Does anyone know exactly what the difference is between the lower balljoints for the 3850# axle with the 4.10 ratio, and the 3850# axle? I just swaped gears from 3.54 to 4.10, while doing the work I realized my balljoints are bad and don't know which to use. If the ones made for the 4.10 axle are heavier duty I would rather use those, but will they fit.

Also the truck is an 84 f-250HD, 460 and 4-speed would that be the 3850# axle or something else. It is a d44 but thats all I know the door sticker and axle tag are gone.

Thanks any help will be appreciated.

 

Lighter axle is probably a D44 and heavier a D50. D44 TTB is complete junk and will strip splines on stub shaft on pass side frequently, among constant ball joint issues. D50 on just plain sucks but won't break so easy and ball joints still wear out but aren't as fragile. D44 and D50 joints do not interchange. To my knowledge Most F-250s had D50 fronts, some had the 8 lug D44 setup.

 

cadunkle is one of those dana 60 lovers. It seems those million trucks running around with the dana 44 and dana 50 frontends are all now in the junkyard because their frontends broke. . Wrong. They do ok for normal use, and yes of course if they have a 150,000 miles on them, they are going to need repair or they will wear the tires terribly.

As far as your original question; I just went through that. I could not buy the better priced balljoints from Rockauto because I just could not figure out what I had and what to order. I have the dana 44hd with the 4.10 ratio. What did I find out? 4.10 ratio or not, the dana 44 takes the smaller balljoint, the dana 50(the 4000 lb axle) takes the larger joint. I don't know where this 4.10 ratio thing came from, my truck took the same balljoint as the 3850lb normal axle.

 

Yes, I do love Dana 60s. They're simple and the king pin versions are very tough. While the TTB setups worked fine for years (decades) they are weak and what I'm saying is they're not worth putting money into since to rebuild a TTB axle you'll be well over half the cost of doing a D60 on a leaf spring 44 or 50. Rebuilding a TTB is throwing good money after bad and should be avoided.

On an F-150 it's a more complicated and personal decision. Those TTB axles are junk and will nickel and dime you to death, but converting to a solid D44 or D60 on a F-150 is more costly and time consuming. It's not entirely a bolt on job. I still think it's worth it if your half ton D44 TTB is worn out to convert to a solid axle, but I can't say it's the right choice for everyone given the level of work involved.

 

My only d60 is under my crewcab. I do agree that the 60 is better and will eventually put one in this truck but still waiting to find another one that I can afford.

The d44 thats in this truck seems to hold up very well, the whole reason for the gear swap (which was free) was to match the new rear end cause it broke in a truck pull. So in other words the 44 held up to a strong 460 while the d70 that was in the rear twisted the pinion shaft in half.

 

Thats what I was thinking, no reason to pay more for no reason.

 

The biggest mistake Ford made was when they went to ball joints on these trucks. The kingpins are a pain to rebuild, but last almost forever if you lube them regularly. The best 4X4 axles I worked on are the old sealed end style with the tapered roller bearings for pivot. They take a lot of time to rebuild, but the outer joints are protected by the ball and seal design of the axle.