Re: How to make them fit.
I don't mean to sound like a jerk here. It's just that I don't know you or what kind of wheeling you do. Your profile says you are from Ontario, I believe. I don't think you guys have a lot of rockcrawling there; do you? Please correct me if I'm wrong. I am not trying to start anything.
The ground clearance issue is basically that to get as much clearance as I have now with 35's and Toyota axles I'd have to run 38.5s to get that same amount with Dana 60s. The axles themselves are more than strong enough to handle that size tire.
I've done most of the more popular 4 plus runs in Moab, all of the 4 plus ones here in Az and several hard ones in Colorado. I wheel with plenty of guys with Samuris and all of them run 33's as a requirement with f/r lockers and a super low range tcase gearset. Anything less can't make the trails out here.
The norm on trails for quite some time was 33" tires. Then everyone moved to 35s to do the hardcore trails. Those trails are now tame in comparison to some of the trails out there and you'll need bigger axles to handle the magnitude the trails have reached especially when running a 38" or larger tire.
BTW, I have 27" to the very bottom of my nerfs on the side of the truck. The tcase has 24" under it and it's my lowest point in the middle of the breakover area. Unfortunately, moving the drivetrain up closer to the body isn't an option. I just don't have anymore room. Ground clearance and breakover angle aren't usually too much of a problem as long as you're putting your tires on the volkswagen sized rocks. The biggest thing I want to avoid is broken axles/birfields. Putting a 35" tire up against a wall of rock and asking it to climb up with 206:1 gearing is alot to ask of an axle. That's why I'm looking into the 60s.
I hope this explains better my reasons for this question. Again, I hope I didn't offend you with anything I said. If I did, I apologize. Thanks for your time,
Sean