Project "Twisted Sister" SAS Front Dana 44, Rear Ford 9"

dersch6221992 · June 18, 2015

Running Parts/ Price List (will be updated as i buy stuff)

Dana 44 + Ford 9"- $375
Dana 44 Parts
--Front axle bearing and seal kit x2- $96 http://shop.broncograveyard.com/Dana-44-Timken-Wheel-Bearings-Races-Seals/productinfo/22153/
--Carrier- $95 http://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-16298270-dana-44-carrier-3-92-up-30-spline.html
--Ring and pinion 5.13 ration- $136 http://completeoffroad.com/i-650956...dana-44-reverse-rotation-in-a-5-13-ratio.html
--Locker- $295 http://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-5048741-dana-44-locker-spartan-locker-30spl.html
--Master install kit- $160 http://completeoffroad.com/i-760538...l-kit-dana-44-reverse-front-differential.html
--Lockout hub kit- $103 http://www.4wheelparts.com/Drivetra...s.aspx?t_c=12&t_s=237&t_pt=6075&t_pn=WAR20990
--Axle/ Joint kits- $498 http://shop.broncograveyard.com/D44...Axle-Set-Lifetime-Warranty/productinfo/22034/
--Ball joints x4- $110 http://shop.broncograveyard.com/D44-Dana-Spicer-Ball-joints-pair/productinfo/22185/Diff. cover- $160 http://purplecranium.com/i-63081-dana-44-full-spider-differential-rock-guard.html
Ford 8.8” Parts
--Locker/ carrier $300 http://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-15168821-ford-8-8-trak-loc-31-spline-new.html
--Ring and pinion kit- $138 http://completeoffroad.com/i-760527...on-gear-set-for-ford-8-8-in-a-5-13-ratio.html
--Master install kit- $163 http://completeoffroad.com/i-760408...ul-kit-for-09-down-ford-8-8-differential.html
--Axle Chromely upgrade kit $550 http://completeoffroad.com/i-760353...explorer-4340-chrome-moly-ya-wf88-31-kit.html
6.5" EB lift Coil Springs- $160 http://www.bcbroncos.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=75_76_79&products_id=307
15" Long travel Rancho Shocks x4- $200 http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ran-rs5012
4x Chromoly 7/8" Heim Joint Kit- $150 http://www.barnes4wd.com/Heat-Treated-Chromoly-78-Heim-Joint-Kit-15-ID-Tube_p_322.html#
Bushing/ C-wedges 7*- $51 http://shop.broncograveyard.com/C-Bushing-Kit-7-Degree-Black/productinfo/23010/
Rims 15x10 5x5.5 4" back spacing- $60 shipped x 4= $240 EBAY
Cooper Discover STT Tires 37x13.5x17- $185 x 4= $740 http://simpletire.com/cooper-discoverer-stt-tires
DIY Weld on beadlocks- $260 https://totalmetalinnovations.com/i...oads=0&zenid=e3c233c4022f0ad35ac6bff3a0a8b89f
Parts= $3000
Rims/ Tires/ Beadlocks = $1200

DOM tubing 2"OD x .25" 1.5"ID
Steel plate for frame/ brackets-
Bolts/ Nuts to connects everything-

dersch6221992 · June 24, 2015

Can an admin please move my thread to the "Offroad Explorer- Ranger Projects" section.... i realize that i am not getting any replies and its cause i put this in the wrong section. THANKS!!

Rick · June 24, 2015

dersch6221992 said:
1. extended radius arms vs. wristed. i dont quite understand wristed arms.
2. do i have to make a new transmission crossmember? i plan to mount the radius arms end heim joint to the bottom of frame and box it in.
3. should i just buy extended radius arms or should i make my own?

I haven't personally seen anyone run wristed arms.

I have seen folks use a custom crossmember to mount the radius arms off of.

That's up to your skills... It should be less expensive to build your own, but it's so much easier and quicker to buy them built

Sounds like a great project. Best of luck :chug:

dersch6221992 · June 26, 2015

Rick said:
I haven't personally seen anyone run wristed arms.

I have seen folks use a custom crossmember to mount the radius arms off of.

That's up to your skills... It should be less expensive to build your own, but it's so much easier and quicker to buy them built

Sounds like a great project. Best of luck

Good to know about the wristed arms... i still havent got the axle and stuff from the guy yet so depending on the condition i will probably just cut and extend the stock radius arms. im pretty good at metal work and welding. shouldnt be too hard to do.

i am excited to get the project started... wish i had more free time though

jmdirk · June 29, 2015

I don't see a trackbar in your list. Planning on using the stock one? Or making it from the DOM?

I ended up using this one on my 1st Gen:
http://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/slf-1080/overview/

Also ended up making the frame side trackbar bracket from scratch.

It was a lot more work than I anticipated. You also will have consider that the D44 is a lot 'deeper' than the D35. If you keep the axle in the stock location, or don't move it forward enough you may have to shorten your front driveshaft

Also don't forget about brakes!

