"Blanc-Oh!", my distraction

[BDKW1]

245 sounds high for a 9". I have picked one up by myself several times. I'm also pretty sure a 9" is lighter than an 8.8. A lot less cast iron in the assembly.

Now if you were talking trussed/tabbed with floater hubs and 40 spline axles, I might see it being closer to the 245 number. But a stock 31 spline van rear end is pretty light.

[ChaseTruck754]

Having moved all of the comparable axles mentioned around a time or 3 I'd say my uncalibraded hernia-o-meter puts the d60 closer to the sterling than the 9" for sure. Plus what d60 did the weigh and what 9"? An earlier bronco 9" isn't a ton lighter than true full size width options, but it does add a bit.
Also, dropping the drums for disks on the d60 saves a bunch of weight as I'm sure you know. You'll be doing this in converting to 5x5.5 I'm sure so that'll help your unsprung weight numbers a little.

As for the hubs, here's a couple unsolicited pieces of internet rambling:
I want to agree and say I recall the d60 and d70 being the same. I also have a buddy who machined d60 hubs for the 5x5.5 lug pattern and there was enough "meat" left for him to be comfortable with it. I never saw um in person though. From what I recall the 14Bff hubs got too thin to make it worth doing. And for BfTank - it surprises me 14B hubs went on a D60. I seem to remember the snouts/spindles being overall different lengths. Assuming some creative bearing setup was used??
Someone out there made FF conversion hubs, I just can't remember who and think they were discontinued but I heard they had a bunch of old stock around they weren't advertising as hardly anyone ever bought any. I want to say Solid did, but it's been years since I looked. A call to them would clear things up I'm sure. Or, talk to Dan at Ruff Stuff as he seemed to know the ins and outs of this years ago when I was talking to him.
Another brain fart is I seem to think there were 5 lug (5x5.5) FF d60's out there in a weird van or something. Maybe worth a little time on google?

[ntsqd]

I'm really hoping these bearing caps fix this problem. Will buy me time to work up a better solution while still being driveable as I may need to press it into DD service for a short while.

I've seen semi-float D60's in cars and in trucks, but have never heard of or seen an OEM FF D60 with other than 8 lugs. If it does exist it's probably bordering on being a Unicorn.

My thought was to make axle flanges that would allow the use of Exploder RDB's on a FF D60. There's some nuances involved that are yet to be sorted out, but I believe it can be done. (I will say that I've pondered looking at using Expedition RDB's instead. Might be a better 'natural bias' match on a rig of this size.)
Can't say that I'm all that fond of the obvious tone ring solution. Been wondering if there's room to add it to the D60 diff. Guess that I need to chase down a FF D60 and look into that.

What do you mean by "FF conversion hubs"? Not the old Warn FF conversions? Those used drive slugs or locking hubs rather than bolt-on drive axles. I'd rather not go in the direction of double splined axles and drive slugs, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if that is what had to happen.

[ChaseTruck754]

You just said you had seen conversion hubs for the d60 but made it seem like it was the semifloat version. I was just clarifying that I have seen the hub for 5x5.5 on the FF version d60. I just can't for the life of me remember where...

[ntsqd]

I recall years ago there being a 5 x 5.5 D60 hub made. Just looked at the two names that I can think of, Crane & Reid Racing. Neither appears to offer such a hub. Did find this: http://www.partsmike.com/index.php/prod ... n-55-wheel which doesn't really solve the rear axle problem.

[BDKW1]

There was a company in Wisconsin? making aluminum hubs for several axles. They had 5X5.5 for D60's. I can't remember what the name of the place was though.

[ChaseTruck754]

That sounds like that one I was thinking of. Don't they make racing axles too? Short course guys seem to use them. Blanking on the name. I just keep having Speedway and Moser run through my head but know that's not it.

[ntsqd]

Vaguely sounds familiar to me, too. Had a look at the roundy-racing vendors that I know of. There are these: http://www.colemanracing.com/Hub-Alumin ... P6352.aspx but a GN spindle is narrower bearing spacing than a D60. The "Wide 5" bearing spacing I think would be close, but so far I'm not finding a 5 x 5.5 hub to fit those (fyi: http://www.colemanracing.com/HUB-ALUMIN ... P3997.aspx). Years ago ToddZ sent me a graphic that showed the relative dims of the different floater spindles. I'll have to see if I can find it.

Maybe I should just convert to the Ford Model A BC and run these: https://www.lefthanderchassis.com/v2a/1 ... 1891100000

[ChaseTruck754]

Speedway Engineering MAY have wide 5 in the 5x5.5. Been a looooong time though, so I may be remembering wrong.

If you find that bearing spacing PDF I'd love to see it. I know GN is narrower for sure. I used to have a pic of my GN snout next to a d60 one to show the difference. Not sure where that ended up...

[BDKW1]

Maybe it was the front 60's.

https://www.picuki.com/media/2158418604780401617

[mobil1syn]

https://solidaxle.com/

https://solidaxle.com/collections/wheel-hubs

https://solidaxle.com/collections/wheel ... bs-for-d60

https://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/ca ... YNTEC.html

https://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/ca ... gIZT_D_BwE

[mobil1syn]

That sounds like that one I was thinking of. Don't they make racing axles too? Short course guys seem to use them. Blanking on the name. I just keep having Speedway and Moser run through my head but know that's not it.

these guys?

http://www.9inchfloater.com/index.htm

[ntsqd]

I've already looked at all of those. Almost w/o exception those are fronts, not rears. trying not to use fronts in the rear, vastly prefer a drive axle that bolts to the wheel hub.

https://solidaxle.com/

https://solidaxle.com/collections/wheel-hubs

https://solidaxle.com/collections/wheel ... bs-for-d60

https://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/ca ... YNTEC.html

https://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/ca ... gIZT_D_BwE

Front hubs used, not rears. If I'm going to put new spindles in a used housing I'll put these: https://torqmotorsports.com/product/14- ... -spindles/ in a D60 and use these hubs: https://solidaxle.com/collections/wheel ... wheel-hubs with some flanged drive axles from Moser, Dutchman, etc.
Possibly even better would be to put those spindles & hubs on an early 2000's Sterling 10.5 because then I get the tone ring too.

