HP Dana 60 vs. LP Dana 60

[71Ford100]

What are the pros and cons of each? I was talking to a guy about me converting my crew to 4x4 and he said that there was nothing wrong with the LP's. Whats your take?

[averagef250]

The Ford low pinion 60's are all 30 spline. They use the same size axles as the HD44.

HP gears are supposed to be 30% stronger in a front axle app.

[montana_hiboy]

The HP gears are cut in reverse allowing the pinion to turn the ring from above its center axis as opposed to below its center axis like a LP axle and like averagef250 said supposedly making it stronger, i'm not a mechanical engineer but i suppose it has something to do with the pushing/pulling effect on the gears of the two different axles.

[Wes]

I haven't verified this, I need to take a cover off a hp front diff, but it was explained to me thet a low pinion runs the gears as if going in reverse. This the weaker side of the gear cut.
Another add benefit of HP is better drive line angles on lifted rides.

[Rockcrusher]

The HP gears are cut in reverse allowing the pinion to turn the ring from above its center axis as opposed to below its center axis like a LP axle and like averagef250 said supposedly making it stronger, i'm not a mechanical engineer so i can't tell you why it's stronger but i suppose it has something to do with the pushing/pulling effect on the gears of the two different axles.

An HP gearset is not any stronger than a "normal" gearset. The only advantage to a High Pinion or reverse rotation differential is less stuff close to the ground and smaller driveshaft angles. If you lay a standard and a HP gearset side by side they will look like a mirror image.

[montana_hiboy]

An HP gearset is not any stronger than a "normal" gearset. The only advantage to a High Pinion or reverse rotation differential is less stuff close to the ground and smaller driveshaft angles. If you lay a standard and a HP gearset side by side they will look like a mirror image.

I'm not sure that's totally true, a HP front axle is inherently stronger by the very nature of it's design, the fact that it's pushing the gears as opposed to pulling them would make them more stronger, whether it's 5% or 30% stronger is debatable but they are stronger, a HP front axle is making contact on the drive (convex) side of the gear tooth as opposed to the coast (concave) side of the gear tooth, that fact alone would make them more stronger then a LP front axle.

[averagef250]

You guys have to qualify stronger and weaker here.

A HP axle is stronger in the front going forward, a low pinion is stronger in the rear going forward.

When you put a low pinion in the front the ring and pinion teeth are loaded on the weak sides. With a high pinion in the front they're loaded on the strong side.

A high pinion gear set is equally as strong in the front as a low pinion gearset is in the rear going forward. A high piniopn gear set is 30% stronger in the front going forward than a low pinion gearset is.

Regardless, in the real world, the gear teeth are nowheres near the weakest part of any axle. Hubs, spiders, axles and pinion shafts will usually snap before gear teeth give out if everything is set up correctly.