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Israel
11-15-2007, 11:22 PM
I'm hoping to build a 609 housing out of junkyard parts instead of starting with expensive brand new parts.

So far, I've bought a 2001 dodge dana 60 and cut off the inner C's, and I'm hoping to use a Ford 9" housing from a late 70's truck. The dodge 60 has ball joints and unit bearings, but since this will be going on a trail only rig, I'm not too worried about short unit bearing life. The unit bearings are 33 spline, so they should be plenty strong enough for the 37" to 40" tires I'm planning on.

The distance from the inside (opposite the BJ) of the inner C to the wms on the brake rotor is 11 1/8". Since I'm shooting for a total WMS-WMS of ~63", I figure the housing needs to be ~41" from inside of inner C to inside of inner C. My 9" housing should work fine, if I cut the short side (the center is offset to one side) with enough tube left to mount the C and the long side close to where it narrows down before the housing end.

The 9" tubes are 3 1/4" and the C is meant for a 3 1/2" tube, but I should be able to use a 1/8" thick, 3 1/2" round tube to make up the difference.

Has anyone here done this before? Am I overlooking anything?

Kraqa
11-15-2007, 11:42 PM
33 spline will most lickly not be OK for that tire size. well it will be ok if your a light footed wheeler.

you will have to make some (or buy some) axle seals that will fit the for 9" housing. no big deal.

you got it abotu right this is not a dificult build just make sure the inner C's are squar to the carrier and you should be fine.

Israel
11-15-2007, 11:46 PM
33 spline will most lickly not be OK for that tire size. well it will be ok if your a light footed wheeler.

you will have to make some (or buy some) axle seals that will fit the for 9" housing. no big deal.

you got it abotu right this is not a dificult build just make sure the inner C's are squar to the carrier and you should be fine.

If I were to find some alloy stub shafts, do you think they would last?

I forgot about the inner seals! I'm glad you mentioned them.

Kraqa
11-16-2007, 12:00 AM
alloys maybe....i'm not 100% familliar with the unit bearings. I woudl lookinto them they might be hhella strong and work well with alloy stubs.

I knwo their are guys out there machining them for 35 spline shafts with limited but yet still good results.

Tommy
11-16-2007, 02:29 AM
I wouldn't worry to much about those unit bearings. I have wheeled mine for two years withou failure. 1997 Dodge D60 with the factory unit bearings still, with 38's. LOL, but if they ever do fail that could be fun.

Tommy
11-16-2007, 02:34 AM
alloys maybe....i'm not 100% familliar with the unit bearings. I woudl lookinto them they might be hhella strong and work well with alloy stubs.

I knwo their are guys out there machining them for 35 spline shafts with limited but yet still good results.

It is funny you say this. I went to a local shop called PRO GEAR, my dad know the manager. I had some questions about unit bearings and such.

This is exactly what the guy told me. He brought me to the back of the shop and says you see this box. I said yeah, it was full of your standard manual hubs. All of them broke to shit. Then he asked me if I saw any unit bearings. I said no. Probably becuase nobody really uses them and they are expensive to replace when they do fail. My personal experience has been good so far. Either that or I just wheel like a pussy.

My only regret on this D60 was the vacum disconnect crap. I want to get a custom long shaft made so I can get rid of this posi-lok crap I have.

Israel
11-16-2007, 08:18 PM
I wouldn't worry to much about those unit bearings. I have wheeled mine for two years withou failure. 1997 Dodge D60 with the factory unit bearings still, with 38's. LOL, but if they ever do fail that could be fun.

From what I can tell, it seems to be hit and miss with the unit bearings. Some people can't get them to last 10,000 miles and others run them past 100,000. Obviously, tire size has a lot to do with it, but I wonder if the early failures are more due to frequent mud/water exposures. Who knows?

Kraqa
11-17-2007, 12:09 AM
if you had problems doen the road couln't you just swap the ford BJ knuckes onto it?/? i dont' knwo if they are interchangeable but its worth lookign into.

Israel
11-17-2007, 12:27 AM
if you had problems doen the road couln't you just swap the ford BJ knuckes onto it?/? i dont' knwo if they are interchangeable but its worth lookign into.

From what I understand, I could. I plan on running H2 wheels or recentered H1s so I'm not sure if that would put my hubs too close to the rocks, but it definitely would be worth doing if the unit-bearings don't work out.

Tommy
11-19-2007, 01:41 PM
if you had problems doen the road couln't you just swap the ford BJ knuckes onto it?/? i dont' knwo if they are interchangeable but its worth lookign into.


Do you know if the newer ford dana50 and and dana60 fronts share the same ballljoints and knuckles?