I have a '91 F-150 SuperCab 4x4 with a 351W and E4OD tranny. I have a 6 inch suspension/3" body lift on it and am running 35s. I've also installed 4.10 gears. I have a slight problem though. My 8.8 rear end has bent. It's still running the roads every day with no roar or any sign of breaking, but the idea of riding around with a bent rear end dosen't excite me. What I would like to do is to just find an old 1-ton and throw the axles form it under mine. I have read that the older 1-tons had Dana 60 rears in them and not the Sterling that the new ones have. It dosen't really matter to me which one I get because I've heard a lot of good things about the Sterling. I was wondering what models had which axles and gearing options etc.
I also would like to know how hard it would be to replace my 1/2 ton's front TTB IFS with the 1-ton's leaf-sprung solid axle. I have good wrenching skills and fair fabrication skills. My dad would help me along in the process and he is a boiler-maker and has been making crap out of metal his whole life so he knows what he's doing with that stuff. I'd just like to know if it would be easier to put the leaf-springs in the front or adapt the axle to run with the coil-sprung setup like it has now. What would you do?

 

You need to post this in one of the truck forums. This is the Garage forum.

 

Garage forum??
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Seemore when you figure it out bring back a report.

I broke an axle housing on a 77 F150 a long time ago in a land far away. That was not fun.

 

Anything is possible with the right amount of cash and time, but you are best off replacing the rear with another 8.8 or 9-inch from the boneyard or selling your rig and buying a 1-ton. Just my $.02.

 

i have a 94 f150 and i put 89 1 ton axles under mine, wasn't hard at all. The rear axle bolts right up, same width leaf springs. You need to get the shackles and the spring perches off the 1 ton front end. The spring perches go in the same spot on the frame as your half ton, you just have to drill holes. They fit around the cab mount. Now on the front shackles, I just boxed my frame in just behind the bumper, where it is ribbed to absorb some of the impact in a collision. made some brackets and bolted the shackles to it.

Brian.

 

a 9 inch is just as strong as a D60, but for heavy hualng the D60 is a better choice because it is a full floater. The 9 inch will not have the speedo sensor though, neither will an old D60, jsut something to keep in mind.

 

you need to find out what the build date is on your truck. It was right around 91' when they put the speed sensor in the rearend. On lolder trucks, you can just bolt in a 9" and be done with it, on newer ones you will loose your speedo doing it.

BTW, I would do a 10.25 before a 60, it's alot stronger.

 

78fordman said, "a 9 inch is just as strong as a D60, but for heavy hauling the D60 is a better choice because it is a full floater".

When referring to strength, I assume this means the axle 's ability to cope with the engine's horsepower/torque. When referring to heavy hauling, this means the axle's ability to withstand big weight over the rear tires, right?

I've heard two downsides to Dana 60's include weight of the axle itself and decreased ground clearance. Are these true issues?

Is there a reference source that would provide EVEN MORE thinking on this subject? Like articles in truck magazines, websites, etc.?

Here's the bottom line: 90% of the time I'm driving fast, sometimes in straight lines, mostly winding mountain roads...10% of the time I'm carrying really heavy loads, so much so, that a beefier rear end is absolutely in the cards. Can't change trucks, can change axles. I'm really leaning toward the Dana 60...please help convince me. Thanks

Dave

 

this may help, click the "why a nine" in this link.
http://www.sunrayengineering.com/main.html

If one of the big rears is what your looking for the sterlin is a much stronger axle then the rear D60. if a dana is what you want look for the huge D70 rears.

 

As for beef, I can pick up a Ford 9 inch axle, without tires, myself, I would not even think of trying a Dana 60 without someone named Bubba or Tiny helping


Going from a 8.8 to a 9 gains you very little, imo, and I love Ford 9 inch axles!

The thing is you bent your axle housing, you have 35s and six inches of lift. That is a lot of twisting force on the axle, especially with a load in the bed, and all you need is to get one big ole tire off the ground two feet and hit the gas on your open axle and something will probably break off road.

You did not break an axle. So, you are probably a good candiate for something that has thick axle tubes, such as a Dana 60. Whatever the replacement axle, I would truss it AND put traction bars on it so it does not want to hop or twist under the gas. If you did this to the 8.8 in the beginning it probably would not have bent.

Myself, I would look at the Sterling or Dana 70.(?)

> Is there a reference source that would provide EVEN MORE
> thinking on this subject

Check out Four Wheeler, Jan 2003. Axles Revealed, page 53. Pretty good reference, which is why I have kept it.

For converting your IFS, sounds like your Dad can do it no sweat. Check out Jeff's Bronco Graveyard for a conversion kit. I have not done this myself, it does sound neat. The toughest thing, imo, is removing the center rivets on your front end to drop all of the TTB set up. Removing the TTB in my 86 Bronco was a pain and 1/2!

http://www.broncograveyard.com/

 

The dana 60 is a great axle and way stronger than the 9". The sterlings are good too, but parts like gears and lockers are outrageous. the 14 bolt chevy rear is also very tough and parts are the cheapest. For front axle, I'd run a 77 1/2 or earlier 1/2 ton 44 front housing and 44 light duty f250 8 lug outers on it. You then keep your coil spring front, which are pretty stout springs when you have aftermarket lift springs, you have a high pinion front and 8 lug matching patterns front and rear. I put this front under a 95 f-150 and a dana 60 in the rear that we made custom parts to mount the speedo sensor on. We bolted in 91 F-350 rear springs and overloads and used it to tow all kinds of heavy stuff as well as throttle hard offroad without breaking anything with 40" tires and a 460/C-6. If you go f-150 dana 44 be sure to get 77 or older as 78-79 use a thinwall housing.

 

seymoremud:
Where do you live? If you are near Kentucky I have access to a 87 F250 6.9 4X4 that would have everything you need to convert to a 3/4 ton. It has the TTB front end and the Sterling full floating rear. Not sure what the gear ratios are.
DannyP

 

> 78-79 use a thinwall housing.

Oh, then I stand corrected on that. I thought it was the other way around.

 

Hey Guys I hate to keep beating this issue but I have a 62 F100 4X4 and want to upgrade to the 3/4 , or 1 Ton axel to acquire the 6 or 8 lug and heavier weight ability.
Anyway From what I have read over the past few days is I can bolt a 1 ton axel to my existing springs but dose it matter what Year I need to look for, I would like to get the front Disc brakes to boot?

 

front disks i think are 76 and newer, i know the 78-9's had front disks.