Well, Franklin2, looks like I'm gonna' have to go down to Napa and compare the ball joints, then go to the boneyard to compare the spacing & angles etc.

 

do yourself and anyone else considering this swap. I looked at my f150 and my bronco (both 1990) and both the coil mounting points are simply bolted onto the I beam and radius arm and very easily removeable. If this equipment is able to bolt onto the 3/4 tonne TTB you are laughing. All you would need to do is drop the donor trucks ttb and remove the leaf spring mounting points, and replace them with the 1/2 tonne ones and radius arms. Mount up the radius arm brackets and slap it all in. Its been a long time since I looked at a TTB F250, but I am certain you will be able to replace the leaf mounts with the coil mounts. "Where theres a welder theres a way" is a good saying i read recently. I can guarentee you running the 3/4 tonne ttb with coil springs will be the absolute easiest most effective way without major fabrication. The I beams are made seperately from the suspension stuff on my 1/2 tonne chassis. Tomorow I will post a pic to show you exactly what I am talking about...in the meantime someone with a 4wd 3/4 tonne needs to take a pic of how and where the perches for the leafs mount to the I beam.

 

Hey now THERE'S and idea! A guy sent me a picture of the pumpkin in his F350 TTB today, and in the corner of the picture I could see where the leaf perches bolted on. I couldn't see the top of them, but they looked like kind of a saddle arrangement. If the F150 coil perches go on the same way then the swap should be a SNAP!

Now I've GOTTA' go to the boneyard and do some looking around....

 

crap, cant post links
I found some pics that convince me it will be doable...if youre lucky only with minor mods (drilling/tapping). Theres nothing fancy to the f250 perches.

 

Why can't you post links? Feel free to email me the links - or even just the pictures

cheaper_jeeper@hotmail.com

 

ill try putting them on photobucket.



trucks got a lot of lift, makes it easy to see.

 

Sure does!

 

I will add a comment about the last few posts. Anything can be done. It would certainly be possible to bolt any type of suspension into any type of truck. It's the amount of fab work that is the debate.

The easiest swap level is a complete bolt in. I would say the next level would be mixing and matching parts and grinding rivets to make it work. After that would be cutting welding and grinding where anything is possible.

So don't think we are saying it can't be done. It's just the amount of work and engineering involved that would be the difference.

I haven't looked at an f250 4wd frame either, but the comment was made how the weight of the truck was distributed differently than a coil spring frontend, and I also read somewhere that the f250 4wd frame was formed a little different for clearance for the spring shackles. Like I said though, I am just repeating what I have read elsewhere.

 

My point exactly

Well since my F250 frame is a coil sprung TIB, it has all the right reinforcements and upper coil buckets in place for coils. Since I won't be going to leafs, how the leaf-sprung frame is different becomes a non-issue.

By taking the TTB from an F250 4WD, removing the leaf spring perches (which bolt-on - see the pictures above) and replacing them with the coil buckets/radius arm bracket assemblies from an F150 TTB (which should bolt onto the F250 TTB in place of the leaf spring perches with little or no modification - in theory) I think I may be able to create a true-bolt in swap that requires little or no fab work.

I'd be using my existing coil springs, and I might have to use the radius arms from my TIB setup if the F150 arms are too short or too weak, but that should be easily do-able. Kind of a mix and match approach. This idea would probably be even easier than the idea I had about swapping the knuckle/hub assemblies - which you said your research indicates won't work.

Anybody got a good picture of how the coil buckets/radius arm brackets are attached to the TTB in an F150 4WD? I looked under mine last night and the brackets from my TIB axle won't work without serious modifications because the TIB axle beams are slim, solid, forged, pieces instead of the hollow box-sections like the TTB beams. Their cross-section isn't anywhere NEAR as tall OR as thick as the TTB at the bracket attachment point.

 

heres some pics on my 90 f150...Its rusty and sagging stock suspension makes it hard to get good pics.

 

heres 2 more. The last one is the p-side, the others are all d-side

 

VERY interesting PUD...


Kinda' hard to see exactly how it all comes apart, but it appears that it does indeed come apart, and that the coil buckets and radius arms are held to the TTB housing using one long bolt on the top, and then another bolt holds the radius arm on the bottom of the housing. Appears as though it will all come off though - which means it can all be put ON a leaf sprung TTB. Might take a little drilling for bolt holes that may not be there, and maybe a little welding too, but nothing major - or so it would appear....

Gonna have to go to the boneyard an eyeball one myself, take a few measurements etc. but it looks pretty promising....

 

the radius arm slides on first from the back... then thers like a " [ " shaped piece that slides on from the front, over top of the radius arm. Then the bolts go through both and into the I beam...there will be seperate bolts top and bottom. The " [ " shaped piece holds the provisions for the sway bar and lower coil mount.

I would take the pics on the fenderless bronco but its got a few inches old oily dirty crud all over, making poor visibilty.

 

You can definitely remove all that stuff off the F-150/Bronco TTB arm - I've done it.

But why? Is your plan to still use the Dana 44 from an F-150 and use F-250 parts from the knuckles out? If so, you don't need to remove the perches. Am I missing something?

Or are you trying to get a Dana 50 under your truck? The Dana 44 HD found on F-250's is the same as the 5 lug Dana 44 found on F-150's, except for the stuff from the knuckles out.

 

hes trying to put whatever is under the 4wd donor truck under his 2wd. He cant do it leaf sprung very easy, so the plan is to use the leaf sprung TTB and conver it to coil sprung, using the f150 suspension pieces, less the coils....bolted onto the 3/4 TTB, wether its d44 or D50.
On a side note, ive read in a few axle articles the D50 is only a heavy duty D44...and dana never made a "D50", but people refer to it as that. Also that the D44 on 3/4 tonnes isnt HD, the D50 is the HD version of the D44. Food for thought if anyones researching axles.