Dana 44 or Dana 60?

[Drewskie1992]

Hey everyone, I’m pretty new to the forum and just trying to find the right answer on which axles I should to my solid axle swap to. First off my 98 K1500 is a woods truck only! Currently running 35s I’m pretty sure this truck has 3:73s in it but I’m not too positive (I bought it for $700) at the end of last fall I had the inner CV joint on the passengers side blow apart on me and had the rear pumpkin hung up on a nasty rock. So I’m now looking into solid axles for the front (and will most likely buy a matched pair so rear as well). I’m looking into trading my 35s to 40 that will fit my wheels and figured the hell with it I might as well swap it. Currently I have found a matching set of Dana 44s (believe they are 3:7? 3:4? couldnt find a straight answer) out of a 87 wagoneer (from what I’ve read they have the same 6 on 5.5” bolt pattern of my current wheels).I also found a matching pair of Dana 60s out of a 1977 Dodge power wagon with 4:56 gears. But the Dana 60s are 8 x 6.5 (I think 6.5) bolt pattern. I’d really rather stick with my current wheels and go to 40s rather than buying wheels and tires for the 60s. Any idea on which route I should go or suggestions would be great.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

Go with the Dana 60. With an 8 bolt pattern it's probably a HD 3/4 Ton axle. Way stronger bearings too. If you're gonna go with 40" tires you'll want at least 4.56 gears, maybe even 4.88s.

 

[smdk2500]

Hey everyone, I’m pretty new to the forum and just trying to find the right answer on which axles I should to my solid axle swap to. First off my 98 K1500 is a woods truck only! Currently running 35s I’m pretty sure this truck has 3:73s in it but I’m not too positive (I bought it for $700) at the end of last fall I had the inner CV joint on the passengers side blow apart on me and had the rear pumpkin hung up on a nasty rock. So I’m now looking into solid axles for the front (and will most likely buy a matched pair so rear as well). I’m looking into trading my 35s to 40 that will fit my wheels and figured the hell with it I might as well swap it. Currently I have found a matching set of Dana 44s (believe they are 3:7? 3:4? couldnt find a straight answer) out of a 87 wagoneer (from what I’ve read they have the same 6 on 5.5” bolt pattern of my current wheels).I also found a matching pair of Dana 60s out of a 1977 Dodge power wagon with 4:56 gears. But the Dana 60s are 8 x 6.5 (I think 6.5) bolt pattern. I’d really rather stick with my current wheels and go to 40s rather than buying wheels and tires for the 60s. Any idea on which route I should go or suggestions would be great.

Both sets of those front axles will not work with you transfer case. If you want to put a solid axle in and not change your transfer case you will need to find one out of a ford. The preferred axle is out of a 78-79 F350 which would be a dana 60. You can use one out of a F250 but 79 was the last year of solid axles in those. Off road design sells a kit to install it but you will have to buy new springs and a crossover steering system.