My brother-in-law has a 1970 Bronco with the D30 and drum brakes. I've been helping him look into disc brake conversions, but just came across a really good deal on a '79 D44 from an F250. The obvious issues I can see is that he would have to cut and shorten the axle and convert it to coil springs. Are there any other major issues/deal breakers that you guys can think of? Anybody done this before?

 

I just remembered that the bolt pattern would need to be changed as well. So new hubs and rotors from a 1/2 ton D44.

 

I think it would be a whole lot easier and probably cheaper to find a EB Dana44. If you find one from a 76-77, chances are it will already be disc brake.

 

Here is the lowdown..... That 30 will be just fine as long as you do not run lockers..... Essentially the axles shafts are the same for the eb 30 and eb 44. You can use GM spindles and backing plates and calipers and ford disc hubs on either an eb 30 or eb 44..... The eb 30 has kingpins and it is tough..... Without lockers you will not kill that thing even with 35s.... With lockers and big tires it will fail.... Inner axles and carrier will break under heavy use.... The eb 44 has the advantage of being able to be converted to discs with parts from a 73-79 ford 4x4 150 p/u or 78 to 79 bronco..... You need everything including the knuckle....and then you use inserts in the knuckle to run the bronco linkage..... If you run and eb Dana 44 it will handle a locker and big tired inside the pumpkin.... But you will snap a lot of outer axle shafts.... If you use the for knuckles and look at the hole where the spindle mounts you will see immediately how much smaller the Broncos outer axles are than the F150s..... Also that F150 44 weighs about twice as much as the Broncos unit..... If you have a 250 rear it should be a Dana 60..... Make sure you see ball joints before you think it's a 44.... I since it's a leaf mounted rear you will also need to weld in the metal c mounts.... You can get them from a bronco place like JBG..... And they will allow you to use the bronco trailing arms..... Or you can buy some brackets and make you own trailing arms with heim joints..... Really it depends on how you plant to use the rig..... If you don't know I would conver the 30 to discs and leave it open and spend your money on the 9 out back.... If you plan on running in low all day beating over obstacles.... Then theta other rear is the way to go

 

I didn't read the other posts but...the whole clip can go under (dudes call it "full width"), U can make a 1 tun bronk, U can shorten some prts n swap em into the bronk. It's all possable. Some ways take more time n money, machine time etc.
Not sure what ur lookin ta do.
I wuz thinkin of puttin those exact prts inta my bronk...
Pm 4 details (lots in my archive)...

 

He primarily wants disc brakes and a power booster, of course. I've been trying to help him find parts for the chevy disc brake conversion so he doesn't have to spend $600 a TBP to buy the kit. Anyhow, I came across this D44 with new ball joints and calipers for dirt cheap, it could probably be had for under $200, couple hundred for a shop to cut/weld the housing, maybe $100 for 5 lug hubs and rotors, then he could cut/weld any tabs/brackets from his 30 to the 44. And he has a D44 for $100 less than the conversion kit. It's just a thought I had and wanted to see what you guys thought. Here's pic of the axle...

 

You are forgetting that you will need a custom axle on the one side..... You could probably get all the parts you need to convert that 30 to discs for far less.... Just look for a 70s GM 1500 4x4 front or Jeep FSJ front axle..... You need the spindles and backing plates and calipers from those rears..... Easiest and cheapest conversion....

 

If you're set on going to a d44, another option is to buy the 250 d44 as cheaply as possible, then sell it to the crawler guys who want full width diffs (not cut down for a Bronco). Take the profit & look for a disk 44 that will bolt right up with no mods.

Also, remember that you can swap the steering knuckles out on a drum 44 to get disk, as mentioned earlier, so if you come across a good deal on a drum 44 (they're cheaper), it shouldn't be a deal breaker. I did this mod on my 72 & everything bolted right up. It cost me a couple hundred bucks, but I went with new hub/rotor asemblies. You don't really need new if yours are in decent shape, but I'd change the ball joints & bearings while you're in there.

 

My thought wuz just the F250 'outters' n axels (cut/respline). Got the D44 in already, don't want full width.
However, I do have the discs (it's a '77EB). That way I got 1 tun, no need 4 the axel tubes etc. Already got the T '70 linkage 'verted to "F150" copy & will go TRO w/it. Back spacing prob solved w/the F250 knuckles...
Let us know how it wrks out/any logistics U need help with...

 

Well, I went down to the local junk yard with my brother-in-law and grabbed all the parts for a chevy disc brake conversion. So the D30 will stay put. This is by far the easiest, but I still like the idea of the 3/4 ton axle. Just too much work right now.