MidnightRebel07 · June 29, 2015

With leafsprings up front you don't need a track bar. I would connect the sway bar though. Check out STrunner's build thread for the part numbers for the longer endlinks. Glad to see you're taking the plunge and starting the SAS. Welcome to the club.

FROADER · June 29, 2015

I had a wristed arm on mine. It worked great. The bronco/f150 radius arms are the same length as extended ranger/explorer arms. I had a Skyjacker 6" lift crossmember under my rig.

dersch6221992 · June 30, 2015

jmdirk said:
I don't see a trackbar in your list. Planning on using the stock one? Or making it from the DOM?

I ended up using this one on my 1st Gen:
http://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/slf-1080/overview/

Also ended up making the frame side trackbar bracket from scratch.

It was a lot more work than I anticipated. You also will have consider that the D44 is a lot 'deeper' than the D35. If you keep the axle in the stock location, or don't move it forward enough you may have to shorten your front driveshaft

Also don't forget about brakes!

YUP plan to make the trac bar out of the DOM tubing and use the adjustable frame/ axle mount to get it right and get it in line with the panhard bar for the steering. hmm good to know about moving the axle forward i did not know that! guess ill have to mock it up with the front shaft in thanks!

speaking of brakes! which i didnt forget lol (planned to buy new rotors, calipers, pads). for the dana 44 and the ford 9" is this a direct fit? or how exactly do i go about hooking the 44/ 9" to work with the mounty? i figured thats something i could figure out later but any info on this?

dersch6221992 · June 30, 2015

MidnightRebel07 said:
With leafsprings up front you don't need a track bar. I would connect the sway bar though. Check out STrunner's build thread for the part numbers for the longer endlinks. Glad to see you're taking the plunge and starting the SAS. Welcome to the club.

i honestly really thought about going leaf springs and i was pretty set on it... and then i realized if im getting all the radius arms, brackets, etc. etc. with the axles i mind as well use them. and since my donor axle has the welded/ cast on wedges i am not able to do the 3 link custom suspension which makes me a smidge sad but thats okay. i think im really going to like the radius arm set up :thumbsup:

also really admire your truck FYI i really wish i had the sport trac. i may cut my rear and make it into a "sport trac" eventually but not for a while.

dersch6221992 · June 30, 2015

FROADER said:
I had a wristed arm on mine. It worked great. The bronco/f150 radius arms are the same length as extended ranger/explorer arms. I had a Skyjacker 6" lift crossmember under my rig.

being im a noob and want to learn will you explain how these wristed arms work? ive read and read on the,, but still unclear....

so you are saying since i have the 1978 f150 radius arms i shouldnt need to extend them really? and i dont plan to use the strock radius arm bushings i will be cutting those off and wedding DOM onto it/ HEIM joints and then using reinforced brackets to mount to the frame and HOPEFULLY not have to cut or make a new tranny cross memeber

MidnightRebel07 · June 30, 2015

My bad, I read the parts list and saw you had high steer components listed, that's really only an added expense you need for leafspring setup to clear the springs. The main thing that makes a leafspring setup more expensive is the high steer knuckles and arms. Plus I was tired as all hell last night when reading it so. Lol. Can't wait to see the progress pictures once you start. Depending on the tire size you'll definitely want to move the front axle forward a couple inches to clear the body for steering and when the suspension is pushed up. Also to set the driveshafts into position and or to more for new ones you want to measure with the axles fully extended then fully collapsed. This way you don't get binding as well as a driveshaft falling out of the yokes if you stay stock.

dersch6221992 · June 30, 2015

MidnightRebel07 said:
My bad, I read the parts list and saw you had high steer components listed, that's really only an added expense you need for leafspring setup to clear the springs. The main thing that makes a leafspring setup more expensive is the high steer knuckles and arms. Plus I was tired as all hell last night when reading it so. Lol. Can't wait to see the progress pictures once you start. Depending on the tire size you'll definitely want to move the front axle forward a couple inches to clear the body for steering and when the suspension is pushed up. Also to set the driveshafts into position and or to more for new ones you want to measure with the axles fully extended then fully collapsed. This way you don't get binding as well as a driveshaft falling out of the yokes if you stay stock.

so you think i would be "wasting" my money on high steering arms being that i am going coils/ radius arms??

im planning on running 37" tires

can you explain how that hole measuring the driveshaft thing works so it doesnt fall out/ bind??

and i cant wait to start this myself... hoping to have axles soon here then it will be real. doing BW4406 swap in August then hopefully start cutting everything up in the fall!

dersch6221992 · July 6, 2015

Hey guys...

