i have a question for the guy with the white truck with the cummins swap. IM doing the same thing and i have a getrag trans with matching tcase. I need to do a D60 swap from a 1st gen dodge.. I was wondering if you ran into any problems swapping in that D60 instead of one from a Ford. Thanks

 

Obviously, the Chevy/Dodge D60 doesn't bolt in the same as the Ford being that the differential is on the opposite side and the spring pad widths are different. Other than that, all the leaf sprung versions should be the same in principle: mount leaf springs, u-bolt axle to said springs, done!

As for my swap... My truck was a 2wd when I started, so I made everything up from scratch, like leaf spring mounts and such, making my swap pretty simple/straightforward. There are several things to consider though if taking a wrong-side-differential approach like I did...

First, Ford crossmembers favor a slightly to the passenger side configuration (meaning the engine and transmission are actually to the pasenger side of center) to make room for the driver side drop drivetrain. So, you will likely need to mod the crossmember and shift the engine and trans to the center or driver side of center to make room for passenger side drop drivetrain PLUS exhaust. I'll admit, it gets tight quick, and luckily the NP205 on the back of the Getrag is small enough to barely let 4" exhaust pass.

Second, if your Ford already has a leaf sprung variation of front suspension, you will likely have spring pad width issues trying to mate a Chevy/Dodge D60 to the existing Ford springs. Some people have managed this by moving the tube pearch and redrilling a spring bolt center on the differential side, then using a hybrid setup of U-bolts/pads/allthread to reattach the spring to the differential (Chevy/Dodge D60's have threaded studs in the differential to act as one of the u-bolts).

Third, revisiting the crossmember... Not only will it likely need to be modified to center/over-center the engine, but unless you are running a sky high lift, you'll need to reclearance the bottom of the crossmember to make room for stuffing the differential, which is now passanger side drop. I didn't have to clearance the bottom of the crossmember on mine because I had enough lift, but when the 38's go and the springs get reconfigured, I'll likely have to trim.

Hope that helps...

 

okay thanks for all your info. I did notice that the trans was favoring the p/s.. I fabricated my own crossmember i had to cut the stock one out. So in your opinion would i be better off trying to find a tcase that drops to the driver side? If i go in that direction do you know any tcases that will work for me? Ive been looking all over and the only thing i can find is i think an nv241 or np241 (dont remember which one). Are there any other options I have?

 

I guess it depends on what front axle you have or can source easily. Sounds like you already have all the crossmember issues handled if you did your own (which is what I should have done instead of modding the existing crossmember ).

If your truck is leaf sprung already, then it may be easiest to simply source a Ford D60 of similar frame width dimensions ('78-'79 D60 had narrower spring pearch width) and bolt it in, then source a 29 spline t-case, like a NP241dhd from behind a Dodge NV4500HD (Cummins or V10, I believe).

If your truck is 2wd, then you can do whatever you want as long as you are willing to fabricate the parts to make it all work.

 

I guess i will try to find a dana 60 (ford) and look out for a np241dhd. I did however find a np241dld that isnt strong enough right? And yes my truck is leaf sprung.

 

As far as the np241dld...the only differences I can find between dld and dhd on a quick search is the chain being wider on the dhd, and possibly the output shaft being bigger. If the dld is 29 spline input, it should work just fine, assuming you aren't building a pulling truck or mega horsepower tow-pig. If it's a reasonable price, it may be enough to get you started and running with your swap.

 

Found a guy with a 23 spline no luck with a 29 in my area... for now i think i will keep the tcase i got with the motor and trans i bought and i will deal with 2wd until i come across the right driveshaft.. Thanks for your help

One other question.. when you hooked up your wires did you leave your computer in your truck? is it needed to control the factory gauges? i have engine mounted, crossmember made, just got a hx35 to put on her im left with the wires and then i should be able to fire it up minus putting the radiator and i/c back on also.

 

Mine was a 7.3 IDI diesel truck to begin with, so no engine control unit to speak of. I just picked up a Chiltons for both the Ford and the Dodge, thumbed through the wiring diagrams, and started splicing the right wires together underhood. All my gauges work perfectly (keep in mind that I reused the 7.3 IDI water temp and oil pressure senders and just adapted them to the Cummins), even the "wait to start" light tied into the Cummins grid heater and the "fuel filter" light tied into my AirDog (for low pressure)

I'm not certain what would be needed to keep an active gauge panal in a gas or Powerstroke truck...