BMXking's Axle Swap 1st gen. Coils/Radius Arms!!!

[Hotweels]

the 77 and older 1/2 ton's and bronco's all came with 1310 front yokes on there D44 as far as i know and so did most of the FSJ's in the 80's vintage so yokes aint hard to find if yer lookin around just measure the cap's.

i got my 1310 9" yoke off a 68 scooby doo van..... keep yer eyes open for vehicles from 68 an up for the 9" yoke they are hard to find used around here anyway

my rear driveshaft was like 3" too short after the 9" SOA+warriors and i just took out another 4" with my C5 swap..... i am amazed there is a longer slip available.... gunna have to look into that...

 

[bmxking5]

I updated the first post in this thread, so I have a fairly detailed list of the parts I plan to use. Many that need to be added and several that are being changed around.

The entire build-up is on hold until I find a Dana 44 for the front. My dad doesn't want me to spend money on the 9" until he has a front axle in front of him so that he knows I'll have the stuff for the swap. I agree with this, since the axle is coming from a truck/Bronco with such a limited number of years that it was available. I'm waiting on a few people to get back to me about a few different Dana 44 front ends...hopefully I'll get one for a decent price.

Once I get the front end, every penny I earn is going into the build-up so that I can reach my goal. The goal is to have the axles under the truck (and have the truck driving ) by the time I have to go back to school which is about August 16th. There are tons of reasons why I want/need to do this, I just don't feel like typing them all out. One of the major ones is that my dad got a new job, so I won't be able to borrow his truck while mine is getting the axles put under. I have several commitments that I will need to have my truck driving for, so if I don't have the truck driveable by the time school starts, the swap will probably be put off until spring break of 2006. So anyone who feels bad for me can send a check or money order to Bryan Mitchell.

Anyways, after I get the front end, I will be ordering all of the parts to rebuild the rear drums on the 9" (about $70) and then having new perches moved in, shock mounts relocated, and a few other things. Also, I'll start ordering the parts for the front end(coils, etc). Thanks for everyones help.

 

[bmxking5]

Well, thanks to "Coda", I have found out where I can get a complete full-width Dana 44 for about $125!!!! I will probably try to get one soon. The time when I get it all depends on if my money goes towards a MM e8000 winch that is being sold locally or the d44. Mmmmmmm...decisions, decisions. I'll probably get the dana 44 because I can get a MM 9000lb winch off ebay for about 150 more and it'll be BRAND NEW. So, I guess I'll call about the dana 44 next week.

 

[rookieshooter]

Best of luck in your project. Sounds like you got some serious work ahead of you. I'm going to follow this one.

 

[bmxking5]

Finally have some more progress (kind of). I just now purchased a complete third member off of ebay, that only had 3 weekend runs on it (at the drag strip). It was in a Mustang with a 460!!!!!

Specs:
-4.88 gears
-Mini spool
-31 spline

I only paid $150(the guy sold the car and had this left over), so it's definitely a good deal. Should have it here pretty soon hopefully, and then it will be going in and I'll order the parts for the brakes and have the leaf perches moved in and new shock mounts welded in/moved. I'll also still have enough money to purchase the Dana 44. After that...the 9" is done and ready to bolt in! (minus the parts for the driveshaft to go in)

 

[bmxking5]

Got the third member earlier today and started the install soon after. Just needs some paint now.

Oh yeah, and thanks to a VERY helpful thread on Pirate....I'm leaving the drums the way they are, no new shoes or anything. Cause I swapping on discs!

 

[93xltExplod]

i really enjoy watching the process of this. Keep up the good work.

 

[bmxking5]

Thanks Now that I finally have money again (had to buy a clutch, many other new parts, + labor = 600 and something bucks) I should be buying a front Dana 44 pretty soon and also since I have a couple of friends that work at Pep Boys, I can get some deals on things such as the Warn hubs, discs (front and rear), and all of that good stuff. Hopefully I'll have something better to post in here in the next 1-2 weeks.

 

[bmxking5]

I went to the local pull a part today to check and see if they had any d44's or possibly even d60's...and of course every Ford was 2wd except for a couple of 1st gen Explorers with TTB's. I haven't been to the other pull a part that is about 45 minutes away, but I plan on going there at the end of this week. They are supposed to have about 3 times the amount of first gen X's as the one I went to today, an 80 and 84 Bronco, and about about SEVERAL Ford pickups. (Example: Today's P-N-P had 1 78 F150...The other P-N-P has 6 77's, 5 78's, 5 79's, and a ton more of the other years) If they don't have any 5 on 5.5 d44's, I plan on looking for an 8 lug d44, or a d60. If I was able to get a d60, I'd buy it for their price (89 bucks) and sell it for more so I can put the money into the axle swap. If I was able to get an 8 lug d44, I'd convert the rear to 8 lug prolly, but my first choice is still the 5 on 5.5 d44.

