Fix-up TTB, or wait and Swap D60

[lwillson]

Good Day All,

I need to redo my front axle. I still have a TTB in the front end, and would like to do a D60 swap. There are a few wrinkles to the plan.

1. D60's dont live here. If they do, they have been scooped by someone before they hit the boneyard. Kijiji , craigslist, and any other classifieds have turned up nothing.

2. I need to do something soon. The passenger side tire is wearing, and I need to make a 1200km trip mid september. I just replaced tires last fall, and only have 10,000kms on them. This pretty much rules out finding and rebuilding and swapping a D60 in that amount of time

3. I probably wont have time to do the work myself, so it will have to go into a shop to get the work done. I am not opposed to doing the work, but I would imagine the truck will have to be up on blocks for a few days for sure.

4. I have a few leaks of gear lube from the input shaft, as well as the drivers side output shaft of the diff. There will then probably need to be some seal work done as well. This is one of the reasons I dont want to take it into a shop, as they will probably want big money to dismantle the differential.

**edit** 5. I don't want to lift the front end. I am happy with the ride height, and I dont really have any issues with ground clearance right now. I replaced the springs last year (needed to), so the suspension is adequate for my needs.


It would appear that the logical choice is to repair the TTB. Is there anything other than ball joints and tie rod ends that should be repaired once the work has gone underway?

Or are there any other options I havent been able to think of?

If anyone has any ideas, I am open to hear them.

[CT Performance, Inc.]

IMO don't s[pend a dime on a TTB. Get a D60, RS kit and SD springs, we've helped countless over the last 9 years get the best ride quality doing this mod. Takes 2 days max to do.

D60 are plentifully but you may need to pay shipping..Priate 4x4.com or Doug at extreme axle sales can get them to you.

[lwillson]

Will a D60 basically bolt into the place of the TTB onto the existing springs, after removing the brackets from the crossmember?

[Chop]

It will bolt right up and you can even use your pittman arm.The steering linkages are not the same ,must use F350 drag link,tie rod ends.It is well worth the swap ,tires and axles joints and a host of other ailments come with the D 50 as you have experienced.I am happy with how mine turn out,rides true and tires wearing evenly.You can google the Dana 60 and find a ton of good info

[alberta 7.3]

I'm not sure if the D60 will fit with F250 springs. F350's are a couple inches taller because of different springs, which I see you mentioned you are happy with ride height. So if the 60 would even fit with F250 springs, you'd need an adjustable track bar for sure to make up for the different height. I know for a fact the D60 for our trucks is a royal PITA to find in Canada. You pay a kings ransom for a beat up pile of crap. Shipping from the US would be obscene. I'd say that with your time constraints and a road trip ahead to fix balljoints and tierods as needed, so you have a safe trip without a breakdown or worse. If you decide to keep the TTB, it would be a good idea to replace items like the knuckle u-joints, seals and axleshaft spindle bearings if needed. The pivot bushings should be checked for wear as well.

[CT Performance, Inc.]

D60 will bolt on a TTB spring but the ride quality will be bad.

[lwillson]

What kind of bad, would it be worse than a TTB on TTB springs?

[alberta 7.3]

I don't know, I don't want to derail this thread or start a pissing match, but I'm running TTB springs with a RSK on my D60 and the ride isn't bad at all. Granted, it isn't as nice as my SD.

[ekfinn]

For those of you who have the knowledge of this swap...

What years D60 axle can be used on our 94-98 Powerstrokes? I was told by someone that the pre-94 axles were king-pin and should be avoided, the 94-98 D60 axles (off the F-350s) were set up for ball joints and are the ones that should be used. Would an axle from a 2001 F-350 work? I found one all set-up on ebay for 1200.

[lwillson]

I found this link in an older post.
Pirate4x4.Com - Extreme Four Wheel Drive

Looks like we need to find a 92-97 D60, and it "should" just bolt right in. Quotes used very cautiously. As Bill proved with his swap, using an older one will work, but the pumpkin will be too close to the crossmember.

I'm on my way to take a look at a hopeful candidate, fingers crossed