Dana 50 vs Dana 60?
 

So I've been trying to do some research of the difference, and pro's-con's. I know the D60 is heavier duty and has larger parts, and the D50 is kinda a beefed up D44. But I have not found anything that relates to my model of truck. Nor info on upgrading, I've only seen upgrade from D44 info.
I currently have a D50 that needs some tlc under my truck, probably needs the gears replaced, needs some u-bolts replaced, and some of the steerig bars also replaced. So I was thinking, why not replace it with a D60, but everyone up here seems to think their made of solid gold. $1200-2500, or my personal favorite $850 for just the carrier, no axles.
The largest I plan to run is like 35-37's with like 4:10-4:56's. Would that put un-needed strain on the D50 to the point were it would break, and a D60 is the way to go, or would I be better served to just spend the couple hundred to rebuild my axle?
Also lift kits, with the D50, do I go for stock F250 kits, or F350. As some depend on the axle, and they seem to forget my axle exists.

all the info you need is here, from the pages of it i read through.

Front axles: Dana 50 vs 60 - Page 2 - Pirate4x4.Com Bulletin Board

i did the swap, my D50 was worn out and looser than a cheap lady of the evening, i am a die hard solid alxe guy though. i found my 60 and a 10.25 Stearling rear for 650 for both. didnt need the rear but i thiugh what the hell for 650. it even had the right ratio. after the rebuild and including the axles i had about a grand in it total.

I paid 800 for dana 60 and 250 for 10.25 on craigslist after continuous days of searching. Don't see em for sale here to often so they are pretty rare

Man i feel lucky. I got my complete parts truck (86 f350 4x4) for 500. I will be swapping out both axles this spring to my Bronco. Still have to find a place to store all the parts i want to keep off her lol. I also have been searching for the last 2 yrs for a d60 for mine. All the yards around here wanted about $1000-1200 for a solid front. That didn/t include any of the hardware either.

i paid 900 for mine with dully hubs with i still need to sell

Folks around here seem to think they're made of gold also. Averaging around $800-$1,200. Lowest I've seen is $600.
10.25 rears go for $200-$400.

A D50 could be rebuilt much cheaper than the purchase, rebuild, and installation of the D60.

But if you're lifitng it, running big tires, probably managing the throttle with a heavy foot...sounds like a Dana 60 might be up your alley.

I plan to run the standard F150 5 lug 44 TTB under the diesel in my 65/95 F150 Mutt until it blows up, shouldn't take long to pop that inner U-joint. :eek: By then, I'll have a Dana 50/10.25 setup ready to install. I've got a line on a D50/10.25 combo with 3.55 gears for $300. Compare that to the price of a 60/10.25.

You can store it at my place...wink wink

I think the dana 50's a pretty good. They use the dana 60 outers, The dana 44 ttb hd case, and a bigger ring gear than the dana 44 and 44hd. I also believe they have more splines, I do know they corrected the major failure point on the dana 44's with the dana 50. My 91 has a dana 50 and it seems it has plowed all its life. Its still under the truck too.

only problem is those damn pivot bushings

Yeah the D50 is a half decent axle, I was thinking if I did get a D60, I'd hold onto it for a bronco/F150 bush truck. Something I want a good sturdy front axle, but if it ends up F.U.B.A.R. I'm not going to cry that that axle cost me $1000, and now I gotta drag the truck outa the bush to get it....

Wow really? 1200$-2500$?

If I'd knew that last year I would of bought that piece of crap F350 Diesel truck I went to see for parts. Was asking 700$ for the whole truck, 4x4 E4OD 1991!


I would of sold the axles and made some profit!

How do you know what front axle you have? Ive been trying to figure out if i have the 50 or 60 all day. the Id numbers are
4 10 ve8ta yc
v610312-2
but thats not very much help for some reason.

There worth that in scrap, never mind the axles.

Frank

The Dana 60 is a solid axle.

The Dana 44 and 50 are Independent.

You can clearly see the D50 here
http://i607.photobucket.com/albums/t...John/059-1.jpg

The D44 and 50 work on the exact same principals as the 2wd Twin I Beams.

And the solid, well it's pretty obvious how they look.

