I have never heard it called twin traction beam. Always called it Twin I Beam. The only pickups with solid front axles from 80-97 were F350's. Must have been swapped out for a solid axle.

 

IIRC, the 80's F150 4x4 and F250 4x4 under 8800 GVW had the TTB front axle. I owned and worked on a few.

 

right and we all know how well those things hold up to a 7.3 riding on them

 

You'll probably want a donor truck for this project. It's not as simple as just dropping a motor in.

 

can it be done? yes
can i be done safely ... not really

 

just discovered over in the bullnose forum that it has been done very successfully on f's and at least 1 bronco. apparently my truck was one of the lucky ones that came with minimal need for modification. with a donor truck i should be good to go... then i can part the rest of it out, chop up the husk.. and scrap it... ill probably recover the cost of the donor if i can find one that was rolled... (without damaging the drivetrain)
but i can just as easily work out a package at a junkyard.

dont be jealous and call it unsafe... its not more than an abstract idea in planning... you tell me why it might be unsafe... or dont comment.

criticism without explanation.. what good is it?

xtof

 

your trucks gvwr is less than 8800 # and out trucks weigh in at over 8000 lbs with 2 passengers

that means with no cargo you are at your trucks designed limits

im not here to criticize there are plenty of powerstroke forums for that kinda thing

but putting that much weight in the front of a truck that isnt ment to support it and or stop it is not safe

ask me any question you would like i will give you a 100% honest answer
i am one of the few people here that has had a super duty 100% apart

 

i get that it wasnt designed for it... but at the same time... with a properly beefed up suspension ... the extra weight should not make that big of a difference.
spread out between the two front wheels will be extra what 500 lbs 700 for high estimate...
so thats like 350 extra lbs per wheel up front...
believe me... i want this thing to stop... so its going to get upgrades all the way around...

xtof

 

Definitely.

I've always heard early '80s and were fixed by '83 or '84. Weren't they breaking or buckling on the early '80s Fords? IIRC, '80-'82 were plagued by this. There's definitely nothing wrong with the frame on my '86.

The TTB 44 was on some regular cab early to mid '80s diesel Fords. My TTB 50 holds up just fine with the 6.9L IDI on my '86 extended cab. She's a smoother runner, unlike the 60 under the PSD. That being said, I'd want at the very least a HD D50 TTB under a PSD 7.3. Must be the HD though.

8800# GVWR on the mid '80s diesels? Wow that's low. I had mine just under 19,000# a couple of months ago and it wasn't a problem at all. Granted, it took longer to get up to speed, just like in the PSD when hauling a load, but I didn't feel unsafe or beyond the vehicle's limits. Before that haul, I didn't even know it could roll coal.


Doesn't the PSD require the proper dash w/ PCM? I thought swapping a PSD into anything that didn't have one to begin with was a HUGE PITA. It would be easier to go with an IDI or even a Cummins. You're talking about a half ton truck. Put a 4BT in it.

 

Yep!

That was the point I was trying to make

 

Point of clarification - I think 'Twin I-beam' is the 2WD axle design from the 1970s and earlier. TTB (twin traction beam) is the IFS setup from 1980-96, and 'monobeam' is the F350 solid axle D60 or D50 setup used in the 80/90s. I think the Superduty front 4WD axle is still called 'monobeam'.

 

You are correct as 80-82's had major frame issues. I have seen the frame on an 82 F250 crack and buckle right under the front section of the cab. The reason I said mid eighties is I put a flatbed on an 86 F250 and noticed the frame had been repaired in several places under the cab (this was back in 1990). Probably more to do with the way the pickup had been treated (ranch pickup). Might be noted that both the 82 and 86 were run on the same ranch. They are hard on pickups!