Anyone know the Dana 60 rear?

[Rhode Island Red]

I've been tring to find more info about this rear.

I know that it requires a shorter driveshaft, but I do now know how many suspension parts & tq arms are compatible with it. Could it use parts designed for regular rears without problems or will it require specifically designed parts for it?

thinking of a s60 rear w 3.55's and true trac diff. but depends on whether rest of stuff will bolt in easily.

thanks

[Injuneer]

Strange is now building a "Strange 60" rear axle assembly that is a direct bolt-in for the 3rd Gen and 4th Gen F-Body rears. Its a Dana 60 with the torque arm mount cast into the center section. All brackets, mounts, etc. directly match the stock parts, it is available with either 3-channel ABS or 4-channel ABS/Traction control. Weighs about 25# more than the Strange 12-bolt replacement for the F-Bodys. Cost is slightly less then the 12-bolt.

The Dana has the lowest gear losses of any of the popular replacements for the F-Body:

Dana 60 - 5%
12-bolt - 7%
9-inch - 10%

... and the largest (and theoretically strongest) ring gear:

Dana 60 - 9.5"
9-inch - 9.0" (duhhh! )
12-bolt - 8.875"

I've seen one person who installed one in a 4th Gen and is happy with it. Unfortunatley there is a large group of people on ls1tech.com who got in on a group purchase a few months ago, and are complaining that the Strange 60 is extremely noisy.

Probably a good setup for anyone pushing more than 800 flywheel HP, or running in the 500+ HP range with a really beefy clutch, 6K dumps on slicks, and running every week at the track. Overkill for anyone else.

[Joe 1320]

I had one in my 9.30 ET pro streeter years ago. As Fred mentioned, it's a heavy beast but the effeciency is good. Strong as heck too. I was pulling the fronts every launch and never had an issue with the rear. The trans was another matter.

Probably a good setup for anyone pushing more than 800 flywheel HP, or running in the 500+ HP range with a really beefy clutch, 6K dumps on slicks, and running every week at the track. Overkill for anyone else.

I really could have pushed an 8.90 with slicks and the last thing I was worried about was the rear. I am a really big fan of the Dana 60.

I've seen one person who installed one in a 4th Gen and is happy with it. Unfortunatley there is a large group of people on ls1tech.com who got in on a group purchase a few months ago, and are complaining that the Strange 60 is extremely noisy.

.

I swear that most of the noise issues that people complain about is due to the torque arm. That arm just loves to resonate right along with whatever noises the rear makes, amplifies it and directs it into the body shell.

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

I had a Dana 60 once - not in my F-Body, though, it was in my 69 Roadrunner. I paid $160 for it at a junkyard and it was like new inside. It had 3.91 gear and was not noisy like the 8 3/4 rear I took out of there. I wish I had the F-Body Dana 60 instead of the 12 bolt I got, but it wasn't available 5 years ago. If I had it to do over, I wouldn't hesitate to get one.

[Rhode Island Red]

I'm thinking of the 60 as I have several heads/cam buds making 425 rwhp in their LS1's and they have broke the 12 bolts on several occasions (one guy 3 times ).

I'm not an everyweekend racer as its 130 miles to the nearest 1/4 for me. I'd rather live with the extra weight and know that the rear wont break. Durability and longevity are key factors for me vs weight

Oh as for the noisy rears, a lot could be due to the assembly-line processes. It seems that a lot of the bolts are easily over-tightend from the factory and it's a 50/50 chance you get a noisy one as a result. Best bet I've read is to have a competent rear guy, take the rear apart and reassemble before the rear ever goes on your F-body to ensure a relatively quiet rear. (a lot of reading on ls1tech)

I have never seen a post full of info regarding how well the Dana 60 bolts up.

Thanks

[Craig 94 TA GT]

But did the 12 bolt rears themselves break? Or was it the posi unit? What brand(s) did they use that broke?

Just to add to the mix, I have a 9" in my daily driver. Surprisingly, it makes absolutely no noise and is very smooth. It bolted right up to my 1LE DS and the yoke was actually perfect length. Maybe I got lucky with Moser.

