Dana 61 LSD?
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Joined: Apr 2003
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Dana 61 LSD?
I need opinions on options for our '78 F250 that we plan on using for towing and around the yard.
A LSD would be nice to have for when the ground gets a little slick.
We are not mudding with the 3/4, that's what the Bronco is for!!
The thing is the 400 3/4 has a Dana 61 rear end, so the options are not quite as numerous as the Dana 44 or 60.
Any advice who might be able to help or known sources for this?
Thanks for the help!
A LSD would be nice to have for when the ground gets a little slick.
We are not mudding with the 3/4, that's what the Bronco is for!!
The thing is the 400 3/4 has a Dana 61 rear end, so the options are not quite as numerous as the Dana 44 or 60.
Any advice who might be able to help or known sources for this?
Thanks for the help!
Posting Legend
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 30,255
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Dana 61 LSD?
The ARB Air Locker for 4:10 and lower ratio's will fit. You can call the tech dept's of the diff companies listed in the back of any 4x4 magazine for help also. The D61 is kind of a rare animal, they only put them in E/F250-350's with 400 and 460's for a couple of years. They were a strong axle but you needed torque to push them in a heavy vehicle. Ford called them their "Mileage Maker".
Last edited by Torque1st; Apr 22, 2003 at 02:51 AM.
Junior User
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 52
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From: Kelowna Canada
Dana 61 LSD?
The Dana 61 is not the diff of choice for towing. They only came with two ratios, 3:07 & 3:31. Not many parts available for them at all. They also came in the 78-79 S/C Camper Specials (2WD) with 351m-400. They best thing to do is swap it out. Good Luck
Posting Legend
Joined: Sep 2001
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Dana 61 LSD?
If you swap it out you will get a gas hog like most of these guys run. You can tow with the D61, you just need to drop into second if you need power up a hill which is the equivalent of how all of the guys that run around with a D60/70 run ALL THE TIME! Imagine running your truck in second gear all the time! No wonder they drink gas like it is going out of style and they are constantly complaining about their mileage. Parts for the D61 are available also they are just not quite as common. Think of your D61 as having a built in overdrive that these D60/70 owners drool over. I have a 3.07 D61 and a T-18. I was going to swap the T-18 for a T-19 until I blew my knee. Now I am converting to a wide ratio C6.
Junior User
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 52
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From: Kelowna Canada
Dana 61 LSD?
In response to the overdrive thing, you must have no mountains or even hills in Kansas!! Some of the roads we are dealing with here have a 9 percent grade!! The Dana 61 (3:07) that I have in my 79 S/C Camper Special causes me to use 1st quite a bit, and let me tell you that chews some fuel. But I must say it does better with the 460 than it did with the 351. We are also packing a bit of weight, 11' Camper and pulling trailer for M/C and other fun stuff. On the flat it works ok though, 100 km/h @ 2000rpm= 14 mpg. Empty or loaded. TTYL
Posting Legend
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 30,255
Likes: 37
Dana 61 LSD?
Not many hills etc in Kansas but there are a few in Colorado...
It all comes down to a choice to run around in a 2nd gear equivalent ALL the time or using your tranny gears for what they were intended for. Shifting to a lower gear to produce the HP for a few miles up a grade occasionally as required. The more gears the merrier in order to match your engine speed to road speed.
A good 460 should run your load OK as long as it is configured properly. A lot of people do not configure their engine or installation properly, I see it all the time. Remember it takes power no matter what your gearing is to pull up a grade. You loose lots of HP to altitude also. Fuel is required to produce power when you need it. Your engine has a certain amount of "overhead fuel cost" just to spin it so spinning it a high rpm's all the time going down a flat road or down hill is a waste unless you need the engine braking of course..
It all comes down to a choice to run around in a 2nd gear equivalent ALL the time or using your tranny gears for what they were intended for. Shifting to a lower gear to produce the HP for a few miles up a grade occasionally as required. The more gears the merrier in order to match your engine speed to road speed.
A good 460 should run your load OK as long as it is configured properly. A lot of people do not configure their engine or installation properly, I see it all the time. Remember it takes power no matter what your gearing is to pull up a grade. You loose lots of HP to altitude also. Fuel is required to produce power when you need it. Your engine has a certain amount of "overhead fuel cost" just to spin it so spinning it a high rpm's all the time going down a flat road or down hill is a waste unless you need the engine braking of course..
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