What Disk brake kits have you guys used in you conversion to front Disks.

Anything to look out for like wheel off set changes.

And are they all the same or not ?

Also the tie rod connecting rod (drag link) on my truck is bent and will need to be replaced, not surprising as it a rather flimsy bit.

I've heard that the tie rod connecting rod off the solid axle Econolines is of heavier construction and will swap in to the F100's as an up grade. Not a bad plan with the increase in braking with the disks or using wider radial tires. Has any one done this? Was it a strait bolt in or did it require other changes ie Econoline tie rod ends ect ?.

 

The drag link attaches to the Pitman Arm of the steering gear box, then to the left steering arm connected to the spindle.

What you're speaking about is the long steering connecting rod that has replaceable tie rod ends.

The tie rod ends connect to the right and left steering arms. You cannot use an Econoline connecting rod or tie rod ends on your truck, which I assume is a 1957- thru 1960 F100 or F250.

Please, when asking questions, list ALL the pertinent info.

 

Well it was in the post it was stated that the straight axle Econoline connecting rod was an up grade to the F100's And it is posted in the 57-60 forum so I thought it was pretty obvious it was for a 57-60 F100. Regardless the F100 and F250 use the same tie rod connecting rod according to the book.


I have seen this swap/upgrade mentioned in several write up's where this was done but all were a bit short on specific details or pictures. It was stated in all of them that Econoline connecting rod was of heavier construction over the stock 57-60 F100 unit and was installed in it's place. And was a good and even recommended upgrade when adding disk brakes

Both the straight axle Econolines and F100's use the same tie rod ends according to the aftermarket, so what it comes down is the rod like the 57-60 F100 unit where the tie rods thread in to the connecting rod and is just of heavier construction than the 57-60 unit and the same length or did it need to be sectioned and shortened or is there an adjuster sleeve that both tie rod ends thread in to.

Again looking to see if any one has actual hands on doing this swap/upgrade.

And of course the any issues doing the disk brake conversion as well like wheel offset changes..

 

1957/60 F100/250 2WD:

A0AZ-3A130-A Right & A0AZ-3A131-A Left .. Tie Rod Ends / Obsolete
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1961/63 Econoline & 1961/64 F100 2WD:

C1UZ-3A130-A Right & C1UZ-3A131-A Left .. Tie Rod Ends / Obsolete
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1964/67 Econoline:

C4UZ-3A130-A Right & C4UZ-3A131-A Left .. Tie Rod Ends / Obsolete

 

Ya it would be the 61-63 Econolines

No surprise really that the Ford Parts catalog would list different numbers for them.

But if you look after market.

1957 F100

1957 FORD F-100 3.6L 223cid L6 Tie Rod End | RockAuto


1962 Econoline

1962 FORD ECONOLINE 2.8L 170cid L6 Tie Rod End | RockAuto


The same parts are listed for both the 61-63 Econoline and the F100/F250 53 to 64. MOOG list the alternative OEM part numbers as for their parts as

Right hand Moog ES416R OEM Equivalent, A0AZ3A130A, C1UZ3A130A

Left hand Moog ES416L OEM Equivalent, A0AZ3A131A, A9MY3A131A, B4AZ3A130A, B6SZ3A130A, C0AZ3A131A, C1UZ3A131A .


There obviously is a difference in the Ford Genuine parts, whether it is a difference in strength, materials , engineering changes or other minor design differences who knows. But the difference was great enough to warrant unique part numbers within Ford. It is also possible that the Ford numbers were not all properly updated in the catalog to the latest number (like that has never happened lol)

The aftermarket uses the same parts/part numbers for both the F100 to 64 and Econoline to 63. The MOOG rod ends are listed for many other Ford applications dating from 1935 to 1967. shown below

