have anyone swap a dana 44 solid axle from maybe 79 n under into a 80 to 86 truck>? i have half way installed a dana 44 solid front axle in my '81 f250 with all leaf springs with 6 inches lift all around the problem is that the driver side tire stick out and the passenger side tire touch the leaf spring when turn tire, what i ve thought is that i think 79 and under have a narrower frame than 80's so what kind of solid axle can i fit in front of my 81 which had independent front , which i m getting rid of. Also that the pumpkin have a factory leaf spring perche on it which will bolt up fine but making the tire on the passeneger to touch the leaf when i turn the tire?? what am i doing wrong? will i have to fab a new perches for both to make them centered? Please Help!! i m almost finished with my beast or will anyone know a axle that will work for my '81 front axle?

 

I haven't done mine yet but am going to soon. All my research says that any solid front axle from 80-96 will work. Your 79 was just a year too early.

You can also use a Bronco or a F-150 in those years. You just can't use a F-250, 350 or ranger as they are set up different.

Good Luck,

Lee

 

Ford did not put a solid front axle (Monobeam) in any of their trucks from 80 to 85 1/2
After that the ONLY vehicle they put them in was an F350 as a Dana 60!
A Dana 60 Monobeam from an 85 1/2 to 97 from an F350 is a direct bolt in!
Steve G.
In 98 Ford started using a Dana 50 in the fronts of the F350's with single rear wheels(SRW)

 

Its a bolt-in if you use the leaf springs only, but still some fabbing if required. The 44 from any pre 80's truck are cheaper and easier to find. I would do a search in the offroad forum for SAS, as this topic has been beaten to death in there. And if you do go this way you neeed a minimum 5.5" lift so the front diff will clear the engine crossmember.

 

mustange70...what about getting the crossmember from the donor vehicle?? might that work, rather than the 5 1/2" lift???

MontanaFord

 

Crossmember wont work cause the frames are fairly different and so would be the motor mount positions as well. But if you are Good with a welder and a tourch you can give it a try beware though as it would be a farily big job. But i haven't heard of anyone trying that before. I know that there are a few guys in the offroad forum that have done this swap, you might want to see what they did, but i know that the pumpkin is further toward the passenger side than the TTB pumpkin and thus the reason for the lift springs.

 

ok i found set of axle from 94 f350 diesel, dana 60 front and fullfloating 10.25 sterling rear 3.55 gears will that work with my 81?? from what it sounds like that it will!! i m hoping so

 

Yes, that will bolt right in and work nicely.

 

DO a search and check it out. My research showed that you will be doing some fabbing to use f250 or f350 axles.

As I said before, any straight axle from 80-96 is a straight forward bolt in as long as it is a F150 or Bronco. No drilling, no welding, no extra parts, straight forward line up the existing holes and bolt it in. Anything else and you are drilling holes, welding and what ever else is required as it is not a bolt on job anymore.

Now if you don't mind drilling holes in your frame and doing some fab work, sure you will be better off with the Dana 60 and increased axle strength though your frame is still an F-150 frame and not a 350 frame. Your rear axles will still be lighter as well unless you are going to swap that too.

Remember to grab the rear spacers and also swap the springs to the 3 inch instead of your existing 2 1/2 inch or the truck will sit funny.

==========

FWIW - I pick up my donor vehicle this weekend. I finally found an 85 Bronco that was impounded and not bailed out for $500. I will try to remember to take pictures as I swap the axles, transfer case and tranny out. (Bad timing though as I was just getting ready to paint my truck so it won't look very good in the pictures all sanded down and stripped. -gggg-)

Lee

EDIT - Here is the thread that lays down what will work with what and what is needed if you want to deviate from a simple bolt in.......
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...56#post2013056

Your 350 axle might work with some minor mods

 

82F100SWB is dead on, on this one!!!
Don't even disconnect the springs from the axles.
Knock out the spring eyebolts from the frame and wheel both axles under your 81 F250.
Grab the driveshafts and the transmission crossmember (that too, is different)
Your going to have to drill three holes in the front crossmember to connect the panhard bar.
It doesn't get any better then this! (now you have an F350)
Good luck!
Steve G.

 

My mistake. For some reason I was thinking you had a F150. You wanted 250-350 stuff all along. Guess I better go get some sleep.

Sorry for the confusion.

Lee

 

Opps, i did the same thing too. But if a coil sprung 44 from the pre 80' ford 1/2 you will need a 5.5" lift for clearence issues.

If you don't want to use the panhard bar (aka trac bar) reverse the shackles/hangers around, and the conversion should only take you a few hours as you use your calipers, so no need to bleed the front brakes. Beware you don't get screwed getting those axles, around here that front axle goes for upward of 1500 bucks.

 

I have seen many 80-87 f-250's and 350's with a " monobeam " axle so i know they come with them,

before 80 the frames were wider...all you need to do is cut the spring perches off, and reweld them in the place that you need, it's a few inches of difference, so, make sure you get it at least some what close

 

Acutally, the spring perches are narrower, i know this cause i am acutally swapping a 77 dana 60 into my 81 and there is ore room between the leaf spring and the tire, also the spring perches are narrower as the 80 and up are 3" and the the pre 80 are i think 2", but with far more leafs compared to the 2 leafs that the 80 and up use.

 

mustang, wont u have a problem with the passenger side tire rubbing on the leaf spring when u turn cuz the axle re smaller too?? is the 86 and up axle in front wider than the 79 n under? cuz thats what s happening to mine with 3" wide leafs and with perhaps dana 44 from 79 or under but cant verify what year thanks