D60 rear into Cougarfreak

I bent my stock 8" and replaced it with a D60 out of a '75 Ford Hiboy F-250 . Trussed it, warped it trussing it, straightened it at Lincoln Welding in West Sac. Also trussed, welded and warped the front 44... aaaah well...

rear d60


front 44


Update: 1/12/08 (yes it's taken me this long) I finally took some time to try and get the rig running on the road again and did some work this week. I picked up the axles a while ago, and the races had spun at some point in the axle's life, and the jounals had to be machined, so I had Lincoln clean that up when they straightened the axle. $600 later, I have straight axles that are ready for life under my 4Runner (Sheeeeeesh). I took them to FAO in Vacaville to have the ring and pinion set up put back together in the diffs and checked for proper backlash and preload. With the machining Lincoln did, I had to have the carrier set up again in the 60. I now have the axles ready for paint and install. I'm changing out the races in the hubs today, and hope to have them installed under the truck tomorrow. Brake lines are next on the to-do list.

I asked Cliff what a home fabber can do to prevent warpage, and he said that "it's gonna warp no matter what you do". In a jig, it still warps, it just binds up around whatever you are using to jig it with (gettin' jiggey whit it... sorry cranial flatulation). Then you have to figure out how to warp it back to get the jig out... Weld it, then get it straightened... $100 USUALLY. Now I don't know if this is just him trying to keep business, or he's speaking truth... but it makes sense.

I like the rear 60..

Nice truss on the 44, but why not go with a 60? Then again, I guess it depends on what you do with your rig.

haven't had an issue with it, and with chromos and longfield's superjoints, I don't see me getting into a position where I'd need one... If that day arrives, I'll cross that path. I have a friend who is selling a HP D60 trying to get top dollar $1500, and I considered buying it (buddy bro discount of course) and installing it, but I don't NEED it, and they NEED the money for their projects. I'd have to reconfigure my front suspension, etc. to make the 60 work, and right now... I JUST WANNA WHEEL!!!!!! It has taken me 1.5 years to swap out the rearend, so I'm sure I'd be out a while longer than I initially figure (always the case).

Understood...

I had a HP D44. And I was going to put it in my buggy. Then I decided that I wanted bigger tires and less worries.

Not having to worry about sheet metal makes your decisions on where and how to go places a little easier.

Looks good..

Thanks... I get the bigger tires less worries. I'm going to stay at 35's and work on picking lines better. IF I go bigger, I'll go with a 60 front also.

I went to put in the races in my D60 and 44 hubs Saturday, and the D60 went together flawlessly. The 44, on the other hand, had an issue with the larger bearing's race. I have JML104-911 races that are a perfect fit in the D60, but don't fit in the D44. When I got home I checked all of the bearings and cross referenced them with the ones I ordered. All of the bearings are the same for the D60 and the larger of the D44. The races are all the same for the D60, but the D44 has a step in the hub that stopped the JML104-911 from going in to the race seat. I compared the race number with the one that came out, and found they were one # off. The removed race JML104-910. I calipered the O.D. of the 2 races and found they had a .025 difference. That would stop it from going past the step. I picked up the 910's from Autozone yesterday, and installed them in to the hub. Now paint and install, and brake lines!!!!

Summary:
'76 Ford D60 rear hub races (all Timken): JML104-911 Bearings: Set38 LM104-949

'76 Chevy/ '81 waggy D44 front large hub race (all Timken): JML104-910 inner Bearings: Set38 LM104-949
'76 Chevy/ '81 waggy D44 front Small hub race (all Timken): LM501-310 outter Bearings: Set45 LM501-349

Inner hub D44:


Inner hub closeup showing step (clean spot is where the race should go):


Inner hub race properly installed w/ race JLM104-910 (911 would only go in to the 1st step):

Almost done with the painting... over spray got all over my wife's cars so now I am in the middle of Magic Clay-ing it off, then full wax. 4Runner build on hold until her cars are smooth again...