Dana 60 to Dana 70

[Doug Czaja]

It seems as though my stock Dana 60 rear end couldn't stand up to even a stock Cummins. I knew it was only a matter of time. After searching several salvage yards I have finally found a Dana 70 with the 3. 54 gears for $350 exchange. The rear end is no longer in the truck. The donor truck is said to be an '83 or '84 same as my truck. Now for the questions. There shouldn't be any major differences in the leaf spring mounts or shock mounts, right? Because the donor truck is of the same vintage the length and other dimensions (width, bolt pattern & yoke) should be the same, correct? Am I leaving something out? Please advise.



Thanks,

Doug

 

[Paul Herioux]

It should bolt right in Doug. The only difference may be the u-joint yoke. If it is different it is a change in the right direction. Bigger is always better.

Later,

Paul

 

[Doug Czaja]

Paul,



Thanks for the reply. The more I think about it the more concerns come up. Now I am wondering if the drive shaft will have to be cut down to fit.



Thanks,

Doug

 

[cjohnson1]

Doug,

If you do have to change out the yoke on the drive shaft it's not that big of a deal. Most drive shaft shops can get the beefier yoke that will slip into you tube and weld it in. I just had that done to my Motorhome DS's and it wasn't that expensive. We changed out all the joints (4), replaced the carrier bearing, shortened the front shaft almost 6 inches, replaced the transmission end yoke, and transmission flange plus balanced both shafts for less than $250. 00. It bolted right up. Only difference is I now have two different types of "U" joints in the driveline. But, no more than my motorhome will be driven,(vacation only, for now) it should last it's lifetime with proper maintenance.

Just so you'll know: I replaced a Ford 460 * C-6 with a 5. 9 L TD and Allison transmission. Almost done. Hardest part of the project so far? Getting up the courage to cut up the Ford wiring harness and toss most of it on the floor. And it was a big pile of wires when done. NO turning back after that.



SInce your in Texas and may be close to DFW, I had my work done at Inland Truck Parts in Fort Worth. They made it easy. Their atitude was, "Yea, we can do that for you! NO problemo!" Then did it. It was easy. And I'm very confident it was done correctly. You see, I got a lot of hassel from other places because of the custom *******ization project I was undertaking. Most places wouldn't give me the time of day. I kept hearing,"You need to take that to an "RV Dealer, since it's an RV". And the RV Shops would say," Those are Truck Parts, We don't work on Trucks". Anyway, My rearend is a DANA 70 too.

I found a good Truck place in Waco too if you closer. THey helped a bunch withthe parking brake issue. I have their phone #'s if you want them.

Woa, Did I type all that??????:--) Sorry, got carried away. CurtisJ

 

[Speedo]

Dana 60 vs. Dana 70

You can take the yoke off of your Dana 60 and put it on the Dana

70 if you want to. 60s and 70s use the same splines.



Gus

 

[Doug Czaja]

Curtis / Gus,



Thanks for the replies. I was hoping that the yokes would be interchangeable .



Curtis, I am just out side of San Antonio so FW & Waco are a little out of the way . I have delt with Thrash Drive Shaft in San Antonio on past projects & have contacted them about possible alterations. They claim to have new yokes, etc. in stock. I will probably use them unless someone can suggest another place. I hate taking my truck somewhere to have it worked on. First of all it's an "old Dodge", second of all it has been converted to a diesel, & it's a crewcab. First thing out of their mouth is "don't see many of those around" read expensive.



Curtis just out of curiosity, what year engine did you use in your swap? What model Allison did you use? Where did you get it? It sounds like your conversion was way more complicated than mine.



Later,

Doug

 

[cjohnson1]

I havethewholestory on the Conversion Forum here.

Here's a link to it.



The engine is an early 12 valve 98, and the Allison is an AT 542. The 542 came froma Motorhome so the valve body shift points should be set up pretty close to where I need them.



I have a link to my photo albumn there also.



The new yokes are the way to go. And according to Gus you won't need it anyway. Good info there Gus. I'll have to file that tidbit away for later.

Curtis J