Steerable dana 80

ryanss22

ryanss22

New member
So I have a good dana 80 and a few dodge dana 60s laying around, also have the.ford dana 60 currently in truck. I'd like to build a steerable dana 80. Which axle wouldbe better to use?, 60 from a dodge or 60 from the Ford with lockout hubs? I know it's been.done before, but how did you go about building it? Do the 60 tubes slide into the 80 tubes? Make a custom sleeve to join the 2?Have to clearance the outer for the 80 axle shafts? Or what axle shafts did you use? Most importantly will it be OK to run on the back side of the gears as that's what will be happening?

Sorry for all the ?s. Any help would be greatly appreciated
Pics or videos would be super beneficial if available.
Thank you all
 
I bet there is in depth knowledge of this on Pirate 4x4 forum. Although, the steerable 14 bolt is the most common.
 
The 4" tube on the 80 is an interesting aspect, but there are work arounds for that.
Back in the 1970s, Dodge built srw and drw 70 fronts and they were 4" tubes.

Mark.
 
You can fit a dana 70 carrier in the 60 with a little grinding of the housing for the ring gear to fit. Know a few that have done it but havent seen it in person. I wanted to do a dana 80 also but hard to find 6.17 gears for it. Looking to build a fds75 now
 
I contemplated using a Dana 60/80 hybrid for a long time in my lim pro truck before deciding on the Rockwell. The things that really swayed me were:

-Lack of gearing support for the Dana 80 lower than 5.13 (There might be one more gear but nothing in the 6's)
-You're still using the weak Dana 60 ball joints or kingpins, comparatively to a Rockwell with very large kingpins
-Axles are big money for a 40 spline inner and you're still probably going to be running a 35 spline outer. A 35 spline is 1.5", the 19 spline Rockwells are 1.75
-The ring and pinion is still smaller and weaker, and there is no 3rd pinion support

I understand building a Rockwell can get into some serious coin as well but at least you have something that's mostly bullet proof
 
Strange engineering has plenty of builds out there. Several are 14bolt but they have 80s out there. Parts. Ideas, exc. they have some very nice parts and I don’t think outrageously priced for what materials and man hours cost these days. Back in the 3” slotted days I do believe the ones on Andrew Sauer’s and terry biggs trucks kept the housing in the center. Terry is on here once n awhile maybe he can chime in, nice guy he is glad to see him having success in as these days.
 
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If anyone looking for a big Rockwell front end, I have a buddy that has a used one. Pm me if ya need his number
 
I have welded a Dana 80 center section using dana 60 outers. I made up inner sleeves to adapt to the tubes. I did this to utilize my 35 spline axles that I already had in the 60 axle. I used a Detroit 35 spline dana 80 locker. Welded everything up and probably have put 100 runs on it and have yet to break it. It makes for a very light weight dependable front axle. I did have to notch the fins on the pig to clear the rear sump oil pan. I like this setup better than a military front axle because its much lighter and you can still use your wheels that most of us already have.
 
The oil pan is stock profile but is modified deeper than stock...holds 15 quarts. You will need to cut the fin of the Dana 80 diff. I will try to post pics later this week.
 
I Just cut out all the work of putting a 70 ring into a 60 and tossed in a whole Dana70 with closed knuckles. We have 35 spline Chromoly axles inside

All we needed to do is flip the oil pan around (this worked with both 5.9 and 6.7 engines)

Hoping to one winter loose the drum breaks for a lighter setup but for now she works and has only broken a front axle once but i think it had to do with out tire/ratio and have since made changes
 
So I'm assuming most of you run slugs in the front axles and not locking hubs, how is it driving/being towed around the pits with them?
 
ryanss22 said:
So I'm assuming most of you run slugs in the front axles and not locking hubs, how is it driving/being towed around the pits with them?
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It's a pain in the ass.. won't turn worth a crap. We put a locking hub on the left side and a drive flange on the right side with a spool in the diff.
 
BIG PHIL said:
It's a pain in the ass.. won't turn worth a crap. We put a locking hub on the left side and a drive flange on the right side with a spool in the diff.
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Okay thanks, that what I was kind of thinking also. Keep.one as a lockout hub just for steering purposes
 
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