so iv been doing some looking around at local yards and it seems that the ford f-250/f350 axle seems a bit nicer than the dodge 8lug axle. but which is really the better or best choice for doing a SAS on a d-max? i havnt found much info searching around as to why guys chose the axle's they do.
thanks

I run a '79 HP D60 in my 1990, its a kingpin axle though!!

Do you plan to run leaves or coils???

main thing to look for is a kingpin dana 60, used mostly by the old chevies if i remember correctly but is a passanger side drop (allows for more gearing options though with the t-case). if you want to keep your drivers side drop t-case you need a ford axle, 77-79 is the only year they used the kingpins that i'm aware of, after that they used balljoints. dodge axles have always been balljoints. upgrades such as crossover steering and knuckle upgrades are cheapest for the kingpin axles (and stronger), alot of the aftermarket parts wont work on a dodge d60, their crossover is about 400 bucks more on a dodge than on a chevy d60 if the price hasnt changed.

I am planing to go w/ leaf's inless someone tlaks me out of it. my paln rightnwo is to find an axel and start collecting parts over the winter. thansk for the info guys. i havnt seen any 77-79 d60's. was thining of geting a newer ford axel out of a current year f-350. is this a bad idea? i dont know much about ford stuff but have a feeling ill be learning soon. heck iv got a few extra fj-40 axels maybe i should us them ahah..... ok not funny

the newer f350 axles are fine, just a balljoint setup. double check the price for crossover steering for it, it will be more than it is for a kingpin setup for not as much as it is for a dodge.

ps. the fj40 axles would survive a 350 easily, but their not wide enough for your truck, let alone i dont think they could live through the torque.

The reason the 78-79 Ford Dana 60s (found in all F350s and special model F250s) are the most popular for the SAS swaps is because they are king pin axles, the differential is on the driver side, it's a high pinion axle, and the spring pad width is 32.5", which, I think, is a must have if you plan to use the ORU kit. I believe the new model ford axles have a spring pad width of around 36" and using that axle would cause the tires to rub on the leaf springs. Also, if the newer model ford axles are like the 78-79s you cannot cut and reweld the spring pads b/c the driver's side is cast into the housing. With that said, you're best bet is to find a 78-79 but they are somewhat rare and are usually around $1000 for a complete, used axle. Try searching local yards & ebay and you may get lucky and find one cheap. I was fortunate enought to get a dana 60 out of a 79 F250 in Kentucky for $600. ):h

i just did a sas swap on my 03 hd and used super duty front and rear axles if you go this way the only company that makes hangers for them (front) is full throttle suspension do yourself a favor stay as far away from them as possible trust me there products are nice but there service is more than terrible you dont mean nothing to them it took almost three months for them to ship me my hangers and trac bar kit then it all finally arrived after i called every day for three months and my upper trac bar mount was for a super duty they basically told me oh well not our problem !@#$%^& on a different note ive delt with ORU absolutely great people over there bought my crossover steering from them and a few other odds and ends cant say enough good things about there staff

spend the money and find a older dana 60 from a early ford that way your lug pattern is the same and you only have to buy one axle and the oru kit is very nice from what ive seen i kick my self for not going that way

but u live and learn ..... p.s. on a different not get ready to spend some serious coin cause its gonna cost at least 10k for your complete conversion

mine was close to 12k all said and done ill post up some pics later

jammie

78'/79' Ford D60. Ebay isn't the best place to look but if you're back east then it may work for ya. A customer of mine sells them for around $1500 a pair. I just took him a set. He's in Denver CO.

They were in all 78'/79' F-350's and Camper Special F-250's and some 79' F-250 Super Cab's. Dodge ones are Balljoint 94'-02' and Kingpin pre-94',03'+ are AAM 9.5 Balljoint,GM was all Kingpin {77-87,88-91 in V3500's}. 85'-91' Ford was Kingpin but 36" pad mount which you really don't want and 92'-97' were ball joint. 99'-04' were balljoint D50's -:t and the 05'+ are balljoint D60's. Some 99'+ f-350's have D60's.

thanks for all the info guys!.... iv done a few of these swap's on toyota's it cant be much more work to do it on a d-max. but has to be worth all the work!

78'/79' Ford D60. Ebay isn't the best place to look but if you're back east then it may work for ya. A customer of mine sells them for around $1500 a pair. I just took him a set. He's in Denver CO.

They were in all 78'/79' F-350's and Camper Special F-250's and some 79' F-250 Super Cab's. Dodge ones are Balljoint 94'-02' and Kingpin pre-94',03'+ are AAM 9.5 Balljoint,GM was all Kingpin {77-87,88-91 in V3500's}. 85'-91' Ford was Kingpin but 36" pad mount which you really don't want and 92'-97' were ball joint. 99'-04' were balljoint D50's -:t and the 05'+ are balljoint D60's. Some 99'+ f-350's have D60's.



im in denver..... u should hook me up w/ his info!

thanks

Whatever year you end up finding, stick with the Ford Dana 60. Ford spec'd their version with high pinion, reverse rotation gear sections and the diff. is on the driver side where the Chevy Dana 60s are not. 94-02 Dodge spec'd versions are the worst of the Dana 60s. Even though the diff is on the left side also they are not desireable. Standard pinion, 2 piece axle shafts and axle tubes on the disconnect side, soft knuckles, and thinner, much weaker, and prone to bending tubes. Like everything else on a Dodge it might look good on the outside but.......

so is there a reason to get a king pin ford d60 vs/ a ball joint other than cost of parts to do a x-over steering set up on it? i plan to run 35-37" tires..... do the ball joint d60's not last as long befor needing a rebuild or anythign liek that?

thanks!