After a many year absence, I'm back in the Ford Truck world!

Not sure if this the right forum for this, but I'd like to convert a 2001 E-350 to 4x4. I've done months of research on this and feel that I could easily do it myself. I see there are companies out there that sell conversion kits, but they are $$$$$$ which I don't have. I am an experienced auto tech and have fabrication and welding experience. I see most conversions are using Dana 60 solid front axles. The main question I have is if anyone has used an F-250 IFS leaf sprung front axle for their conversion? Thing is I have a beat up 1996 F-250 HD sitting in my driveway with a good front axle and transfer case (The transmission needs to be rebuilt). Doing some quick measurements underneath, it seems the track width and frame width are nearly identical. I suspect I'd just need use the front crossmember from the F-250 and figure out the spring perches on the frame. I suspect I could use the 4x4 extension housing and output shaft from the F-250 to convert my good E-350 trans. Any thoughts on this, or is there another forum where I should post for better results? Thank you!

 

it should not be too much harder than converting a 2 wheel drive pickup i would imagine.
never used a ifs so i cant help you on that though. i remove them, not put them in.

 

You are what kind of auto tech,
Do you own a tape measure, by chance??

 

First and foremost there never was or is any F-250 with IFS, what you have is a TTB front axle. That axle is a terrible swap candidate. I would suggest a Dana 44HP if a 60 is out of the question.

 

What exactly are you getting at here? Yes, I own a tape measure. More than one actually!

 

Thanks for the reply, Sorry if I used the wrong terminology but why wouldn't a TTB be considered an independent suspension? Anyways, I was just using IFS to differentiate from a solid axle, because every other van 4x4 conversion I've seen uses a solid axle. Can you elaborate on why the TTB is not a good choice? Is it because of the difficulty of making it fit, or is it not strong enough? The front axle from the potential donor truck is a Dana 50. It seems like if it was good enough for an F-250 HD with a 7.5L it would stand up to use in an E-350 with a 5.4L.

I have done a lot of research on these swaps, and I know that it's not the tried and true Dana 60 solid axle that most people use to do the swap, I was just wondering if anyone had actually tried it and could provide some insight. The truck is basically free to me and sitting in my driveway so it makes the idea of using the TTB more appealing.

 

What, I'm saying is that S&S of a vehicle is not down to a thousands more of trial and error of your needs, make it work Technician.!!!

 

If you'll read my posts, you'll see that I'm asking if anyone has used a Dana 50 for one of these conversions. I'm not asking anyone to make measurements, give me a step by step, hold my hand etc. I'm asking for some insights from anyone who has actually done it to help make the job go smoother. I also posted a general plan of action to see what others may think of it. I have the skills and fabrication experience to do stuff like this, in fact, that's my profession, but to not seek out advice from people who have actually done conversions on these vans is foolish. That's the whole point of these forums! To share ideas, experience, skills, etc. No matter how skilled and experienced you are, you can always benefit from the experience and ideas of others. Should I decide to go ahead with this project, I assure you I will "make it work." But you just telling me to git 'r dun is a complete waste of time for me, you, and everyone on this forum. If you don't have something more useful to say other than "make it work technician" then why are you even on this forum?

 

I don't have much to offer except to say I have actually seen a couple TTB equipped vans, one was a 1/2 ton and it didn't sit any higher than stock, guessing it had a 1/2 ton D44 under it complete with the coil springs. The other was a 3/4 or 1 ton with the bigger axle but I don't remember if it had coil springs or leafs.

 

Thanks for the input. Good to know that they’re out there!

 

Sorry didn't mean to come off like a&^%$le ttb, would be the last front end configuration almost any person would pick, even free, no hassle laying behind the bard kinda thing, surly a d44hd "f250" would be easy to source, or the half ton leaf spring mongrel out of a ex-cab f150, 1977 and earlier d44 minus caster wedges "cut and grinding clean" or radius arm it and 8 lug it. Anything but TTB.

 

Thanks for the info, much appreciated. I'm leaning away from using this F-250 as a donor, mainly because I don't want to deal with having an axle-less truck in my driveway. I'll just rebuild the trans and sell the thing. Anyways, the only question remaining is WHY is the TTB axle a poor choice? Lack of strength? Poor ride? Difficult to adapt? Just to give you all an idea, this van will not see heavy off-roading, I have a Jeep for that. It is mainly to build a camper van for massive winter-long ski trip I'm planning. I want the 4WD mostly for on-road snow driving in the mountains.

 

for basic driving the TTB is not bad as long as it is properly maintained. problem is, most people do not maintain them.
the TTB also does not hold up very well to heavy off road use.
that is why most people switch to a solid axle.

 

A leaf-spring TTB has inherently poor wheel travel potential. It's sufficient for stock 3/4 ton trucks, but it's challenging to get much more out of them. That said, there are a very few people who think that with a well designed lift they can be quite good. I'm not saying they're wrong, but there's a lot more experience getting good travel out of just about anything else. (And this doesn't apply to coil spring TTBs which have massive travel potential and are still a go-to design for desert racing 4WDs)

Strength-wise there's never been a TTB that was built with the torque capability of a Dana 60. They'll take the power a Dana 44 will take, but not a lot more.

Ride is probably better with a coil sprung TTB than a solid axle, but most feel a leaf spring TTB is a little worse than a solid axle.

Adaptability depends on the vehicle you are adapting. I've read that an F-150 TTB is a direct bolt-in to a 2WD F-150 of similar year. I don't know how hard it would be to put an F-250 TTB on a 2WD F-250, or in a bigger step, on an E-250. If it would bolt in (other than the springs) I think I'd be tempted to convert it to coils rather than convert the frame to leafs. But I'm just spit-balling here, and that might be a terrible idea.

Otherwise, as tjc hints at, there are more moving points to wear, so they take some maintenance to keep working well.

 

I don't know if it was a typo or not but a D50 would be just fine for the style of driving you're talking about, even since you decided against doing the swap. A 60 would be my first choice but if I came across a 50 for cheap and was running not much bigger then stock tires I would run it. I would also upgrade the spider gears in it too, for good measures. From the knuckles out the 50/60s are the same if I recall correctly. If ever you were going to have a problem with a 50 the problem would most likely be the spider gears. I would keep an eye out for a "cheap" 60 because the turning radius alone would be worth it to me. Off the top of my head I think a 50 has a radius of 37.5 degrees while a 60 has a 45 degree... just some food for thought to someone else who might use the search function later.