4 Wheel & Off Road – November 2019

4WHEELOFFROAD.COM 4-WHEEL & OFF-ROADNOVEMBER 2019 53

LOCK & LOAD

REGEARING SUPER DUTY AXLES

WITH YUKON GEARS

BY Harry Wagner

[email protected]

PHOTOGRAPHY HARRY WAGNER

F

ORD SUPER DUTY AXLES ARE

arguably the most common

setup swapped in to other

vehicles, and it is easy to see

why. The Super Duty is one of

the last vehicles on the market

equipped with front and rear sold

axles, and the only with a high-pinion Dana

60 frontend. By starting with heavy-duty,

eight-lug axles with 35-spline axleshafts

we didn’t feel is necessar y to upgrade

shafts or U-joints, even when planning to

run 40-inch-tall Milestar Patagonia M/Ts on

our fullsize truck.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for

improvement, or that all Super Duty axles

are created equal. We recently went to

Axleline to upgrade the Super Duty axles in

our latest project with Yukon components

for improved strength and trail prowess.

Axleline’s head honcho, Aaron Lechner,

showed us the strengths and weaknesses

of Super Duty axles, along with the chang-

es that have been made over the last 20

years that Ford has been using these axles.

Yukon makes lockers, ring-and-pinion

sets, and installation kits for every gen-

eration of Dana 60 and Sterling axle. We

recommend starting with the newest axles

you can find since they have the biggest

components to support the increases in

power and tow capacity as the Super Duty

has evolved. Then just add lockers and low

gears and you are ready to hit the trail!

1

Several different spline counts were used

in Dana 60s over the years. Step one is to

ensure that you ordered the right parts and your

a x leshaf t s fit in the new carrier. It is better to

find this out before you go through the hassle of

installing the carrier and setting up the gears!

2

Yukon Gear & Axle makes a variety of

limited-slip and locking differentials for

axles, including the Dana 60 and Sterling 10.5.

We used the company’s Grizzly Locker in front

(right), which is a full case mechanical locker

that provides 100 percent power to both tires

while still allowing for disengagement when

negotiating turns. In the rear we chose a Zip

Locker (left), which is a full case air-operated

selectable locker that allows you to s w itch from

an open dif ferential to 100 percent lock up w ith

the flip of a switch.

3

Note the different shoulder length on the

pinion of the new Yukon gear compared to

the factory gear. We sourced our installation kits

from Yukon with the new gears to ensure that

the bearings and crush sleeve would match the

gears we are installing. Yukon master install kits

include high-quality Timken bearings and all the

small parts you need, like new ring gear bolts.

4

The 1480 U-joint is the stan-

dard size for Dana 60s. It

has a 3-inch body and a 1.375-

inch cap size. Super 60 front

axles use 1550 U-joints that

have the same size caps but

a larger, 3.78-inch body that

is not only stronger but also

allows for more steering axle.

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