Project In Too Deep – Building 1-Ton, Heavy Duty Spyntec Dana 60 Axles 

As with any project, take stock of what you have. Tools, install kits, parts and assemblies. Read the instructions and put a build-plan together in your head.

Since I was starting with a bare housing, I wiped the knuckle and bearing surfaces down with a rag and some lacquer thinner to clean out any grit and grime. Make sure that everything is clean and shiny; you don’t want your axle to start off life with dirt and grit on the bearing surfaces, it will find its way there later.

Start by installing the lower dust cap, and bearing race onto the inner C. I would suggest using a brass drift or renting an installation tool from your local auto parts store. I used a small brass drift and was very careful with the hammer taps so I didn’t mar the bearing surface. This can be done by lying under the axle and tapping up with the hammer; I was working on a housing that wasn’t installed, so I just flipped it over and tapped it in straight down.

Next the king pin can be installed. If you are rebuilding an old Dana 60 axle, removing the old king pin is a bear.  It usually takes allot of penetrating spray left over night, some heat from a torch, along with a long breaker bar, and enough profanities to make a sailor blush. I wouldn’t wish this job on anyone.  Since I am working on a brand new housing I could just install the new one. The tricky part is that it must be torque torqued to 550 ft/ lbs. Since my torque wrench only goes to 350 ft/ lb, I simply tightened to the max of my torque wrench and then went after it with a 4 foot piece of .120 wall tubing slid over a 7/8” Allen wrench that I bought from 4wdfactory.com. I also used a liberal amount of permanent thread locking compound on the king pin threads. After I felt the kingpin was tight, I then had a buddy pull on the tubing while I wacked the Allen wrench a few times with a hammer just to be sure. I wouldn’t say this was the most accurate way to tighten the king pin, but I sleep well at night knowing it won’t come lose.

Once the kingpin is tight, install the small seal over the kingpin and place the outer knuckle over the kingpin. With the outer knuckle in place you can install the lower kingpin bearing cap and bearing. I put some bearing grease on the bearing to hold it in place, and then used a bottle jack to hold the lower bearing cap in place while I installed the bolts. Torque the lower bolts to 80 lb/ ft. Now move back to the upper joint, smear some grease on the kingpin itself, and install the plastic bushing. The bushing indexes with a slot in the knuckle, so make sure you don’t force it in otherwise.

Now move back to the upper joint, smear some grease on the kingpin itself, and install the plastic bushing. The bushing indexes with a slot in the knuckle, so make sure you don’t force it in otherwise.

The spring retainer goes in place next, along with the spring. In the photo, I have the spring and retainer upside down just so you can see the retainer; the retainer goes below the spring. In stock applications, the upper spring is retained by a metal cap, in our application we’re using Solid Axle high steer arms and a billet aluminum king pin cap. The steps are the same regardless of the parts used.

There are a few ways to get the spring compressed enough to start the bolts on the cap. One method is to use a large clamp and compress it. I didn’t want to mar or scratch the anodized finish on the upper spring cap, so I simply took a trip to the local hardware store and bought 2 longer bolts. I started these bolts on opposite corners so I could compress the spring enough to start the correct length bolts.  No marks and no scratches on my anodized caps… I know, genius.
One of the great features about the Solid Axle outer knuckles aside from the huge increase in strength over stock is the addition of the machined upper surface with machined keys. This prevents the steering arm bolts from sheering under the load created by the steering. The indexed upper arm and keyway keeps all the force off the bolts and allows the bolts to just clamp everything in place. This is a super strong design and has been copied by many other companies in the industry.

Install the axle shafts into the housing. We used Yukon chromoly axle shafts and Yukon Super Joints to handle the 42” tires that the buggy will be rolling on. Be careful not to force the shafts into the housing as you can damage the inner seal in the center section. Once you have the axle shafts in place you can install the brake mounting plate, spindle, and wheel hub. I preassembled the wheel hubs, by pounding in the wheel studs and mounting the brake rotors. Your set up may differ in these steps, as the design of the Solid Axle industries wheel hub uses the pressed in wheel studs to hold the brake rotor in place. I also pressed in the bearing races and bearings on the work bench. You will also need to press in the spindle studs to the outer C. I used a drift pin and a hammer to seat the spindle studs.   

The brake mounting plates are held on with the same nuts and bolts that retain the spindles, so you will need to set them in place prior to bolting the spindles together. They are index drilled so there is a left and a right, and there is only one way to install the mounting plates – even I couldn’t screw this one up.

Next, lube the bearings in the wheel hubs and slide the hubs over the spindles.  Start the large inner spindle nut by hand and get it as far as you can before putting the socket on it. You will need a special socket designed for the Dana 60 spindle nuts, but you can pick one up at your local auto parts store. I usually snug the inner nut down until I can just barely turn the hub by hand. Next install the lock washer with the small pin facing in toward the inner hub nut. This is a little tricky and will take some retightening of the inner nut to get the lock washer to line up and sit properly. Once the washer is in place simply install the outer nut, torque to spec, and it’s on to the Warn locking hubs.

We chose Warn premium hubs for the front Dana 60 over front drive flanges since this Jeep would see some street time to and from the trails.  Even with 42” tires, the Jeep is still registered and street legal in Arizona – spinning gears, lockers, and axle shafts does take its toll on parts. And, I still like the option of unlocking the hubs when needed.  Warn provides straight forward and easy to follow instructions on installing their top quality hubs.  A very light coat of water proof grease is all that’s needed to install inner lock collar, the retaining clip, the spring and the outer locking mechanism. I always use blue loc-tite on the threads of the allen retaining bolts just to be sure they don’t come loose.

Because we used parts from Solid Axle industries, the rear assembly is the exact same as the front, from the spindles out.  The rear housing uses the same hubs, bearings and seals as the front. So simply install the bearings, seals, brake rotors, and wheel studs then slide the whole assembly over the welded on spindle. 

Installing the brake backing plate is a bit different than on the front, as the rear backing plate must be welded onto the axle tube.  To do this, simply assemble the brake caliper with the pads, bolt it to the backing plate and slip the whole thing over the rotor to get it lined up. Once it is in place, simply weld the backing plate to the housing. 

As mentioned earlier, our rear housing is a full floating design, meaning the weight of the vehicle is resting on the wheel hubs and not on the axle shaft itself. The axle shaft simply floats inside the axle tube and its sole job is to provide the turning force for the Jeep. There are two ways to connect the splined axle to the wheel hub; we could use Warn hubs just like on the front and have the option to unlock each wheel independently, a great feature if you’re going to flat tow your rig, or option two, drive flanges, which we chose. Drive flanges simply lock the axle shaft to the wheel hub in the same method as a front locking hub, using a splined drive slug and an outer plate.  The 35-spline axle shafts slide into the housing, and the drive flanges are installed. Installation is the same as installing a pair of locking hubs.