[fastTa]

Man, 425 RWHP usually isn't even close to enough power to break a 12 bolt. Something is wrong with that picture. Are you sure that they weren't installing defective posi units? Who in the world was installing these 12 bolts??

[Rhode Island Red]

It really doesn't surprise me the people that broke the 12-bolts as they are every-weekend track junkies . Take a hammer to a boulder, and eventually it will be in pieces.

I'm going to see my buds this weekend so I'll ask for what specifically broke in their rears. I really just think it's a case of extreme track duty

the 9" I have a friend who has one (I forget the differential type) but he hates the noise it makes when it kicks in (forget which type of diff he has) and would rather go with somethind different. BTW - I need a 4 series carier (have traction control)

[Joe 1320]

Man, 425 RWHP usually isn't even close to enough power to break a 12 bolt. Something is wrong with that picture. Are you sure that they weren't installing defective posi units? Who in the world was installing these 12 bolts??

I can see it happening with an inexperienced driver, loose clearances and an abusive technique.

[fastTa]

I can see it happening with an inexperienced driver, loose clearances and an abusive technique.

I suppose with a grossly over-shimmed pinion gear, HUGE backlash, and an inexperienced driver doing repeated 6k clutch dumps. But, a cool thing about the Dana pinion gears is that they are specifically marked to set pinion depth and bearing preload. And setting backlash between the ring and pinion is easy, so that would be hard to mess up.

Hey Rhode Island, are there any threads over on ls1tech about these 12 bolt failures?

[Dave Vince]

Have a Dana 60 in the 68 Camaro which has not seen the track with me yet. Most of the guys I have talked to who run them say they are reliable but a little heavier than the 9" or 12 bolt. I was not aware that they had less loss than the other rears. We were occasionally breaking some teeth on our 9" Ford in the Pro Mod and were condidering a Dana. The 9.5" Ford rear was just coming out then. We would probably have tried that if we had kept the car. I thought the ring gear in the Dana was 9.75 but I am not sure of that.

[Rhode Island Red]

Hey Rhode Island, are there any threads over on ls1tech about these 12 bolt failures?

here is one

and another

A friend with the T-88 turbo warped his 12-bolt when he was only 600+ hp but didnt break.

I'll have to ask about what exactly broke in those whose rears broke (meet up with them on sat's in Mass ) . It is not a common occurance at all just will happen like anything if abused too much.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Not that it has any real bearing on this conversation but the Dana Corporation's U.S. Operations has filed for Chapter 11. The only thought was will this effect future availability if their products.

http://dana.mediaroom.com/index.php/press_releases/2048

[fastTa]

here is one

and another

A friend with the T-88 turbo warped his 12-bolt when he was only 600+ hp but didnt break.

I'll have to ask about what exactly broke in those whose rears broke (meet up with them on sat's in Mass ) . It is not a common occurance at all just will happen like anything if abused too much.

Oh OK, those are just ancillary parts that had problems. Axle tubes and ABS reluctor rings are not "driven" parts subjected to direct torque loads. I was having a hard time believing that only 420 to the tire broke a 12 bolt ring and pinion, carrier, or side gears.

Moser and Strange are both not immune to a few QA issues here and there. It does seem though that Moser has a few more QA problems on their "bolt in" rear-ends than does Strange.

Tell your buds even if their "bolt-in" rears come with the axls tubes welded, it is always a good idea to weld them yourself. Ring gear bolts coming off all by themselves IS weird though.

[Craig 94 TA GT]

the 9" I have a friend who has one (I forget the differential type) but he hates the noise it makes when it kicks in (forget which type of diff he has) and would rather go with somethind different. BTW - I need a 4 series carier (have traction control)

I'll bet the 9" your friend has is 35 axles spline with a Detriot Locker. They are not friendly for the street. I'm running a TruTrac, which is an all-gear posi. However, again, I think I got lucky with good QA work because even my stock rear made more noise than this 9" does. And I've read how loud it can get.