Good point, that is the surest wat to find out. Spicer only sells a standard rotation 4.09 gear set and all things the same I would rather get that brand. so fingers crossed!

 

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It looks like my parts truck may have been an even beater deal than I realized- Advanced Adapters makes an adapter to mount a Ford NP205 transfer case to my chevy 6 speed automatic! this would allow me to keep my mechanical drive speedometer and my twin stick shifter. I really like the idea of getting rid of the intermediate driveshaft for better power delivery (and I still have that slight vibration at high speed)









I think I will want to do some sort of rear support for the NP205 given that it weighs a lot more than the aluminum transfer case that would have come behind the 6l80e from the factory. I found this picture from a company's website that sells these. I'm guessing most ford owners haven't bothered to make any sort of rear NP205 mount given that the factory transmissions were stout cast iron units.

 

mmm new car parts. very impressed with these door panels from bronco graveyard

 

I removed the front axle and steering parts off of my parts truck today! excited to move forward with the axle swap. The parts truck is pretty well gone. almost everything is sold but no one wants the body parts. the bed is nearly rust free, it does have fixable some damage but still I'm shocked it isn't selling.

 

There's a few ideas around on supporting that heavy ol' T-case, search around on cumminsforum and oilburners, and I think there are a couple on Pirate as well - quite a few guys hooking them to ZF's and NV4500s that have the same issue, aluminum transmissions. Most are similar to that one, though.

 

I'm looking into buying new locking hubs for my dana 44. There is quite a range of prices. Warn seems to sell three models that fit it, ranging from $100 to $300 in price. Is the consensus that its worth the money for the expensive ones? I want something durable, that will last, and has a chrome or similar finish that will last for years. any input is welcomed

 

Not worth it for me. I actually prefer the basic #9790 hub kit myself. Easier to use **** and only 1/4 turn to lock/unlock.
The Premium #20990 is the chrome metal **** version. It's more popular, probably the **** will last longer as you're looking for, but takes 3/4-ish of a turn to lock/unlock, is awkward on many fingers (mine in particular!) especially in the cold weather. And more expensive.
Not sure what the third one is. Those are the only two part numbers I remember from the old days.

There used to be a whole market for "hub locking tools" that could be found in the backs of magazines so you didn't have to turn them by hand. T-handled forked thingies in the shape of a Warn **** that you kept in the glovebox.
So nope, factory hubs of the '79 and older Spicer variety are the best (Warn became the OE supplier after that), with Yukon Super-Hubs next (only because they're trés expensivo!), with the Standard Warn next. Now that I think about it, back in the day, the Superwinch were the best because not only were they (slightly) stronger, but they never questioned warranties. And we did a LOT of aftermarket hub warranties over the years. All the cool kids broke theirs.
I'm running Standard Warn on my '68 but have some original Spicers that were being thrown away by someone waiting to get cleaned up and go back on.

The only issue I ever remembered with the stock hubs was from lack of maintenance, or moisture intrusion (then freezing) making the ***** practically impossible to turn. The go-to method was a set of pliers mangling the plastic ****. I think that's why so many people wanted the all-metal Warn product.
Now it's just old habit and tradition.
Can't argue with the simplicity though. The aftermarket hubs offer a much simpler installation. Inner locking mechanism in one module, outer locking **** in a second module.

Oh, and to the other brands such as Superwinch,MileMarker, etc, the designs are virtually the same internally. I would not be surprised it some of them could be bolted to one another.
One other issue that comes up on Broncos at least, is that when using the aftermarket hubs you can no longer install the small snap-ring on the axle shaft. This is true in probably 98% of the installs.
It's not caused any issues that I'm aware of, and there are literally 100's of thousands of units sold over the years I'm sure, but I don't like not being able to use all my needed parts.
Apparently they were originally designed around the Dana axles in GM products (naturally!) and the groove in the Ford version of the axle shafts was inward just slightly.

So there you have it. My opinions in a long extended nutshell.

Paul

 

It's my favorite time of year again! I gave the truck a wash and was and took the boat to the lake

 

I just installed some superwinch locking hubs on our f250. They were on the cheaper side and I personally liked the blue color since it matches the old truck. Install was pretty easy and they work just fine. Old ones were toast.

I have the warn premiums on our f150. It takes more rotation to lock in and out, but they are all metal I believe.

 

Thanks for the info 1tonbasecamp and fordguy76! I think I will go with the Warn 20990. sounds like they should work well and look good for a long time.

 

Cant go wrong with those. The paint coating did delaminate on my warn premiums after a few years, but I think it was from wheel cleaner I used on the aluminum rims.

I like the rounded cosmetics of the lock on our trucks. The basic warn hubs look more at home on the 80-96 trucks with the rectangular lock.

My brother had the mile marker metal hubs on a truck 15 years ago and they seemed to have alot of play in the mechanism. Quality may have changed since then though.

 

I started taking about the disc brake dana 44 and found some good and bad news. The good news is that its a 4.09 ratio! I won't have to buy new gears in it. The bad news is that when I grab the U joint yoke, it has enough play to clunk when I pull it forward and backward. Even though it has the right ratio, looks like it needs to come apart.

Also, I bought some super duty lift springs- Pro Comp 22410.

I'll update when I get them in, but it would appear to be a near bolt in swap. I will need to drill out the upper spring plate, you can see the plate is spaced up because the super duty spring bolt threads are too big to go through the factory opening. Easy fix though.









Also, this factory steering arm does not want to come off the knuckle. is there a trick to it or do I just need a bigger hammer?

 

Could the pinion nut be loose and allowing the yoke to move in and out like that?
If so, it's possible that nothing is wrong other than that. Well, you can hope anyway!

The stuck steering arms was a known issue especially with the Chevy half tons too. The tapered studs were doing their job very well.
Sorry to say I can't remember just what the trick was to getting them loose. But I bet soaking in penetrating oil from now until you get that bigger hammer would be a good start.

Paul

 

I have had good results using air hammer on center of studs to get tapered cones to come loose. This is when taking axle shafts out of big trucks, but don’t see why it will not work here. Great looking truck, love the modern engine and transmission.