Question?
If i take a chevy/dodge dana 60
1. Rotate the knuckles 180*
2. flip the axel ***'y over
3. install a set of standard cut gears
Will I have a HI-Pinion D-60 set up for a Ford? EXCLUDING the spring perches! cvbn

 

what truck do you have ? year, 150-250 ?, t-case , your ideas wont work at all for doing that to a gm, dodge 60....anything you can do to make a passenger side input 60 work is not in any way cost effective

 

well if you are good with a welder you can cut the axel tubes a specific distance from the splined axel ends inside the carrier and swap , and reweld...but i'll only do that if t get a FREEBEE!!! GM or Dodge axel. or you can press the axle tubes out,swap, and reweld them ,but i'd only do that with a freebee ...look at this sight .....http://www.bc4x4.com/tech/2001/hpd60front/...look at wha the did to the long side...

 

Technically you can do anything you want. Whether it's reliable and works dependably is subject to interpretation.

Problems: Alignment. Everything must be perfect in order for it not to pull to one side or the other. Also under extreme braking if one side has more caster or camber than the other it can lead to interesting results.
Dependability: Entirely dependent on your welding/fabrication skills. Do you want your children to drive this thing when you aren't there? How about your significant other. Will they know how to react in an emergency if it has quirky handling problems. Where will you obtain repair parts if you are in the middle of Mexico on vacation. Will the axle shafts have to be custom pieces?$$$$$$ Also the reverse rotation dana's have special oiling provisions for the pinion shaft cast into the housing. You will have to find a way to forcefully oil the pinion bearings or they will burn up. Along with having to install reverse rotation gears and setting them all up.

Time spent per enjoyment returned: This is the biggest problem that I find as I get older. The amount of time I was willing to put into a project when I was younger has decreased significantly over the years. Now I look forward to using my toys not fixing or manufacturing them all the time. How many days and nights will it take you to cut the knuckles off and flip everything around, then line it all up to spec and put on the correct spring perches etc. Then put it all in and hope the alignment and everything else is up to par so you can enjoy driving down the road without worrying about whether you can hold it in your lane if you have to.

When you add up all the headaches and the pain from doing this swap plus all the money ( unless you already have all the parts to do the swap and they were free) you will be money ahead to buy what you are after rather than make it.

If you really must do all this, consider a straight swapping of the pumpkin from right hand side to left hand side. That way you don't have to turn the diff upside down and get new gears along with fixing the oiling. If that option doesn't meet your needs then do what you must. But go in knowing that it looks easy on paper, but more than one car has been rendered undriveable by modifications that didn't turn out as planned.

Good Luck, Wish you the best.

 

you do have a point ! i've been looking an thinking, i believe i'm just going too wait it out and go for a D44 hd, or a D60,will be a lot easier in the long run...thanks

 

Get the right 1 ........easier and cheaper..........

 

no no and no, you absoulutly canot flip an axle over, the axle has oiling chanels cast into it, if you use it upside down some parts are going to recive no oil, ive seen the aftermath of this, not prety

 

You also have a problem with the carrier bearings, in the high pinions, the torque on these bearings is greater, and the bearings are quite a bit larger than the normal 44s and 60s. The result of a simple flip would be a continual process of pressing bearings on and off the carrier because of the extreme wear conditions, or a possible seizing of the bearing and a spin inside the case, causing a very large hole.

 

Well, lets see - The ring gear would be on the opposite side from where it was intended, right? With that setup, if you had a 4 speed tranny, wouldn't that give you 4 reverse gears and 1 forward? The rotation on the driveline would turn the ring gear the opposite direction causing the truck to push/pull!!!