Dana 60 or 9"

Mike P · Post by **Mike P** » July 4, 2009, 12:38 am

Well I need a good opinion. I have a 65 F-250 and I’m going to start on the rear end but I have a Dana 60 4.10 gears and a 9" 3.89 gears.
It is being pushed with a I-300 6 with a 5 speed trans.
There seem to be more options for brakes and wheels with the 9".
I am going to use this truck as a daily driver as well as towing and hauling
I would like to get fair fuel mileage at the same time. Let me know what you think.
Mike P

oldtrucks · Post by **oldtrucks** » July 4, 2009, 2:43 am

Stay with the dana 60 brakes aren't that expensive to do the 300 should get good fuel mileage and will hold up to the towing and hauling better.

My girlfriends old F 250 4X4 300 six 4 speed would get 18 mpg all the time. My sister had a 81 F100 300 six and she gets 18+ mpg all the time.

there are some really nice 16" 8 hole wheels out there and you can find disk brake conversions for the dana 60 reasonable.

Dana 60 for sure is my vote

36truck · Post by **36truck** » July 4, 2009, 8:26 am

What would you do for the front axle 8 bolt if you put the 9" in the back?

factorystock · Post by **factorystock** » July 4, 2009, 9:53 am

Keep the f 250 an f 250.8 hole wheels are plentiful.Add a brake power booster. Biggest issue on older 3/4 tons is the low gearing. In 1968 and newer, many 390 powered 3/4 tons came with 3.54 and 3.73 ratios, which should be fine for 300 6 cyl that doesn't haul heavy weight anymore.

Gritsngumbo · Post by **Gritsngumbo** » July 4, 2009, 9:54 am

Since someone mentioned disc brakes for the Dana 60, is there an 8 lug rotor available for the front axle? I understand the bracket for the bolt on kits fit the spindle but I'm not sure where you would find the rotors.

BarnieTrk · Post by **BarnieTrk** » July 4, 2009, 10:42 am

Since you've got a F-250, you've got 8-lug hubs and wheels, corrrect?

I didn't think the 9" was available with an 8-lug pattern..... So, rather than have two different rim bolt patterns, the Dana 60 is the only choice.

BarnieTrk

Mike P · Post by **Mike P** » July 4, 2009, 12:16 pm

Well I still have the 8 lug front end and I was thinking (now) of going to the junk yard and get the disk brakes from a later model 250 along with the master cil. I'll get some photos of what I got going on on the truck a little later.
Mike

cdherman · Post by **cdherman** » July 4, 2009, 10:44 pm

depends what you mean by "towing and hauling"....

For real towing and hauling, keep the Dana and 8 lugs. On the other hand, you would have a lot more flexibility in changeing the rear end ratio with the 9" and you could just swap over to some 5 lug front disk brake rotors.

In the end, you'd essentially have an f-100. You'd actually increase the value of the truck a little.

But to each his own, and for real towing/hauling, the Dana is better as well as the 8 lug rims.....

Gritsngumbo · Post by **Gritsngumbo** » July 5, 2009, 9:51 am

cdherman wrote:In the end, you'd essentially have an f-100. You'd actually increase the value of the truck a little.

ICEMAN6166 · Post by **ICEMAN6166** » July 5, 2009, 11:03 am

Gritsngumbo wrote:
cdherman wrote:In the end, you'd essentially have an f-100. You'd actually increase the value of the truck a little.

no way that makes it worth more

cdherman · Post by **cdherman** » July 5, 2009, 1:34 pm

I think having looked at what F100 versus F-250 trucks sell for over the past 7 years makes me willing to guess that ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL (same engine, condition, etc etc etc) the F100 trucks sell for more.

You might personally find an f-250 more valuable, but in terms of resale, I'd guess the f-100s are more valuable at resale.

I might be wrong, I can't prove a thing......

Maybe Tom or some of the fellas that actually buy and sell these (ICE doesn't count -- he never sells one from what I've heard!!!) can comment.

Anyhow, just my opinion.

Roger Carter · Post by **Roger Carter** » July 7, 2009, 6:46 pm

For towing and hauling keep the Dana 60. The 60 has full floating axles, the 9" doesn't.
If you have ever snapped an axle with a load on the truck you wouldn't ask the question.

Roger Carter

Mike P · Post by **Mike P** » July 7, 2009, 8:06 pm

Well thanks for the input now all I have to do is find a donor truck for the front end. I've been looking on craigs list and local classified ads and one person is asking 500.00 for the spindles and brakes!!!!
Any suggestions on the best year for a donor?
Mike