HP dana 60 pinion angle in a YJ?

fbpd227

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Joined
Jan 12, 2007
Location
Smoky Mts. WNC- Sylva, NC
I have a set of dana 60's from a 1979 F-350 which I will be placing under the springs of my 1993 Jeep Wrangler. My questions is for the HP dana 60 front axle...I know that Jeeps and Fords have a different "angle" on the springs when mounted to the vehicles ( spring mounting points at different levels - the eyes ), what would be the BEST or CORRECT pinion angle to set it at when installing in my Jeep? I would like to retain as much good quality steering as I can when doing this swap.... Thanks for the help.
 
If it is a daily driver, I would worry less about pinion angle and more about caster. Since the D60 will have locking hubs, you won't be spinning the front driveshaft when regularly driving. Ive found about 7 degrees of caster works good on my axle.

With that said, if it is a trail-only rig, forget about caster. The pinion angle will vary based on lift height, distance from t-case to pinion, driveshaft type, and many other factors. The only wat to figure it out is to put it under the springs and put the resting weight of the jeep on it, then draw an imaginary straight line from the u-joint centerline on the t-case output to the axle tube. Then, measure that angle and adjust the axle to that angle. This should get you pretty close. As always, recheck. For double cardan driveshafts, the pinion needs to be pretty much parallel with the driveshaft tube. Ive heard that for a driveshaft with a single u-joint on either end, you want to have the same angle at either end to keep the ujoints in phase (10 degrees at t-case would mean 10 degrees at pinion, kinda like a stretched out Z), but I have no personal experience with this, so take it with a grain of salt.
 
Thats what I meant, I should have been a bit more clear, sorry. I meant what is the PROPER caster angle ( basicly off of the stock spring pad locations ) for this front end, so it will have the best street manners. I have no inyentions of cutting and rotating the knuckles, as with the HP I am not worried about front driveshaft angles being very bad at all. MY concern is when I set the axle under the jeep's springs, I know the "angle" of the Jeep springs is differnt than the angle on a stock 79 F-350's springs ( which I assume is almost flat mounting= even spring eyes from the ground ), and what I was trying to find out is what kind of shimming will I need to do to the Jeeps springs to get the axle back to a "stock ford" setting for caster? Would I be better off changing the Jeeps spring mounts to bring it back to a ford type spring pad mouting angle or just use some shims? I anticipate the Jeeps springs to cause more positive caster than the stock ford as the front of the jeep springs are mounted higher than the rear, effectivly "rolling" the axle down and creating more caster which i know is also not ideal.....what a quandry....LOL
 
Just cut your spring pads and weld them back where you want 'em. Put the weight of the jeep down on the springs, and use a bottle jack on your pinion to get it where ya want. Tack 'em in place and then re-measure and burn em in.
 
Yeah, that works great for the rear. On the front you can't cut off the stock cast in front plate.

On the front set the top of the knuckle to -7 degrees of caster and then cut off the PS perch and rotate to the desired degree. On the driver side you will have to either machine the housing or get an appropriate shim to adjust the angle so that you have the desired -7 degrees of caster. Don't worry about the pinion angle unless you are running some obnoxious spring height. Then you will need to cut/turn the knuckles to allow for a reasonable pinion angle while still keeping the caster within spec.

-7 degrees of castor means the top knuckle is tipped back toward the rear of the vehicle 7 degrees.

5-7 degrees is well within the proper values.
 
THANK YOU! That's exactly what i was looking for! Thank you very much! Now I have what i need to start setting up my axles for going under my heep! Thanx ZUBU! and everyone else that offered info! VERY much appreciated!
 
i just stuck my hp44 under my yj and it's fine... no caster issues. i haven't measured caster though so i might have a SMALL problem but that is easily fixed with a couple steel degree shims installed between the spring perch and spring....
 
Was it out of a 78-79 Ford? ( same spring set up and width as the 60?) If that was the case I guess I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill, and shouldnt worry about it, and just "go with it"! LOL Thanx Erik!
 
i mean, i wouldn't "worry" about it but at the same time i'd keep it in mind when you get everything else done and drive it for the first time. you can always add degree shims if you need them.... and my guess if you will either need NONE or you will need so little of a change that adding them later will be very little of an inconvenience......

-Erik <--- says lose sleep over the BIG issues now... lose sleep over the small stuff once you get it on the road!
 
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