just for reference, not that im planning on doing this or anything (although its not out of the question) will a dana 50 TTB from an F250 bolt up to an F150 in place of the dana 44 TTB? i realize that you'd have to go from leaf springs to the coils... but is this possible?

chris

 

Yup, anything is possible.


Primary rig is Green Thunder:
95' F-150 XLT 4x4, 302, 5 spd, MSD 6A, Flowmaster Exhaust, Sunroof, Clear corners w/ Diamond headlights, CD player with 2 10" subs and some 32" BFG Muds .

Check out my Gallery for a look-see.


Justin - One Happy FTE Member

 

well jeeze i know that how about feasible and worthwhile though thats waht im lookin for here


chris

 

Hehe just being a wise guy. The leaf springs make it a very rough ride, more so than a regular F-250 because the F-150 is lighter. It is actually easily done if you have a good understanding and tool supply. You'll have to remove the springs, spring seats, radius arms and brackets, brake lines, etc. off of your F-150. Then disconnect the driveshaft. If the U-joint size between the d44 and d50 is different, you can get a special U-joint that will adapt them. You'll need the leaf springs and brackets, bolt in the TTB and bolt down the leaf springs. Then you'll need the shock tower from the F-250 and once everything is bolted up you're ready to go. I'm probably missing some minor things, but those are the major issues to contend with. I wouldn't suggest it as the ride will go out the window. My dad's got the D50 Heavy Duty front end and that truck rides really hard, and his truck weighs 7,000lbs. Much heavier than a little 4400lbs F-150. It will lift you're truck a bit too. What do you plan on doing with the truck?


Primary rig is Green Thunder:
95' F-150 XLT 4x4, 302, 5 spd, MSD 6A, Flowmaster Exhaust, Sunroof, Clear corners w/ Diamond headlights, CD player with 2 10" subs and some 32" BFG Muds .

Check out my Gallery for a look-see.


Justin - One Happy FTE Member

 

i thought we couldn't put leaf springs on our frames because of the crumple zone up front... as far as what im planning on doing with the truck, i want it to be heavyier duty and more durable since im always pulling with it... i don't want to put a dana 60 under there with a huge lift, i was just thinking about if the 50 uses basically the same brackets as the 44 and if it would just bolt in there, you'd have to mount the coil springs to the top of the 50 axle and put the radius arms on the new axle too. id probably put in a heavyier driveshaft too since my goal here would be to make a 3/4 ton truck out of it, the back would get swapped out as well.... its just an idea i've been kicking around and wanted to see how difficult it would actually be always looking for a new way to do something


chris

 

I can't comment on the crumple zones, never heard of them interfering but someone else will have to chime in here.


Primary rig is Green Thunder:
95' F-150 XLT 4x4, 302, 5 spd, MSD 6A, Flowmaster Exhaust, Sunroof, Clear corners w/ Diamond headlights, CD player with 2 10" subs and some 32" BFG Muds .

Check out my Gallery for a look-see.


Justin - One Happy FTE Member

 

Don't forget going from 5 bolt (or is it 6?) to 8 bolt wheel paterns. All 50 TTB's where on 250 and 350's which are 8 lug.

 

The frame forward of the steering box on the F150 will not except the leaf spring mount of the 250, it would have to be removed and a 250 clip welded in. Also the TTB length is different, the f250 is shorter than the f150, so you would have to swap the mounts on the crossmember(which is different also) or make some. You can just do what I did and swap in a D44hd from a light duty 250. There is a post of what I did I think under "5 to 8 lug conversion". You can use your f150 ttb and coils and avoid the harsh ride of the leafs.

 

i kinda like the idea of going with leafs it would be much easier, and more durable, i don't care if it rides hard at all. but i donno if id want to get into having my frame welded and cobbed together. if anyone has done this feel free to lemme know how that turned out....

i figured the axle drop brackets would be different, would they still be able to bolt up to the crossmember or will the crossmember have to be replaced too? i guess it would be easier to make custom drop brackets and leave the original crossmember in there.

im guessing steering would remain the same and nothing would have to be changed there?

also about the rear.... would a 10.25 inch sterling and f250 or f350 spring packs bolt right up to the frame?


shoulda bought an f250 i know i know but i love my truck and im looking at ways of making it heavier duty. this is just one concept i am kicking around and im exploring my possibilites and limitations


chris

 

The 10.25 will go in there I think but you'll have to change the leafs/brackets etc etc...I would look into strengthening the 8.8. There is a lot of potential in this axle, but it depends on what you're doing with the truck. You can replace the diff cover with a stronger one, and they have kits that convert it from a semi-floating axle into a full-floating axle. If you decide to do this, you will need new wheels and tires as well, However don't think you can haul as much as an F-250. You might have strong axles but there are a lot of differences between an F-250 and F-150.


Primary rig is Green Thunder:
95' F-150 XLT 4x4, 302, 5 spd, MSD 6A, Flowmaster Exhaust, Sunroof, Clear corners w/ Diamond headlights, CD player with 2 10" subs and some 32" BFG Muds .

Check out my Gallery for a look-see.


Justin - One Happy FTE Member

 

yea i would go with 8 lugs front and back, new wheels and tires, different springs front and rear, the works


chris

 

Since you want the 8 lug pattern, the 10.25 will go in with little effort. The spring pads on the light duty F250 were the same as the 150, as well as the ujoint. Now the F250hd may be slightly different on the pads, as stated already, but you MAY have to run a conversion ujoint because the F250hd use a different series joint(stronger), or get a custom driveshaft made.

If you got a welder and torches, anything is possible. I know I had a blast doing the conversion and I am still planning more!

 

roadrash, or anyone else... how about a ball park figure on materials here..... lets see..... front clip from f250, front spring hangers and springs, dana 50 ttb with 4.10s, brackets to mount that axle to the crossmember, anything else i would need for the front... and on the back a 10.25 inch with 4.10s, 1 ton springs, and front and rear driveshafts.

id imagine if one can find an f250 or 80-85 f350 in the junkyard or totalled with no damage to those parts they should be able to come away with a fairly reasonable price here....

chris

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 11-Dec-02 AT 08:51 AM (EST)]
Your best bet for easy of assembly, and to have all the actually parts you will require, would be to purchase a donor truck. All the parts needed for this conversion would have to come from Ford and I would not want to foot that bill!!

I purchased an 85 F250LD rolling chassis for $400 bucks, which included 302, C6, NP208, Dana60 rear, D44HD TTB front, with 3.55:1, everything one would need.

For the diffs assuming you couldn't get the right gears, R&P set, traction device, and labour, would run you $800 to 1000 bucks per diff.

If you are considering adding a lift, you will have to have new center
mount pivots anyway. Now with the different in crossmembers and lenghts of ttb, you would probably have to manufacture your own. There not hard to make, there only 2 flat plates with one across the top, channel shaped, 2 holes to mount the ttb and 4 to 5 holes for mount bolts.

To get 1 ton leafs, you can just add a leaf or 2 to the f250 packs for a couple hundred to do front and rear. Add long ones, as this will add weight capacity but not effect the ride as much as the short ones.

Having a donor truck would also give you the driveshafts, so that you could take 2 shafts and make 1 that would have the right ujoint at each end.

Another option would be to swap the F250 frame in place of the F150. I considered this but I could not put my truck down for that lenght of time.