Is it just me, or have Axle prices gotten just way out of hand? UD 60s used to be less then 10k shipped to your door. Now they are 16k-18k plus. Dynatrac, Fusion etc...All these prices are insane for Dana 60 type axles. I know there have been cost increases, but but i work in finance and parts are not 40%-50% more expense. Also...when was the last time any of us got a 40%-50% raise....something has got to give here right?

 

In cases like this I take the long way and in this case that would be to find a couple of second hand axles and get them built yourself. You can probably do that for $4-5000 each or less but will take some time. All the components are available and there are many specialists around that can weld on to axles reliably. We get complete diffs at Pick A Part for about $200 each no matter what they are.

 

I wish I had the time and skills to do this myself but I don’t. I am willing to pay for that, but please tell me how on earth a set of 1 tons costs 22k. You can buy a completely used keep for that price and run it down the road. 10k. Sure. 21-22k is crazy and some guys are spending 30k. Like. What am I doing different lol.

 

Sixty4x4, the downside to the do-it-yourself D60 in the front for a daily driven Jeep is caster. Most every "manufactured" D60 sold has the center rotated for additional caster. Most people are running 4.5-6" of lift to clear 40-42" tires on the JK. On my daughters 15 sport with a Terafllex D44 axle, 6" of lift and 40's having the additional 6* of caster built into the rotated center allows me to run 7-8* caster without driveshaft angle issues. That makes a huge difference in how it drives as a daily and especially on the highway or back country roads. For a trail rig with very limited street use (not daily driven) a home built "junkyard" axle is a great money saver "if " you have the ability to build it yourself. The last D60 i saw built by someone had 40hrs of time to strip all the old brackets, Clean, prep and weld all the new truss and brackets. considering shop labor rates of $100-200 per hour plus powder coating, locker/gear setup and assembly of all the other components to make that axle the same as a crate axle adds up quickly.

 

If you have the ability to build your own junkyard axles, then you can rotate the axle tubes and add the additional caster needed.

 

Yeah all good points. But "man made it so man can modify and build it again" is my motto. I could hack the brackets off a diff in 1 hour flat and 10 or so hours or less for the truss/brackets install per axle. But that would be for me. I still believe I could do axles for the price I suggested earlier with lockers. But the 44's I have suit me fine with the wheeling I do so really a moot point. But if I went larger tires I would certainly go for it due to having stock wheel offset with the width needed.

 

When I had a Custom set of Fusion axles built for my 2020 Gladiator, it was $13700 shipped to the door for a d60 combo front and rear with E lockers and steering. I went back to them for axles for my 2012 JK8 I'm building. I ordered Nov 2022, the same axles were $17300 with ARBs. I decided to go massive overkill with the axles and had a super kingpin 60 built for the front with 40 spline inner, 35 spline outer (I didnt want to run slugs in the front), Branik Legacy 1550 ujoints with chromoly shafts and a shaved 14bolt with 40 spline axles and ARB's front and rear and steering, and it was $21000. This was still less and much stronger than a dynatrac ball joint front end