Spindles
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Senior User
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 135
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From: northwest Georgia
Spindles
Hey, i recently put a one ton axle under the rear of my truck and wanted to convert the front to 8 lug. I've read about the swaps using chevy parts. I used a solid 44 from a bronco for my SAS some time ago and want to convert it using f-250 parts. My question is about the spindles. Every write-up i've seen has the author putting the f-250 spindles on but i cant see any noticable difference between them and the 1/2 ton ones. Even on Bronco Graveyard, despite the different part numbers, the parts look identical. Can anyone exlain any difference?
1/2 ton: Spindle, Dana 44 ½ Ton
3/4 ton: Spindle Dana 44, 1978 - 79 3/4 Ton
1/2 ton: Spindle, Dana 44 ½ Ton
3/4 ton: Spindle Dana 44, 1978 - 79 3/4 Ton
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Senior User
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From: northwest Georgia
Yea, I saw the different ones for the earlier models, but the 78-79 axles seem to use the same ones. I'm pretty sure they use the same knuckles so it would seem that they would use the same spindles.
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Joined: Jul 2006
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The spindles are different.
I just did the same swap last weekend. I put a D70 in the rear and used 78 F250 stuff on my 78 F150 D44 front. You need to change the break brackets and calipers, spindles, and rotor/hub. The knuckles are the same. And the axle shafts are the same.
I just did the same swap last weekend. I put a D70 in the rear and used 78 F250 stuff on my 78 F150 D44 front. You need to change the break brackets and calipers, spindles, and rotor/hub. The knuckles are the same. And the axle shafts are the same.
New User
Joined: Jul 2006
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The 8 lug hub and rotor use bigger bearings, so that's why the sindles are different. (the bearings fit over the spindle and the hub fits over the bearings, all as one unit). I was hopeing to use my f150 breaks because I bought some 37" MTR's on 15" 8 lug wheels. But the break caliper bracket for the single piston f150 caliper is way too small for the 8 lug hub and rotor. So i will be grinding on some calipers this weekend to make my 15" wheels to fit 
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Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 135
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From: northwest Georgia
Ok. Thanks a lot for the help. I still dont see why the the 1/2 ton spindles cant be used since the 3/4 ton uses the same lockouts so the inner diameter should be the same. Or at the very least a custom bearing could be used. I'll take your word for it though. I guess you can tell i'm cheap. Thanks again.