First and foremost, special thanks goes to @shannon67 we were texting emailing and talking back-and-forth on the phone since as far as I know he is the only one that has a DANA 60 Lowe pinion, Also special thanks goes to Curtis at ECGS he's extremely knowledgeable and worked very hard to make this happen, so thank you Curtis and Chase. and long story short, I was contemplating for a very long time which way to go and what axle to get, They are many great axle manufacturers out there and all make good axles but the company was also very important for me to consider, specially when it comes to warranty and after sales service. I have my share of dealing with crappy companies when it comes to after sales service and warranties, and I am sure you guys as well. I know Chase the owner of ECGS for few years, and a lot of my off road buddy's have dealt with his company and including myself, and when it comes to off road drivetrain, he is the go to guy. Few years back when we talked on the phone, he told me that he had built a D60 for the Fj and that was that. Fast forward to a week ago I spoke to Curtis at ECGS and some one faster than me pulled the trigger on that D60. So after taking to Curtis and Chase they came up with a quote to build a complete axle for me. the Fj60 will be a complete axle, and when I say complete! I mean with all bearings pressed in and with the baking plate to hold the parking break and calipers and using the stock sway bar and to put the cherry on top, it will also come with the hydraulic steel brake line tubing. The center section will be a Dana-sourced smooth-bottom 60 housing that has more clearance than the 14-bolt (and typical junkyard 60) that you find. Officially this will be serial#1 and it will take two months to build and they do have a full-time engineer on site and he will draw up on the CAD/CAM the axle and all the brackets that need to be welded to the housing.
I have copy and pasted the following from the axle build sheet.
FJ60 REAR 6X5.5 BOLT PATTERN 35 SPLINE OX LOCKER 4.56 DANA SPICER RING AND PINION USA MADE.
Toyota FJ Cruiser Rear Suspension Bracket Set
PINION BOLT IN ASSEMBLY
85999 DANA-SPICER CENTER SECTION USA.
DANA 60 TUBE BUILDER 24 INCH 3.5X7/16 WALL TURNED DOWN TO 3.438/4.700
HOUSING END FJ CRUISER / 4RUNNER
AXLE FABRICATION LABOR
D60 & D61 MASTER OVERHAUL KIT
OX D60-456-35: OX Locker Kit for DANA 60 - 4.56 and up 4 Series Case - 35 Spline - Includes Locker, Heavy Duty and HD Cover USA MADE .
DB COMPLETE AXLE LABOR
Toyota FJ Cruiser, 03-09 4Runner, & Prado Rear Axle Bearing and Seal Kit - Fits Left / Driver Side - ABS - Sold as Each - Includes ABS Compatible Bearing Assembly, Bearing Retainer Ring, Axle Seal, O-Ring, Washer, and Snap Ring.
Toyota FJ Cruiser, 03-09 4Runner, & Prado Rear Axle Bearing and Seal Kit - Fits Right / Passenger Side - ABS - Sold as Each - Includes ABS Compatible Bearing Assembly, Bearing Retainer Ring, Axle Seal, O-Ring, Washer, and Snap Ring
A PAIR OF 35 SPLINE MOSER FORD 9 CUSTOM LENGTH SEMI FLOAT SHAFT USA. (SHAFT ONLY NEED: LUG PATTERN, BRAKE PILOT, BRAKE OFFSET)
CKSA12- ARB MINI COMPRESSOR
ADD ON TO OX LOCKER FOR IT TO BE AiRSHIFT FROM THE FACTORY (ELECTRIC AIR SWITCH): Kit Contents * 16.5 ft 1/4 inch Air Line * 90 Degree Push Lock for cover * Electric Toggle Switch * Electric Toggle switch Cover * Electric Soleniod * Solenoid Adpater fitting * Straight Pushlock
OX-DAL-001 - Drive-Away Lock
Here are some stock photos from Chases's shop when FOURWHEELER network was doing an article on ECGS Dana 60. The Fj60 will be similar to this, but with FJ brackets.
I hear you. And yes, it was shelved and now it is resurrected. I guess it wasn't much demand for it. I told Chase if you build it they will buy it. With $4710 shipped to my doorstep I couldn't refuse.
Looks awesome! You'll have to let us know how fitment works out with the low-pinion on the D60. I'm worried it's so big that it will hit the panhard bar on the FJ. Are you going to be running this with some sort of long-travel rear?