EDSEL CORSAIR 1959
EDSEL PACER 1958
EDSEL RANGER 1958-1959
EDSEL VILLAGER 1959
FORD 1/2 TON PICKUP 1937-1947
FORD 68 (1/2 TON) 1936
FORD CLUB 1953-1959
FORD CLUB WAGON 1962-1963
FORD COUNTRY SEDAN 1952-1960
FORD COUNTRY SQUIRE 1950-1960
FORD CRESTLINE 1950-1954
FORD CUSTOM 1949-1959
FORD CUSTOMLINE 1952-1956
FORD DEL RIO WAGON 1957-1958
FORD DELUXE 1939-1951
FORD ECONOLINE 1961-1963
FORD F-100 1953-1964
FORD F-250 1953-1964
FORD F1 1948-1952
FORD FAIRLANE 1955-1960
FORD FORD 1949
FORD GALAXIE 1959-1960
FORD MAINLINE 1952-1956
FORD MODEL 11 A 1941
FORD MODEL 21A 1942
FORD MODEL 2GA 1942
FORD MODEL 48 1935
FORD MODEL 74 1937
FORD MODEL 78 1937
FORD MODEL 81 A 1938
FORD MODEL 82 A 1938
FORD P-100 1960-1967
FORD PARK LANE WAGON 1956
FORD RANCH WAGON 1952-1960
FORD SEDAN DELIVERY 1937-1941
FORD SKYLINER 1954-1959
FORD SQUIRE 1956-1960
FORD STANDARD 1939-1940
FORD STARLINER 1960
FORD STATION BUS 1962-1963
FORD SUNLINER 1952-1959
FORD SUPER DELUXE 1941-1948
FORD THUNDERBIRD 1956-1960
FORD VICTORIA 1951-1960
INTERNATIONAL C100 1961-1962
INTERNATIONAL C1000 1963-1964
INTERNATIONAL C102 1961-1962
LINCOLN 9EL SERIES 1949
LINCOLN COSMOPOLITAN 1949-1951
LINCOLN LINCOLN 1950-1951
MERCURY COLONY PARK 1957-1960
MERCURY CUSTOM 1952-1956
MERCURY MEDALIST 1956-1958
MERCURY MERCURY 1946-1951
MERCURY MONTCLAIR 1955-1958
MERCURY MONTEREY 1950-1960
MERCURY PARK LANE 1958
MERCURY SERIES 19A 1941
MERCURY SERIES 29A 1942
MERCURY SERIES 99A 1939
MERCURY SERIES O9A 1940
MERCURY TURNPIKE CRUISER 1957
MERCURY VOYAGER 1957

I have found that you can not always rely on the Ford parts catalog or Ford part numbers to definitely tell you if parts can in fact be interchanged. This is most commonly found with suspension, steering parts and drive-line/power plant components.

The aftermarket will generally consolidate many manufacturer part numbers under one number by building the part to either be strong enough for all applications or make minor changes in the part it's self to properly function or fit multiple applications.

When we are supplied an OEM Ford part number it does not hurt to check the after market to see if the that particular aftermarket OEM part equivalent will interchange with other OEM part numbers or applications. Sometimes the Ford part numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt when determining interchange especially since Ford was not infallible and there are some errors and omissions in the parts catalog. Many of these OEM parts are now long obsolete/unavailable and are only available aftermarket, so it never hurts to double check the aftermarket suppliers for interchange. MOOG is one of the better ones for listing interchange and applications for their parts.

For all of us here this a learning curve that never stops hence the whole point of the forum in the first place.

Regardless we all appreciate the effort you put in Number Dummy in helping every one, many of us would be totally lost with out your tireless work, effort and help.

So now we know that the 61-63 Econoline tie rod ends and the 57-60 F100 are actually the same and will thread in to each others tie-rod connecting bar the question is the actual length difference (if any) between the tie-rod connecting bar for the the 57-60 F100 and the 61-63 Econoline.

The book lists the tie-rod connecting bar for the 57 F100 as 47 7/8" long with a part number of TAAA-3283-A This is from the March 58 Ford Canada Parts manual for Ford & Mercury trucks.

I have no idea what the tie-rod connecting bar for the 61-63 Econoline is, either the part number or length.

 

I think you are spending way too much time fretting over the drag link thing. They just don't bend in any kind of normal driving. It probably ran over a stump or something.
I like doing things myself and not just buying a pre-engineered kit for thinks like disc brake conversions. I would start looking into whether a disc brake spindle, like a 1975 F-100, might have a king pin size that's close.

 

willowbilly3: The spindle connecting rod tube is the part the OP is referring to. As I said in post #2, it is not the draglink!

TAAA-3281-A .. Spindle Connecting Rod Tube / 47 7/8" long; 7/8" diameter; 11/16" -18 threads / Includes (2) TAAD-3287-A Clamps & bolts/nuts / Obsolete

1953/58 F100/250; 1959/60 F100/250 2WD

No Ford dealer or obsolete parts vendor has any.
----------------------------------------------------
Here are the draglinks:

B7C-3304-A .. Draglink / Obsolete ~ 14+ Available NOS

1957 F100/250.
------------------
C1TT-3304-M .. Draglink - F100/250 2WD: Use without dealer installed P/S / Obsolete ~ 28+ Available NOS

1958 F100/250; 1959/64 F100/250 2WD & 4WD

 

The stock tie rod is rather flimsy and it has been stated that they flex under the greater braking power of disks not to mention if you add power steering and wider radial tires.

Problem solved for the tie rod tube, another older thread on the forum that did not come up in the Forum search function but came up in an obscure google search pointed me to Classic Performance Products they have a heavy duty tie rod tube in 1" diameter for our trucks.

Classic Ford Truck Parts-1948-1964 Parts. The Finest in Suspension, Brakes, Steering and Accessories.

Once you start swapping spindles you can run in to all kinds of weird issues like messing up bump steer etc and you may still have wheel off set changes. That is one of those things where pleasure my not be worth the pain. Most kits utilize the existing spindles to avoid steering geometry issues or have new spindles specifically for that application.