DANA AXLE IDENTIFICATION - Diesel Forum

rcoakley · 09-06-1999, 07:57 PM

I need help in identifying my axle housing and its capacity. I am new to your web site in asking questions but not in surfing it. I am posting this on a couple of web sites.
Hope this is one of the right web sites for my questions.

I have a diesel E350 van, 1989, long body, 15 passenger, heavy duty with towing package. It has single rear wheels (SRW) but a dual rear wheel (DRW) axle. Axle has 4.10 ratio. Am getting conflicting information on the rear axle capacity but not on the axle being a Dana or DRW axle. I am trying to find the axle capacity. Not the tires or the springs, but the axle. After the axle capacity, I would like to know the wheel bearing capacity. I do not want to endanger 15 people, including myself, by being over loaded.

The dealer I brought the van from said I had a Dana 60 light weight. The manual shows that my axle is "Code 32" and is rated at 6340 pounds. I have read that a Dana 60 is
rated at 5500 pounds. When I originally purchased the van in 89, I was told that the rear needed "E" rated tires and to keep 80 psi in them or they would be overloaded. As I see it, the Dana 60 axle, if rated at 5500 pounds, would be overloaded when I have 15 people in the van. I think this would pose a safety hazard so I am trying to find the axle
identification and capacity as well as the wheel bearing capacity.

Next contradiction. I needed a new grease seal but the originally ordered seal would not fit. It was to small. It took the larger seal. The dealer (not the selling dealer but the dealer where I have repairs done), said I had the heavy duty axle, probably a Dana 70. He said he did not
believe a Dana 60 would stand the weight and the torque from the diesel with a good safety margin.

I measured the axle tube housing and it is just over three and one half inches diameter. A Dana 60 is just over three inches where the Dana 70 is just over three and one half
inches. Then, I looked in the Shop Manual.

Third conflict. The illustrations in the Shop Manual shows I have the Dana 80 housing with the Dana 70 axle brake plate. My axle housing has two metal "fins" stinking up
on the top of it. The axle end has the circle with the top cut off.

At this point, the dealer is not sure what I have.

I have tried the Dana heavy axle fax back web site, www.dana.com/heavyaxle/faxback.html. It has the manual for the Dana 80. Figure 1 is almost exactly like the back of my axle. The circle on each end is the same but there is no bar from the circle to the end of the housing (where the axle tube connects). Figure 2 shows the two "fins" on the Dana 80. I have also been to the web site www.fourwheeler.com/facts/axlegde.html and the picture of the Dana 60 and Dana 70 does not look like my axle housing. However, the right side of the Dana 60 does look like both
sides of my axle housing, the circle without the bar extending to the axle tube. I also called Dana about two months ago but have had no response as of yet.

Now I have checked the axle tag on the Dana web site. The Ford tag is "E9UA HA" with the Dana part number "605413-2". The Dana axle stamp is "605413-21", not "-2" but "-21".
Dana shows "605413-2" to be a Dana 60 axle and based upon the axle brake plate, it is a semi floating design. But both dealers and the Shop Manual agree it is a full floating DRW axle. Another conflict????

On the differential housing flange, top front, both right and left sides, the axle has "80 ISU" stamped in raised letters. On the back bottom left flange, the axle has
"42853" stamped in raised numbers. By the way, a Felpro 72059 (or RDS 6095-1) gasket for a Dana 60 or Dana 70 will fit the housing cover.

This is a long email but am trying to convey as much info as possible to assist if anyone can help. Smile, things keep getting better.

To recap. I have an 89 E350, diesel, 15 passenger, heavy duty, towing package, 4.10 rear, SRW with a DRW axle. The axle tubes are just over three and one half inches in
diameter. Axle is a Dana DRW axle.

HELP!!! What is the axle and the axle capacity? Also, does anyone know the wheel bearing capacity?

Ready to appreciate the information,
Ron

HeyBob · 09-06-1999, 08:50 PM

This is obviously a question for FastDEW,
he WILL know the answer, it seems to me though that Ford would not install an axle
that would not have the capacity for the vehicle.......but they also built the Pinto!

