Tanx ... I am the third owner of "Phredde" ...

Yes that is spelled right ... Its name is "Phredde da Phorre By Phordde" ...

now im confused again. im going to put up a pic of my rear end to id it. also my truck is an 82 3/4 ton and has a solid front axle d44

Post to # dummy,
You have to forgive me, my knowelege of Ford trucks stops at 1986.
Yes, the 8.0 is a typo, I forgot to draw the little line thru the middle of the 0!
You could be correct about the LD using 8.8's instead of the Sterlings but, what you are saying is that Sterling did not make a semi-float for the LD F250trucks, right? (we are only talking 1/2 year, 80-86)
I have seen very few 8 lug 8.8's in these trucks (I only deal with the 8 lug models).
The first one I ever encountered was a 85, this was in 88 and it had blown spider gears. I replaced the rear axle with a dana 61 w/ 3:73 gears. (2 wd.)
In the mid 80's I bought an 82 F350 and began my Ford truck education.
I have had at least 75 Ford trucks since then. I have performed "frame off" restorations. Assembled and disected quite a few of these trucks. Sold a lot of parts. I have at least 4 rust free 8' beds in stock. I have one room in my house with lots of fenders, doors, interior and dash parts. I have a 3 car garage, 4 vans and a "Cover it" garage loaded with Ford truck parts. Also I have 20-25 Ford trucks out back for parts along with a stack of frames.
I also have several very nice Ford trucks.
My hobby is 82-86 SRW HD Ford trucks (you couldn't tell could you?)
At this time I have 2 early 85 F250's, both with the factory Dana 70 rears.
Both of these trucks are regular cab, 460 motored 4wd. trucks. I also have several F350's, also with the same D70 rear. Ironically, both of these D70 equipped F250's, only came with the D44 fronts. They do however, have the 9/16 lug nut studs. (HD)
If you truck is a king cab or a crew cab (4 door), an F350, or it was ordered with the snow fighter package, it came with the D50 (80-85.5).
Steve G.

There is no telling what you have if someone has already swapped in the solid axle in the front.

Apart from lower carrying capacity, is the semi-floating Dana 60 still a strong axle?

I couldn't help but notice your signature, "I dig dirt". Back in the early 70's when I first started out in the earthmoving business, that was also my "slogan" in my advertisement. It's hard to believe that few people actually got it. They thought I actually liked dirt!
Anyway, I get it and I know what you're saying.
Just my 2 cts.
Bob
Oops, sorry, wrong page

ok, here is my rear end. im pretty sure its a dana 60 but id like to be sure. so, an 82 f250 would have ifs stock?

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d9...k/P1010442.jpg

Yep, that sure looks like a D60 rear, the casting overlaps the cover by a good bit on a D70.

As for the front, yes, an 82 F250 would have had leaf sprung TTB(IFS) stock.

Anyone?

What are it's limitations/weak points?

It is semi floating, this should say enough.

If Ford didn't use Dana 70s in the 1980 and later trucks, then what rear end do I have in my 84 F250 HD? The axle tubes, the housing, shafts, carrier... everything is way heavier than a Dana 60. It has 35 spline shafts in it as well, where the Dana 60s had 30 spline shafts.

Looks just like my '86 ... But I thought the Sterling was the only 10 bolt cover ? ...

I was wondering the same thing. After seeing this picture I would and double checked mine. I thought I had the Sterling. But mine looks identical to this. Any tips to help me tell which one it is?

Mine's a 1985, and it's either a super-frankenstein truck, or it's just an oddball. It's a 351HO, C6 4x4, with a TTB D44 up front, and a 10.25 FF rear. Wouldn't mind doing a solid axle swap on the front, but man, 60's aren't cheap. If I get time, I'll see if I can snap some pics of the rears.

so im almost 100% that my rear is a dana 60. if it has a fill plug and 10 bolts holding the cover its a 60. if it has a rounded cover with no plug and 12 bolt on the cover its a sterling, and i dont think an 85 with a sterling is odd sence according to the info in this thread thats when ford switched to the 10.25