Finished my D60 swap this weekend. The donor was a 97 F350 Red reg cab. Twin to mine with the exception of the front axle. I sourced the front springs from a F350 CrewCab 460 gasser since the donor had a rough country lift I didn't want.

Not going to get into the install since it is well documented everywhere but there are 2 things that I found to be somewhat askew from what I read that I thought worth noting.

1) Many articles I read told me to expect little to no lift. After a few days of driving and an alignment it seems to be settling in at just a hair over 2.5" of lift. To me that is significant. Even though the truck measures to be perfectly level now I'm going to find F350 blocks for the rear.

2) The front driveshaft measurement only changed by -5/8 inches. I still have 1.25 inches of travel in the slip yoke. That should be good for daily use as is but I'm going to get it shortened by 1/2" to be safe (only $75).

Outside of that I'm sure I need to add a steering damper. The d60 feels a lot heavier in the steering wheel than the D50 IFS did even with the same tires and wheels. Ride is improved though.

Not including the axle rebuild, which I did over 3-4 weekends of here and there, the swap took me about 8 hours (Team of 1).

Happy Truckin,
Bob

 

This is good to know. Looks like I will be doing this swap in the future here. I have an axle coming, (king pin out of an 80s 350) and most of the parts.

Are you saying you kept your stock blocks in the back? I know I'm going to be needing to hunt down a set of them here soon.

 

Your 2.5" of lift may be the result of how worn out your F250 springs were. When I did the exact same swap, I saw about 1.5" of lift.

Rusty

 

I do have the stock 2.5" F250 blocks in the back still. I'm going to switch to the 4" F350 blocks. Even though everything measures out to be level I don't like the slight saggy pants look.

 

I'm Sure. I only had about a 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch at the bump stops before the swap. Probably a combination of tired springs and worn pivot bushings.

I think a healthy D50 setup runs a full inch taller than that. I recall rebuilding the D50 and adding new springs on a 94 F250 I used to own and ending up having 1 3/4" after all was said and done.

 

The "heavier" feel of the steering is because the D60 pitman arm is a little longer than the D50.

Though this means the wheels turn farther, the steering box now has a little less leverage than before.

I do like the improved turning radius! It's like driving a normal truck again.

 

So is the turning radius better with a D60?

 

Yes!

Not spectacularly improved, but noticeably improved.

I haven't seen anyone point to the exact reason for the improved radius, but your front wheels are about 2" farther out than they were on the D50. And as the leaf spring locations don't change, the steering knuckles of the D60 (which are not interchangeable with the D50) likely have a design difference that allows a tighter turning radius.

 

Bob, The truck looks good! I understand what you mean though, when level, they do look like they squat a little. Mine is like that too. I think the eye expects a truck to be just a little high in the rear.

I like those stock like wheels.

Have you considered a SuperDuty B code rear spring? It is worth the better ride even if you don't do a RSK up front. And it will lift the rear a little, though I don't know exactly how much.

Oh, just a heads up...at some point I'll mention that I have a set of near new Bilstein shocks for sale.

 

I don't know where you read that you would gain no lift but just look at EVERY F350 vs any F250 and it is plainly obvious the F350 sits 2+" higher in the front and 2" higher in the rear.

Did you also use the F350 front driveshaft and F350 yoke?

 

2" F250 block next to a 4" F350 block: The perspective skews the height. They really do measure 2" and 4".

 

I don't. The source vehicle didn't have either available anymore. I'm going to shorten the F250 shaft by 1/2" and use that for now. I've heard I may experience a vibration but it will buy me time to hunt and F350 yoke down.


Bob

 

Bob, look into this. It might be a viable option for you.
http://www.powerstrokenation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=366018

Rusty

 

I have a set of 1.5" blocks on the shelf at home. I'm going to try those first. I don't really have an issue with the ride. At least not here in Tennessee where the roads are generally in great condition.

I was hoping not to have to add lift the at all. My slide in camper is already on it's tippy toes trying to get into the back of the truck. Guess I'm going to have to come up with jack extensions to compensate for the lift blocks.

Thanks for the info and block pics.

Bob

 

I like that option, Thanks.