------------------
cogito ergo zoom

98 E-350 Cargo van PSD
99 E-350 Clubwagon XLT PSD
Emerald Green, Factory aluminum
wheels, I found em at a garage sale
for $400.00
Three screaming kids in back seat, noise from engine drowns them out!
Don't ya just love it?

bjornar · 09-07-1999, 02:54 AM

An obvious question that I guess you just forgot about: What does the build info sticker in the doorjamb say about axle code?
I have a 1990 E-250 Club Wagon; it has the Dana 60. The E-350s also have the same axle, the only reason it has higher load capacity are the springs.
Do you have a dually rear axle on a van with a regular body? (That doesn't really sound good with me, but...).
The F-350 I'm ordering is upgraded to 11,200 lbs max without doing anything to the rear axle.

Regards,
Bjørnar
Aalesund, Norway

------------------
1990 E-250 7.3l E4OD 3.54
2000 F-350 PSD Lariat CC SRW shorty on order

FastDEW · 09-07-1999, 02:00 PM

Wow! This is a long one...

Bob, thanks for your faith in my ability to answer this question .... but 1989 is a little before my time (Was in the aerospace industry back then). I will try though.

First off .... Are you sure it is a DRW axle? It is more likely a SRW Full Float Axle. The DRW axle is much wider than the SRW and will not fit under the regular van body. Ford made vans with two axles in the rear. The light duty E250 used a semi-float axle (Stearling, I believe) and the E250HD and E350 used a full-float axle. The axle being full-float does not mean that it is a DRW axle. The wheel studs on the SRW full-float axle will appear long for a SRW but this also does not mean that it is a DRW axle. The drum on the DRW axle is larger than on the SRW, this will not allow the wheel from a SRW to bolt on to the DRW axle. The brake is a 12x3.5 on both units but the drum on the DRW is much deeper than the SRW. Also, the studs on the DRW axle use a nut with a spin washer for clamp load on the outer circumference of the wheel stud hole. The wheel centers on the hub itself. The SRW uses a coned type nut that centers on the stud itself. All DRW and SRW axles are the Dana 60 except for the E450 (SuperDuty) which is a Dana 70. There was a short time where Ford sourced Stearling for the axles but I believe your van is too old for that to have been the case. In any case, if the axle was on the vehicle from the factory it will be rated to hold 15 passengers. We go through hundreds of requirements to certify a vehicle for sale. The vehicle will have to pass FMVSS testing to be legal and all Ford vehicles typicaly exceed the FMVSS requirements set forth by the feds. As for the seals not fitting ... well all manufacturers make changes in suppliers and design due to many conciderations. Over time Dana may have changed suppliers or the prints may have been updated for the part as problems were found and improvements made. There are many reasons that components change over time, also ... I know we would like to believe that the manuals and documentation always keep pace with the part but that is not always the case. Even in forward model engineering we sometimes find that the documents do not agree with the part. Hope this helps. Please shoot back any questions you may have and I will try to answer them.

Dan

------------------
99 PSD E350 VAN 3.55LS Club Wagon Chateau with Factory Rear Seat/Bed and Aluminum Wheels.
"Drive it like you stole it!"

HeyBob · 09-07-1999, 06:12 PM

Dan,

I knew you could do it, great answer.

Bob

------------------
cogito ergo zoom

98 E-350 Cargo van PSD
99 E-350 Clubwagon XLT PSD
Emerald Green, Factory aluminum
wheels, I found em at a garage sale
for $400.00
Three screaming kids in back seat, noise from engine drowns them out!
Don't ya just love it?

bjornar · 09-08-1999, 02:51 AM

The axle code is "32". I don't have my book handy (I'm at work, 6-9 hours ahead of you guys).

Anyone have a table for looking this up?

Regards,
Bjørnar

------------------
1990 E-250 7.3l E4OD 3.54
2000 F-350 PSD Lariat CC SRW shorty on order

bjornar · 09-09-1999, 04:44 PM

My axle code is C3. Seem to remember from earlier that I found out that is the Dana 60.
My Chilton's does not list the different axles, but says that if the oil filler is on the lid, not in the casting, you've got a Dana.
The Dana 60 has a 9,5", while the Dana 70 is a 10,25" (as far as I remember).

Cheers!

Bjørnar
Aalesund, Norway

------------------
1990 E-250 7.3l E4OD 3.54
2000 F-350 PSD Lariat CC SRW shorty on order

rcoakley · 09-09-1999, 08:40 PM

Thanks for responding. Dan, appreciate the long email. I know it took a lot of time and I appreciate that. Don't give up. Smile. Let's keep trying.