I hear you. And yes, it was shelved and now it is resurrected. I guess it wasn't much demand for it. I told Chase if you build it they will buy it. With $4710 shipped to my doorstep I couldn't refuse.
As far as I know any one can order this unit. That is the whole point lol. I know Chase and his crew do top-notch work, and with 5 years warranty this is an unbeatable deal. If you guys have any question for the Fj60 you can call and ask for Curtis he is a good man and extremely knowledgeable about our trucks and the Dana 60.
Looks awesome! You'll have to let us know how fitment works out with the low-pinion on the D60. I'm worried it's so big that it will hit the panhard bar on the FJ. Are you going to be running this with some sort of long-travel rear?
I will definitely let you guys know how everything will fit. I am not going long travel, this truck will be more of a expedition style truck. I am thinking I might have to modify the pan-hard and it all depends how thick the cover of the OX locker will be. Shannon67 is running the same style axle and I am positive he has the long travel setup.
Shannon67 has some slight interference between the ARB diff cover and the panhard. Doesn't limit the panhard, but was scrapping the paint off and shaving a bit of metal when I wheeled with him in Moab back in 2015. Not sure if he ended up bending the panhard or notching it, I think his panhard was solid aluminum (I think).
Did you want a normal Dana 60 instead of RJ60 due to the strength I assume? I struggled with this also, but talking to All-Pro they said even supercharged the RJ60 would be plenty strong with 4.56s and 35s. If I went 37s it was a bit of a toss-up. Plus I wanted the clearance the RJ60 offers since mine is used mainly for rock crawling.
That's awesome that it'll come assembled with the bearing pressed and backing plates, that was a PITA when installing the RJ60, and I can't imagine the backing plates are that expensive, I don't understand why Currie has you reuse them. And definitely a plus having the hard brake lines preinstalled, again rather than reusing.
That's an awesome price too, just a few hundred more than I paid for the RJ60 and yours will truly be a bolt-on fit.
Shannon67 has some slight interference between the ARB diff cover and the panhard. Doesn't limit the panhard, but was scrapping the paint off and shaving a bit of metal when I wheeled with him in Moab back in 2015. Not sure if he ended up bending the panhard or notching it, I think his panhard was solid aluminum (I think).
Did you want a normal Dana 60 instead of RJ60 due to the strength I assume? I struggled with this also, but talking to All-Pro they said even supercharged the RJ60 would be plenty strong with 4.56s and 35s. If I went 37s it was a bit of a toss-up. Plus I wanted the clearance the RJ60 offers since mine is used mainly for rock crawling.
That's awesome that it'll come assembled with the bearing pressed and backing plates, that was a PITA when installing the RJ60, and I can't imagine the backing plates are that expensive, I don't understand why Currie has you reuse them. And definitely a plus having the hard brake lines preinstalled, again rather than reusing.
That's an awesome price too, just a few hundred more than I paid for the RJ60 and yours will truly be a bolt-on fit.
Sorry for the late reply I was gone for the 4th of July.
I was talking to Shnnon67 and he did grind the pan hard a bit to clear the ARB lockerd.
There are 2 guys which I know them through my brother's wheeling buddy's and they had the Rj60 on their trucks/Jeep. They both broke the R&P with 37" tiers and Currie didn't want to honor the warranty and blame driver error. That was some 6 years ago. The Rj60 is rated up to 37" tiers. They ended up selling the axels $.50 on the dollar.
Like you said, it is plenty strong with 35" tiers and more than likely no one will ever break the ring and pinion on any Fj.
Had a discussion with my sister long ago and since she's a mechanical engineer and she knows her stuff. She said running the ring gear on it's coast side is not a great idea since it is not designed to take the load on it's reverse side. The Industry standard is low pinion in the back and high pinion up front. However if someone wants to buy a half $million machine, that would cut the gear in reverse but in direction of the drive, that high pinion axle would be one strong unit. Also that ring and pinion set would be extremely expensive since it wouldn't be much demand for it, let alone it would need to come in different ratios.
The other thing I didn't like, was leaving you stranded with bearings not pressed in and transferring the brakes hydraulic hardline over to the new axle.
If your 8.2" is in good shape and is re-geared to 4.56 I am seriously interested. Im also located in San Diego, so somewhat local. Shoot me an email and we can discuss.
FWIW the latest solid axle project on the forum is using a RJ60 on 40's. His builder runs 41's on a rock jock. I agree it is not optimal but at some point it is good enough... Definitely stronger everywhere in needs to be compared to the 8" and in some places on the 8.2
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