Dana 60HD vs. Dana 61 vs. Dana 70

[hooptytank]

I've seen a few threads on dana vs 9" vs 14 bolt, but not a family feud amongst dana, so here I go. I have 3 complete FF 8 lug rear diffs and I'm not sure which one to build. Whichever I build is going to have the ends cut off and I'm going to run Moser or Speedway Engineering FF hubs and disc brakes. I have 5X5.5 wheels that I'm keeping and also looking forward to shedding 100 pounds worth of drum brakes. Budget always comes into play!

This is going into a SBC 383 powered 5500# Scout contraption of sorts. Ditching the front D44 in favor of I-beams and will be used mostly for desert and go fast in general. Haven't needed the front drive shaft in about 6 years, so I figure I'd loose all that extra weight and the T-case(anyone need a th350 and 205 case?). It will have a track width 8-10 inches wider than stock when finished.

I'm looking for facts, not necessarily opinions, on which housing is the strongest. I'd run the 60HD which has an extra set of ribs compared to a D60 in a heartbeat, but reading up various threads and visually looking at the two, the 61 looks beefier.
Here are the specs:

Dana 60HD
BOM 603313-3
4.10 gears open carrier
30 spline
3.15" tube diameter

Dana 61
BOM 603714-1
3.07, open carrier
30 spline
3.15" tube diameter
1350 yoke I think (biggest of all 3 at least)

Dana 70 This was out of a dually based on the lug nuts.
4.56 open carrier
35 spline axles
3.5" tube diameter

The thing is that spline count and snout ID do not matter since I'll be using a 35 spline mini spool, and the proper ID snouts come with the hubs. I'm running 4.10s now, and the 4.56 in the D70 are tempting but not necessary.

So,
1. Which housing is best? Also if it matters this will be a 3 or 4 link setup eventually, so weldability (sp?) and strength of the center section is very important.
2. Does the 10.5" ring gear of the D70 rob a lot more HP than the 9.75 of a 60/61?
3. Anything else I need to take into consideration?
Thanks
.

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[hooptytank]

Oh, some eye candy...

[scottm]

Are you going to truss it? If not the 70 will be stronger because of the bigger tubes. But the 70 has less ground clearance because of the bigger ring grear. If the 70 is a dually, the wheel to wheel distance will be about 5 inches wider than the single wheel axles, which may be an advantage too.

[Dezertpilot]

The thing is that spline count and snout ID do not matter since I'll be using a 35 spline mini spool, and the proper ID snouts come with the hubs. I'm running 4.10s now, and the 4.56 in the D70 are tempting but not necessary.

DO NOT USE~A MINI SPOOL! They are junk! Just trying to save you a heartache, shoot a full spool is like around the $200 mark, so why not ya know?

[hooptytank]

Looks like spools for a 70 are a hard item to come by as I only found one company that makes them, and almost triple the price of spools for other diffs. Although I'm going to go with the $7 Millermatic 251 special on my open carrier, here is a Dana 70 spool from DTS if anyone is looking.

[Dezertpilot]

Yeah Id run the Lincoln Locker and if it fails then just pony up the $ for a true full spool. It's not like you are racing the Baja 1000 and it's THAT critical. That's alot of $ for a spool BTW

[jesusgatos]

I'd run the 60, and don't waste the money on new hubs and spindlesif it's already a full-floater. Just have the hubs machined (they're easy to turn down to 5 on 5.5) and throw some disc brakes on there. Search Pirate4x4 on both of those topics.

[Chris_Wilson]

I'd run the 60 because parts are easier to get (spools, gear ratios) then truss the housing. A 60 is plenty strong for a 4-linked 5500lb 600hp truck and I've had two differnt class 8 trucks with them and no issues. Once it's trussed, the OEM housing strength differences are a moot point. You don't need the 70 series ring gear for strength and the reduced ground clearance of the 70 will be noticed.

[hooptytank]

Just have the hubs machined (they're easy to turn down to 5 on 5.5) and throw some disc brakes on there.

Looks like they are machining front hubs... I don't see any way to machine the existing rear hub far enough, it's 4.75" OD, while my 5.5 wheel center holes are 4.25". At 4.25 you're into the axle studs of the original hub.

Does the rear full floater spindle use the same bearing sizes and spacing as a front spindle? then I can see running the front hubs on the stock rear spindles with some drive flanges, or am I lost?