Been thinking a lot about the driveshafts/ brakes.

i plan to slide the front axle a few inches forward... what are you guys doing with your drive shafts? custom made ones?

and for brakes i have stock 78 F150 4x4 calipers up front will these be direct "plug/play" for my current brake lines?
in the rear is stock 78 F150 4x4 drums... i consider converting these to calipers/ rotors. any thoughts? or should i just keep the drums?

jmdirk · July 6, 2015

For the front drive shaft, you could get away will just cutting and welding it yourself. since you're not really doing high speed stuff in 4WD (or at least I'm not) you don't have to worry about the balance much.

For the front brakes I opted for the full size car calipers (79 T-bird) which have a much larger piston than the stock ones, but that prompted swapping out the booster and master cylinder as well to late 90's super Duty stuff. Pads and mounting are a direct bolt in though. The T-bird calipers do need a bit of an oddball banjo bolt though

Details here:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=424744

Can't help you on the 9" stuff

DB_1 · July 6, 2015

A wristed radius arm is used to relieve the natural binding that occurs in the stock radius arm setup. You only wrist one side, generally the passenger side unless you have a death wish...meaning if you wrist both arms, the WHOLE axle will rotate.

The wristed arm is just a modified stock arm that hinges to relieve the binding when off roading. It is usually set up to be pinned or locked for street driving much like you would do with sway bars.

Another option to relieve binding is extending the radius arms...a short arm binds quicker than a longer arm.

On your steering linkage, just do a tie rod flip. You will have to get a reamer with the correct taper to match the TRE's.

To get your driveshaft(s) right, take note of your driveshaft length at ride height then at full droop and lastly at full stuff. You'll probably have to take the springs out to get the full stuff measurement.

If you don't extend the driveshaft yourself or have a shop do it you may be able to order a longer female end of the slip shaft from either a local or online driveline shop.

dersch6221992 · July 6, 2015

jmdirk said:
For the front drive shaft, you could get away will just cutting and welding it yourself. since you're not really doing high speed stuff in 4WD (or at least I'm not) you don't have to worry about the balance much.

For the front brakes I opted for the full size car calipers (79 T-bird) which have a much larger piston than the stock ones, but that prompted swapping out the booster and master cylinder as well to late 90's super Duty stuff. Pads and mounting are a direct bolt in though. The T-bird calipers do need a bit of an oddball banjo bolt though

Details here:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=424744

Can't help you on the 9" stuff

i am not too worried about the front brakes right now stock is good enough for me...

for the driveshaft i do plan to take this down the highway so maybe i will try to avoid welding it myself...

and rear thats okay hopefulyl someone else chimes in

dersch6221992 · July 6, 2015

DB_1 said:
A wristed radius arm is used to relieve the natural binding that occurs in the stock radius arm setup. You only wrist one side, generally the passenger side unless you have a death wish...meaning if you wrist both arms, the WHOLE axle will rotate.

The wristed arm is just a modified stock arm that hinges to relieve the binding when off roading. It is usually set up to be pinned or locked for street driving much like you would do with sway bars.

Another option to relieve binding is extending the radius arms...a short arm binds quicker than a longer arm.

On your steering linkage, just do a tie rod flip. You will have to get a reamer with the correct taper to match the TRE's.

To get your driveshaft(s) right, take note of your driveshaft length at ride height then at full droop and lastly at full stuff. You'll probably have to take the springs out to get the full stuff measurement.

If you don't extend the driveshaft yourself or have a shop do it you may be able to order a longer female end of the slip shaft from either a local or online driveline shop.

i was told i dont need to extended the radius arms because the arms are already longer than usually on a 78 f150? i extending them would not be too hard to do...

can you explain why i need to do a tie rod end flip?

and for the driveshaft... can i just connect the front to the axle and then set it up that way? basically using the front driveshaft attached to the front axle as a guide?

BKennedy · July 7, 2015

Do you have custom built radius arms? If not, the OEM are all the same length on early Bronco's, F-100 and F-150's. Here is a link for instructions for a well made wristed radius arm;
http://www.broncoii4x4.com/wristed-arm/wristed-arm.php

A tie-rod flip is simply mounting the tie rod to the top of the knuckle mount instead of the bottom as it was stock. It moves those important parts farther up out of harms way. Like this;

Drive shaft might work, but it might not. You need to mount the axle where it needs to be, not where the drive shaft length dictates. The axle needs to be a few inches forward to allow bigger tires to clear the firewall on compression. Two inches on my SAS was just right. It doesn't cost that much to have a drive shaft re-tubed, about $150 or so.

DB_1 · July 7, 2015

Brian pretty much nailed it. Some guys get a little carried away with the radius arm length. At some point there's diminishing returns and your radius arm brackets are put in a vulnerable spot for damage.

The tie rod flip moves not only the tie rod but the drag link up as well with less angle which is desirable to help combat bump steer.

Whichever method works for you to measure drive shaft slip...go for it. With the d shaft in or out you need to get the measurement from yoke center to yoke center or yoke center to the face of the flange...whatever the case may be.

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