Hey guys, well as the title states, i picked up a Dana 60 HD out of a 78' F250. Ive been rebuilding it and replacing from every shim/bearing/etc.

NOW my question is, how the hell do i mount the damn thing?

Ive searched but all i can find is SAS threads and topics. (thats coming in the future)

Some questions-

Do i need to fab/weld anything?
Do i need to do anything to the drive shaft? Shorten/lengthen etc

What year leafs do i use? the 77 because thats what year the axle is, or the stocks on my truck?



All im reallyyy asking is HOW and WHAT do i need?

Thanks yall!!

 

It should be a direct bolt in. The only thing is because you have a Dana 60 and not a 10.25 you don't have the ABS sensor.

 

I'm not trying to be a jerk but, those are questions you should have asked before you even bought the axle. A 10.25" from the same era truck would go right in. I'm not sure about the older D60. I know that the distance between the spring perches on the front axles are different between the two generations but I don't know about the back.

 

He did ask questions about it, and ignored the information that was given regarding the ease of a swap from an 8.8 to the 10.25.

End of this thread is where the Sterling was suggested, by more than just me.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-r-anyone.html

The spring perches need to be widened, and the ABS would need to be disabled. The U joint might not be the same size for the pinion yoke as you have for your 8.8, so you might need a new U joint there. Brakes would have to get hooked back up obviously.

Are the springs you got with the axle from 77 or 78? You said the springs are from a 77 but the axle is 78? If you use the 3/4 ton springs, I will assume they will make the truck taller you don't already have lift springs. That's the route I would go. In 77 I believe the highboy was the only F250 available, and the rear springs and block would make the it taller than if you used 78 springs and block. However, I don't believe that the spring hangers line right up from those trucks to these trucks. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. You could just get some 1 ton springs from one of these era trucks and I'm sure that would work just fine.

So in short, widen the spring perches, mount up some springs, I wouldn't use the half ton springs if I could get some cheap height from the other options, and bolt up what's left.

 

I should have put on my flaming suit before i wrote this i suppose

I didnt want a Serling. I found a cheap D60 and went with it. I knew alot of people have done it by looking at there Sigs, i just cant find any write ups

--the ABS isnt a issue, since it doesnt work on the truck currently as it is
--brakes are converted to disk


--i meant 78 sorry lol, but i dont have any springs, i just have whats on my truck...didnt mean to confuse anyone.
....................So (hypothetically speaking) if i went out and bought BRAND NEW 1ton leaf springs, i would need to buy them for the 87-96 years instead of the 73-79?

 

I am almost positive that you can use the 87-97 springs over the Dana 60. You don't need brand new. Find a truck in a junk yard, take the rear block and springs out of it.

 

Sweet. I saw somewhere to buy new weld on perches.

I do want new leafs tho(replacing everything else, might as well), i need something that has more lift any ideas anyone who has some decent ones?

 

1 ton springs with the rear block (which is 4" tall) from a 4x4 F350 is going to be a lot of lift by itself. I wouldn't go much higher than that.

 

You do not want to do this

If you read signatures CAREFULLY, you will see d60 swap for the FRONT axle, NOT the rear.

The sterling 10.25 is MUCH stronger than the D60 Rear axle, bolts right in, will allow you to retain your abs, will allow you to pull the drum to inspect brakes withOUT pulling the axle shafts, and parts are typically ON THE SHELF when you need something.

10.25 can be had for 200 and less so how "good" of a deal did you get on an inferior D60 REAR axle?

 

Thank you Brad.
Mind you, these were all things he was specifically told when he asked about the swap.
At this point it's his own ignorance. The lack of research into how to even perform the swap before purchasing, and apparently completely rebuilding, the axle is really astounding to me. If, and this is completely hypothetical, I was in that exact same scenario when doing an SAS, and I was going to use an axle from a Dodge (I believe the dodge front differential is in a different spot than the Ford, therefore not lining up with the transfercase output. If that isn't exactly the case, the point still stands) and literally EVERYBODY that read the thread said no, don't do that, there is a better model that lines right up, why in the world would you stick with an inferior model that needs to be modified to fit, even at a more expensive price?!

 

stock rear 60-30 spline axle shafts
8.8-31 spline shafts
10.25-35 spline shafts

so whats wimpy again? like the others have said ditch the 60 for a 10.25

 

Yeah I don't think I would refer to the 8.8 as "wimpy".

 

But the 8.8 only has 5 lugnuts holding the wheels on, whereas that big D60 has 8. That makes it like, 37.5% stronger

 

okay okay okay yall can not flame me that much.

I just bought 1990 F350 (well picking it up friday), its a Single cab long bed, 7.3 IDI and comes with a plow. Im deffinetly going to be taking the axles and i dont know about the rest of the truck.

Im toying with putting the TTB and 8.8 back on the 350 and using the 350 as a beater.


LAST QUESTION- Can i do a SAS and put in the 10.25 Sterling without loosing lift? you say its a direct bolt in, but is it direct like using exact same lift setup?

 

If you do an SAS, and use the Dana 60 front axle, you have to use the F350 front springs. It's an instant lift. If you use the Sterling 10.25, use the the F350 springs AND rear block. It's also an instant lift over stock. You're going to have to knock out all of your coil spring set up from the front and put in the leaf springs from the F350. There are other routes to go, but that's the way you ought to go. Then knock out the rivets for the half ton springs in the rear end, and put the 1 ton springs up there. It's really very easy.