I aquired a 75 ford as seen below, and I have a few questions on it.

The 44's are nearly bald, and I have a few tire questions as a result. There are no trails around here, but the entire state makes for a pretty decent mud rink. I am wanting the best mudders that I can get, 44 or preferably 49". At the same time, however, I am interested in mileage. I was thinking of 49" iroks (granted, not the best mudders, but big is always better ), but since I have read about how they suck on the street, I have changed my mind. How well would 44" boggers wear? I am planning on keeping these bald swampers on for street use, but I am still 20 some miles each way from the nearest mud rink which I would have to run the boggers on and I don't want them to wear too fast when I am looking at $500 a tire. Is there a tire nearly as good as boggers in the mud, but wear better on the street?

The truck is dead on the 54" headlight limit with the bald 44's (basically 41's). If I put new 44's, or 49's, I will be over the limit. Will just little lights in the bumper work, or are they picky on what they consider a headlight? If they make you cover the other lights, does that also include my lightrack?

Other than bumper height which is alright for indiana, are there any other regulations that I need to check on? The guy who built the truck said it was prefectly legal, but I rather be safe than impounded.

I am curious on the axles. I believe these are a dana 60 and 70, what numbers do I need to check? I read something about dana 60's breaking. Is this a commonplace? I am putting out a little over 600HP, but I figured that these one some of the best (stock) axles you could get. Also, the lift was completely custom according to the builder. I thought it was a kit as it looks pretty professional. Does anyone see any obvious problems?

I have also read about these trucks being real hard to stop. This one stops pretty good I thought, but it got me curious. How much would a 4 wheel disc brake conversion be? I never seen what people listed as the cause of the hard stops, but I am guessing that it has something to do with the drum brakes.

My power steering gearbox is leaking and the gears are worn. I have had no luck finding one that mounts to the frame as this one does. Does anyone know where I can find one? I have heard some things about converting it over to where the gearbox is inline with the rod that the later years came out with. Is this really the way to go? I figured that bolted to the frame it would be a little sturdier given the type of truck this now is.

Also, I don't have a drop pitman arm and it is causing a bind in the steering. I was told hijackers sells them, but are there any better/cheaper places?

On the steering topic, the steering is completely stock except for a longer and jointed rod to make up for the body lift and stabilizers. Is there anything else that needs to be done to the steering?

Thanks for your help. This is the first lifted truck I have owned, so I am a little clueless. On that note, does anyone have anything that can help my 3mpg problem ?

For some reason I can't post links to pics, which is utterly strange for a forum to have those rules. There goes have my suspension questions.

 

for pictures start a gallery, and put the pics in there, then you can link to them in your post

 

where in indiana are you at? i used to live in michigan city

 

About 20 miles east of terre haute. Effectively in the middle of nowhere.

I don't get the whole gallery thing. I have them in the gallery but they still give the same error even when using the forum codes thing.

 

Well let me try it this would be the last picture in your gallery of the suspention and is set up as a link.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...oid=68536&.jpg

on edit LOOSE them blocks that is dangerous even with the ladder bars

 

Yeah i second what rob said, lose the blocks, espically with 44's and big HP, as those will cause you more headaches than a proper lift will. You can do a shackle flip and/or drop the mounting brackets down (like a few of us have) to compensate for the blocks.

 

if you are looking for something BIG go with a michelin military type tire. sometimes if you are lucky you can get the axles wheels and tires all in the same package. BTW... if you wanna go 49's and be able to pound on it you will want to think abotu upgrading your entire drivetrain to bulletproof cause 49" Iroks is comparable to a .50 caliber!!! taller is not always better as you have much more rolling mass and you tend to get into a lot more problems. i'd stay within 40-46" tire size range!

different trucks had different axles... call up your nearest Ford dealership and give them your VIN number (if the truck has stock drivetrain and all) and they can tell you exactly whats in your trucks. D60 rears are very prone to breaking when you get into the taller meats and a heavy foot with a healthy motor in the middle! D60 front is uaully pretty strong although if you upgrade a D60 they can be as strong or stronger than a rockwell (a figure of speech more than anything)

i hate to tell you this but stacked blocks is not professional! that is the worst thing i have seen on this truck.

as for the brakes i'd check the system out first... a lot of the times if you have 1 tons under your truck then normally there is little concern about stopping capabilities. you can do a 4 wheel disc conversion which would really make stopping less of a chore but they are ually pretty pricey!

Jeff's bronco graveyard should have what you are looking for in regards to your steering woes http://broncograveyard.com/products/cat

-cutts-

 

The drivetrain is stock, but the cab isn't and the vin is a custom built vin. I figured there was numbers on the axles themselves. The suspension is a 1 ton suspension. I am thinking (hoping) that it has D70 rears and D60 front. As cheap as the rockwells were, I thought that a disc brake conversion might be cheap as well.

