Fullwidths question

[iant333]

Im picking up a Ford F350 front kingpin Dana 60 this Saturday, I kinda want to do fullwidths on my XJ, not sure yet but it's only 60 bucks and not that rusty so what the hell. Just wondering a couple things:

First, I think if I decide to go ahead and do this I would prolly run the matching rear which is a Sterling 10.25, supposed to be about as strong as a Dana 70, maybe even a hair more so. They are all full floaters and 1.5in 35 spline shafts so they only thing it sounds like i'd even be doing to the inside would be a locker and gears. Parts availability looks good, both ARB and Detriot make full carrier lockers and everybody makes gears. Anybody heard of people running these, sounds like a solid choice to me?

Im also wondering about what I would have to do to the front end, I cant picture front end setups in my head as well, would there be anything I need besides welding on the stock XJ style bracketry, getting some custom length steering and a new yoke? It just seems too easy for that to be all I need to do.

Also, not really a big deal just wondering, would you end up wanting to run really stiff springs? It seems like the axle would leverage against the body better with the springs being so close to the middle and make it really "body rolly" with some softer springs. I've seen this effect on a CJ before since the leaves on those are so close to the middle.

[CumminsJeep]

Ill give him 80 for the kingpin. hot damn thats a steal. ever think of just doin a 60 in the rear too? what size tires are you trying to run?

[iant333]

Ill give him 80 for the kingpin. hot damn thats a steal. ever think of just doin a 60 in the rear too? what size tires are you trying to run?

I could but it seems easier since the 10.25 will be the exact same width. I'm not dead set on it, depends on what I find, the rear axle isnt a big concern since there are a whole bunch of things I could use. Im prolly going to run like 36's or 37's, any bigger than that doesn't seem necessary and the prices of the tires skyrocket after that too.

[CumminsJeep]

yea Dana 60 rears in full width are prob harder to come by than say 14 bolts or 10.25s. But a 60 is not a boat anchor like both of those are. both would be good options and simple to install

[XJLI]

60/10.25???

YARRRRRRRR

[Even]

Im picking up a Ford F350 front kingpin Dana 60 this Saturday, I kinda want to do fullwidths on my XJ, not sure yet but it's only 60 bucks and not that rusty so what the hell. Just wondering a couple things:

First, I think if I decide to go ahead and do this I would prolly run the matching rear which is a Sterling 10.25, supposed to be about as strong as a Dana 70, maybe even a hair more so. They are all full floaters and 1.5in 35 spline shafts so they only thing it sounds like i'd even be doing to the inside would be a locker and gears. Parts availability looks good, both ARB and Detriot make full carrier lockers and everybody makes gears. Anybody heard of people running these, sounds like a solid choice to me?

Im also wondering about what I would have to do to the front end, I cant picture front end setups in my head as well, would there be anything I need besides welding on the stock XJ style bracketry, getting some custom length steering and a new yoke? It just seems too easy for that to be all I need to do.

Also, not really a big deal just wondering, would you end up wanting to run really stiff springs? It seems like the axle would leverage against the body better with the springs being so close to the middle and make it really "body rolly" with some softer springs. I've seen this effect on a CJ before since the leaves on those are so close to the middle.

Alright, I'll try to be short and not sound preachy.

1-tons put an ever living shit-ton of stress on an XJ unibody, and if you want to get any sort of longevity out of it, you are going to need to completely tear it town and reinforce every square inch with frame stiffeners. A roll cage would also go a long way in increasing the rigidity. Big honkin suspension links/joints and body mounts as well.

You are definetly going to want to run something bigger than 36-37" meats IMHO. Something around a 38-39 would go a long way to help with ground clearance on those boat anchors.

I also wouldn't expect to just throw a locker in and run the axles as-is. Depending on how old they are, they more than likely need complete rebuilds which aren't cheap. Also remember all the other weak points that pop up once you upgrade that point of your drivetrain. Other crap starts breaking farther up, and the endless cycle begins. Before you know it you're throwing money at your jeep left and right.

If it were me, I would throw the axles to the side and keep them as a project to start building over time. Or, I would just sell the muthas for a profit.

[Ktmracer419]

i wll double your money if you want to sell them

[OWEN]

I put a fair amount of money into my Dana 60 front that I got for free, I quickly learned Dana 60 parts are a lot more expensive to buy than dana 30 or 44 stuff. Worth it? Depends if you need it, but the stuff will definately last longer. I think kingpins are great.