D60's do have their drawbacks over the D50 too.
1.they ride harder.
edit.i forgot,there is a mod you can do while your at it.a RSK kit combined with longer '99 up super duty springs is said to make it ride very nice.especially using the "v" code springs (one has to assume,this means the "v" codes are the lighter spring though,since they ride better.that has a draw back as well,if you plan on plowing for example,a lighter set of springs isn't what you want.not likely what you'd find with a "plow package" id bet.the tiny bit i know about this,pretty much is just encourage a search more than anything.)
2.they sit higher(the higher the truck,the LESS capable the truck,to some of us who load items by hand.especially for those using dump beds,since this already makes for harder loading over a low sitting stock bed.)
3.because they sit higher,the worse the fuel economy there will be.
(raising a vehicle will always cause for increased wind resistance.)then what goes hand in hand with this? big,wide,heavy more energy hungry,higher rolling resistance tires,making this even worse of of course.
4.the cost of the axle is MUCH higher.

even though the D60 is the better axle,every coin has two sides.
it really depends on what you need out of the truck.since it varies so widely,not one axle is better than the other imho.
it's the same as ram air vs cowl induction.dual exhaust vs single.stick shift vs auto.
it's all about maintenance,proper use,lack thereof,and many other factors.

all that said,i think it's VERY clear that you need the D60 front axle for what you want to do.
lift + 35/37" tires = the D60.
lifting the TTB is expensive and hard on tires.not worth it.
you either have the money to do it right,or not at all imho.anything else can just be outright dangerous.
there's a LOT more expensive involved than just swapping in a D60 and a lift kit.
better start asking how much people have spent in these projects before getting into it,because you'll soon see it takes a deep wallet.;)

have to agree with the above, but im 6'6 so a little more height dosent make much of a diffrence to me..lol. the 60 is much stronger, but the average guy will not break a 50, juts takes a little more to maintain a 50

I've never broken my D44HD. Never did anything extreme either. Been through to many ball joints though!

http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...thomas/tn1.jpg

44 or 50?

Measure your outside hubs.

4" is 50, 3" is D44HD.


Both 44 and 50 look the same from the under side, only way to tell 'em apart is the hubs.

it's a 50 thanks man, that was easy. well run 40 inch swampers on mine with about ten inches of lift haven't had to replace the ball joints yet and i'm really hard on my truck. i take it mudding a lot. I have replaced the tranny and almost everything else but so far the front end has been pretty good to me : )

How do those tires wear? Id recommend rotating em every chance you get. 40"s ain't cheap and with the d50 (like what was mentioned earlier) can wear em uneven pretty quick

Recommended tire rotations are every second oil change.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...tb-thread.html

This thread refers to the Dana 44 and Dana TTB front ends, for anyone who needs more information about them. Also has good pictures to help anyone trying to identify their front axle.

IDI-powered trucks came with either a Dana 44HD, Dana 50, or Dana 60 front axle.

1980-1985 4x4 F350's had a Dana 50.
1985.5 -1991 4x4 F350's had a King Pin Dana 60.
1992-1997 4x4 F350's had a Ball Joint Dana 60.

I can't remember the years the Dana 44HD was standard on F250's.
But I "believe" the Dana 44HD was in regular cab F250's from 1980-1990.
The extended cab F250's got a Dana 50.
I "believe" the Dana 50 came stock in 1990 on all F250's.
Don't quote me on that.
As John pointed out, Dana 44HD has a 3" diameter lockout, Dana 50 has a 4" diameter lockout.

I think you ought to try to "patch" your 50 and hold it together as cheap and easily as possible until you find a 60. Lift kit, 35-37's, 4.10/4.56 gears...that screams 60!
Find an entire parts truck...OH...like that one in the campground!
If you find a dually Dana 60, you can swap your Dana 50 Single Rear Wheel hubs onto it to make it a SRW Dana 60.

Definition of Twin Traction Beam (TTB) Tee Tee Bee ~
A Twin Traction Beam (TTB) front axle is found in 83-96 Rangers/Explorers 80-96 F150s and 80-98 F250s. Its like a independent and solid axle had a late night drunken stupor sex-o-thon and had a basturd child. The only beneficial worthwile or nice thing I can say about them is they ride good on road while stock and absorb hard bumps offroad in like prerunner trucks. In all other applications they suck. It works very similar to the twin I beam suspensions of 2wd trucks. The axle is hinged on a crossmember that allows each tire to move independently of the other. They are expensive to lift even slightly over stock. The higher the lift the more stress it compounds on to the frame and TTB crossmember and it leads to stress cracks that drastically weakens the frame and is extremely dangerous. Common TTB sizes are D35 (rangers/explorers) D44 (F150s) and D50 (F250s). TTBs are much weaker than their solid axle counterparts. Anyone wanting tires larger than 35" and plan to wheel their truck with any amount of confidence MUST switch over to a solid front axle swap (SAS).

