Hey folks,
I haven't been around in a while. Been busy with other things. Now it's time to do some repairs to my truck and I have a question or two.

I have known for some time me front axle joints were shot but with winter coming I thought I better get them fixed. However after further inspection I found that basically my whole front end is shot. Steering has all been done, (new steering gear, tie rod ends, and ball joints were done a while ago) When I say whole front end I mean front diff and drive axles. R&P, bearings etc. My logic is now to find a donor truck for parts. Even our local scrap yards are pricey for replacement. The question I have is which years of truck can I look for? The truck I have is an 87 f-250 diesel. T-19 for speed and axle code 35. I believe it has a dana 44 up front. If I can upgrade without too much trouble I would be ok with that.

Any suggestions would be welcome but mostly I would like to know what years will change over. Can I look for pre 87 as a donor? How far can I go up in years 97?

Thanks

 

Can anyone help?

 

Is this a solid axle truck?

 

No mine is a TTB dana 44 but when looking for a donor truck I will use anything that will bolt in. I don't want to do major fabrication for an upgrade but if it's a "bolt on" I'm all about it. I have found a couple of 85, 86s for parts but I don't know for sure if it will change over. I know body and interior are different I just wonder about drive train and chassis.

 

I guess my real question is what years of trucks can I get a front drive assembly from? (axles, Differential, possibly entire axle assembly etc,)

 

If you're not up for rebuilding your diff, look for another D44 TTB with same gearing in a salvageyard. As for axles and joints, they are no harder to replace than on a driveshaft once you've got the whole thing apart. Any axlejoints you get out of a jy would probably need to be replaced as well. Any center section from 87-96 f150 4x4 should work, I don't believe any of those were solid axle.

 

as far as axles and shafts i believe 80 - 96 will work

 

As I said in previous post with all the parts that I need it's not going to be cost effective. I am up for rebuilding but it's almost $200.00 just for bearings and seals. That doesn't even count R&P spiders and side gears. There comes a point when you just say "it aint worth it". If I can find a donor with a good diff I think that's the way to go. I wouldn't even consider axle joints from a scrap yard.

Thanks for the input folks

 

R&P? Rack and Pinion? You dont have one on ur truck. You have a box. Y do you have to do the bearings? There lose? Everything is lose?
You need to find something like this for ur year. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/COMPL...Q5fAccessories

 

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't his truck a leaf spring TTB which would allow a solid axle from any 80-97 to bolt right in, and be a worthwhile upgrade.

 

That is information I wanted to hear. So I can use 80 to 97 front axle from a f350? From other threads I understand that's pretty much bolt in, I just did not Know what year donor truck.

R&P is ring and pinion not rack & pinion, sorry...... I made an assumption.

 

If that's what you are looking to do I think it's a good idea if it works on your truck, I can't be sure I haven't done that swap I got a solid already. Then 86 or 87 ( I can't remember witch) to 92 F350 with heavy payload is what you want. These are the best/strongest front ends. There Dana 60's with high pinions and kingpin knuckles. You'll want to just get a donor truck, anyone selling one of these on it's own will want alot for it, cheaper to buy a truck from someone who doesn't know what they have. And you will need the steering parts anyway. (tie rod and drag link) You also should use the panhard/track bar from the donor truck. I would think the tough part will be finding one that is 3.55 I would think most of these to be 4.10

Are we heading in the right direction?

I'm suprised more people aren't chiming in here, TTB's are a huge problem with alot of these trucks. You may want to also post or link to this thread in the steering and suspension section.

 

That's another reason I want to get a donor, I can change the rear if needed. I like my fuel economy with the 3.55s but it would tow better with the 4.10s. I'm pulling a fifth wheel camp trailer quite a bit. It's only about 7K lbs but I usually flat tow a Samurai behind that.

 

Did you say your towing a Samurai behind a fifth wheel trailer. I have often thought I would like to do that but thought it was illegal. Is it legal in Idaho?

 

you might be able to use some info on this site about it i used to have a thread saved on my computer that was exactly what you are doing now like EXACTLY but i can't find it
Solid front axle guide - FSB Forums