Hopefully the next update will be me saying that there is a d44 at my house.

 

[full foot notch]

hey, there are a few yards down here in orlando with the axles you are looking for, and if you lookin for the 78-79 D60, good luck, aint a good one in the state, but yeah, many 4x4 F150 avail, if ya wanna make a road trip down here lemme know, i can show em to ya

 

[bmxking5]

Nah, I have already found some much closer than that, but they are wanting too much for them. The only reason I said d60 is because the people that sell these trucks to the pull a part don't know the difference between a Dana 70 and a TTB Dana 44 It's still unlikely either way, but it never hurts to dream

BTW, I'm going to that other pull a part on Thursday of this week so out of 17, there better be atleast one that is/was 4wd.

 

[bmxking5]

Ok, well this is not at all the type of update I wanted to be typing now. Out of over 40 Ford pickups (17 being 77-79), only 2 were 4wd. Of course, these two were 81 and 84, so they both had the d44 TTB! So anyways, I've checked two huge junkyards now and haven't even found a Ford pickup that was once straight axle. My next chance is to check the junkyards that another EF'er told me about, that are about 1.5 hours from me. Hopefully I can get one from there (~$125 for front axles) and if not, I'll have to resort to buying them from 4 hours away and spending about 400 bucks or more.

 

[bmxking5]

Well, still looking for a dana 44. I just found out though that there is a guy at my dad's old work with one. I'm going there on Monday to talk to him and make sure it's the correct axle and find out a price. It's sad how I've got this many "updates" saying how I *might* have found a d44, and most of the other SAS threads in CO, UT, CA, etc get their axles in no time, not to mention the fact that they pay next to nothing (Joe93 paid 150 for f/r fullwidth axle).

 

[nissanboy]

if you want to come to NC to pick it up i know a junk yard with a bunch of HP D44 from Bronco's and F150's and they sell for anywhere from 50-150$

 

[bmxking5]

Where in NC? If I don't get the one from the guy at my dad's old work, then I will let you know. Most places in NC though are a good 4-5 hour drive and that's what I'm trying to get out of having to do. Let me know where the yard is in NC and I'll mapquest it real quick. Thanks.

 

[bmxking5]

I know it's hard to believe, but.....I'm picking up my Dana 44 on Monday!!!! Long story short, GA's governor has cancelled school on Monday and Tuesday, b/c of the gas crisis (no buses obviously). I will be picking it up Monday morning and working/cleaning it pretty much all that day and the next day, unless of course I decide to go wheel for a few hours instead.

 

[TheFox88]

Shwwwweeeeet!

 

[bmxking5]

Indeed I installed a new diff gasket on the 9" last night, and tonight I'm gonna seal all of that stuff up. I will be grinding off the spring perches and shock mounts as well, tonight (my neighbors will really love me ) or tomorrow. I have a friend who can hook me up with ~50% off ALL Maxxis tires, so I will most likely be getting a set of 37" Creepy Crawlers. As I said before, I'm getting the D44 on Monday and then I will be ordering the 78-79 coil buckets, as well as a few other little things, on Monday or Tuesday. Now things will really start getting done and it should ALL be done before Thanksgiving.

 

[95offroadx]

50% of 37's, man you got a good friend there, hook me up! lol just kidding cant wait to see this thing finshed!

 

[bmxking5]

Ok, last night I got a ticket for doing 19 over as I was checking to see that everything was working good again after we just replaced the t-stat that caused lots of problems yesterday. This morning I wake up, call the junkyard where I was getting the front axle and hear, "oh, BTW, Brian checked on the axle for you and it's missing the right side radius arm and is missing everything inside except for one axle shaft".

So I was pissed about that :fire: But finally, just as I thought nothing was going my way, I found another junkyard that is an hour closer and they have the axle. So I'm leaving now to go pick it up.


EDIT: Scratch all of the stuff in this 2nd paragraph. The dumbass people working there said it was complete minus hubs and of course, it wasn't. It was missing everything but the gears. And they still wanted 250 for it. So anyways, I have found another one that is actually complete and they only want 200 for it. Picking it up tomorrow morning assuming that they aren't lying too.