Hey im getting the last of the parts i need for swapping axles on my 71 f250 4x4 got a DANA 44 out of a 79 f250 4x4 i want to do a u bolt flip so the u bolts wrap under the axle and bolt through a top plate on top of the leaf springs but i ran into a problem with the drivers side since the u bolt go's through the casting on the axle ive called some local and out of state 4x4 dealers and nobody offers a kit for that they all say i need to run stock setup so i'm seeing if any of you's have done this and how did you manage it? and where did you find the parts for it any help would be appreciated this is the last piece i need to be done with the swap

 

on Xtreme 4x4 on spike all they do is get a beefy ubolt and have one wrap the axle tube and the other make partial contact with the housing.

 

It doesn't look like there is enough room to just wrap one around the housing the hole in the housing looks like its right in the way of where the u bolt should be did they put the u bolt on the inner side of the housing hole? Towards the housing more? I was thinking about finding one large enough to go through the hole and use a smaller one on the outside of the leaf around the tube then making up a custom top plate since one will need farther apart holes

 

I understand what your saying and I'm sure that's the correct way of doing it. If you make the top plate could you post a pic and tell me what size plating you use so I can make mine.

 

it looks like i may find one larger inside diameter u bolt to fit the housing and a 3'' u bolt for the axle tube i have a top plate made for a 3'' spring 3.125'' axle i may slot the holes to accept the larger u bolt or make my own i first need to find the right size u bolt for the housing then ill go from there ill let you know when i get everything straightened out

 

This sounds like way too much work for the benefit.

 

If you never leave pavement it's an utterly useless mod, if you go off-road it's of great benefit and a very worthwhile mod to do.

 

i got it all put together now what an ordeal this was i ended up using a 5/8 round u bolt and it's 3 5/8 wide fits the differential housing great i needed to make a slot in my housing underneath to have a spot for the u bolt to get a good surface and slot my top plate hole so the wider u bolt can fit i have one more problem while doing this mod the top plate sticks out from the leaf spring more then expected causing the steering arm to hit it while turning i'm using super duty front leaf springs so it may be just because of that not sure if stock springs wouuld have the same issue so i ordered a 3'' steering arm spacer block to raise the arm to clear the plate didn't get it yet so i dont know if it will work i don't like the idea of steering blocks anyone have any bad stories about them? i'd need it anyways as a drop pitman arm and draglink still didn't give me enough for the amount of lift i have i'll be doing a crossover steering setup when i get the money for one hoping doing that won't cause any issues with the u bolt flip here's the pics i took of my setup

 

Where did u get the plates?

 

Got the u bolt flip kit from ballistic fabrication comes with u bolts top plates nuts washers and axle spring perches I had to order the bigger u bolt for the housing from another source