Hey Ive got a 74 f250 4x4 with the hd dana 44 in it. I dont intend to mud or wheel with it. just drive it and restore it. It has drum brakes closed nuckle and king pins. Its also a low pinion 44. I also have a dana 44 from a 78 f250 sitting should i swap to the 78 or leave it alone?

 

Personally id prefer the disk brakes and HP but if your not wheeling it or anything then the LP wont really hurt you, its just you still have drum brakes

 

Can't he swap knuckle out to get the disc brakes?

 

i have no idea...

 

I don't either .. Sounds right though, put the disc brake stuff on the axle that's already in there. HP/LP don't matter if he's not going to lift it/wheel it.

 

Swap the 78 44 in


Its more work to swap parts.

 

Agreed. Have to cut off the inner Cs on the original LP axle, weld on the new balljoint C's, swap on the open knuckles and outers, and then still have a low pinion axle. IMO, i'd do the whole axle swap.

 

Sorry its been along time since my last post. been really busy building the truck I mud with. but I've been thinking personally I really like the closed knuckles on my truck. I've been thinking is there any way I can just change spindles and bolt on disc brake brackets off a 77 lp hd axle and still have my king pins and closed knuckles? would I have to modify the spindle to fit? Thanks.

 

that is one of them questions i can't answer. the very first thing i ever did to any truck i had with a closed knuckle drum brake truck was toss the axle in the scrap pile for a open/disc brake axle.

 

You like closed knuckle axles? Can I ask why?

 

about the only thing closed knuckles are better for is semi-keeping crap out of ujoints and axle tubes, but it's not a wheeler and all of the other bad points of that axle make it a moot point. the only possible issue i could see is driveshaft interference going to a hp axle in a stock divorced case truck, but i have very limited experience with highboys, letalone stock height, unmodified ones....

plus parts for those axles have to be hard as hell to come by if something wears out or breaks. you can still find full parts support just about anywhere for 77.5 trucks and up though.

 

I honestly I think they are cool. I like the big lock outs this one has and that my front u joints are protected. But like I said this isn't a mud truck and I don't do any serious off roading with it. I have a mud truck for all that.

 

the way i look at it, the front u-joints ARE NOT protected.
because those closed knuckles always leak, they also trap all kinds of crap inside which destroys stuff, and the drum brakes flat out suck for a heavy truck..
the 71 used to eat u-joints left and right because of the lousy felt seals.
after it got the open knuckle 44 with disc brakes, never replaced a u-joint again for the 14 years it was on the road.

 

well I just had the knuckles apart to do king pins and from the looks of it the u joints are original. my knuckles don't leak because they're mainly packed with grease. all I do is occasionally put it a touch of 80-90 gear just enough to slosh around. they're cool and you don't see them anymore... at least where I'm at.