4x4 Truck Axles Dana 60 Front & Dana 70 Rear End Axles - Man Up

5. Moving to the rear axle, Dustin found a Dana 70U out of an '01 Dodge Ram 2500 at a local wrecking yard for $1,400. The reason he went with this particular rear axle is because it features disc brakes. To start this buildup, Dustin ordered a Detroit Locker for the earlier style Dana 70 HD. Next he got a set of 5.13:1 gears and a master install kit from Yukon Gear. The axleshafts are 35-splined units, also from Randy's Ring & Pinion, designed as a one-size-fits-all application for Dana 60s. Altogether these parts totaled $1,468 without tax.

6. The Dana 70U rear disc brakes are massive compared to the original Jeep AMC 20 rear drum setup. As large as these brakes are, a brand-new fully loaded caliper costs only $170 each (with pads), or $240 for a pair at most any auto parts store. Dustin went ahead and ordered the new calipers because the factory units were in poor condition.

7. We thought it was worth mentioning that the Yukon axles are the one-size-fits-all type and require trimming prior to installation.

8. Due to the hardness of these shafts, we couldn't cut them with a portable bandsaw. Instead it required a circular chopsaw with a bi-metal blade.

9. Here you can see the wear pattern Dustin ended up with after completing the gear installation.

10. The tedious part of setting up a brand-new locker in a Dana 70 rear differential is setting the proper shim spacing on either side of the main bearings. The process requires that you install and remove the bearings by pressing several times until the proper shim spacing is attained.

12. We didn't want to leave out the lube! This Amsoil extreme-pressure Severe Gear 75W-90 is perfect for cheapskates who don't want to change differential oil more than once a year. The fully synthetic formula features proprietary additives that form an iron-sulfide barrier coating on gear surfaces, providing the ultimate line of defense against wear, pitting, and scoring.

13. This photo shows a tough Fab Fours Dana 60 differential cover fitted to our Dana 70U differential. The only catch here is that this particular cover will not work with gearing that is numerically lower than 4.88:1. This cover runs right in the neighborhood of $200 before tax.