I have been looking for a dana 70 after all the advice i got on here on buying one. so i went to a couple junk yards but only found 1 ford dana 70. but theres a problem its from a 90's pickup so it has ABS. the guy who ran the junk yard didnt know exactly what year. so i was wondering if i could still use this axle on my 78? can i just unplug the wires and not use them and it will still work? or would i have to wire my truck for ABS just so i could use that axle if i bought it?

 

Are you going to keep it as a single rear wheel or thinking as a dual wheel rear??? then you would have an 'issue' w/ the buds used on the front and the 90 rear diff? This may be a silly ??? but my '88 f350 has a sterling 10.25 in it w/ abs/antilock, which has the light in the dash illuminated but the brakes work fine, just no anti lock feature, are you sure the one you are looking at is a d70?? on one of the other threads they say that the d70 is in the f350 2wd p/u's.

 

Young, if I were you I would either pm user 75F350 or wait for him to respond to your thread. He is very helpfull and can probably answer any axle question you can throw at him. He once warned me about certain dana 70 rears are not much stronger than a dana 60 rear and that you need to make sure it has 1.5 inch shafts and 35 splines. Im not sure about the newer trucks with 70's but Im sure he can steer you in the right direction. Some other members have went with the sterling rearends so I would think the abs stuff wouldnt be an issue.

 

I put a HD Dana 70 on my truck from an 81 E350 Van. It increased my carrying capacity to 7,400 from, I believe, 5,900. Its' a 35 spline. Sorry I can't address the ABS question though..
Dak

 

its a single wheel rear end and im going to keep it that way. and i dont konw if it came off a 2wd truck or not but plan and putting it on my 78 4wd if i buy it and it will fit im not sure yet still need some more advice im not expert im only 18.

 

The axle does not know whether or not a vehicle is equiped with ABS or not. You can have an axle equiped with a VSS (vehicle speed sensor) and install it in an early vehicle without the electronics, and the brakes will still function.
Plain old juice brakes are a simple mechanical function. ABS is an electronic funcction that requires the speed sensor, and a pump to cycle the brakes during a panic stop. Any failire of these devices, and the brakes just become plain old brakes again. Your brakes will function as plain od juice brakes.
An example:
Pull the wires for a later model vehicle with ABS, and stand on the brakes. The brakes will lock up, and will work just like normal, only without the ABS function. Your 70's trucks, or anything not equiped with the ABS system will still work as aadvertised, ionly without the ABS function.
Alright, so the ABS axle (which really is a normal axle, with normal brakes) will work just fine, without modification. However, we have to look at this axle a little better.
What year did you say it was? Was the D70 even offered in this year truck? I just bought an 88 F350 and in the rear, it has a sterling / visteon axle, not a dana.
Either way, even when installed in a 70's truck, it will work fine, just want to make sure you actually buy what you are looking for.
The sterling FF10.25 (which I believe you are actually looking at) will still be a fine axle, you must make sure that you are buying what you think you are really buying.


Does the inspection cover have 10 or 12 bolts? (sounds like chebby stuff huh?)
The dana axle (almost all of them) will have 10 bolts, and the sterlings will have 12 holding the cover on.
Also make 100% sure that if you buy a sterling that you purchase a full floater.

 

ok well first all thanks for the help much appreciated now i know that about axles. and i dont know what year it was since the man that ran the junkyard didnt know. and i dont know if the Dana 70 was offered that year or not i will search the internet. and also i will go back tommorow and look at the axle again if its still there and see if its a 10 or 12 bolt. and how can i tell if its a full floater or not? thanks for the help

 

Right on man. No worries, just ant to get you pointed in the right direction.

Recognizing a full floater is pretty easy, I guess, Here is an old article, that explains this question and gets into some other imprtant info:
Axle Tech Info - 4Wheel & Off-Road Magazine

 

the d70 and the year just didn't sit right w/ me either, and I remember hearing that the d70 were only in the 2wd f350's

 

Last year for a Dana 70 in an F Series truck: 1985.

As of 2002, the Dana 70 was still available in E350's.

E350: The 1990/2002 Ford Light Truck Parts Catalogs says this: Dana 267 (Dana 70).

The Ford rear axle ID tag was under one of the bolts that holds the inspection cover on.

If it's still there, post what the ID code is. It could be an S or a V followed by three digits, examples: S241A / V102S.

The Dana 70 Rear Axle ID number is stamped on a 2" x 1/2" steel plate that's bolted to the axle housing to the left of the inspection cover.

The ID number may also be stamped on the axle tube. The number will be either 7 or 8 digits, like these two examples: 603010-1 or 603010-11.

If you find the code, post it...I can tell you exactly what the rear axle is from, the year(s) it was used.

The same ID info also applies to Dana 60's.

 

That number you are referring to is called the BOM, Bill of Materials. Those numbers are on all Dana products. You can look the numbers up (no matter the brand manufacturer, GM, Ford, Dodge) thru Dana's website The Expert - Main Menu - Information for driveshafts, u-joints, axles, heavy axles, light axles, Driveline. It will give you make and model, parts diagrams, and illustrations of what you have. The website only goes back to the very late 70's however.