I have been doing some research and can't find an answer to my question, hopefully ya'll can help.

Put a 4 inch lift on my 96 f150 4x4 standard cab. I love the height, now I am looking to go a little higher. My problem: two sets of tires on 67k miles, that infamous inward tilt of the front tires, and a complete sag in the front(must be those trailmaster springs). Well someone brought it to my attention that I could put straight axles on to cure most problems. I know that a Dana 60 with 35 spline is what I am looking for. So the axles will be solid axles as opposed to ifs. Now here is the question: When rummaging through the salvage yards, how do I tell exactly what an axle is. Specifically a full-floater. If it is a bolt pattern (on the rear) that determines the difference, can someone tell me where I can look to find a listing of all possible bolt patterns? Or would it be the hub? I just don't know!! Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 21-Feb-01 AT 05:58 PM (EST)[/font][p]I really, really, really doubt that you will find that axle in a salvage yard. If you have the coin you should think about a new aftermarket unit. As far as id'ing, I'm not sure how to tell if its a floater or not from the outside, I've never dealt with those, sorry.

If your knuckles ain't bleeding you did something wrong.

'72 F-250 "Hi-Boy" 4x4, Dana 60/HD44, FE390 @ 400hp(purt near!), 4-speed, custom suspension w 4" lift, mud on black.

 

If we are talking front axles, there is no full or semi floater. On rear axles, a full floating axle will have the hubs sticking out of the wheel, semi floater has nothing sticking out past the wheel. There is no stock front Dana 60s for coil springs (at least I havent seen one) but there are aftermarket housings ($!)

Nathan

 

http://www.coloradok5.com/axleguide.shtml

that will give you the cover bolt pattern and shape. danas generally have the model number cast into the centre section. 35 spline d60 are a rare breed but you can step up to 14bolt chev rear or d70. the 14bolt is a good design reminds me of 9" ford, it has a bolt on pinion retainer and pinion support bearing on the nose, as well as numerous disc brake kits. if you go that route ensure you get the larger one and get an open carrier as detroit for that is a drop in style and is the cheapest detroit. other hints for id, dodge uses small wheel lugs, familiarize yourself with shock mounts they all differ by manufacturer. post photos of prospects here or on pirates4x4.com there are axle gurus there and maybe here as well. just remember that on a site like pirates the guys on there think in terms of lightweight jeeps and the like, a real truck needs real heavy gear not semifloat car stuff. for a 60 front you are in the $$$$ section now. i have found a few guys posting pictures of converting 60s to radius arm coils on fords. with the cores starting at $1000 it adds up quick when you need custom machined tubes to press your radius arm mounts into.

 

Hey semi- go to http://www.jeffsbroncograveyard.com they can set you up with everything you need to convert your TTB to a straight axle. They even sell fully preped Dana 44 and 60 axles for the conversion. You can print out the instructions from the web-site so you can get an idea of what the project consists of.

 

thats a dead link for me.

 

if i'm not miss taken i don't believe you can put a straight axle under your truck with only a 4" lift. i believe you have to have atleast a 6" lift so the axle housing won't interfer with the engine crossmember.
lr

 

That link will not work for me either!

 

 

all front 4x4 axles are full floating. if you break ane axle with a semi float your wheel will fall off along with the broken axle shaft. On a full float, since the wheel rides on a spindle bearing,the wheel will stay on. All 8 lug bolt patterns are the same but the stud threads may be different. But if the 8 lug pattern is off of a "super duty", theirs bolt pattern is not going to work becase of the humongous stud size.

 

Well I'll be dipped, I didn't know that. I guess rather than none of the ones I've had being floaters they ALL were. I always thought it was the other way around but then its not unlike me to get my terminology bass-ackwards anyways.

If your knuckles ain't bleeding you did something wrong.

'72 F-250 "Hi-Boy" 4x4, Dana 60/HD44, FE390 @ 400hp(purt near!), 4-speed, custom suspension w 4" lift, mud on black.