Axles & Gears
Our modified Dana 44 had served us well, but the time had come to upgrade to a front axle that would provide even more strength for turning big tires and moving a fullsize rig through the rocks. We made the obvious choice to stuff a Dana 60 in its place.
The goal for this build was to complete a front axle while adding some upgrades along the way to make it sturdier than a stock Dana 60, without breaking the bank. Except for the gear and locker setup, we also wanted to try to build the entire axle with common tools you might have in your home shop, thus saving on some labor costs.
We sourced a crusty, used axle from an '83 Chevy 1-ton truck. Since the rig this axle was headed for is a Blazer-based rockcrawler, we could use the full-width axlehousing as-is, and the differential was also in the correct position. As such, no housing modifications were necessary.
We simply tore down the salvage axle and cleaned and painted it in preparation of the build. Rebuild parts such as seals, bearings, and so on are commonly available from a variety of sources and, as usual, would be inspected and replaced as needed during such a build. Follow along as we show you the steps to assembling and fortifying our front drive axle.
Dynatrac steel-plate steering arms were acquired for this build. These beefy arms come ready to bolt on the knuckles for crossover steering. Our rig uses rod ends for the tie-rod and drag link, so our arms came undrilled. Once we get the axle installed, we'll mark and drill the needed holes for the rod-end bolts. | 
This axle was going on a Blazer-based crawling rig that was already running six-lug bead-lock wheels. We decided to stick with those, so we ordered a Dynatrac Pro 60 six-lug hub kit. It retains the use of fullsize Dana 60 shafts and components, and each kit includes a hub, a rotor, a caliper assembly with pads, a caliper bracket, bearings, races, and an inner seal. The kit is also offered in 5-on-511/42, 8-on-611/42, and 8-on-170mm bolt patterns. | 
Warn drive flanges were chosen for simplicity and strength. The outer covers add a little bling to the hub bodies as well. |
Bypassing use of the usual OEM-style U-joints, we went straight to the fortified OX joints. These massive joints offer a significant increase in strength over the stock-type units. The design utilizes a large hardened steel center body and large bushings at each rotating point. | 
An ARB Air Locker was the differential choice for the front axle. These units have proven to be stout and reliable, and the option to lock and unlock the front axle provides the best combination of locking action with the ability to steer easily when unlocked. | 
Inner axle seals, an ARB, and 4.88:1 gears were installed in the freshly cleaned axlehousing. We won't rehash those details here. Suffice it to say that you'll need a few specialty tools and some gear setup knowledge to tackle the install (see "Axle Gear Swaps," page 64 for more details), or let someone experienced in gear installs do it for you. Here you can see where one of the carrier-bearing caps is notched (arrow) to allow routing of the copper air line out to a fitting on the housing. |
With the gear setup and ARB line routing complete, the gear housing cover was installed. You can now purchase any number of aftermarket armored front covers. Fellow wheeler Damion Bustamante built us this rockguard using solid steel rod. | 
Here's where we started with the bare ends of the housing. You can see the tapered kingpin that the knuckle mates to. These pins are replaceable. Ours were in fine shape for reuse. | 
The lower kingpin bearing was greased and installed. Then the rubber seal was tapped into the lower portion of the inner knuckle. Bearings and races should be replaced if worn. |