Building a Reverse Rotation Dana 60

by Mike Knorr
Visit Mike's website: www.bc4x4.com/thbsjeep

June 21, 2000

Introduction

Tools Required

Making the alignment jig pucks in the lathe. It actually took longer to make the jig than it took to assemble the axle once the jig was made. But don't think of skipping the jig because the axle you make with out it will not be aligned on the carrier and will not run true.

The Dana 60 reverse rotation housing as it comes directly from Ford as a bare housing. It costs about US$1800 if you were to order it brand new. Yes, that price is for the stripped version you see here. Trust me, I didn't pay any where near that. But that's another really long story.

Parts

• Reverse rotation housing from a Ford F350
• Short piece of 3.125" OD, .500" wall, D.O.M. tubing (length depends on the desired axle width)
• 8" long section of 2.625" OD, .250" wall, D.O.M. tubing.
• Carrier, gears, bearings, axle shafts, etc.
• Brake calipers, rotors, mounting brackets, etc.

The semi-float 35-spline axle-shafts as they came from Moser. Note the quality of the machine work. They also came with the bearings pressed on, housing ends, and the bearing retainer plates. Moser machined them to accept the press-in studs I had sent them.

First you are going to need a reverse rotation axle out of a Ford F-350 (some F-250's also had a reverse rotation housing). If you can find a bare housing like I did you'll save a ton of money. Next, you will need a short piece of 3.125" OD, .500" wall, D.O.M. tubing. How long depends on the desired track width of the rear axle. For the sleeve, you'll need an 8" piece of sleeve material, 2.625" OD, .250" wall, D.O.M. tubing. That's it for the housing materials. Of course you'll also need shortened axle shafts, differential guts, brakes, and brackets or perches to attach the housing to your truck. I ordered a set of made-to-order 35-spline axle-shafts from Moser Engineering. The workmanship on these axles was first rate and I found the folks at Moser to be extremely helpful and thorough. They also supplied the axle bearings, bearing retainers, and housing ends in one simple package. For brakes, I opted for discs. 1979 Ford F-150 rotors, to be exact. I bought them from Napa with a lifetime warranty. The calipers came from a 1979 Chevy 1/2 ton pick up and were mounted using weld-on disc brake brackets from Lou Fegers Racing. For the top link mounts, I had Custom Welding in Williston, ND, supply an axle hoop and related brackets. For those of you that haven't seen Pat's work first hand, it is first rate and you couldn't find a nicer guy to deal with.

The Process

The next step was to chamfer the short piece of 3.125 inch tube on both the inner and outer edges and press it onto the sleeve. At that point, the length of the sleeve wasn't particularly important as long as it was not too short (because it would have been very difficult to cut it longer...that was a joke). The short tube was pressed in until it was fully seated onto the axle tube and sleeve. The axle was then ready to have the shortside welded. The two chamfered edges left a nice v-notch in the axle that could be filled with weld. I made my v-notch wide enough so I was able to get two passes on the weld. Of course, the passes were made up of a series of short beads. I didn't want to overheat the tube by welding too long in one place and warp it out of alignment. After welding and cooling, this area was then ground smooth and blended in with the existing axle tube.

Pressing the sleeve into the short side axle tube. This was one of the hardest parts of the project. I used a fifty ton electric/hydraulic press to press this into the tube. Don't attempt to do this without a press.

Pressing the short piece onto the sleeve and short side axle tube. Another step that must be done on the press. Also make sure all your cuts on these pieces are square and true or problems may result.

Laying the first bead of welds in the v-notch created by the chamfering. A second layer was added after this weld cooled.

The welds were then cleaned up and blended-in with the axle tube.

Next, the housing was cut to the desired measurements. I highly recommend that you check all your measurements over and over again. Once you cut the axle, that is the length it is going to be unless you err on the long side. After checking my measurements over I placed the axle in the chop saw. I took great care to ensure that the axle was level and square in the saw prior to cutting. These edges needed to be perfect. The housing tubes were cut on each end to the correct length. After that, I chamfered the outside edges of the axle tubes in preparation for welding on the housing ends. I chamfered mine enough to allow two passes of welds on the housing ends.

A view of the rear axle showing the finished short side lengthening and the existing long side.

The axle being cut to length in a chop saw. Make your measurements carefully here and triple check your work here. Once the cuts are made, unless they are too long, they can't be fixed.

Remember that jig I mentioned earlier? This is where it comes in. The jig is actually pretty basic but is crucial to getting the axle aligned properly. The jig consisted of: two aluminum pucks that replaced the carrier bearings; two pucks that replaced the bearings in the housing ends; and a solid rod that acted as the alignment point. I began by placing the carrier pucks in the housing and sliding the alignment rod through the housing. Then I clamped the bearing retainers in place and torqued them to specifications. The housing ends were then slid on followed by the housing end pucks. Once they were butted tightly against the axle tube, a vise grip was used to lock them in place. Once again, measurements were checked and re-checked. When everything was deemed to be perfect, the housing ends were welded in place. As with welding the tube, this process took a while because I did it in stages to prevent warping the ends. After welding, it was allowed to slowly cool down. Once cooled, the jig was removed.

The first weld on one of the housing ends. Also a good close-up of the alignment jig puck at the housing end.	A close up shot of the alignment jig installed in the housing.
The axle after both housing ends have been welded and are cooling. Notice the alignment jig still installed. This helps to maintain alignment in the cool down process as well.	The finished housing with the axle shafts being test fit.

At this point the custom work was done and it was just a matter of assembling the axle like you would with any other.

As with all projects of this nature, there were people who provided invaluable assistance and advice. I would like to thank my brother Brian Knorr, Craig Wiggert, and Myron Hanson for all their help in getting this project done.

The rear disc brake rotors were added and the studs pressed in.	A shot of the axle hoop that was added for the four link set up.
A close up of the lower link brackets, the shackle mount for the 1/4 elliptical, and the disc brake bracket.	The finished hoop with the brackets for the upper bars to the four link.
The finished product installed in the Jeep.	A close-up shot from above.