And that is where to start, rebuild your kingpins, they cost about $50 a side. At that point you will have to decide what you want to run for steering. My one recommendation, if you are going to run steering arm(s) on top of your kingpins, don't cheap out, make sure you buy arms with that have the 4 retaining holes 60* taper drilled at the top and buy a set of studs and cone nuts, don't run grade 8 bolts. Using the cone nuts takes the bolt/stud shanks and also centers the arm. Steering arms go for $100 to $300 or more, depends on what you want. The stud kits are like $30 a set (one side) from PartsMike.

For gears, Dana 60's have the advantage of aftermarket thick gears. This will help you avoid having to buy a new carrier if your axle has 3.55s or 3.73s stock and you want to go to 4.88s or 5.13. When you get to a certain ratio, most axles have a break (and I honestly can't remember if it is 4.10 or 4.56 for a dana 60, you can google it), where a different carrier is used. Depending on your locker choice this may not even matter.

Don't forget about brakes. These can be costly to refurbish, and depending if you want to a smaller wheel size you might have to look into some aftermarket brake options. If you are going from a Dana 30 to Dana 60 you may even have to look into running a different master cylinder.

And hubs... If it dual rear wheel front axle you will probably end up wanting to change to single rear wheel hubs (or you will be very full width). The SRW hubs can cost around $200 a side... something to consider if that really great deal is on a DRW dana 60. When you choose your locking hubs, you will want to also decide if you want to run 35 spline outers shafts.

For an 8 lug rear axle I would only choose a GM 14 bolt 10.5 full floater. They are readily availible, cheap or free, and easy to setup gears (removable pinion support). It has great aftermarket offering these days. When building one budget a few bucks for grinding wheels to smooth out the grappling hook cast into the housing on the bottom. I took about and inch off mine and made it smooth, it drags over rocks with ease.

Good luck

[iant333]

Alright, I'll try to be short and not sound preachy.

1-tons put an ever living shit-ton of stress on an XJ unibody, and if you want to get any sort of longevity out of it, you are going to need to completely tear it town and reinforce every square inch with frame stiffeners. A roll cage would also go a long way in increasing the rigidity. Big honkin suspension links/joints and body mounts as well.

You are definetly going to want to run something bigger than 36-37" meats IMHO. Something around a 38-39 would go a long way to help with ground clearance on those boat anchors.

I also wouldn't expect to just throw a locker in and run the axles as-is. Depending on how old they are, they more than likely need complete rebuilds which aren't cheap. Also remember all the other weak points that pop up once you upgrade that point of your drivetrain. Other crap starts breaking farther up, and the endless cycle begins. Before you know it you're throwing money at your jeep left and right.

If it were me, I would throw the axles to the side and keep them as a project to start building over time. Or, I would just sell the muthas for a profit.

Yeah im planning on doing full frame stiffeners whether I put the fullwidths in or not, I dont know about a cage since i'd haven to buy one of those multi million dollar pre bent ones though, maybe someday.

They are getting rebuilt when they are regeared, I wouldn't go through all that trouble and then re-use the original bearings. As for using the ford rear end though, i'd prefer to find a D60 rear if I can since you cant get 5.86 gears for a 10.25 but you can for a 60. I'd gear it that low to take stress off of the stuff up the driveline like the t-case and driveshafts.

Actually to me fullwidths seems like the cheaper option since my alternative would be to build up my stock axles to run like 35's which doesn't end up being hardly any less money but wouldnt turn out nearly as strong.

i wll double your money if you want to sell them

I think im keeping it for now. If I dont I guess i'll let you know.


Also are these Ford D60 front ends really that hard to find, it seems like most any U-pull it or junkyard would have a couple 4wd f350's laying around. If they are really that rare I'd just sell it and find like an HP44 or something.

[iant333]

Well finished working on my Jeep for the day early and decided to run up to that guys house to pick up that D60. Apparently there was a good reason it was only 60 bucks, luckily I decided to pull the cover before I bought it. I guess it must have gotten a large amount of water in it at some point since it looked like someone took a shit in the pumpkin it was so rusted. Guy played it off like he didn't even know.

Anyways I did a mental cost - benefit analysis and im leaning toward not wanting to bother with fullwidths anyways, id rather just spend the money on wheeling trips rather than building a Jeep I cant afford to wheel.