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Help in finding best deal on Dana 60 F&R

3K views 25 replies 13 participants last post by  ocTJ 
#1 ·
I am now looking to up grade my Dana 44 (TJ Rubicon) axles to the Dana 60 flavor. I have been searching the web and looked at a number of companies that produce these as bolt in units, but what have you guys seen that was intersecting (and a good deal)? The issue is that I just purchased the wheels which are 5x4.5 Walker Evans Racing wheels and most of the complete axle setups are 5.5 bolt pattern. If I use my rubicon knuckles and brakes, will this be the weak link now?
 
#5 ·
Talked to Currie today and your right, they have a lot of ideas and options. I will do the Dana 60 for the rear for sure and the front I have to think about. I can upgrade the axles, locker, and sleeve the D44 or just go with the D60, which is of course much more pricey... Or I can go with the D60 with 1 ton knuckles and massive brakes for a little over $7K. I think I will think this over and start with the rear now and play around with the front. Thanks guys for the great support.
 
#6 ·
I am going to do the store bought D60s also and will more than likely go with Dynatrac and no I don't have a good reason for why I would chose Dynatrac over Currie either, both seem to put out a good product for @ the same price. Yes they are expensive and so are wives..had two of them so I figure I need two D60s to see which one works out better in the long run:)
 
#9 ·
Louisiana is mostly mud and trails of hills. I don't see me rock climbing at any point. I really wanted to go with 37x12.50 but 35x12.50 seems to be more realistic... I have dumped more than $15K into this project and with motor ($4K) trans rebuild ($2K) and if I go with the D60's another $7K or more... I am hearing more that I need more than the stock D44 (TJ) units but man this is getting ridicules.

I am not one to beat on my rig, but I do not want to be pulled out off a trail ride because of a dumb decision. I ride with my 2.5 year old son and his safety and fun is at stake too.

I will not do the 1 ton knuckles due to the 5x5.5 lug pattern since I just bought a new set of walker Evans Racing wheels. Just can't see me wasting money at this point in the game.
 
#10 ·
Louisiana is mostly mud and trails of hills. I don't see me rock climbing at any point. I really wanted to go with 37x12.50 but 35x12.50 seems to be more realistic... I have dumped more than $15K into this project and with motor ($4K) trans rebuild ($2K) and if I go with the D60's another $7K or more... I am hearing more that I need more than the stock D44 (TJ) units but man this is getting ridicules.

I am not one to beat on my rig, but I do not want to be pulled out off a trail ride because of a dumb decision. I ride with my 2.5 year old son and his safety and fun is at stake too.

I will not do the 1 ton knuckles due to the 5x5.5 lug pattern since I just bought a new set of walker Evans Racing wheels. Just can't see me wasting money at this point in the game.
If yo stick with 35's, you rubi axles will be fine. Throw some chromo axle shafts from superior axle and you'll be good to go :thumbsup:

37's are pushing the limits of the rubi axles though.... some do make it work though.
 
#12 ·
The word suffer is the understatement of the century when talking about dana 60s and 35" tires.

I always told myself I wouldn't run 60s on anything smaller than a 40" tire...if you want to be built for 35s get a currie hipinion 9" rear...
 
#13 ·
Well that's interesting because I run my 35's mainly and have a 60 in the rear with no "suffering" from ground clearance issues. However, it is a RockJock so that design does make a difference. If it were a regular one ton 60 pulled from a Ford or something then yes, I'd be suffering.
 
#17 ·
Theres a pair of 60's here from an 78 f250 for sale. look on the forsale part of this site. 410 gears. front and rear for like only 1200 bucks or so.
But the issue is, I just built a RJ60 rearend on Currie's site and it cost $4200 fully built. And a front RJ60 is $6000 on Currie's site...that's $10k (Edited)

Now with what mountainman posted, you can get front and rear for $1200, add in brackets and lockers and you're only in it for around $3500.

That is why I said I'd run no less tha 40s. I don't have the extra cash to pay three times as much for RJ60s...Which is why I am building my 9" rather than buying it...it'll cost half as much in the end.
 
#20 ·
Just my opinion, but a don't see a need for 60's or even a 9in if he wants to stick with 35's, unless he plans a hemi swap in addition to 35's. If he does a super 44 kit in the rear, and some superior evo shafts up front with an arb, it'll be hard to break the shafts unless he goes crazy with the skinny pedal. If he was to get 60's, why stop at 35's when he could run 39-42in tires on those axles? I'll eventually go to 1 ton axles when i'm out of college and will run 39+ tires, for now i'll stick with chromo shafts and will run 35's.
 
#21 ·
I know rocks are brutal on axles but mud isn't a whole lot easier. I can tell you on the front end of my old chevy I had a D44 HP and I got that truck airborn and beat the ever loving tar out of that axle on 35's with a truck that weighed in probably over 6,000 lbs with a 350hp v8 I hear a lot that if you are going 37's you may want a 9" so look for a thread on here that compares the super 35 or dana 44 I started it ..it's locked now but there's a site where you can build your own 9" front or rear. East Coast gear I think was the company but the pricing was idea and you can run 44's on a 9" well at least i'll say I know a lot of guys that run 44"s on a 9" in Mudd trucks
 
#22 ·
You can build a 9" to take almost anything...but I'd still be hesitant to run 44s. Not saying your guys don't run 44s. But I personally would rather run a d70 with that tire size.
 
#24 ·
yeah I think Philip figured out the problem and why you don't see smaller Lug patterns available.
 
#25 ·
Great input guys and next week the lift will be done. I pick up the Jeep on Monday or Tuesday. I have not purchased tires as of yet. I may change the springs to 4.5" units and go with 35" tires and later do the larger axles when the new 4.9 Stroker and built transmission goes in. Then if I want, I can go to the 37's and 5.5 springs and what ever axles. It seems that the 35's will be ok with the stock axles for now, but I like the idea of doing the sleeve kit, axles, gears and sell them later when I get the bigger axles. The main idea for me is that I am spending so much for other things that the Jeep needs and if I can hold out another year or so it will save me the a** kicking I will get from the wife for spending $30K on a Jeep. Yes, you all know what I'm talking about. If I don't hide it, I will have to buy her the MB GL550 she wants so bad. It does not matter that what I am spending is not even close to the $75K this stupid MB cost. Anyway, I don't want to get started on that. It will be easier to start another thread.

Currie tells me that the HP60 can be ordered with the 4.5 lug pattern. However, the front will have to get the Vanco big brake kit to keep the 4.5 and I cannot use hubs. Not really a big deal, but I already spent $1700 on wheels. I will try to make this work since I already made the mistake to purchase the Dave's Customs Unlimited brake booster & larger master cyl. kit. (Please see my post on this forum).
 
#26 ·
I hate to pimp out friends but Savvy off road.. talk to them he can tell you and help you direct yourself on getting parts that will not just work but work well together. I know I just drove his Dodge 1500 disc brakes he installed on the LJ and It breaks like a Lotus
 
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