I am the proud owner of a 1988 155" F250 w/460 EFI. I'm trying to get the scoop on my axles. The rear axle tag says V130C and 1010 27H28, the dealer says this is a 4.10 whereas the door label says 39 which equates to a 3.55. I suspect an axle change. Is this a full floater or solid or?

The front axle is a D50IFS (Dana 50?). Are these axles a good match? All available info on these axles is greatly appreciated. Thanks!



Mr. Presdient!?! We cannot allow a mineshaft gap!

 

If you have a big hub sticking out of the rear wheel area it is full float. no hub, semi float. The D50 is a decent front end. Better than a D44HD but not as a good as a D60, although it doeas have D60 outers. A d60 from any 1992 - 1996 F350 will bolt right in though if ultimate axle strength is your end goal. I think I read that the Sterling 10.25 you have out back will support up to 44's no prob.

 

Yup, big hubs. So is your belief that the rear axle may be too much for the front one? Also, IFS? (Indepenent front steering?).





Rammmmming speeeeeeeeeed!

 

IFS = Independent Front Suspension. The front axle is not a solid, one piece housing like the rear. It has the "bend in the middle" feature Ford used for many, many years on it's light trucks.
I'm not sure what you mean by the rear axle being too much for the front. The Dana 50 is a pretty strong unit, and unless you are planning on doing something quite extreme with your truck, it should be just fine. If you are planning on turning the truck into an extreme off-roader/rock crawler, then a solid axle conversion is recommended by many here. The first thing I would do is verify that the gear ratio's are the same front and rear before ever trying to shift into 4X4. If they're not the same some very bad, and very expensive things will happen.

 

Nah, no need to be a ultra-4wheeler, I'll stick with little mud puddles. What's the way to compare gear ratios? Also, I think my truck has a lift on it, what's the easy way to tell this and how do you measure the lift installed? Thanks.



Once clueless, then a dope, soon to be dangerous at the opposite end of the spectrum.

 

If the truck has a lift, whether it be add a leaf leveling kit, or full blown lift kit, the front springs will look different. They should look flat or have a slight negative arch to them, and there are only 2. IF you have 3 leafs, or they are postively arched you have a lift. And the Dana 50 is a very good match for the 10.25 rear axle you have. I think it will support 35" tires no sweat.

 

Here's how to get axle ratio's (not perfect but purty close). Jack up one side of the truck. Does'nt matter which side, as long as the other sides tires are on the ground. I prefer the left side, it's easier to see the front driveshaft. Mark the driveshaft where you can see it. Turn the tire 1 revolution and count how many times the drive shaft spins around. If it turn 3 1/2 times you'll probably have 3.55's, 4 times = 4.10's etc.,etc.

I reccommend you do this for sake of your drivetrain. For 4x4 to work properly (and not break) the front and rear axle ratios must be within 1% of each other. If not your drivetrain will bind where gears try to turn at different speeds when they aren't supposed to and go KABLOOEEE. And the repairs for that kind of damage is not cheap from what i hear. Hope this helps you.

 

Thanks. I have 2 leafs in front and 5 in rear. Is 5 standard or is it an assist?

 

One is a helper spring for when you put a very heavy load in the rear.

jrs_big_ford_f150, just to add, you have to have both tires off the ground. If you only spin one, the drive shaft will spin twice as many times due to the diff.

 

Your rear axle sounds like it's a Sterling 10.25 full floater. This means the hub rides on a spindle which is attached to the axle housing itself. As such, the axleshaft is responsible only for turning the wheels, and does not have to support the weight of the truck. The weight of the truck goes straight to the axle housing.

Your rear axleshafts are 1.5" diameter (on paper), 35 splines. They're different lengths left to right so be careful if ever buying replacement shafts (but if you break one of those I'd be impressed). The ring gear is 10.25" diameter. This was a Ford corporate axle, meaning it was built by Ford rather than farmed out to someplace like Dana/Spicer.

GAWR for the 10.25 is 5500lbs, give or take a couple hundred.

Your front axle is a Dana 50 TTB. TTB=Twin Traction Beam=Ford's Independent Front Suspension (IFS). Ring gear diameter is 9" IIRC. Not sure on shaft diameter, but the inner and outer shafts should all be 30 spline. Front calipers are dual piston.

It's a fine frontend for weight carrying capacity, just pathetic for wheel travel and alignment (altho the leaf sprung D50's hold their alignment much better than the coil sprung D44 TTBs).

All in all you have a solid truck there.