I plan on hitting the road nearly every weekend this summer to hit the pulls around WI and also in the midwest.
I am putting down 485+HP and I imagine I'll grenade my D70 LS axle eventually..

What are my rear axle options? I know that 94-98 trucks with manual transmissions have the Dana 80 (dana70/80 hybrid)

What about the 3rd gen rear axles by American Axle? Would they be any beefier? I need a 4.10 ratio because thats what I currently have now and I'm quite happy with it.
I've also hear that the axle out of a 4WD F-Superduty truck is a Dana 80 setup as well, and has the same bolt pattern.

Also, if I find a DRW truck axle, can I make that work with my setup or will it take a lot of fabbing?

I appreciate any and all input.

Thanks In advance.

Garrett

 

As I understand it, the Dodge Dana 80 is just an 80 center section with 70 shafts and tubes. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I also remember looking over Big Boy's Toy (twin turbo'd open class) and he still had the Dodge 60 on the front, and his 80 on the rear. I think you'll be alright, if something goes it will most likely be the pinion yoke or the u joint at the axle end. That's something you can carry a spare and a big socket set with you and change out on site to get home. I also plan on pulling a bit harder this year, I don't have near the power you have but I've got a spare 70 in the shed if mine grenades.

The AAM axle is beafier, it has a larger ring gear, similar to an 80 I believe. The newer SD axles have the metric bolt pattern. Anything out of an older style will have the same pattern as ours.

 

Hey, how close is Amherst to the MN border by the way? I might be heading across the river to a pull or two this summer...

 

a dana 80 will be fine if you break one of these with less than 500hp i will be very suprised, also haisley and eep both sell heavy duty axles for the d80 that will not break

 

I thought most Ford rear axles were Sterlings? And from what I remember, they weren't as tough as the Dana's!

Chris

 

Depends on what you're going to break... axle shafts are the same between the 70&80.. I'd just replace 'em with some 4340's, and you won't be breaking those.

If you actually break the ring gear, then you're in for some upgrades... I'm not sure how much bigger (if any) the D80 pinion is vs. the 70.

in the rockcrawling world, of the few D70 breaks I've heard of, they were always axle shafts. Only time a R&P grenaded was when it wasn't setup right...

Ymmv.

 

Eskimo,

How familiar are you with the older Dana 60/70's? I just scored a Dana 70 with 4.56 gears, I would like to put 3.54's in the housing. Can I swap a 3.54 D60 power lock and gearset into the 70?

What is a d60 front with4.10's worth these days?

 

No, you can't......D60 and D70 carriers are not interchangable and the ring gear sizes differ by 3/4".

A D80 pinion and pinion bearings are notably larger than the D70.....as are the carrier, carrier bearings, ring gear and housing. The D70 HD is different story.....it actually uses a D80 carrier and carrier bearings but the rest of the assembly is of the same size as a standard D70 but it does have a housing that is all it's own. The D80 is somewhat overkill for a 1 ton truck and will put up with much more torque loading than a D70.

Also, a D60 uses the same carrier and pinion bearings as a D70 and also uses the same pinion gear. The strength gain of the D70 over the D60 is a in the carrier and corresponding ring gear size increase. Also, the D70's do have a stronger housing.

If you can break a D80 with 4340's you could consider stepping up to 40 spline 4340's but if it is a dedicated puller, you could also swap in a 2.5 Rockwell or Timkin and be done with it!

 

So a no go on the 60 into a 70, How many splines are there on the mid 80's Dodge dana 70? I have seen some 70 Power locks floating around for a decent price.

 

hey do you plan on coming down to southern WI at all? I cant help ya as far as what rear to run. But we have a truck pullers club down here that has a pretty good show, badger truck pullers assoc. or something like that. there is a guy with a really sweet third gen. that does well, but he wrecks ujoints, driveshafts and rear ends alot. its his daily driver too. be cool for you to come down and try to beat him. get a second gen. back in first place! Bret
p.s. just looked at pics of your ride... very sweet!!

 

They could be 32 or 35 spline as could the 2nd gen D70.....I have never seen a 32 spline 2nd gen D70 but have been told that they have come equipped that way. The best way to be sure is to pull a shaft and count the splines and be sure to count the splines on a used Powr-Lok before you buy it.

 

Mr. Nut answered just about everything... The D60 front? That depends.. is it the one from a Ram, or the one that was with the D70? If it's the older one, I'll give ya $250 to get it out of your way..

Honestly, if it's in good shape, ready to run, not from a dually, and has the internal locking hubs (that don't bolt to the end of the hub), you can pull a grand. External hubs are harder to sell because nobody makes 35 spline external hubs that the 4x4 guys practically demand.

If you can get me real good details, and maybe a few pics, I will post them around on the local 4x4 boards for ya, should get alot of attention.

 

It is a Full time 4X4 unit with the 4.10's, new rotors, calipers, and hoses. It is in great shape.

 

How does a 14B compare to the 70 and 80? I know they're tough sob's and can be had for $75. Also the 14B is a full floater, I think the 70 and 80's are semi-floating but could be wrong.

 

all the 70s and 80s i have seen are all full float. and i would rank a 14bolt right there with a 70. and 14bolts can be had semi float and full float. full float being the most common.