I have found a new junkyard with really good prices and a few 80-86 trucks and Broncos in it so I'm thinking about doing the SAS in my 84 but have a few questions.
1) which front axle is the best to use and which trucks/broncos have it? How can I tell what axle each truck has?
2) how do I order a lift kit for the truck after it has two different year axles in it?
3) should I wait to find a 1 ton front axle or is something like a dana 44 strong enough?
4) do the straight front axles match width's with my 9 inch rear?

I'm not going to have more than a 38" tire on the truck and I doubt I'll ever go rock crawling but I want to be able to run a locker up front and don't want to be limited by a weak IFS axle. The truck will be mostly for hunting and playing in the mud (I will climb a hill or ford a river if given a chance though) Thanks for your help on deciding which way to go, hopefully the weather will change and I can get back to work on her soon.

 

I'm guessing you have either an '84 F150 or Bronco....

1. best axle for you to use is a 78-79 dana 44 from a 1978-79 F150 or bronco.

2. Order a lift kit for a 78-79 F150 or bronco.

3.Unless you want to do some custom fab work to either convert your half ton to a leafsprung front or convert a dana 60 to a coil spring setup, the coil sprung dana 44 will be an easy swap and will be plenty strong.

4. yes the solid 44 will match your 9 inch's width.

 

Yeah it's and 84 F150 flareside. Thanks for the info.

 

no problemo.

 

Is the 79-down dana 44 straight axle that much stronger than a Dana 44 TTB? I will have to concede on possibly better tire wear on the straight axle, but I am wondering if it's worth it in the strength department.

The proper IFS is so easy to just bolt in. The 79-down will not bolt in without fabbing or a kit some places sell. I haven't researched what is involved in the kit or how much it costs.

 

I really don't know. I was told that if I wanted to run bigger than 35" tires or have a locker in the front end that I need to go with the straight axle because the IFS wouldn't hold up to the strain. I'm not going to get crazy but I'll end up with 350-400 horses, a locker at both ends, and 37 or 38" tires but I don't want to be stuck in the woods with a busted axle.

 

I have a dana 44ttb ifs in front of my 89. It has the diesel engine, 4.10's with a 4 inch lift and 35's, and I plow snow with it. It hasn't broken yet.

 

I know that a TTB Dana 44 will withstand anything with 31x10.50's from experience, lol, but that's not saying much. Mine is just spinning in mud, Franklin has a much better example. If you are going to do it, go all out on a Dana 60.

 

Yes, but he has a f150.

 

so he needs to decide, either put leafs under the front of his truck, or coil spring a dana 60.

 

??? He has a f150. The frame is different on the front compared to a f250, and he will have 16 inch 8 lug wheels on the front and 15 inch 5 lug rims in the rear.

 

Oh, well, if he already has an F150 with a D44 TTB, then I see NO point in going to a D44 SAS. It's not going to be anything over 5% stronger in the most extreme conditions.

You will end up with needing less front end alignments, though, lol. But TTB handles great on-road, and I think it does better off road.. just my opinion on the handling on and off road.

 

A solid axle is a real cheap lift compared to a TTB, as there are no center pivot points and camber issues to deal with.

I suggest that the OP goes looking in the offroad forum for a guy called 75F350, and look for his thread on how he swapped leaf springs and a dana 60 under the front of his bronco. As for the different wheels thing, he could very easily put a 10.25 out back and do 'er right with full one tons.