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1980 - 1986 Bullnose F100, F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks Discuss the Early Eighties Bullnose Ford Truck

Help with axle selection!

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Old Mar 5, 2010 | 12:45 PM
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Help with axle selection!

So I've got to replace the front axle in my '82 f150 4x4, and for obvious reasons my '85 2wd donor's won't fit So the truck will probably never see anything worse than a dirt road, and will need to handle 33's.......maybe 35's. what would be a cost effective and decent choice to go with?
 
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Old Mar 5, 2010 | 07:03 PM
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Repair the axle you have or replace it with another like it. Anything else is not going to fit without a kit or fab work.
 
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Old Mar 6, 2010 | 02:15 AM
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You mean brands of axles? Assuming it's a dana 44, I went to google shopping and found axle shafts for about 150 bucks and axle kits for 550 bucks, which includes both axles, and u-joints. hope that helps, if not let me know and I can do more research
 
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Old Mar 6, 2010 | 07:11 PM
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yeah, i suppose I should've been a bit more specific. i need the whole assembly, from rotor to rotor unfortunatly. Mine's rusted beyond belief and I don't think there's any saving it
 
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Old Mar 6, 2010 | 08:43 PM
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Here's some places in Arizona that have your front axle. I picked a 3.50 ratio, but they also offered a 3.00 ratio. If you want to look yourself, go to Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market

1981
Front Axle Assy.
Ford Bronco 3.50 161,425 A A211 $350 Motor Pro USA-AZ(Gilbert) Request_Quote 1-480-889-7700 Request_Insurance_Quote
1982
Front Axle Assy.
Ford Bronco Assm,-knu,spns 90 days,STOCK NO. 000437032 34,000 000437032 $280 Auto Part Locators USA-AZ(Tucson) E-mail 1-800-221-2749
1981
Front Axle Assy.
Ford Bronco 3.50 COMPLETE NOF $250 Auto Recycling Mall USA-AZ(Maricopa) Request_Quote 1-888-254-6766 Request_Insurance_Quote
1981
Front Axle Assy.
Ford Bronco B10056 $Call M and R Auto USA-AZ(Hereford) E-mail 1-800-362-0810
1982
Front Axle Assy.
Ford Bronco B10272 $Call M and R Auto USA-AZ(Hereford) E-mail 1-800-362-0810
1982
Front Axle Assy.
Ford Bronco Full Size Y,CHECK RATIO 08-062 $Call Apache Auto Wrecking USA-AZ(Apache-Junction) Request_Quote 480-982-3600 / 1-800-297-9494 Request_Insurance_Quote
1982
Front Axle Assy.
Ford Bronco Full Size *- 09-231 $Call Apache Auto Wrecking USA-AZ(Apache-Junction) Request_Quote 480-982-3600 / 1-800-297-9494 Request_Insurance_Quote
 
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Old Apr 22, 2010 | 10:35 PM
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so, to ask another question....is the axle assembly from my '82 a solid axle, ttb, something else? I really don't know what makes up a ttb, so I'm just not sure. there's a guy selling a complete ttb d44 from a bronco in my area, so I figure I'd check it out if its the right deal
 
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Old Apr 23, 2010 | 09:31 AM
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Originally Posted by xjpilot
so, to ask another question....is the axle assembly from my '82 a solid axle, ttb, something else? I really don't know what makes up a ttb, so I'm just not sure. there's a guy selling a complete ttb d44 from a bronco in my area, so I figure I'd check it out if its the right deal
The dana 44 ttb is what you have, and the only thing that will bolt in. Run over and get the Bronco frontend, it will fit IF it has the same ratio in the gears. If it doesn't, you could swap your gears in it if they are good.
 
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Old Apr 23, 2010 | 10:53 AM
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ok, so I just talked to the guy, and he said its out of a '95 he thinks, but he's not sure of the gearing. Not a big deal, since I was going to regear anyways I guess.
 
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Old Apr 23, 2010 | 11:25 AM
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Not much difference between 1980 bronco/F150 frontend, and 1995 bronco/F150, other than the gearing, and maybe the hubs. Both used the D44 TTB.
 
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Old Apr 23, 2010 | 11:38 AM
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would different hubs be much cause for concern, or is it nothing to worry about. Also, what should I be expecting to pay for a complete rotor to rotor set up?
 
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Old Apr 23, 2010 | 11:58 AM
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The only real item to check on the hubs, is if they are auto hubs. The later style auto hubs require a conversion kit when going to manual locking hubs.
The TTB isn't a highly sought after item, so the prices aren't ridiculously high. Most serious offroaders swap the TTB out in favor a straight axle, so there's plenty of them available.
If you plan to do much serious offroad stuff, or run big tires (requiring a lift over ~2-3"), you might be better off by finding a solid front axle from the start. The TTb is more of a casual use front axle that doesn't handle heavy abuse or huge tires very well.
 
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Old Apr 23, 2010 | 01:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Rogue_Wulff
The only real item to check on the hubs, is if they are auto hubs. The later style auto hubs require a conversion kit when going to manual locking hubs.
The TTB isn't a highly sought after item, so the prices aren't ridiculously high. Most serious offroaders swap the TTB out in favor a straight axle, so there's plenty of them available.
If you plan to do much serious offroad stuff, or run big tires (requiring a lift over ~2-3"), you might be better off by finding a solid front axle from the start. The TTb is more of a casual use front axle that doesn't handle heavy abuse or huge tires very well.
A solid axle will not swap in his truck. He has a f150. The only axle he could "adapt" in place would be a 70's dana 44 straight axle, and all that would get him is possibly a little better tire wear, and a lot of headache and expense trying to get it to fit.
 
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Old Apr 23, 2010 | 03:19 PM
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so the truck will get a max of 4'' lift, and probably 33's. and it won't see much off road, just dirt roads. I was reading somewhere last night that the ttb seems to get the blame for bad tire wear and handling characteristics, when it really is usually caused by something else in the suspension/steering. So hopefully I can make a ttb work and handle correctly for what I need then.
 
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Old Apr 23, 2010 | 04:40 PM
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A 44 will handle light off road use and 33's with no problems
 
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Old Apr 23, 2010 | 11:30 PM
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Originally Posted by bashby
A 44 will handle light off road use and 33's with no problems
Agreed. I was simply pointing out the fact that it won't handle lots of offroad abuse with 35-40"+ tires.
If you read the offroad & 4x4 section of this forum, the TTB and BFG A/T's are constantly belittled by the guys who are in serious offroad stuff......
 
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