dana 60 front axle.
One Dana 44 Donor F-150 Axle (has to be 75-77)

Tools Required:

Mig welder (3/8 single pass capability required)
Cutting torch
4in angle grinder
8in angle grinder
Assorted welding clamps, hammers, vise, etc
A VERY accurate angle finder gauge

Special equipment used:

Plasma torch (optional but a huge time saver)
Belt sander (again optional but damn handy)
Axle jig (a requirement!!! if you want it perfect)

Getting the axle ready:

These axles are setup for leaf springs, so we need to remove the passenger side spring pad and the shock mounting brackets.

You can click on any thumbnail for a larger version of a picture

A cutting torch was used to cut off the bracketry

Then an angle grinder was used to clean up what was left over

For the next phase of this project we first had to build (in this case modify) an axle jig to make sure that all angles and assorted measurements were exact. Because we already had a fixture for narrowing axles we have used in the past, we just had to modify it to accept the unusual mounting style of the Ford radius arms. What was done is a very simple procedure where we took a few measurements, built a cardboard temp plate and then with a plasma torch we carved out some plates using 1/8 in plate steel. These can be seen in this pics

After measurement and adjustments using a spare front Dana 44, we just welded the plates to the jig and thus had a exact measurement for both angle and placement of the "wedgies" on the Dana 60.

The cutting of the "wedgies" was done with a conventional gas torch and a careful steady hand. These wedgies have to be procured from the above mentioned 75-77 ½ ton axle housing, this is the only axle Ford used that uses 3in diameter tubes with the "wedgies" welded on, and not cast into the "housing" as on the 78-79 Ford ½ tons.(as a benefit this axle also uses a cast in trac bar fixture as well) After removing the "wedgies" we trimmed them sum by eye with the plasma torch and then were ready to start grinding to fit the Dana 60's tube, which is 3.125.

Also a pic after grinding of the mount, this is not even close to ready yet but gives an idea.

The differences in measurement requires basically 1/8inch be removed from the internal "radius" of the "wedgies" We used the plasma to rough trim, and both a 4in angle grinder and a "big dog" 9in grinder. I would reckon we trimmed with the plasma and the grinders roughly 2 hours overall. (This is basically trial and error) When done we had a fit like this when in jig.

Due to the Dana 60's greater knuckle depth the "wedgies" actually interfere with the welds on the knuckles and must be trimmed to fit basically. Here you can see how close they are after trimming.

The axle in the jig, "wedgies" fitted and ready to be welded.

When measuring to set caster we discovered that the Dana 60 was at about 0 degrees on the pass side and around 1.5 degrees on the driver's side. After looking up the leaf sprung Dana 60 axles caster setting of 1.5-2 degrees. We then compared that to the Dana 44's setting of 3 degrees, (both measured at the top of the knuckle) Comparing this with our measurements take from the 44 housing while building the jig, and also a angle measurement taken at the pinion. We then set the Dana 60 housing at 3 degrees positive (this truck runs drop brackets) (Also of note, more than 4 degrees would require cutting and returning steering knuckles) We used a very simple magnetic angle finder gauge designed for basically just this type of a job and measured and computed everything twice. The factory (or time/use) screwed up the caster on the 60, and we just got it as close to the middle for both sides as possible, and after determining the pinion angle was correct, as well as the caster, we welded it together.

Notes of interest:

We spent roughly 6.5 hours doing this, most of the time was spent grinding, fitting the "wedgies" although we did spend roughly an hour removing some DAMN STUBOURN king- pins. (Read BIG hammers, torch, more hammers, etc.

I would say the tool to win "most valued assistance" during this portion of the swap was the plasma by far, over a hour was spent trimming, grooming and otherwise minimizing grinding. I would say, in all possibly another hour was spent grinding even after the plasma to perfect the fit. Also a 4in. Angle grinder, although good for the finish work, is rather useless against that nodular iron those " wedgies" are built from. The big 9in worked well and was required basically.

The end result after welding and sufficient cool down, we test fit a radius arm with factory rubber bushings and it fit like stock, full contact between the radius arm and cap. Which was the goal because I didn't like the idea of a gap between them if possible.

Here is the housing ready to go into the truck

Installing the Axle

Due to all of the hard work in prepping the axle, installing it under the truck was no different then installing a stock Dana 44 axle. The track bar did not need modification, and the radius arms mounted up with no problems. Here is the housing mounted, ready for the king pin assembly to be rebuilt:

Although the king pins in this axle weren't horrible, it was decided that it would just be best to replace all of it regardless. This is a list of parts needed and approx cost:
Spicer Part No Description Cost
37302 Kingpin $8
41886 Kingpin Bushing $2
706395x Bearing Parts Kit $22
37299 Lower Cap $35
620132 Top Cap $7
37307 Top Cap Gasket $1
5-332x 1480 U-joint $43
36487 Inner Axle Seal $2


Here is the axle with the knuckles in varying states of assembly

The brakeline brackets on the d44's bolt directly to the cast "wedgies" and since we used the older style wedgies there were no provisions to bolt the brackets to the axle. I didn't want to do any more un-neccessary welding on the axle and drilling holes in it didn't seem like too good of an idea either. What I ended up doing was simply welding the brackets to a 3" muffler clamp which can be easily removed at will.

Steering

Once the axle was in place the next step was to take care of the steering. Since the Dana 60 is wider then the Dana 44, the 1/2 ton tie rod cannot be used. The D60 tie rod cannot be used either, because it does not have the hole in it for the 1/2 ton drag link cross over steering setup. I was told that a 78/9 3/4 ton tie rod can be used and works fine, but after looking at the cost of a new one, and considering that I've bent too many stock tie rods in the past, I decided to go with a custom moly tube setup with heim joints.

After making careful measurements, the tube was cut and threaded for the heim joints.

The knuckles and pitman arm were then drilled for a 3/4" bolt. Assembly was simple and straightforward:

The double nutted bolts used in these pictures are just temporry till the grade 9's with cotter pins and castle nuts show up


Here is the completed axle ready for ABUSE!!!