Hi
Im looking to find a Dana 44 or a Dana 60 to replace the 44 I broke. Does anyone know where I might find a front axle for my 70 3/4 ton 4 wheel drive highboy? any information on what years of axles will work would also be apreciated. Thanks a lot.
Chris

 

The 60s are a little hard to find but if you broke your 44 then you may want the tougher one. All the 250s used the same basic front axle through mid year 77. The 76-77 will have disc brakes and a tighter turning radius. I am not sure how far back you can go but mid 60s I would guess. I broke the front end on my first F-250 several times and found out that they really won't take much abuse. I have seen several busted in two ( one was mine ). A truss will help stiffen up the housing but the gears are still weak for serious duty. We have discussed using the 78-79 front end and I am not sure if it is a direct bolt up or not but I am sure you could find out in this forum.
If you get an off road magazine you will find ads for new axle assemblies to fit just about any thing, if you have the money to spend. One could cost more than you paid for your truck. Good luck

 

I also have a 70 F-250 4X4, and I replaced my front end with one out of a 77 F-250 after I bent mine during a wheeling incident... Anyway, it bolted right up, using my tie rod and steering components on the newer axle. I got really lucky and found a Dana 44 HD axle with the same gearing as my old one for only $200. I had over $600 in it by the time I replaced u-joints, ball joints, etc. It is really nice to have disc brakes and the open-knuckle frontend (my old closed-knuckle design leaked a lot). However, if you go through much mud, the closed-knuckle design will stay cleaner. Also, keep in mind that if you convert from drum to disc fronts you will need to either replace the brake proportioning valve or put in an adjustable style (which I did). I'm pretty sure you also have to replace the master cylinder with a disc-front style, but you may want to find more info on that, which you should be able to by searching this forum for "disc brake" conversions.