91 ford Dana 60 Caster ????'s

skyhighZJ

skyhighZJ

Gov retirement < needs to live
Joined
May 31, 2012
Location
Aberdeen, NC.
Have a question for the community or, if anything, what may have worked in the past for someone. I have a 91 Ford KP Dana 60 that will be going under the front of my XJ. I have the axle on jackstands and am ready to weld on the truss I got from WFO Concepts. What I'm wondering is, what is a good caster number for the axle to be set at and then weld the truss to zero caster. I have the 3 link kit from Barnes along with their Enduro Joint on both ends of my links so adjustment will be easy but I'm looking for a good starting point so I don't have to risk running out of adjustment in my links. Hope this made sense to y'all. Thanks in advance.
 
@Jody Treadway will it be an acceptable practice to set the axle up in the way I described ? I have the axle set under the jeep. Both (jeep and axle) are at ride height. If I set the axle to 6-7* and then set the top of the truss to 0* that should be about right for a base to have everything line up close and then go from there?
 
skyhighZJ said:
If I set the axle to 6-7* and then set the top of the truss to 0* that should be about right for a base to have everything line up close and then go from there?
Click to expand...

If your driveshaft angle is in a safe range, yes.

What's the adjustment range of the links; are they meant to have the truss welded in stock caster position or something different? You need to know what the intended starting point is if you want to know if you're going to run out of adjustment range. That doesn't have as much to do with the adjustment range as it does with the starting link length. Starting with links that give +2 degrees (from stock caster) and +/- 3 degrees of adjustment isn't the same as links that start out with +0 degrees (from stock caster) and +/- 3 degrees of adjustment obviously. I just pulled those numbers out of my ass for sake of example, they're not real numbers. None of that may make sense depending on the 3-link kit and the particular truss, I just realized that.

I'm assuming you have the links attached to the truss, and that the links are in the middle of their adjustment range (for caster) so that whatever position you weld the truss in place is now the center of your adjustment range?

I'm just trying to see if we're all on the same page here about how you're setting everything up before welding.
 
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@Fabrik8 yes the links will be set in the middle of their respective adjustment range before I cut them to length and weld them up. I bought a length of PVC to use for mock up to determine the length of DOM I will need for the links so I can ensure I don't mess up anywhere before I cut and do the final weld up. The truss itself will be "neutral" as it is set in relation to the axle. I was just looking for the "factory" caster * for the axle itself to help it stand a better chance of being easier to steer and handle should it ever find itself on the road again. The parts I have gathered are by no means a designed kit except for the truss being designed to go on a D60 and work with coil springs and links. Other than that the links and rod ends are a universal kit I got from Barnes 4WD. I am also getting 3 link crossmember from Buckeye to complete the setup.
 
skyhighZJ said:
@Jody Treadway will it be an acceptable practice to set the axle up in the way I described ? I have the axle set under the jeep. Both (jeep and axle) are at ride height. If I set the axle to 6-7* and then set the top of the truss to 0* that should be about right for a base to have everything line up close and then go from there?
Click to expand...

I see no reason why your way wouldn't work.
I usually set the truss/ link mounts up at 0* unless the upper(s) needs to be forward of axle centerline for some reason.
Since you're starting fresh, I'd set it up at 0 and build your links from there.
 
I usually go 3-5 degrees positive on a Dana 60. Plenty enough to help it return to center and helps out the pinion angle as much as possible.
 
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