differences between different Dana's

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Oct 31, 2004 | 03:53 PM

lisagoud

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Fleet Mechanic

Joined: Nov 2003

Posts: 1,500

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differences between different Dana's

I think I'm in need of a refresher course on Dana front end and rear end differences. I know what a Dana 44 is and I know what is a ford 9' Rear end. I need to know how to tell a Dana 60 from a 70 or a 80 fronmt gears and rear gears. Is a Ford 9' rear also known as a Dana expecially if it's free floating with 8 lugs.
For example I have 4 heavy duty F250's all with full ton rear ends and 8 lug 16" wheels:
2-1986 2wd
1-1987 4wd
1-1989 4wd.
I know ratio codes from the vin tag but I don't know where to look on these differential to find out what type of axle it is(Dana 44, 60, 80, etc.). Any educated help would sure be appreciated.

Oct 31, 2004 | 07:11 PM

ivanribic

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Joined: Jul 2003

Posts: 11,945

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From: Spokane, WA

A 9" rear is not a Dana of any kind. Dana axles do not have a removable 3rd member like the 9" axle does. Typically you can identify a Dana axle by the code cast into the webbing by the diff cover. You will see a "60", "70", etc. corresponding to the axle model. Ring gear size varies depending on the mode as well. D60's used a 9.75 ring gear I believe vs. a D70 which has a 10.5" ring gear. I'm not sure the measurement on the 80's , 44's and other models. There were a lot of variances like axle spline count, shaft diameter, full floating vs semi floating, etc. Axle tube size also varies, with the Dana 70 and 80 having huge tubes to carry the extra weight.

I don't have the website address but if you do a search there's a very good site that will show you pictures of each model's diff covers to help you identify them if you can't find the number.