straight axle conversion. . .

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Mar 11, 2005 | 03:52 PM

outlawnbfd

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straight axle conversion. . .

I was thinking about a straight axle conversion in my 94' F150, and i had a few questions.....I was going to use Fabritecs 8" conversion kit. It recommends using a dana 44 which i was going to obtain from a 78 or 79 ford pickup. If i couldnt find one, id use one from a 76 or so, and convert to disk brakes. Anyway, the reason im converting is becasue i want to run bigger tires,(i currently run 35" tires) and not tare up my axles. so my questions are:
Do you think a dana 44 is adequet to handle 37 or 38"tires on a daily driver. (keep in mind this truck wont be offroad too much)
What should i swap out the rear axle for?
Anything else to keep in mind?

Mar 11, 2005 | 05:32 PM

andym

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From: Bonita Springs FL

With 38" tires, you're right at the limit in terms of axle strength for both the front and rear. If you go any bigger, or starting wheeling it medium-hard, you're going to start tearing up axle shafts and u-joints. For a show truck, it's probably fine, though.

If it were me, and I wanted to go with 38" tires, I'd be looking at an F-350 with a solid Dana 60 and a 10.25" out back. Just my two cents.

Mar 11, 2005 | 05:39 PM

outlawnbfd

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yeah, its just a daily driver, but the kit was designed for a dana 44, and i'm not sure how difficult it is to run a dana 60. What should i run in the back with a dana 44? I'll need to lengthen both driveshafts too. The kit runs like 1700 bucks. I wonder how much the two axels will be. It would be nice if i could find them complete, with somewhat low milage. The truck right now only has 70k on it. Hmmmm

Mar 11, 2005 | 05:40 PM

outlawnbfd

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hmmm then i gotta swtich to 8 lug too.......what axle would match that dana 44 good?

Mar 11, 2005 | 05:49 PM

outlawnbfd

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also, how do i know what lengths to get the axles in? Obviously a 10.25" or a dana 60 in fron would fit fine, because the body is the same on the f350s and 150s.......but what if i took a dana 44 out of a 78 or 79 ford ranger or sumthing.

Mar 11, 2005 | 06:44 PM

johnsonswamp

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From: Florida

Quote:

Originally Posted by andym

I have dana 44 in the front and 8.8" in the rear with 18/39.5 boggers and about all I use my truck for is off roading, it gets bogged HARD every weekend, havent broke anything yet (so far almost 3 years of it) but I did upgrade to 5.13 gears, lockers and yukon axles.

I wouldnt waste my money on a "kit", find a 79' truck and use most of the front end parts, get http://www.broncograveyard.com/produ...t/20/175/33937
that and the drop brackets, pitman arm, etc. it'll be alot cheaper that way if your good at fabing your own parts to make it all work right, but if your not i guess your better off with the kit.

Mar 11, 2005 | 06:55 PM

mooktank

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From: Lakeville USA

hey that kit is not worth the money it cost me probably 12 bucks for some steel to make my whole kit up minus the cost of the axle which was free but i had to rebuild it. I used one from like a 75 and it had disc brakes. Those axle tubes are stronger since they dont separate at the C-bushing. Only issue I had is the ring and pinion breaking with 36 inch tires.