So my front studs are 1/2" and my rears are 9/16". Per my tags on the vehicle the Dana60 Belongs and the Dana44HD belongs as well. So what's the most likely scenario for the mixed wheel studs? I doubt someone would've replaced all of one axle without matching to the other axle.

Both axles are 8 lugs. What wheel stud size should I have on both axles? 74 F250 4x4 8lug Dana44CFHD (3500# closed knuckle low pinion) and 8lug Dana60 rear. Drums all around.

 

Anybody have any thoughts or opinions?

 

 

I don't believe mine was a snofighter package. It was a one owner and he never mentioned any issues or urges to swap an axle but that could have happened.

I'm curious if I should just change my front studs to 9/16" (is that asking for trouble on the 44) should I switch the rear to 1/2" (or is that asking for trouble) or just buy two different set of lug nuts (not preferred, I'd rather them all match but I don't want to weaken one axle just to swap studs)

Hoping ND or mike chime in with some of their knowledge!

 

Someone swapped either the rear studs or the rear axle, but, I'm thinking most likely it was the studs. The stud size both front and rear was 1/2" originally.
Mark.

 

 

Is it possible/ will it weaken the Dana 60 to put 1/2" studs in instead of the 9/16"? That way I'm not drilling out anything?
I'm also curious if I have the heavy duty front axle should I not have 9/16" studs? Do bigger studs directly relate to strength of axle? Sorry for the barrage of questions, I've never had to deal with wheel studs before

@Numberdummy got any input on what axles/studs I should have or what I can do with my current set up?

 

Post up the BOM number off the rear axle tube. It's on the passenger side tube by u bolts facing towards the rear of the truck.

 

I guess I'm going to need a wire wheel cz there are no #s on the back tube. This is the rear of the tube looking towards the front of the vehicle. The other side, looks towards the rear of the vehicle is the exact same. Any idea where to start cleaning up so I don't scrub the entire axle? Lol

I have the axle id tag that I will try to clean up too

 

STart with the tag. As far as I know most of them came with the BOM on the tag as well
That is a strange one for sure. My F350 with 60's at both ends has 1/2" studs as expected.

Going larger would be an advantage in strength, but I'm not aware of any real issues with the smaller ones unless the rig is being used extra hard and/or has really big tires.
I'm just not sure you can simply change sizes in either direction though. Seems like it would be a pain to find just the right stud, with the large shank and small threaded end. Maybe not though.

But if someone had a buggered hole and just enlarged them all to accommodate the 9/16" studs, you're probably out of luck.
Did you check both sides to verify they're all the same?

Paul

 

Ok well I was clearly smoking something when I decoded everything the first time. My axle code is 24P which translates to
24- rear axle -4.10s Dana60/61
P- front axle -4.55 Dana60F

So to completely derail this original thread. 1 why are my gears different... being 4wd I thought front and back had to match? 2 I swore I had a Dana44CFHD. I'll double check but I'm positive that's what's underneath.

My BOM on the rear was 605022-1 which I decoded to a 3.73 Dana61. The axle tag also showed 3.73. So now I'm not even back to square 1 I'm behind it.

I have no knowledge on the Dana61, is it worth keeping? I have a spare Dana60 (don't know what shape it's in) that has 1/2" wheel studs. I could swap out. Or at least the axle hub?

 

So yeah here's my front axle

 

So one owner truck....guy wasn't super mechanically inclined.... but did he swap out the Dana 60 front and rear and swap in this crap, the dana44 and dana61? I doubt he would've done it but I'm guessing someone had to have swapped it out unless I'm just not reading everything right.

 

Well at least your tag and the BOM on the axle are still a matched set!
The engineering number (or whatever it's called?) shows the axle to be at least of a '71 design (the D1TA part). (edit: oops! Thanks ND. An '81 it is and I mis-wrote and it should have been the "E" instead of the "D" like I typed) Perhaps they kept the same number through at least '74?
I'm not sure how long a differential design number would run. But perhaps many years, rather than changing every year?

And yes, your gear ratios should match exactly in this case, since they're both Dana 60 family diffs. You will find slight variations between for instance a Ford 9" and a Dana 44 in a half ton/Bronco setup, or a Dana 60 and a Dana 44 in a heavier truck. But even still the variations are minimal, in the hundredths. Such as 3.50 vs 3.54, or 4.11 and 4.09 or 4.10 being matched sets, but a 4.10 and a 4.55 (which I'd never heard of by the way) being on the same truck from the factory? Not likely I would not think.
Maybe your interpretation of the 24P for your year is off? I bet Ford did not use the same code for every year, so if you're not using a '74 calculator perhaps it's giving you skewed information?

Not sure, but can't wait for NumberDummy or one of the others to sort it out for you.

Paul

 

You might consider counting teeth on the gears for verification of ratio in each end. Would be worth it for at least the peace of mind.
And a good excuse to inspect the condition and change the oil.

Paul