Door sticker Code is 32.

Do not know if axle is SRW or DRW. But selling dealer said it was dual because I did not like the way the hubcaps stuck out in the middle due to the hub flange. Service dealer looked at hub and said was dual. The hub sticks out four inches from the brake drum and then there is a quarter inch flange for the axle. The axle is bolted to the hub with eight bolts and there are eight wheel studs. Never noticed the length of the wheel studs except both front and rear looks the same.

Do not have the dual wheel spinner nuts. Brake drum is about four inches wide. Do not remember the holes that is shown in the Shop Manual for the hub assembly. There is no pin because the steel rim only has the eight lug holes and the center hole.

The wheel does center on the hub. It is a snug fit with no play.

As far as I know, the rear wheels are set up for single wheels. Until I know exactly what model the axle is and after reading your email, I think that it appears that only the hub sticking out for four inches makes it a dual wheel axle. My axle is about 75 inches end to end. About 60 inches between brake backing plate and each end has about four inches for brake and about three and one half inches in the hub for ratching nut. Length may not matter because drivetrain.com shows where they are shortening some Dana 80 axles.

The grease seal did not fit because the ID was to small. The larger seal did fit. That is when the mechanic said I had the heavy axle and the dual wheel axle when I later questioned him.

If your next question is will the dual wheel fit, I would say no because I only have three inches between the rubber and spring. Correction, that is two and one half inches. I previously told someone three but it is two and one half inches.

I know about the safety requirements but sometime it happens. Actually, I hope it happened in my case but the other way around. Hope I have the heaviest axle possible. Well, I can hope. :-)

By the way, do we get paid by the pound for these emails? :-) :-) double smile!!

Does the axle tube diameter (3.5 to 3.6 inches), the raised letters "80 ISU" and "42853" have anything to do with the identification?

I have tried several web sites but nothing I have found identifies my axle housing. Even the Ford Truck Shop Manual shows the differential to be a Dana 80 where the axle brake flange is shown to be a Dana 70. I know the manual can be wrong so don't give up on me. Keep trying.

Any more questions, comments, whatever -- please forward.

Thanks for info so far. I think we are slowly getting the answer. By the way, I also posted this question on the 7.3 Diesel site. You may want to look there.

Here's to the correct answer.
Ron

FastDEW · 09-10-1999, 05:54 PM

The hub on both the SRW and the DRW axle both stick out 4" and they are both assembled with the 8 fasteners as you describe. This is what is refered to as a "Full-Float" design. A "Semi-Float" axle rides on the bearings in the case itself and the shafts are held in place by clips in the diff., Like you would see on most cars and 1/2 ton trucks.

Anyhow .... I talked with a freind today in Ford Econoline Lt. Truck vehicle Engineering group. He works in chassis and is extremely familiar with the E-series vans. He says that All Ford/Dana SRW axles on the E350 vans are rated at 7800lbs. The DRW axle is rated at 8000lbs. There is very little difference in the axle rating itself, the difference in load capacity for DRW and SRW E350's relates more to the extra wheels/tires and the heavier springs and brakes. He also said that Ford did at one time offer a school bus option on the SRW E350 with a DRW axle and DRW front end. This unit is described as being "strange" looking and using DRW style wheels on the front, which means the offset is positive rather than negative. Regardless of which axle you have, Ford never produced a 15 passanger E350 with an axle lighter than 7800lb rating, this according to an Econoline Chassis Engineer.

Hope this helps.

Dan

------------------
99 PSD E350 VAN 3.55LS Club Wagon Chateau with Factory Rear Seat/Bed and Aluminum Wheels.
"Drive it like you stole it!"

rcoakley · 09-11-1999, 08:57 AM

It certainly does.

If the lightest axle in E350s is 7800 pounds, then I have at least that rating.

At least I know the axle is not under rated at 5500 pounds.

Thanks for the help.
Ron

Bronco_Loco · 10-11-2008, 09:37 PM

You may have a Dana 61 axle. Basically, it's a Dana 60 housing and 31 spline shafts with Dana 70 axle tubes. That's what gives them the 7800lb rating. The good thing is that you can fit 35 spline Dana 70 shafts in there for strength. Good luck.