Differential size Options
The Dana 44 is a very popular differential and has come stock in several vehicles for over the last eighty plus years. From Ford, Dodge, & Chevy pick-up trucks to Studebakers, Volvo’s, & Jeeps, they have been time tested to say the least. That being said, not all 44’s are created equal. Tubing sizes ranged anywhere from 2.500” diameter to 3.150” diameter with wall thickness ranging from as thin as 0.235” to over 0.500”. The axle shafts came in various sizes & spline counts as well. All of which makes a big difference in what size tires you can run, maximum horsepower, and also the GVRW* or GCRW*. We build our MD44’s with 3.0” x .375” wall DOM tubing and also offer 0.500” wall DOM tubing for heavy duty applications and our Alloy & Chrome-Moly Axles come in either 30 or 35 spline.
The Dana 60 is also a very popular differential and has come stock in several vehicles for over the last seventy plus years. Ford, Dodge, & Chevy trucks have used them along with old Mopar muscle cars, and even Jaguars. That being said, not all 60’s are created equal either. Tubing sizes ranged anywhere from 3.0” diameter to 4.0” diameter with wall thickness ranging from as thin as 0.200” to over 0.500”. The axle shafts came in various sizes & spline counts as well. All of which makes a big difference in what size tires you can run, maximum horsepower, and also the GVRW* or GCRW*. We build our MD60’s with 3.125” x .375” wall DOM tubing and also offer 3.5” x 0.500” wall DOM tubing for heavy duty applications and our Alloy & Chrome-Moly Axles come in 35 spline.
The Ford 9” is probably the most popular differential due to its ability to handle a lot of horsepower and its versatility. It was originally produced by Ford in the 1950’s, but has been the diff. of choice for hot-rod, off-road, & race enthusiasts for the last fifty plus years. Although the ring gear measures 9” no matter which housing you run, the housing itself comes in various sizes and shapes. We offer our MD FAB9 housing for off-road use applications, and the more traditional truck style MD9 for street use applications. We build our MD9’s with 3.00” x .250” wall DOM tubing for street use applications and 3.00” x 0.375” wall DOM tubing for off-road applications. We also offer 3.00” x 0.500” wall DOM tubing for heavy duty applications and our Alloy & Chrome-Moly Axles come in either 31 or 35 spline.
Differential pinion Options
Standard pinion diffs have the pinion gear input location below the horizontal centerline of the differential. When a standard pinion diff. is located in the front of a 4WD vehicle the torque coming from the driveshaft is pushing on the coast side of the ring gear teeth when the vehicle is in drive and then pushing on the drive side of the ring gear teeth when in reverse. When a standard pinion diff. is located in the rear of a vehicle the driveshaft torque is pushing on the drive side of the ring gear teeth when in drive and the coast side when in reverse.