I have a 96 and am going to lift it soon. I want 6" of lift and would like to run 35 or 36's with 4.88 or 5.13 gears. I am thinking of swaping in a solid 44 but the only kit I can find is the one listed on Bronco Graveyard for $1900. That kit doesn't come with much for the money. Does anyone know how to swap one in cheaper or are there any other kits? Bossind, you out there, I know you put your own together. I did your Sag swap, it's sweet man. Works great! Any help would be great.

 

Why are you sas'ing to a solid 44?
Only asking because i bought a diff and brackets etc from a 78 bronco to swap mine shortly after i bought my truck 10 months ago thinking it would be better than the ttb.
I know alot of guys with solid 44's in ford, chev, and dodges who break regularly and in ten months of beating on my truck hard in mud, snow, trails, and rock (seeing as i live in the mountains) I have yet to break anything in the ttb. My U-joints still haven't even needed to be replaced.
I ran 35x13.50 toyo m/t's and now 36x13.50 Iroks so its not a small tire and i am hard on it.

 

Well, I'm starting to wonder the same thing. I was planing on building the solid 44 with 4340 axles and a few other upgrade to increase strength, but I've been hearing that the TTB is not that bad for the set up I'm planing. Thanks.

 

I run bigger tires than that and I have had reasonable good luck. I've only broken u-joints. When I had a solid 44 on a previous truck I broke them also. But having said that, I still would like a solid on mine. I think it drives/tracks better on road with the solid. It probubly rides better with TTB. But I dont care about that as much. I just dont have the time right now.

To answer your question, Why not just take the whole mess off a solid axle ford truck ? For 1900 bucks I would think you could find a donor. Everthing should just bolt on. (maybe a little drilling and grinding)

 

That's a good idea, thanks.

 

there is a website online that talks all about this. i cant mention the site becasue i have already been warned. but do a search under google for bronco sas forum. you will find it i am sure and it explains how to go about this.

you can use wrecking yard parts to do the swap but plan on some fab work regardless. its not 100% bolt on either. Yes that jbg kit is spendy and frankly isnt worth it at all. the setup and everything is pourly made and leaves alot to be desired. I wont go into which is better solid vs ttb because everyone has there opinions. and it has a lot to do with where you wheel and such.

good luck

 

As kemicalburns said it has alot to do with where you wheel and driving style as well.
One draw back to the ttb i have found is alignment issues, trying to keep a good alignment is a bit of a pain but other than that if you were swapping for a d60 i would say go for it.
As for a solid 44 just consider the expense of the swap and remember that you still have d44 axles, joints, etc. Chromoly shafts are just more expense, stronger than stock but................

 

Not to hijack but I have a 79 ford front dana 44 in lubbock tx that will need to be rebuilt re geared mainly its the housing and front steering and radius arms. Was planning on a sas on my z71 but went with a psd and sold the truck. Would let it go cheap if I'm not to far away from you

 

Well you guys have been a big help. I think I'll just stay with the TTB. For what I'm doing I think it will be fine. Thanks for the offer on the axle but I have one out of a 77 F-150. Thanks guys!

 

how do you plan on wheeling the rig. definatly check out that other forum regarding this process. I would do an SAS in a heartbeat if i had the funds and the axle. I like my ttb since it hasnt failed me yet but it is open diff still and only running 35's. if i was to run anything bigger and be locked i would more then likely take the plunge.

run 78-79 upper coil buckets, get F250 shock mounts, take the stock 78-79 radius arms and lengthen them, run a minimum of a 6" lift 78-79 coil, and fab up your track bar and you are done. its easy but time consuming, lots of guys are starting to run the Cage Offroad radius arms or the James Duff arms.

 

I use it mostly for hunting and camping, and it's plenty capable as it is now. (2in. lift and 32's) But it's to small. Some of the places I get into tweak the frame so much it pushes the fenders into the doors. I need more travel in the suspension. So mostly I crawl around until I find a good spot to hunt or camp. The more capable the Bronco is the farther away from morons I can get. I don't want to go to big because I don't want to start breaking everything. Sounds like 6in's of lift 4.88's or 5.13's, 35x12.5 or 36x14.5 and a rear locker won't beat it to death. does this sound right?

 

remember a rear locker sucks if you tow anything. also running any tire wider then 12.50's will really wear on the front end and cause breakage. if you go rear locker and tow still go with an Elocker or an ARB. and if you already have the D44 in your possesion its gonna cost almost the same amount to swap that in as it would to buy a good quality 6" lift kit.

for what you use the rig for you might consider just towing a small trailer and have a 4wheeler to get you deeper into the woods.

 

I tow a pop-up camper, so I should be fine there. I didn't think about towing with a locker but the E-locker is the one I plan to put in, so I'm good there as well. The axle I have needs a complete rebuild, and with all the components I'd need to complete the lift and rebuild I think I'd spend much more than a good 6" lift. A quad is a good idea but I'd just as soon put the it would cost into the Bronco. Besides I wouldn't have a way to tow it up there. I guess what it boils down to is that the straight axle would be great but at the end of the day I'd still have a 44...Do you know a way to beef up the TTB?

Thanks again for all your help! This is really a help.

 

Exactly why does the TTB need to be "beefed up"? Are you planning to get into 4-wheeling predicaments that will destroy a Dana 44? If 6" of lift and 35's are your goal with gears tall enough to drive it all sufficiently, what is going to kill the TTB? I mean 35-36's are the top end of size rating for the D44 anyway. So, unless you decide you want 38-40's, what's the difference? The TTB setup can achieve greater articulation than a solid axle to begin with anyway. Yeah its true... research it a little. Baja racers seek out TTB trucks. True they are not looking for the 4wd so its the twin I-beam pre-runner setup they want. But Baja regulations limit suspension travel to 30 inches total and the TTB/Twin I-beam front ends are capable of nearly 35 with the right radius arms and axle pivots. They actually have to install limit straps to keep within regulations. And on top of that, when one wheel drops into a hole or rides up on a rock the other one isn't trying to push the opposite direction like a solid axle setup.

Wish I had taken a picture of mine today. I parked on a parking lot snow-mountain. Even with the TTB in stock form, I had one wheel 16-18" off the ground while the other one was still planted with the entire contact patch of the tire flat on the pavement. I would challenge ANY solid axle setup to accomplish that!

Yes, I am a proponent of the TTB but then I've never been able to break a TTB anywhere but at a steering knuckle u-joint and even the solid version has those.

 

I have the Powertrax soft locker. It works perfect as far as traction and I have zero problems towing. I have towed a 6000 lb tractor on a 2000 lb trailer. The only problem I had was brakes. (I didnt have the hook up for trailer brakes)

I like it because its always there and no wires or air lines to rip off on the trail. It does cherp the tires if I stump it on a turn, but thats a good thing.

As far as the front diff, I got a locker there also and the only thing I've broken is the u-joints at the wheels. But I was really giving it hell when i did that. They make stronger u-joints, but I'm kind of afriad of breaking something else. At least with the joints I can drive home in three wheel drive. LOL