Ok I just joined the forums and have read alot of good threads. I recently bought my first f250 heavy duty its a 97 but im guessing its an early 97 late 96.. cause the the vins match from title to plate but he told to make sure to ask for 96 parts .. idk why but anyways. Everyone has told me to do the SAS swap on it cause the independent axles are junk?? I know everyone has their own opinions so pros and cons please?

 

You are in the wrong forum. This one is for the '99+ trucks

Try this one:
1987 - 1996 F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums


As for your question...if you are not lifting your truck sky-high, or fourwheeling it hard, don't bother with the SAS. The TTB that is under your truck does just fine for its intended purpose.

 

Welcome to FTE. I moved the thread to where I think you will get the most help.

 

The TTB has an extra U-joint and slip joint to wear out, but for normal usage, I agree it is fine for the intended purpose.
Also, it's already in the truck, so you don't have to spend any money or do any work on a swap. In my opinion, if the TTB was broken, requiring expensive repairs, I would want to do the swap.
The straight axle is expensive to obtain, and maintain. A buddy of mine just paid $42.00 for one axle joint for his Dana 60, Part only!
D.B.

 

In '97 there were 2 completely different F-250s: the light duty F-250 that looked like the (then) new F-150 and the F-250HD that you (and I) have that still is the Old Body Style (often called OBS). If you ask for parts for a '97 F-250 it's a crap shoot which truck you'll get parts for. Asking for '96 F-250 parts guarantees you won't get the new body style parts.

As far as the axle goes, the leaf sprung TTB on F-250s was not one of Ford's Better Ideas. The swing arms try to pivot around one axis and the springs try another, so it kind of binds up. Most people think it rides worse than it would need to, and worse than an F-350 with it's solid axle, so a solid axle swap is often done to improve ride as well as giving a stronger axle.

However, the leaf sprung TTB wasn't that terrible either. I put 183K miles on an '85 F-250 with one, and now I have one again in my '97. I wouldn't mind a solid axle swap, but it's not that high on my priority list. In fact, even if mine had some worn out parts I'd probably go the cheaper route and fix it rather than take the "opportunity" to upgrade