Bought a 1985 E-250 4x4
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...oid=92875&.jpg

Think I can buy this at Autozone?

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...oid=92879&.jpg

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...oid=92880&.jpg

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...oid=92881&.jpg


At least it is not S shaped with bogger welds.

Looks like a Dana 44 front ? (though the calipers are pretty big - looks like they went to 16.5 because the 16s would not clear) and Dana 60 back (plug 1/2 way down - axle C2?) with enough room for 35s. Tires (9.5x16.5) measure 29.5 tall. I think the original owners in CO probably had 35s.

Has a solid 1"x8" thick rear bumper, maybe someone needed weight in the winter. Then they welded a plate with a 1 7/8 ball to it.

I have always wanted one of these for off-road and camping. Sold my F-100 and got this. My new toy, um.. tool!

 

looks like a 44 front out of a 77.5-79 f-250, they have the same big dual piston calipers and rotors that the dana 60's used.

 

which would be the D44 HD with 8 lug and dual pistons like troys got under his truck?

-cutts-

 

the only thing hd about them is the 1/2" thick tubes. they arent like the old closed knuckle 44 hd with bigger u joints.

 

It is 8 lug, dual pistons.

One thing that is really cool is the van does not need emissions testing because of its GVW is over 8500! So, I can do what I want to the engine and ditch a few things.

I thought the steering was a bit scary (though it works okay after almost 20 years being used at a ski resort) until I checked the bench seat and found someone snot welded the bench seat to the floor instead of bolting it. I think it was a owner mod and worse, I think its a Chevy seat...

I did some mild off-road with it (more like back yard woods stuff ) and the limited slip and 4x4 low worked fine going up a steep incline. But, the van sure felt tippy/scary going sideways on a small hill with no load. I either need much wider tires then the 9.50x16.5 or DRW so I do not flip it with a load of firewood off-road. Either way I do not think I will be doing Jeep trails, though it should be good for camping.

Found a tag on the transfer case that said 373 1345, but, no ratio tag like on my NP cases.

Looks like how they did this conversion was use all the 4x4 front end components, weld the spring hangers unto the frame, cut the van engine support cradle/cross member to clearance the axle housing (on compression) and then weld solid steel 1/2" plate to the outside of the cradle to beef it back up. I assume they swapped in the rear sump pan.

The welding job on everything looks pretty good, I do not think they did the seat

Then custom driveshafts and it looks like 4" lift blocks in back under the factory springs to finish the conversion.

I know the lugnuts are different sizes (front 8 lugs are 13/16 vs rear 8 lugs nuts are 1 1/16 lug nuts). So, I don't think the spare tire will fit the both axles. They both look like 8 on 6 though, I wonder for a spare if it makes that much of a difference?

I can't wait to get some real mud tires on it and take it off road.

 

The only thing strange about the front D44 is that the pumpkin does not have the leaf spring mount cast into the housing.

The old D44 HD that I had (77 F250) had the drivers side leaf spring mount cast into the housing.

I'm guessing the t-case is a BW1345, I'm pretty sure that the low range is around 2.69:1.

 

As rustbucket stated about your front axle there is no spring perch casted into the pumpkin...alot like my Dana 60! Now i dont feel so weird cuz i thought i was the only one with that kind of axle! Whooohooo!

Im not a big fan of Vans but ive seen them do some pretty amazing things.

Good Luck with it.

 

The steering on those mid to late '80s vans stinks. Steering boxs get bad slack in em. I have an '88 250 and it has alot of play even with new steering components and around 130,000 miles. Those vans usually had a rear sump pan in em factory.

Have fun with it. BTW with the lift those things can get pretty top heavy so you may wanna think about so wider tires to help stabalize if ya gonna get wild with it With the extra weight that thing should go great in the snow.

 

i think you should put some full width rockwells under her.....that shoudl add some unsprung weight, as well as some added weight. that would help the stability =)

 

is it low or high pinion? looks like high, but im trying to figure out what this hting came from....can you find a BOM on it??

 

get a pic of the knuckels if it has kings its a 60 if it doesnt its a 44 but if it was closed knuckel with kings its a 44 dont think there was a closed nuckel 60hmm could be tho

 

its pretty obvious its not a dana 60

 

i know its not but somone said it looked like there 60 so i was giving them a way to find what it was for them self

 

> is it low or high pinion?

Low pinion.

No way is it a Dana 60, too small. I thought it might be something other then a Dana 44 because the front diff looks a tad small along with the axle tubes and I can't find the 44 cast into it on the back. Has ball joints and small/med UJs.

> can you find a BOM on it??

I could only wish, I just scraped the axle tubes front and back within 12 inches on both sides of the pumpkin looking for numbers, I could find nothing. They might have been welded over if they rotated the axle since it looks like they welded the spring perches on (stick was still in weld pool).

I did get this off the tags
rear tag:
4 10
e5ua ahb
605262-5 ls

front was
45-11
4 09

The good thing is I might buy another Club Wagon and ditch the Chevy Impala and 1995 Aerostar (hate to, bought it new). I can use this one as a blue print to convert it to 4x4 too.

My kids want a toilet in the back for the off-road trips and traveling. My 10 year old wants to wheel it off road like she did the Ranger when she was 7.

I did notice there are tapped holes in the pumpkin that could have been used to hold a leaf spring mount on the driver's side.

 

In my quest to get this off-road ready I am having trouble finding any Dana # on the rear end. It might still be hidden under 20 years of CO crud, I am still scraping. With the Ford tag # do you think I might have a Sterling? This axle looks much bigger then the Dana 60s I looked at in the bone yard on some 79 and 80s F-250s.

It is a ten bolt cover on the rear end with a fill plug in the middle, the hubs stick way out pass the tires ( 9.5x16.5 tires), and the studs are 9/16 instead of the 1/2" I found on the F-250s. It pretty much looks like the DRW axles (which have the 9/16 lugs) under the 5k+ rear axle vans in that year range except it is SRW.

So, what rear end do you think I have? Only reason it makes a difference is I want a locker and to convert it to DRW with adapters. It is a bit tippy off-road especially with wood in the back.

I tried taking a pix tonight, picture did come out too good.

Then the front axle looks like a Ford Dana 44 with dual shock mounts (of course - only one shock per side), they welded dual shock mounts on the van frame too, but, the outers are flat top with three bolt holes that looks like it should be kingpins, but, it has a balljoint instead. Think these might be Chevy outers?

I have been PB blasting the lugs and nuts and actually removed a lug nut from the rear axle the other day.

The van came stock with 16x6 wheels, I am not quite sure why they put 16.5 rims on the truck. Though I think I might keep them and see if I can fit 33 (or 35) x12.50x16.5 retread green diamond tires on them. The bad thing is I have to deflate the tires to get the van into the garage since it is 84 inches tall in the front ... so I think maybe 16s might stay on the rims better. Any of you lose a bead on 16.5 rims getting your trucks into the garage?