Rock Jock III Dana 60 Custom Axle Build

Building A Custom Axle isn't all about saving time and money, but about creating the perfect axle for your needs and building something that will last more than a week or a year-one that will last a lifetime.

Aftermarket axles are the way of the future. Taking 30-year-old technology and combining it with modern day components gives you 1-ton brute strength that allows you to beat mercilessly on your rig. and although buying a custom axle is an intimidating and oftentimes expensive decision to make, it may be the last axle you ever need to buy.

So why build a custom axle instead of a junkyard jewel? as our appetite for more powerful and bulletproof drivetrains increases, so rises the demand for highpinion Dana 60 axles. What once was as simple as driving down to your local wrecking yard has now become more like searching for the Holy grail. It's the old supply-and-demand principles, and though we always hear about somebody's buddy scoring one for 200 bucks, when its time to find that same "buddy" deal, the price seems to climb closer to $1,200.

Though a couple of grand is still a fraction of what many of the complete aftermarket units cost, unless you're a master fabricator and axle technician, you may be stuck with the factory axle dimensions, causing the vehicle to fit the axle, instead of creating an axle to fit the vehicle.

Having taken a few previously recorded measurements to determine pinion angle, axle width, and caster for a specific vehicle, our goal was to build the ultimate mini-truck front axle. To help with the build we took a trip over to Currie Enterprises to create a custom RockJock III 60 with one of the axle legends himself, John Currie. seeing as how most minitruck (Ranger, s-10, Dakota, and Tacoma) straight-axle conversions require a highpinion driver-side-drop front axle, the RockJock III made the most sense both economically and buildwise. The 3-inch axletubes combined with the beefy centersection allow you to run anything from radius arms to leaf springs without stressing or damaging the axle, and the fresh steel makes it extremely fabricator friendly. Though we recognize that custom axles are not for everybody-especially considering that some of us may never even reach the performance potential of what the factory provides us with-there are those of us that destroy those drivetrain components on a weekly basis.

The ductile-iron RockJock III housing is Currie's latest addition to the RockJock lineup and the most economically priced of the family. One of the benefits of the high-pinion housing is that it allows the gearset to mesh on the stronger drive side of the gear when applied as a front axle, and gains lubrication from both an upper and lower oil valley, keeping the bearings and gears cooler for increased life and performance of the axle.	The factory Dana 60 outer pinion bearing seems tiny when compared to the Rock-Jock bearing that Currie uses. The bearing is so large that Currie provides an adapter to keep it tight. The increased strength and support of the larger bearing helps fight the driving forces and stress often encountered off road.	While some manufacturers choose to weld in their axletubes, Currie drills and taps each side of the housing six times using bolts to secure the 3-inch tubes to the axle. The advantage of bolting the tubes in instead of welding them is that you can remove the tubes easier if you ever decide that you would like to change the setup. This allows you to modify the width or pinion position, or even convert it to a rear unit, making it the last axle you may ever need to buy.
New inner knuckles means you can create the ideal caster (front and rear tilt of the axle), thus allowing you to maintain a higher pinion angle without harming the steering geometry. This is important since the transfer case is mounted high in most mini-trucks and will allow you to increase the front suspension travel, reduce stress on universal and CV-joints, and keep the driveshaft tucked up away from harm.	For our application we went with superior axleshafts for their large shaft diameter and 35-spline count. Combined with the massive 1480 series U-joints, huge when compared to the regular 1/2- and 3/4-ton truck U-joints, strength should never be a problem with the light weight of the mini-truck.	Unlike the standard Dana 60, Currie uses a spindleless unit bearing system from the Ford F-450. Engineered for the heavy weight of the 1-ton diesel truck, it provides plenty of strength for most mini-truck applications. With the more common lug patterns available we went with a traditional 5-on-5.5 pattern to match the rear axle that we already had.
The 35-spline Warn locking units allow the front axle to completely disengaged from the wheels when set to free. Selectable locking hubs help decrease wear on expensive drivetrain components, improve fuel economy, and improve on-road handling characteristics for rigs equipped with full-time lockers.	The new Currie caliper brackets are used to secure dual-piston Ford sport Trac calipers to the F-450 knuckles. Due to the massive 13-inch rotor, Currie suggests the use of a 17-inch wheel for proper clearance. Though a smaller Wilwood brake kit is available for those who prefer to run 15-inch wheels, the new sport Trac kit increases serviceability since the pads and calipers can be found at most auto parts stores.	The modified F-450 ball-joint-style knuckles have a grade 8 bolt on each side which ties in the matching high-steer arms (arrow). These are drilled for Heim joints so you can create a steering system that matches your rig best. From full hydraulic to a traditional highsteer system, the only work you'll need to do is drill your drag-link hole.
We chose Precision gear 5.13 ring-and-pinions for our optimum ratio to turn 37-inch tires, and a Detroit Locker for positive traction on the trail. and to keep the fluid sealed in, abraham Benavides applies gray RTV silicone in lieu of using a differential gasket.	In addition to the Currie's exclusive housing designed to protect the valuable differential, each RockJock III comes complete with the aR400 skid that's quenched and tempered with higher alloy content to create a stronger and hardened metal compared to traditional carbon steel. This metal is known for its abrasion resistance and is the same found on tractor and heavy equipment buckets.	At 435 pounds, our 67-inch-wide axle isn't the lightest on the market, but far from the heaviest. We chose to leave the 3-inch axle- tubes bare for now as we are still pondering what suspension will fit our truck the best.