by RJLougee » Tue Feb 25, 2014 7:08 pm
I'm not trying to

holes here, but it seems like a lot of work just to change from a 30 spline to 31 spline axleshaft and still driving on the coast side of the gears. Even adding a 35 spline ARB to the 9" would remove that weak link, but leave the other.
On a totally different line, I like the idea of running D50R gears in a D44R housing, with a 35 spline ARB and adding the D60 outers. Pretty bulletproof, great ground clearance and much less weight than a D60. Probably cheaper to build in the long run as well (vs. a D60R, not the JY 609).
As for the arm ends, Jim Cole does sell them separately, IIRC they're $100ish for the pair. It's not that hard to make something like them, you could probably build out of some 1" x 6" rectube, plated around the ends and drilled for the bushings and notched for the axle tube. Duffs are pretty much the same as the Cage/Bloody Knuckle setup since all those were Jim's ideas.
BTW, which JY do you go to where you can get D60 parts?
Joe
'70 Bronco, MAF 5.0, NP435, D44/9", 4.10s, 33" MT/Rs, PS/PB
'71 Bronco, HP D60, Hi-9, 5.38/ARBs, 101" WB, 408 Stroker, AOD, Atlas, 40" MT/Rs, PiMP EFI.
'78 F150 SWB/Stepside/4WD, 351W/4R100/NP205, 35" KM2s, under const...
'81 Coachman Caper XL MH, 4WD, EFI 460/ZF/BW1356, D44/Sterling, 4.10s/35s, under const...
'83 Bronco, D60/Sterling, 5.13/ARBs, MAF EFI 351W/ZF/BW1356, 37" MT/Rs.
'12 Buggy, HPD60, Hi-9, 4.10s, Explorer 5.0, Atlas 4-speed, my chassis, EB skins.
And the latest project is a '99 Ranger Extra-Cab, custom frame/tube work, on 40s...