TTBs bring the suck!

the dana 50 is not near as bad as anyone really makes them out to be. i spent 1000-1500 dollars rebuilding mine from the ground up and nothing has quit on me yet. and she goes over ditches through fields down mud roads hauls heavy loads and goes anywhere and everywhere i want her to go. a long overlooked point of the dana 50 axle is BETTER TRACTION THAN THE 60 thats the main advantage over the 60 you get with a 50 is the fact that if you go over uneven terrain the 2 front wheels move up and down independently of each other. the 60 is stronger and had i known all the advantages of the 60 when i was spending money on the front end i probably wouldve just bought a 60 but everyones bashing the 50 and its not a bad axle at all. i think i can get another 200,000 before having to replace any major components again with regular service.

and i believe the difference in the 44 and 50 is the 44 has 19 spline lockouts and the 50 has 30 spline.

if u run stock tires it fine but once u got to 35s and aboves that when it starts to show it weak links

don't the stock tires measure 35 high or was it 33? i measured once a couple months ago but i can't remember now. i know it was defiantly above 30.
but i do agree though you want as strong as you can get if you can afford it. and need to do whats safe. but i honestly don't see how anyone could afford to drive a big lifted extra tall wide tire truck with diesel at 3.79 a gallon.
i have stock tires on right now (235/85/16)

They are 31"

Maybe just some ball joints. I agree, the TTB gets a bad rap. After seeing the videos in "The TTB Thread" from the 80-86 forum, I couldn't believe they are as tough as they are. According to some people, they're as fragile as glass. I can't wait to beat the snot out of mine! }>

But, as much as I like the TTB, I don't think I would go lifting it. The geometry gets weird.
I don't know why the F250's ever ran leaf springs on the TTB setup. There's no good way to flex the TTB with leaves.
The axle beams are pivoting on the engine crossmember the same way as the 2wd I-Beams. A straight axle goes up and down, a suitable application for leaf springs.
The Dana 50 SHOULD be coil-sprung.

235/85R16 tires are 31.8" in diameter.

Yeah I have to rotate them every oil change when i first got them i went about 5000 miles without rotating and they chopped right up, the tires are uncomfortable anyways even when there not chopped.

I never had any issue identifying my front axle it clearly says D50 on the bottom of the housing...

I love off-roading, and would love to do it with this truck, but at it's current height it is much to long. I don't care how rough it rides, I plan on buying a cheap 99-01 expedition for when I'm taking more than 1 person with me somewhere, and that can be a softer ride.

I actually think my neighbor up here has a old ford D60 laying in his yard, I'm heading out tomorrow to do a dump run, and I'm gonna drop by and check it out. I know he doesn't give a damn about it (dodge man himself), and I can get it for like $100-200, or some work in exchange.

The current plan is either fix or replace my front axle as the constant abuse of being in 4x4, and plowing through 1-2 feet of snow, on uneven mountain roads and trails, and going through the bush up here, is causing my slight steering issue, to become worse.

Question: Are the Tie rod End, and drag links universal between the 44, and 50? I can order the entire setup from LMC truck for the 44, and put it together myself. For like $400 cheaper than the dealership quoted me.

http://car-part.com/
there are a bunch of D-60 kingpin and balljoint axles listed in BC, priced froma low of $395 to a high of $3600.
but there are a bunch in the $395 to $650 range, with 3.55 to 4.56 gear ratios.

Someone said something about the alignment bushings. You can get third-party ones where the caster and camber can be set separately which would fix all of the alignment problems people have. Ford's (In)Famous TTB suspension - Great Lakes 4x4. The largest offroad forum in the Midwest

If you decide to switch to the D60 how much work will it be? I might consider it if i can keep my same lift and stabilizers if i have to switch them its out of the question. does it matter if the truck you take it from is 2 or 4 wheel drive? I had a guy offer me a 1990 f350 diesel dually for a harley engine i have i'm sure that would have the d60 in it.

You're better off starting a new thread for good answers, choose a good title so many people will click on it. :-X22

P.S. A 2wd truck will not have a Dana 60 front end...

the D-60 is a bolt in, but you will also need the trac bar and trac bar mounting bracket.
you will also need to use the F-350 steering linkage, because the solid axle uses different geometry than the TTB uses.
2 wheel drive don't not have the D-60 in the front.

also, doing a D-60 swap will lift the front of the vehicle 2 inches, so you may have to add F350 rear blocks to level the truck.

i did the swap on my 250. i was able to re use my calipers and drive shaft. just needed a track bar and mount. its not a bad swap at all.

Nice to hear from someone who's done it, instead of pages on reading. :p
I was curious about the drive shaft. The track bar is the bar that turns the wheels and connects to the steering wheel shaft correct?
And the mount, is the mount different between the D50 and D60?
I live on the side of a mountain, so the questions may seem excessive, but if I don't get everything I need the first time, it's a 3+ hour drive to get it, and I'm hooped if I've taken it half apart when I realize this.