Keep the TTB or go Solid on my 86 F150?

[audiodude332001]

Hey there everyone. I have been doing some looking for a lift for my 86 F150. I talked to the guy that bought my explorer back in november, and he has a 6" lift made by superlift that will fit my truck. This includes the coils, brackets, pitman arm, and extended radius arms. He wants $350 for the whole thing.

I also found a guy that has a 78 bronco with a solid dana 44 under it and a 4" lift for it. He said he had already sold the 4" lift coils, and shocks; but he would sell me the axle, radius arms, radius arm mounts, and traction bar for $100.

My question: If I were to buy the solid dana 44 from this guy, could I swap the entire carrier and gears from my dana 44 TTB thats on my truck right now, into the solid dana 44? I dont have the knowledge or money right now to regear. I just wanna keep the gears the same from front to rear. What do you all think? Also...this truck is going to be primarily for the trails, but I will drive it on the road occasionally......like maybe once or twice a week.

Also. I was talking to a friend of mine, and we were talking about welding up the front spider gears so I have posi up front. What do you think of this idea? I know it will eat the tires up if I drive in 4x4 on the street. But it will also help me offroad greatly.

Just looking for some input from everyone.

Thanks,
Andy

 

[DB_1]

Both sounds like pretty good deals but the SAS has a lot of little stuff thats gonna add up, mostly for axle parts if they are bad like ball joints, bearings, rotors..etc. If you have manual hubs I know you can use those on the solid axle and I think pretty much from the rotors out you can use but thats it.
I'd check out that solid 44 and see what kind of condition its in and find out what gears are in it. Even so, thats not a bad price on the axle alone but if you can get the coils, buckets, rad.arms and everything else, that would be a steal. Should be way easier to fit that on your rig too since you don't have to cut down the axle. Your biggest hurdle will be a track bar mount and then mounting the coil buckets and shock mounts.
As for the welded diff, i'd say go for it if it's primarliy a trail vehicle...lots of people do it and it works, otherwise throw in a lunchbox locker if you wanna stay lowbuck.

 

[Felix]

as long as the solid dana 44 is in good mechanical order then i would go that route. just make sure you get all the parts from the frame of the donor truck. spring buckets, shock mounts, track bar mount, track bar, radius arms, raidus arm mounts and the break line from the master cylider to the axle. if you can get all those parts and the axle is in good shape then you will have an awsome deal.

 

[410Fortune]

What do you want to use the truck for? Street driving/mild trails/trails only/mud??

 

[audiodude332001]

What do you want to use the truck for? Street driving/mild trails/trails only/mud??

I will rarely be driving it on the street. It will primarily be for trails and some occasional mud.

 

[Felix]

solid axle now or solid axle later. if you are really going to wheel it more than street it you will end up wanting a solid axle in the end.

 

[audiodude332001]

I just talked to the guy with the dana 44 and he said he would have it off the truck by tommorow so I can come pick it up...... Ain't this gonna be fun .

I'v done hours of reading about axle swaps, and whats involved, and I know I can do it. My only concern is gonna be the trac bar, cause I dont have a welder.

 

[410Fortune]

Felix, you know alot has to do with the TYPE of wheeling you do.
Solid axles are great, but TTB's are better for higher speed stuff and all around daily driver, that is a TTB like mine I mean...... hahaha

I agree, mostly hard core wheeling = solid axle.

 

[Felix]

Yea you are right Fortune, but remember Ford had it under its most powerfully equiped Bronco and they are still on the road. They also had in my mind better road manners than my 93 F-150 4x4 (ttb).

Make sure you get a look or pictures of how that axles track bar mounted to the frame and get all the frame mounting hardware. Trust me it will make it much easier. I have been resurching this as I will be doing it to my 93 F-150 when I find a doner truck to pull parts from. It is as close to a bolt on swap as you can get for this.

 

[audiodude332001]

Well, I picked up the dana 44 this morning. The guy gave me everything that I need. He gave me the axle, radius arms, radius arm brackets, trac bar, trac bar mount, steering linkage, coils, and warn premium hubs; all for $100. Here's some pics of it:

 

[Felix]

did you get the spring towers that mount to the frame also?

 

[audiodude332001]

did you get the spring towers that mount to the frame also?

I dont see why I really need them. Im pretty sure I can make mine work with the older style coils. Why would I need them? Are the coils a bigger diameter than my 86 coils?

 

[Mbrooks420]

For a trails only truck, I'd shoot for the SAS. I don't think I'd weld the spiders, unless it was just a mud truck. Then you'd have a lincoln locked front end not a posi, which is just a filthy cheby copywrite. . Did you have an aftermarket limited slip in the front of your Explorer? If not thats why you had problems with it, because it wasn't there. All Explorers are open diffs in the front, stock.

 

[Felix]

I think the upper coil mounts are different from the Solid axle trucks to the TTB trucks. I know for a fact the lower spring mounts are different from the TTB and the Solid axle trucks.

 

[audiodude332001]

I think the upper coil mounts are different from the Solid axle trucks to the TTB trucks. I know for a fact the lower spring mounts are different from the TTB and the Solid axle trucks.

I know the lower spring mounts are different, and thats why I got the coils with the solid axle. I think I can make the upper coil bucket work though.

 

[audiodude332001]

Well, over the last 2 days I have started on putting in the solid axle. Yesterday I removed all the brackets that were riveted on and everything else that needed to come off. Today I mounted the radius arm mounts and everything and stuck the axle underneith the truck. All I have left to do is the brakes, U-joint, steering, shocks, trac bar, and bushing. I thought the drag link from the 78 bronco would work but It wont. Its the right length, but the drag link end that is at the pitman arm is too big and will not fit through my pitman arm, so I will need to either drill that out, or just get a new end or stick a heim joint on there or something. The biggest part of the project is done though, so that Is good cause im sick of working out in my driveway in 10-15 degree weather trying to get this thing together.