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SD60 weak links

Jacob Bingen

Jacob Bingen

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Joined
Jun 24, 2023
Member Number
6548
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3
I have a 2006 Ford Super Duty Dana 60 from an F-250. I plan on doing ball joint eliminators, 40 spline axle shafts with flanges, an ARB with 5.38 gears. Is the 29 spline pinion enough of a weak link to justify the Jana 76 mod with HP Super 70 gears? I’ll be running 43” Mickeys on a weekend family rig with about 800hp. No racing.
 
Any time I wonder how strong an 05+ super duty 60 is, I think of Dale Larsen :laughing:

Just speculation but I'd think if the pinion shaft was a major weak point someone would make a larger pinion.

If you think you want to go with D70 gears, may as well just do it. If you talk to Karl, it's really not very different in price when you're starting fresh. Buy the D70 arb, gears aren't too different in price and his kit isn't too different from a normal set up kit. At least for the low pinion stuff.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Just speculation but I'd think if the pinion shaft was a major weak point someone would make a larger pinion.
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I don't really look for it but I've seen people asking about breaking pinions on SD60s on the net. Not a ton but enough that it's happening to people.
 
94toytruck said:
I don't really look for it but I've seen people asking about breaking pinions on SD60s on the net. Not a ton but enough that it's happening to people.
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Same here, but I can't say I've ever seen it or even seen a pic of it. I'm sure it's happening, but if it was thay big of an issue, then the Jana 76 kit would be completely pointless since low pinion D70 gears use the same spline pinion. Yet I hear lot of praise about them.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Same here, but I can't say I've ever seen it or even seen a pic of it. I'm sure it's happening, but if it was thay big of an issue, then the Jana 76 kit would be completely pointless since low pinion D70 gears use the same spline pinion. Yet I hear lot of praise about them.
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No practial experience, so keep on commenting. More posts please. You can do it.
 
I busted two short side 1550 shafts before I went to chromoly Branik stuff and the 5.38 R&P is still holding fine ..I’d bet the ARB is the fuse.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Same here, but I can't say I've ever seen it or even seen a pic of it. I'm sure it's happening, but if it was thay big of an issue, then the Jana 76 kit would be completely pointless since low pinion D70 gears use the same spline pinion. Yet I hear lot of praise about them.
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Normal Dana 70’s do yes. But the HP Super 70 from a GM Topkick has a 35 spline pinion and with the Jana 76 kit you can fit the gears into a HP 60 housing.
 
Jacob Bingen said:
They make 800hp family cats, so why not. It’s an LSA supercharger on a 6.0L
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my trail rig has a wopping 94hp out of 5.7 German liters, on 42" tires factree.

I just laughed... family trip going out to pick berries or harvest a moose with a truck that idles like the cam is half missing.
I don't even know what I'd do with that much power off road... aside from being scared to go past 1/2 throttle.
 
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bunk said:
No practial experience, so keep on commenting. More posts please. You can do it.
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My personal experience is 20 years of wheeling some of the more popular trails in the country and never once seeing it happen. Also 20 years of being on these forums and never seeing anyone post pics of a sheared D60 pinion.

Yet here you are completely derailing a tech thread with your personal butthurtness towards Me. You going to send me another cryptic pm this time too? :homer:
 
Bullitt1 said:
I busted two short side 1550 shafts before I went to chromoly Branik stuff and the 5.38 R&P is still holding fine ..I’d bet the ARB is the fuse.
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what locker wouldnt be a fuse? A spool at that point?

I can speak from personal experience that a detroit and grizzly will go when a shaft goes. Eaton e lockers break before an ARB, the ected lockers break with ease. I hear OX is tough depending on the axle application.

I just wasn't sure what is stronger than the ARB from a selectable or auto locker standpoint.
 
06h3 said:
what locker wouldnt be a fuse? A spool at that point?

I can speak from personal experience that a detroit and grizzly will go when a shaft goes. Eaton e lockers break before an ARB, the ected lockers break with ease. I hear OX is tough depending on the axle application.

I just wasn't sure what is stronger than the ARB from a selectable or auto locker standpoint.
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I’m running a e locker and it survived both axle shaft failures but I agree the selectable diff itself is the weak link.
 
The only pinions I’ve seen broken off at the splines happened when a link or link bracket failed and the driveshaft yoke broke the pinion off when the diff over rotated.

You’ll break teeth off the ring n pinion or break the ARB in half before you twist the SD60 pinion off. I have both a broken HP D60 ARB and ring and pinion but the pinion shaft, still solid.
 
Bullitt1 said:
I’m running a e locker and it survived both axle shaft failures but I agree the selectable diff itself is the weak link.
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Damn, I broke the 4pin (stronger) e locker in my 70 and know of 1 other person who broke one in a 60. We will see how long the ARB lasts. Atleast I can get parts for the ARB

Edit: my Eaton e locker broke before a stock 35 spline inner, spicer u joint and 35 spline outer did.
 
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Can anyone comment on 4.88 vs 5.13 vs 5.38s?

I know a guy with a small shop that does lots of gear installs and swears 5.13 is a lot stronger than 5.38s.
 
JR4X said:
You’ll break teeth off the ring n pinion
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Which typically breaks, the pinion or ring gear?

I debated this with my professor I had. He said for maximum torque, at breaking point, pinion always win via broken teeth on ring gear.
 
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TrailTamer said:
Which typically breaks, the pinion of ring gear?

I debated this with my professor I had. He said for maximum torque, at breaking point, pinion always win via broken teeth on ring gear.
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For me it’s always been the ring gear to let go first. Then once the ring gear teeth are gravel it will beat the pinion teeth up.

However. If you run it out of oil. The pinion teeth will melt off before the ring gear teeth do.
 
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94toytruck said:
And yet your the one who brought up their friend swears there's is a strength difference between a 5.13 and 5.38:homer:
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That's why I asked. Wasn't stating the 5.13 vs 5.38 as fact, just that I've heard it.

Every axle is different, was curious if anyone here had been breaking 5.38s and 4.88s solved it.
 
TrailTamer said:
Which typically breaks, the pinion or ring gear?

I debated this with my professor I had. He said for maximum torque, at breaking point, pinion always win via broken teeth on ring gear.
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Agreed with the prof.

But that only works if the setup is on point.
 
I've never seen a Dana 60 pinion stem sheared off in person or on the intenet, but I have seen plenty of broken teeth on ring and pinions. The Jana 76 setup with the Super 70 gears would be beef and complement the 40 spline 1550/CP750N/Big Bell well. A lot of people run standard Dana 60 gears in their super 60s, but the 10" gears that came in them are supposedly 16% stronger than standard Dana 60 gears according to John Cappa. I imagine that information likely came from a Dana Spicer rep for the article he wrote.

There has been quite a bit of discussion that 40 spline will move the weak point of a standard Dana 60 to the ring and pinion, but I think you'll break teeth typically before you twist off a pinion. I haven't seen enough people doing it to comment how well the 10" super 60 gears hold up to 40 spline abuse.
 
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