I thought that blocks was the only way to lift trucks real high, and didn't even know there was any other way. Last year this truck was jumping cars at the state fair grounds without a single problem . The shackes have already been flipped. What is recommended to keep the same lift height? There is 10" of blocks, all the blocks are welded together.

I haven't done anything with this truck yet because of the steering problem, but I don't want any problems, so please tell/link me to what I need. It is a 10" suspension and 4" body. I can't go any smaller on the suspension, but I am willing to go bigger (as always ).

This is partially a show truck (when it is done) and partially a mudding truck. Considering its size and power, I want to stick with a big mudding tire. The tire problem has taken a back seat at the moment to the suspension problem I didn't know I had. Since the iroks aren't as good as the boggers at mudding, I will probably stick with those. I really rather not replace the axles with rockwells for money/time/experience reasons, and if they are a D70/D60 combo, I would figure that would be pretty decent, wouldn't it? If I do have D60 rears, what would I need to do to "bulletproof" that axle?

 

Then its not a Dana 60/70 combo. Are you sure your front is even a 60? And if it is, is it a '75 low pinion D60? Those suck, especially when you start talking about real hp and tires.

You can't have your cake and eat it too. You'll have to decide which is more important to you, mileage or mudder ability. For a compromise, the michelins that fishy mentioned would be a good ticket.

You need to to a crossover suspension with those tires and lift. Its as simple as that. Lots of information in here a search away. That will help out your steering woes majorly.

Like the guys said, lose the 10" blocks. Especially if your "jumping" the truck. Its just a matter of time...

 

"If I do have D60 rears, what would I need to do to "bulletproof" that axle"

Upgrade to a dana 70 (easy to find) Ford 10.25, or rockwells or something similar. For the suspension problems you can always get a bigger leaf (more arch, but lots of $$$) spring, or you can make/have made longer shackles/hangers as well, which is what i would have done as its fairly cheap and easy to do (if you can lay a good solid strong bead).

 

HOLY BLOCKS IN THE REAR BATMAN!!!!

Get rid of the blocks!

Almost looks like a 44 front to me, but its hard to tell in the pictures.

 

get chromoly shafts, make sure it is a 35 spline carrier and use 35 spline shaftsget ya a locker replace the gearset with a thick gear set (if not already done)

but the chromoly shafts are amazingly strong

-cutts-

 

I guess since you asked about mileage/wear of the Boggers, I'll take that question.

The Boggers and Iroks have a very similar tread rubber compound...very soft. You will not get too many miles out of either tire while driving on the street. I've got 49's and also have quite a bit of experience with Boggers, although I've never brought myself to buy a set. If you're looking for good highway/mud tires, I suggest Ground Hawgs. Although they're rough and hard to balance, I have successfully put 17K on a set (which I still have, BTW) and all but one still look BRAND NEW (it's a long story, so I won't bore you with it). My 49's have roughly 1100 miles and they are doing great, although they are in need of a balance (I didn't get lucky like fishy).

Cody

 

I noticed that the ground hawgs are about half the price of boggers. How well to the hawgs do in the mud?

The guy who built this truck was supposedly one of the best ones in the area, so I figured he would do the axles right, but there is no telling at this point . I will ask him about that later this week when I see him again.

I have pretty much decided to get the boggers, just swap them out with these old swampers whenever I want to go mudding to save on the tread.

I read somewhere about getting swampers retreaded. Is this safe? If it is cheap enough, it may be a good idea for me so I can have a decent street tire without much cost.

I haven't read about the crossover suspension yet, as I am getting ready to do that now. However, regarding the rear axle is it suppose to be where the spring is flush again with the axle, but with drop spring shackles? Are there places that sell shackles? Are there any particulars I need to know when installing them? I am guessing that they will weld on where the old ones were (they have already been taken off and welded below the frame).

I truthfully haven't seen a truck like the above before. All I have seen is trucks with blocks, so this is all new to me. What is unsafe about them?

I have looked at a few other 75's, and something is wrong with the front suspension. It appears that it has a 76/77 setup. I will take a pic and post it next time around.

 

Not to sound like a jerk, but I can tell from the pics that he either over-estimates his talents, or there just isn't much talent in your area.

I'd stick with the Swampers. You want mileage and mud performance and they will get much better mileage than a bogger but still do great in the mud.

The springs don't have to be flush with the perch. Many of these trucks came with a 3.5 block from the factory. Whats unsafe about yours is the stacked blocks and the sheer height of them. Thats alot of leverage. You can get rid of this by 1)shackle flip 2)drop hangers 3) lift springs or any combination thereof.

Measure the circumference of your rear axle tube. If its anything less than 3.5 its probably just a 60. Hope this helped. Whats been done to the engine to net 600hp by the way?