Dana 60 Front Axle Build by crazy4offroad

[HotRodPC]

Weren't those tires a bit too skinny for mud racing? 1/2 ton axles seem like a bad idea too.

I'd say he raced with the 38's in the latter pic. And actually, I have seen a vidoe C4 took of the short track mud races he was at, and if its the same type of racing, I'd be willing to give the 1/2 ton axles a try. Not to say they'd be the best, I am a 14b FF guy myself, but in mud going straight, I don't see the severe strain on the axles and it depends on what class of a race too. A dry dragstrip, I'd sure see the strain. Or rockcrawling.

 

[bucket]

Opinions vary on that subject. Wider tires are good for staying on top of the slop but once they get stuck they wont dig down like the thinner ones do. Also wider = more surface area which can hurt horsepower in the really thick stuff. My self I like my 38x12.5 TSLs, they really dig down to the solid stuff. However when I broke the axle stub shaft the truck may not have dug for China if I were running a wider tire.

As for the 12 bolt/10 bolt I agree you would think it would be the weaker link, but in the speed mud pits, which aren't as deep, 2' or so, many of the very high horsepower trucks run 12b/10b axles and turn 3-4 second lap times on a 150' pit.

That makes sense then. I haven't been around any mud racing trucks. Just pullin trucks and trail trucks where stronger is always better.

 

[crazy4offroad]

Started in on it again today. Took the cover off and snapped a pic of the current mesh pattern...

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You can see the pattern is like a very wide U shape, right at the top of the tooth. Time to tear it apart. I wont waste a bunch of space for every little thing I did like how to knock out a bearing race, but I will show where the shims go under the large pinion bearing race...

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Which I added another 0.010" shim. I know, I said 3-5 thousandths but after reading the assembly manual it said to make a large adjustment (10-20) first then smaller adjustments after (3-5).

This is kind of an important pic, showing how the bearing race is recessed into its pocket, you have to make sure you're driving it all the way down against the shims...

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Pinion installed, carrier installed, time to put the shims beside the carrier bearing race...

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I cant remember how much shim is there, but it equals less than 0.002" endlash (left-to-right play).

Now, I was expecting a lot more adjustment to get the mesh pattern right, but it looks pretty damned good...

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Now comes the fun part. The D60 sometimes does, and sometimes doesn't use a crush collar for pinion bearing preload. Mine does not. Instead, it uses shims under the outer pinion bearing to set preload...

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This required removing and installing the pinion 3 more times to get right, but honestly I'm much happier with the results. No matter how much you tighten the pinion nut, the bearing will only have so much preload. Pain in the ass to get right but once it's there, you know it's right.

Next, I took everything apart again lol and put in the pinion seal, then the internal axleshaft seals, which you can use the handy dandy spindle nut spanner socket for the D60 to install the axleshaft seals, with a thin coat of black silicone along the outer edge...

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Install the carrier again, this time with 0.005" more shim to give the carrier bearings some preload, sounds easier than it really is. Backlash is in spec at 0.006"...

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Next is all about cleaning up the cover gasket surfaces, spread on some black silicone, set the gasket on, give it a couple minutes to cure a little, then assemble!

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Next step will be cleanup/paint for this thing, then the hub assemblies.

 

[89Suburban]

Good job!!!

 

[HotRodPC]

This required removing and installing the pinion 3 more times to get right, but honestly I'm much happier with the results. No matter how much you tighten the pinion nut, the bearing will only have so much preload. Pain in the ass to get right but once it's there, you know it's right.

Yep, I agree totally, as I was reading that, I was thinking, I'd rather have the type without the crush sleeve myself. With a crush, you overtighten or crush to much, you're done. Take it out, get another crush and start all over. I certainly prefer all shims over the crush.

Awesome photo's and demo. Thanks for taking the time !!!
We kinda need to move or copy this portion of your build thread to the Differential and Driveline Section.