Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Front axle reverse rotation or not?

[jalberring]

Hello, I searched for this but only came up with a couple of posts talking about new custom axles.



I am wondering if the front axle in my 2002 non-CAD Dana 60 is reverse rotation?



If not, how much weaker is it and why wouldn't they use the reverse rotation? (Cost?)



Thanks, Jason

 

[CJ Lagos]

It is a standard cut front axle. Reverse rotation only appear in Fords from the factories, they helped devlop it or something in the 70's.



CJ

 

[jalberring]

Thanks.



I'm not sure why Ford is the only one that uses this though. There isn't a patent or something is there? Or maybe it costs a lot more to build.



Reverse rotation is a lot stronger right? Does anyone know how much stronger?



If I understand correctly the only way to get reverse rotation is to swap in a new axle in our trucks.



Thanks again.

 

[fj40charles]

The info is correct. Ford is the only company where a reverse rotation D60 was used. This was the end result of Ford asking Dana to custom make a housing for them. I think it had to do with driveline angle because a reverse rotation pinion is much higher than standared rotation.



It is stronger, because the pinion is driving on the "drive" side of the ring gear. The drive side the the flat side of the ring gear.

It is only stronger when used in the front axle. If used in the rear, then the pinion would be driving on the "coast" side.



Dynatrac and Teraflex both make custom reverse rotation D60 housings.



I ended up buying a pair of D60 front axles from a 78 F250 or F350 single wheel and had some custom axles built for my Land Cruiser. I went for the reverse rotation for higher pinion location.



The only thing that is really valuable in the Ford front axle is the pumpkin.



Hope this helps. .



Charles

 

[Clinton]

You've probably already done so, but check out Fritz's front axle at dodgeram.org. He has told me if they had been available when he ordered his axle, he would have simply gotten one of Dynatracs upgrade kits. Dynatrac is now offering three kits for our front axles that differ in beefiness. I think the reverse rotation does not compromise strength nearly as much as the CAD and auto hubs. I'm considering the middle Dynatrac kit myself, but as with all things relating to these trucks, expense is making me consider plenty. I'll probably wait and see if problems develop.

 

[emjay]

One way to distinguish "reverse-rotation" (incendentally a misnomer, it is reverse cut ) axle from a standard axle is - as Charles pointed out - the pinion centerline is above the axle centerline rather than below it. The only way to reverse the rotating direction of the pinion in relation to the ring gear is to locate the ring gear on the opposite side of the pinion. As far as I know, the primary advantage is that the driveline angle is much better. think about it -- for a given axle position, the pinion is somewhere in the neighborhood of 2-4" higher, resulting in shorter driveshaft, and less driveline angle. The reverse cut gears -- when used in a conversion for a rear axle (typically in Jeeps and Landcruisers) it is well known that the configuration results in compromised gear strength as a trade off for the improved driveshaft angle. That is why the bigger (Dana 60, 70, etc. ) diffs are used in those conversions. When used in a front axle, it is stronger than its standard cut counterpart. I found a link that describes a project in more detail: Conversion Project