How durable is the Ford IFS on the 3/4 tons? Is it a D44?
I am not crazy about not having a solid front end but I dont plow snow or beat around offroad so should I have anything to worry about?

 

Could be a Dana 44 or Dana 50.
I do plow snow and I drive a lot.
Today I just paid 1000 for a Dana 60 straight axle that needs rebuilt and has a few parts missing.
That should give you an idea as to what I think of them, mine was a 44.
The 50 looks lots heavier than the 44.
I figure that I will be money ahead in two years time.
Measure across the lockout hubs cap and tell me the diameter, I can tell you which you have then.
Or find a full size Bronco, if you have the same axle as it does, you have the 44.

 

If You Have 3/4 Ton Or In Some Years Even A 1 Ton It Is More Than Likely A Dana 50. They Stand Up Fairly Well. I'm Not A Big Fan Of Them, But As Long As Do Regular Maintenance On Them You Won't Have Too Many Problems. I Just Put $400 Into Mine Because Of The Previous Owner. But I Did All Of The Labor.

 

i have one,its a 50,i have had no problems in the last 6 years,i do maintain it,and do not do alot of off roading and when i do i take it easy just because of the weight of the truck.i do pull really heavy equipment around job sights in four wheel drive to keep from sinking,its always been fine,i get great milage out of tires and they are nice and smooth going down the road.my truck has about 620,000 miles on it and its never been replaced.

 

well this is alittle off topic but I have had the dana 28 and 35's in Rangers, BII's and Exploders and whooped the **** out of them you can bend them and twist them and still drive em home no they arent as strong as a solid axle but with the right tuning and maintanence they will hold up.

 

They Do Last And Hold Up. The Main Problem Is When They Aren't Maintained They Sag. You Can Always Tell When Someone Doesn't Take Care Of It.

 

The front of my truck sags a little and the wheels tip in at the top. Does that mean I am going to have problems soon because of the previous owner?

Dave, what are the diameters for the D44 and 50 hubs? Is there a significant difference in diameter?

 

DieselDan

If you got the "sag" the only real fix in mybook is new coil springs they sag because the springs wear out and loose there "spring" buy some good aftermarket leveling springs and get it aligned that will take care of it

 

I have leaf springs on my front end.

 

woops sorry about that try slappin in some add-a-leafs

 

I have a 88F-250 (Dana 50) in the shop right now. It is used to open and maintain an ice road to a fishing lodge in northern Manitoba. It has done this for the past 10 years with zero maintance. Has had a tough life. The left axle broke at the spring mount, probably from the front end coming off the ground with the plow on the front. For normal driving I can't see any problems. I am adding a Timbren rubber spring to the front end to help control the bottoming out.

 

Lots Of Times If Your Front End Is Sagging, All It Takes Is Pulling Your Hubs And Repacking Your Bearings And Reseating Them. Most Of The Time, Wear Is Just Backing The Spindle Nuts Off.

 

Dieseldan7.3,
The Dana 44 hub is 3.25" across and yes there is a big difference in the Dana 50 hub. I can not remember exactly but it is over an inch. The IFS front syspension normally has a slight bottom of the tires is wider than the top of the tires stance.
I have Firestone Ride Rite air bags on mine.
I did not like the overloaded VW stance either, so when I was at the alignment shop we tried it with enough air in the air bags to get the tires setting straight up and down.
At that stance it was outside what could be corrected with the alignment adjustments. So I let the air back out to where it was within spec on the alignment, tire wear is more important than stance looks to me.

Ranchhand,
The reason these trucks have sagging front springs is the weight of the diesel motor and how long the springs have been holding it up.
I have a 1986 F250 HD and it has a Dana 44 IFS. I have seen the 44's in all the 80's model trucks here 9 out of 10 times in the F250 class. Maybe it is the east got the 44 crap and the good 50 stuff went out west where you are. I have never seen an IFS in a F350 truck, they all have Dana 60 straight axles here.

Don Senkow,
Check out the Firestone Ride Rite air bags for your front axle. A couple of hours to install, last for years, easily adjustable. I love mine and I plow snow also.

 

I have used airbags in my F-150 for towing. They work well. Best part is they are there only when needed. The Timbren are a no maintenance second choice. Don

 

I had a set of Firestone airbags on my 96 1ton with a 460 and I bent the brackets for them when I pulled a Cat Dozer. Id like to see a Chevy do that.