I have a 74 f100 4x4 with a dana 44 front, and 9in rear. For sale near me is a dana 60, and a dana 44 8 lug out of an 72 f250. I am running 38 inch tires and know my 9 is not going to hang. What will be required aside from the simple stuff like changing the purches. Also is the 72 dana 60 and 44 a good year?

 

anybody? i plan on picking them up today after work

 

Keep the 9". It's only a little bit weaker than a Dana 60. It sounds like you just want to swap the front to keep the lug pattern, so if I were you I would just keep the rig as-is. If you need strength in the rear, get some better shafts.

 

the truck is a 5 lug now both front and rear. I want to toss the 9 because its puking oil out of both seals, the breaks are shot and the gearing is different then the 44. A guy is selling both a 44 and dana 60 out of his 72 f250 that both have the same 410 gears. Is there any difference between the 8 lug front dana 44 or the 5 lug dana 44?
the only real reason i want to switch is for the gears. But i figured the 60 would be a lot stronger than the 60, if not i might stick with the 9 and just redo the breaks and axle seals.

 

There is absolutely nothing desireable about the front or rear axle from the 1972 F250.
The front will have drum brakes, closed knuckles, and tiny axle shafts, different steering, a low pinion, leaf springs. You truck has coils and raduis arm up front, oh boy this is a bunch of work. The rear will have coarse axle shafts that are actually weaker than your 9" rear axle.
Again, there is nothing in this package that makes it worth while for your truck.
You will have far too much work invlolved and you would be steeping down.

 

Thank you for the advise. What should i look for as an upgrade for to the rear end? The 9inch is out of the truck right now and will need to be rebuilt if i plan on using it, the spring perches are bent and partially ripped off not a big deal to me easy enough fix. I have the ability to get a dana 60 out of an early 80s f250 would that be better? i also think there is a dana 70 out of a 73 f250 i could get would any of those be good choices?

 

Well this will be some decisions that you yourself will have to make. As mentioned above, you will have to buy new wheels, or you can modify the hubs to accomodate 5 lug wheels, but this is a real expensive alternative. new wheels are the least expensive.
You can save a little money and buy a set of 8 lug 15" wheels. They do exist, and with the right offset will clear larger 1 ton rotors and calipers. They will clear drums if you choose to keep drums.

Ok, understand that the rear dana 60 is not all that strong. It has thick tubes and a large ring gear, but thats where it ends. The stock D60 (typical) is only a 30 spline rear axle. Your 9" axle is a 31 spline. Yes the dana is a fullfloater, so there are advantages, but these advantages are limited to weight capacities and not necessarilly axle shaft strength.

We could get into ring and pinion mesh, and the problems associated with this, and the actual advantages of the 9 inch over the dana, but this becomes rather technical, and well, boring. The 9 inch unit still has davantages here, especially when the gear ratios get changed above 4.56 (which is probably where you should be).

Ok, the D 70 does address the above issues by making a greater contact area between the ring and pinion, so it becomes stronger, and many 70's will have larger shafts than the D60, but you should probably hold out for a 70 with 35 splines. Some have smaller shafts like 32 splines and while stronger, they are only marginally stronger, and not a great value.

You know, you can find a later D70 axle, and even a sterling 10.25 full floater, or even a 10.5" rear axle. These are very strong, and offer exactly what you are looking for.
You also have the option to use a 14BB rear axle. This is a GM axle, but they are strong as can be, and are dirt cheap. Some years are direct bolt ins, with the exception of the larger wheels studs and larger 1350 beefy u-joint.

As for the front, you can install 3/4 ton components to upgrade to 8 lugs. Chebby knuckles and outers to accomodate an 8 lug bolt pattern are also an option.
This is probably the least expensive way to get some strength, and keep the front wheels and rear wheels the same.
Eventually, if you start breaking your front end, you will have to find a D60, but that is probably down the road a little ways.

 

I would keep the 9 in gear swaps are easy and they are strong enough for the most part . If you realy want the danna 60 then get a 3/4 or 1 ton truck .

 

What happens if the F100 is a shortbed. The 3/4 ton axles are marginally stronger than the 1/2 tons that they would replace, now a true one ton set-up is where its at.
Oh yeah, the shortbed. If you have a shortbed, and need the strength of one tons, then you have to make a truck.
This would look like my other truck:




Sometimes you just have to build what you want.

 

I think there is a mid to late ambulance at the junk yard next to me, might have to check what axle that has in it, and hope its the 10.50. Iam not worried about wheels there is a couple sets at the junk yard that will fit my tires that i can grab cheap that are 8 lug.
the guy that has the 72 dana 60 and 44 8 lugs only wants 300 for both with 2 rims and 2 35's to bad the dana 60 aint any better.

 

Also will my drive shaft bolt to a dana 60 or 70 or maybe even a 14 bolt?

 

Nope. By shear fact that the larger axles have larger ring gears will make your current driveshaft too long. You will aslo have different driveshaft u-joints to consider, so expect to need some driveshaft modifications when you perform your swap.

 

Your best bet for a rear axle if your going to go to a 8 bolt axle would be one of the sterling axles...they can be had fairly cheap, and they're tough as nails.....

 

what year vehicle can i find one out of ?

 

1987-ish F-250/F-350 up to 1997. They are a VERY stout axle and can be easily found with 3.55 and 4.10 ratios.