I have a 71 f-100 4x4. It currently has a dana 44 w/coil springs on it. I was interested in knowing if a dana 60 front dif could be swapped in easily? What will it take to make this work? Will I neeed to switch to leaf front springs? Will this work? Pls anyone with this info ctc me and let me know.Thanks Mr B.

 

yes it can be done, but it is not just a swap. In order to install the dana 60 you will have to cut the spring pads off the 60 (because there leaf pads) then you will have to weld on the a set of spring pads for the coil springs that your truck has, and you will almost certiantly need to do brake modifications to plumb the massive discs that the 60's turn ( usally not to difficult, but its best to get a bigger brake booster, like that which comes on the 3/4 ton 4x4 or bigger) you will need ALL the steering linkage up to the steering box from the donor truck, but other than that its not to bad. But if you are not very experinced with welding the pads to the axle tube have a PRO do it, its not a bright idea to try it yourself, because sloppy welds will almost certainly fail, and that means injury or death to you or someone else who might be on the road with you.

It is relativly cheap to have a welder do it, and you will have more confidence in the fact you don't have to worry about it failing.

 

guess I should have read this thread before I started one on basically the same subject.

Would there be a way to utilize the leaf springs instead of using the coils? Could brackets be welded to the frame for the leafs? Which setup would be stronger for some hard off-roading??

 

>guess I should have read this thread before I started one on
>basically the same subject.
>
>Would there be a way to utilize the leaf springs instead of
>using the coils? Could brackets be welded to the frame for
>the leafs? Which setup would be stronger for some hard
>off-roading??


Sure, its possible to install leafs instead of the coils and is not hard at all. basicly if you want to do that you neet to cut all the spring hangers and shackle brackets off the donor (you will want a torch!! Torch the rivits till there red as blood hammer them out with a punch and a LARGE hammer) get the shock mounts too, you can use a grinder too, but it takes longer.

But due to the fact the frame on the f-100's are light duty you will need to put a brace right at the front of the framerails connecting the two (prevents bending of the frame) also i would HIGHLY recommend boxing the front frame rails completly at least about where the cab begins. boxing is very easy, just get a sheet of steel place it on the open frame draw the outline, cut it out, clamp it in place on the frame and spot weld a few places, checking to make sure it fits well, then just close it up (remember to put some holes in the new sheet to access some bolts or nuts that might be on the inside)

Grind the welds smooth then paint and your done... (boxing that is)
the simplist idea would be get the front frame brace off a 73 - 77 f-250 4x4 and bolt it to the new truck, and get all the brackets from the same truck.

As far as which is stronger off road, that depends.. with a dana 60, it really won't matter what way it is suspended with (coils, or leafs) its the axle that really matters, and the 60 is by far the best. I have one on my 71 4x4 with 13inches of lift and 44 ground hawgs, it will last longer than the truck..

COILS are the BEST choice as far as ride is concerned!!! I have owned a 73 4x4 f-250 with leafs... it was HORRIBLE, it was a pure tank and drove me nuts, off road it was harsh and there simply is not enough movment provided by the leafs to soak up the bumps.

I would stick with the coils, forget the leafs.