Dana 50 and 60

[PunkerPat619]

I am trying to swap out an entire front differential on my 2001 f-350. I have located a new one that has all the same gearing, but its a dana 60, opposed to the Dana 50 that is already on my truck. My question is does anyone know the difference between the two? Will that be a direct swap? Leafs, and drive shafts line up ok? Thanks guys...Pat

[ntsqd]

Picture a D44 ring and pinion in a D60 sized housing and you're close to what a D50 is. Beyond that I'm of no help.

[retroblazer]

Besides the difference in r & p is that the d60 has replacable bearings in the hubs as opposed to the unit bearing crap. I doubt that the 60 is a bolt-in. You'd think there are some Ford sites that could give you some guidence or call Dynatrac.

[JESSE_at_TLT]

The exact differences between those axles are listed in this article (http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/PR-35Spline/index.html), along with just about everything else you might ever wanted to know about Dana 60's.

[JESSE_at_TLT]

By the way, if the Dana 60 is also out of a newer Ford truck, it will be interchangable with your Dana 50. Unfortunately, they DO use the same POS unit-bearing hubs & spindles though. Earlier Ford D60's used ball-joint knuckles, but had live spindles and hubs. Before that, they were king-pin knuckles. I'm pretty sure that you should be able to swap an axle in from just about any generation, but try giving WFO Concepts (www.wfoconcepts.com) a call. They are an excellent source for D60 parts and really know fullsize trucks.

[PunkerPat619]

Hey Jesse thanks for the tip!