BTW, did a deep search of the home machine and have not found the graphic showing the differences in the spindles.

[mobil1syn]

why are you opposed to a drive flange? all the bolt on full floats ive been around the get used in the dezert (ultra4 racing) all weep and leak.

[ntsqd]

Because I've seen what happens when a drive slug fails, and I have seen those fail literally just driving down the street. I've never seen a bolt-on drive axle fail in moderate use, i.e. more or less the use they were designed for. I'm not crawling or racing this thing with 40's on it. I just don't like semi-floating axles. Racing is a good extreme circumstances test, but it really doesn't address real world longevity.

I'll contend that those that are weeping/leaking were not put together with the intended gasket (14bbff), face seal o-ring (Sterling 10.5), or with Hylomar. People used to think my FJ60 FF axle was leaking. It was not. They were seeing dust stuck to the Hylomar.

In any case, the shop is close to having this 8.8 back together. I didn't see the slippery slope until it was too late, and that is with the shop working with me on this. Could have nearly built a D60 with with 14b spindles & SAI 5x5.5 hubs for what I'm into the 8.8 for.

[BDKW1]

Hylomar is good shit!

[AussieRod]

Just my $0.02 here.
The 9 inch in my F100 is most likely perfectly adequate for my needs, as I will never pre-run this thing in the desert (unless I win the lottery and can afford to bring it over to Baja), however, as the focus for the F100 is more a bug-out/expedition/live away from home type vehicle for extended hunting trips into the outback, the weight of a new flatbed tray with removable lockers filled with the necessities, along with a kitted out quad bike means the rear bearings in the 9 inch will be stressed more than usual.
So, I decided to go with a Dana 60 FF from a 78 F250. After seeing how prohibitivly expensive any kind of 5 lug conversion (I'm talking THREE TIMES any amount you guys will pay) was going to be, I'm sticking with the 8 lugs, but going to discs on the back. The 8 lugs give me peace of mind and open up a few wheel options to use that I can afford. The rear axle is sitting on stands in the garage, just waiting for the diff cover and caliper mounts, ready to be finish assembled and painted for installation. The front? Well, I'm on the lookout for a complete F250 TTB, which will be adapted along with a radius arm conversion and the ProComp 2.5" front coils I have waiting. The chances of stumbling across a complete 8 lug Chevy 10 bolt or D44 front axle (I'll need everything from the stubs out, including outer axles for the conversion) over here are buckley's, so I'll go with the (slightly modified) D50 TTB. This way, if I need something to fix it, it is almost all stock available parts with few custom bits needed (which I will carry a spare set of anyway). The extra beef of the F250 drivetrain gives some insurance against breakage if I drive sensibly and will serve me well.

[mobil1syn]

Because I've seen what happens when a drive slug fails, and I have seen those fail literally just driving down the street. I've never seen a bolt-on drive axle fail in moderate use, i.e. more or less the use they were designed for. I'm not crawling or racing this thing with 40's on it.

ok this has been bothering me for a number or reasons, but how did you see an internal drive flange fail? theoretically, there is no room for it expand and the axle shaft would twist long before the internal or external splines would.

[ntsqd]

Sheared the splines off the ID. Which un-wound the Detroit Locker. Explosively. This on a simple, from a stop, left turn onto a residential street. This was in a Warn FF conversion kit, but I have no idea if the slug was a Warn part or someone else's.

About 45 years ago my grandfather had a '73 F-100 that he used (mostly) to tow their 23' Airstream. The 9" wheel bearings didn't stand up to that for very long. Being in a farm community meant that there were used-up pick-ups in every farmer's "boneyard" and he found an F-250 in one of his friend's yards. He rebuilt the TIB king pins, wheel bearings, & brakes, and put new wheel bearings and brakes in the D60; and then stuffed them under his F-100. He felt that he'd kept the F-100's better ride quality while building in the better load capacity and braking of an F-250. Not that he loaded the truck like you'd typically load an F-250, just that he now had a much bigger margin between use and capacity and more than enough brakes to have Command Authority over the trailer.

I bought a set of D44 TTB knuckles, spindles, & wheel hubs with the idea of looking into what it would take to convert them to 8 lug. Ideally what I'd like to do is use D60 LA or D50 TTB front spindles and wheel hubs on the D44 knuckles, and use something like the rotors and calipers off of a current gen Tundra. I've seen some comments about using some or all of the D50 TTB's axle shafts in a D44 TTB to increase the strength of that part of the front axle assembly, but I do not yet know those details. I am hopeful that the outer shafts wouldn't have to be custom parts.

[mobil1syn]

you could always chop the 44 beams at the knuckle and weld the d50 stuff on if you want the bigger stuff.

a simple way to accomplish what you want would be to drill the d44 for 8 lug. just weld one of the hold shut before machining and youd be good to go.

https://www.gofastbroncos.com/forum/vie ... =15&t=9465