Rednroll

You're right.....

$725 on Amazon. Says it's for a "Dana 60"

https://www.amazon.com/Eaton-915A388...uetrac+Dana+60

This one is for a "Ford" axle at $615.
https://www.amazon.com/Eaton-915A550...CS40M8NTYCSTFZ

I wonder which one is for a "Ford Dana 60"?

jtphoto JK

Cool. 3.73 should be same as your D44 3.73.

jtphoto JK

So many different models of D60 you will probably have to get the proper model and year of D60 and look it up on the Eaton/Detroit application chart.

Rednroll

This made me rethink this some. I was originally thinking the C's were the same size as our JK axles, where I could just fit some JK ball joints to them and then mount up my stock Dana 30 hubs to those D60 Cs.

Now that I think about that some more, I realize that's likely a very wrong assumption. I think I was originally under that assumption based off of Fusion 4x4's Hybrid 60/44 already converted axle where it shows you can mount your stock hubs to it. I'll have to ask them that question, of what they did with the Cs on their conversion to be able to mount up the JK hubs.


I may have read too much into that "bolt on your JK outer parts and go!" when considering doing my own conversion using their kit.


In my original post for this discussion, I've started a list of questions that I will need to ask to Fusion 4x4 when using their conversion kit.

TheDirtman

You can get inner C's from several places and if they are for a dana 44 they should be able to mount up the factory knuckle if you have the right ball joints. Solid, parts mike, and even dynatrac will sell you just the C for a 44 that is a lot thicker and stronger then the factory C and with a bigger tube bore. This is the easy way to convert a bigger axle but you still keep the unit bearings (bad) and will still have smaller ball joints (bad). Look at brackets as well for a junk yard build as they will run you $800-1000 depending on set up. And don't forget the tone rings in order to make your speedometer and abs work. IF you can't weld then you will have 3-4 hours of weld time putting brackets on @ around $100 per hour. Factory driveshafts will not fit since a dana 60 center section is bigger and add axle side yolks to the cost. Your parking brake cable is unlikely to fit. Drum brakes vs disc can be a pain and costly. Front lock out hubs are expensive if you don't do the factory unit bearings and is something every serious wheeler out there is going to run. This topic has been done to death on JKOwners.com and while you will hear people say you can build junk yard axles for $2k it is not realistic unless you get the axles for free and pick up the gears and carrier used and can do all the labor and welding on your own. Realistically a set of 60's built to fit and work under a JK with selectable lockers is going to run you closer to $5k if you do it yourself and more like 8K if you are paying someone to build them and set them up.
The JK axes should handle 35" tires fine without modifications done to it unless you are going go abuse it. I would look at tons for 37"+ but the loss in ground clearance for ton axle for 35's is not worth the trouble.

TheDirtman

IF you look closely to the front axle you will see there is no room to mount control arm or shock to the driver side of the tube. Those axle are only going to work with leaf springs. That rear axle will typically hit the fuel tank because of the offset. The rear is also full float and you will have a hard time converting it to a JK bolt pattern. Axles that are sized right for a 4 link are typically more in the $1200 range and a little harder to find.

sea bass

This!
I think the op is over-thinking it.

Weekend warrior running 35's on chrome rims with no plans to step up to 37's or 40's? Gusset the 30, put some some beefier shafts in it and call it a day.

Rednroll

Makes sense. You haven't looked at the Fusion 4x4 conversion kit in my OP have you?

That addresses all the needed mounting brackets for the convert $415 by welding on a truss and the brackets are on the truss. It seems like it's a good solution because you only need to be concerned about the initial placement of the truss, and the other brackets fall into place. I can handle welding in a truss.

If still having the weaker unit bearing ends up being my only problem, I could live with that. That seems like it would be the same case if I went with a PR44 Dana 44.

I'm not swapping the rear axle, just showed a pic which included a rear Dana 60 axle. Planning to do a front axle swap only.

I'll add asking Fusion 4x4 which Superduty D60 front axle they recommend for the conversion and then will need to shop for prices on those. The axles I posted from CL are just for reference, not the ones I'm purchasing.

Rednroll

Most of that looks like it's addressed with the Fusion 4x4 conversion kit, including spring bucket mounts.

So you don't have to click on the link I posted to the kit. I'll repost the info from their site.

- 1/4" thick mild steel truss and brackets for much higher strength than the factory bracket and other aftermarket brackets. Precision CNC cut and bent for great fitment.*
- Includes all the brackets necessary for a complete axle swap including upper and lower control arm mounts, shock mounts, anti-sway bar mounts, tracbar mount, and coil spring mounts.
Save hours of installation time. Brackets are jigged into truss and set exact position automatically. All other brackets just need to line up to truss, no guessing and measuring involved.
- Easily upgradeable for future link geometry changes. Just trim off factory location upper control mounts and weld on a new centered link mount.
- Truss is reinforced using interlocked 1/4 thick gussets for maximum strength and easy assembly.
- Overall low profile design means your axle is stronger, sleaker, easier to fit into any vehicle, and less likely to interfere with vehicle components.**

Again not doing the rear.

TheDirtman

except that front axle does not have room for brackets on the driver side even with said bridge.