I want to know why Ford put TTB's in on the F-150 and 250 in the 80-96(LD & HD) 96-98(HD) trucks? It would seem much easier (and practical) to have put straight axles under them. My truck is bad on tires and bad for not staying in line (Dana 50) (which is common for those years, I know), and I really want to figure out the reasoning for that choice of axle. Eventually I want to put a D60 in it, but I guess I'll feel better knowing why what I have is there.

 

Rides better.


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Justin - One Happy FTE Member

 

I prefer a solid front axle, but a TTB does ride better. The TTB is a more rugged system than IFS, therefore I prefer it over a weak IFS. People buy trucks to use as cars now, and they want a car like ride from a truck (Chevy) thats about all they are, Not real trucks.



'90 F-150 351 AOD "The General"
'78 F-250 460 C-6 "Old Green"
'93 Mustang 5.0 AOD
'88 Jeep Cherokee 4.0

 

Ford engineers used large amounts of narcotics during that time. They later went on to design the distributor-mounted TFI module.

 

The ride of an independent front suspension with the strength of a solid axle. Yes, the easy thing would be a solid axle, but the TTB and TIB (twin i beam) have been around for a long time, and is a actually quite a good idea. Although its not the best on steering geometry, it is quite strong.

Chris

 

Ford & Tylenol were big buddies back then and Ford came out with TTB to boost sales of Tylenol for the headaches that the TTB would bring!!!

`82 F-250 Custom** 4x4 ** 351W ** 39.5--15x16.5** SS- TSL`s ** 6" Lift ** Granny 4-speed**** If you can`t run with the BIG DOGS , stay on the porch!!!

 

it rides better than a solid front, and its better than your newer IFS. I would converete to a solid axle, but why mess with whats there if its working? thats what i say.

 

The main reason Fords sold so well was because of the ride provided by the TTB suspension, it was the major distinction between GM and FORD trucks. If you can remember how your truck drove when it was new you know where I’m coming from. Especially if you went off –road, Chevy wasn’t even in the game, they had much less suspension travel. The problem was wear and the cost of returning it to original condition. They don’t go out of alignment unless something is worn or you have been in an accident.

I believe many people complain about the TTB alignment and loose feel because they take it to an alignment shop that just wants to get them out the door and hopes they don’t come back. They don’t like to work on them because it is time consuming and expensive to get them back to what they should be, so you roll out of there needing ball joints, bushings, pivots, steering gear, and steering column shaft.

Bottom line, TTB was a good performing suspension. The problem was they were expensive to build and expensive to maintain. If we were concerned with the expense we would not be driving a 2 door that gets 10-12mpg city.

 

>Especially if you went off –road, Chevy wasn’t even in the
>game, they had much less suspension travel.

Not sure where this comes from. I'll grant you a stock '73-87 Chevy doesnt' have THAT much wheel travel, but with their solid axles I'd bet it's more than stock TTB

As for strength, the TTB housings are relatively weak in stock form. They twist and bend, and the stock radius arms are particularly weak and will bend if you take a frontal impact. Nonetheless, TTB and any IFS is great for the desert because they absorb large landings; this is because they don't need to be trussed like a solid axle would - the TTB is allowed to move in ways that would bend a solid axle when landing a jump.

For everything else, I can't believe this is stronger than a solid axle housing
http://www.superford.org/registry/vehicles/users/33/139/DCP_1067.JPG

 

Honney, I think you may have misunderstood 2001Excursionv10's post, I think he was comparing the Ford TTB to the (other guys) IFS in which case the TTB won. for pure strength you can't compare something with moving parts to a solid axle but ride wise the TTB was real comfy on a new truck and handled better/got better travel than IFS because of the higher pivot mounts. The angle of deflection required to make the suspension do it's job was less on the Fords so the were more effective. That being said I gotta say I have seen some pretty wild setups built outta the IFS components, there is a mag on the racks right now with some genius who made a rock crawler with IFS on the front and rear and gobs of travel... I'll stick with my straight D60 though.

 

I agree that a solid axel is stronger that a TTB but most of us will not need the extra beef. The stock TTB in my 87 Bronco definitely does have more wheel travel then my old 85 Chevy ½ ton 4x4. The problem with the TTB is durability not strength. The Chevy had about 140,000 miles and all I had ever done was change u joints replace the auto hubs with manual hubs, and change tie-rods. The Bronco has 92,000 and has needed ball joints and tie rods twice; u joints, pivot bushings, radius arm bushings, and many hours of labor to install those parts. The Chevy A arm IFS perform almost as well as the TTB off-road and are much better than the TTB on-road, plus for some reason they are much more durable than the TTB, probably because there are more bushings to spread the load. I think that the Dodge 5 link is the best suspension for a working 4x4 truck although I have no personnel experience other than my 5 link Jeep XJ. People have figured out that they rarely use their trucks off-road and are more interested in “car like” handling then in a heavy duty truck, hence the 4 wheel independent suspension Expedition, huge brakes on the Dodge 1/2 ton, and the rear 5 link Hummer H2.

 

me personally i like ifs and ttb(call me crazzy ). but then again i do consistantly jump my trucks so it is better, and yeah jumping a solid front axle truck is a bad idea, i watch one of my friends do it in his suburban whith one ton axles and landed on one side perty good and the axle didnt whant to land like that so it snaped. So i like ifs becouse the wheels move thier own way so jumping you dont have to worry about one more thing.