[Dukeofdiamonds]

Turns out the dana 60 donor truck i'm buying has 3.73 gears in it, leaving me in a bit of a dilemma. I have 2 paths to take:

1) just run the 3.73 axles for now and later swap to something like a 4.56 or 4.30. This will get me up and running faster, and be cheaper right now but will cost me down the road in extra parts.

2) go ahead and install some 4.10 gears to match the rear end that is already in the truck. This seems to be the cheaper long term option.

#2 really sucks because the dana 50 TTB I was going to bolt into the donor truck for resale purposes is pretty much useless unless I just remove the front drive shaft and tell the potential buyer he can't use 4x4 without a gear change.

The truck is going to be used primarily for playing in the mud and trailing, but no rock crawling except the occasional large stone in my path. I do need to be able to tow, so I am thinking the 3.73s won't be enough gear for pulling with 37 inch tires. I wanted to run 4.10 gears minimum because I am running a np205 transfer case and didn't want to make my low gear performance any more dismal than it is.

So, what would you guys do in this situation?

I have never rebuilt a differential, but am up for trying if I can find some gears for a reasonable price. Does anybody have a good set of used D60 4.10 gears that I could buy? or even more obscure, a set of 3.73s to go into a D50 TTB?

 

[lonco]

Used 4.10's are pretty plentiful, ive seen quite a few on ebay and other sites. You usually can get a used set for 50-75 bucks but the install is what kills it if you can do it yourself. Its not that hard if you have patience and a good puller that will get the bearings off the case. Ive done three trucks myself and havent had any problems yet. . . But i would say if your gonna stick with the 37's, 4.56 would be better if your gonna tow and especially if you have overdrive. so you might just put 4.56 in the front and save for the rear.

 

[LITTLEFOOT]

D50 ttb and D60 mono beam run the same crown and pinnion. Do a gear swap. Change the whole damn thing, carrier as well. Do not loose any shims when u do it and you will be set up pretty close. May require some shimming but would no be as bad as starting from scratch. Pretty sure the 4.10 and 3.73 gears are the same carrier , but go to randy ring and pinnion and do an application search. Buy a master install kit for your 60, and re-bearing it. Then you would have the shims, and the old brg's to use to help set it up.

 

[Dukeofdiamonds]

Looks like the D50 ring gear is only 9" and the 60 is 9.75". The pinion and axle shafts are also different sizes.

 

[Dukeofdiamonds]

After some debate and plugging in gearing and tire sizes in a wheel speed calculator, I have decided to run the 3.73 axles for now, and take your advice and swap to 4.56 gears in a few months. I can just swap the 32's back on her if I need to do any towing in the meantime, although it will look really goofy. I feel I can make more money selling the diesel truck with the matching 4.10 gears and use the extra cash for some new lower gearsets, which I have seen for about $180-200 new for each axle on the net. Guess it's time to learn how to rebuild a differential.