just picked up a dana 60 rear axle with a detroit locker and 4.56 gear ratio and a dana 44 front axle with 4.56 gear ratio for $200, the guy didnt know what he was selling!!!

 

Thats an awesome deal, but you got a slight problem there.... that front axle is passenger side drop and our trucks are driver's side drop.

 

i figured since im redoing the whole drivetrain that i might be able to make it a passenger side drop

 

Gotcha. Well some things to think about if you aren't already thinking about them. The engine and drivetrain in these trucks is all offset to the passenger side. The exhaust y-pipe goes off to the passenger side. You'd have to get a custom-bent exhaust system to make room and even then it will be tight!

My advise to you is measure everything out before you get too much into this. I would think you should be able to find a driver's side drop axle that needs rebuilding for dirt cheap and swap over all your parts?

 

Keep the d60, sell the d44 and find a driver drop.

 

i think i will keep the d60 and sell the d44 now thinking about it... its a good thing im not starting this till spring break

 

I wouldn't sell it if I were you! You'll be hard pressed to find a dana 44 driver's side drop that has those 4.56 gears already in it! So you'd be spending a few hundered dollars just to put gears in the new one. Wait until you find a driver's side drop, swap gears between the two of them, and then sell the extra. You'd be better off in the long run.

I'm getting ready for a SAS on my truck as well (which is why this thread caught my eye). I already have 2 dana 44s sitting in the garage because I decided the first one wasn't exactly what I wanted. I'm going to use parts from both to build the exact axle I want and then sell the remaining parts later.

 

Just outta curiosity whatd you pay for the axles? Im thinking bout a SAS too and Im just wondering what stuff runs in the $$$ dept.

 

I assume you're asking me since the OP listed his cost?

So far I have $670 in axles. I got a '76 F150 HP dana 44 for $120 that was on craigslist. It has the radius arm/coil spring suspension. I tore it down and realized it needed a lot of steering parts, so I kept an eye out for another one. I found a '79 F250 HD HP dana 44 and the guy also had a GM 14 bolt full floating rear axle with matching 4:11 gears for $550 combined. The 44 had all new ball joints, warn hubs, new rotors, etc, but it's a leaf spring setup and I want to run the radius arms for ease of installation. So what I'll do is swap gears to the F150 housing but use the F150 steering parts cause they are heavier duty, 8 lug, and have machined and studded flat top knuckes for high steer arms. I'll sell whatever is leftover to get some of my money back.

My full write up is in the 1st gen dak section.