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

[yostjy]

axle swap

were can you tell on the axle what modle it is and also what is a good axle to swap the front if you plan on going 4wheeling

 

[bmxking5]

Mine's not a Dana 44. It's a Ford 9".

You have to do some research about the truck you are getting the axle from to know what axles it has, etc.

 

[yostjy]

so what is a good modle if you want to go 4wheeling

 

[bmxking5]

There are so many different things to choose from. You have to know what the tire size you plan to run is, what kind of wheeling, not to mention the many other questions. Do some searching around to find out what set-up will work best for you.

 

[Creager]

What do you got planned to do about spring mounts and what not?

Are you extending the buckets to the original spring location on the D44 or are you going to move the spring seats to accomidate for the stock Explorer spring location?

 

[bmxking5]

Well since I don't have a 44 yet, I can not see it to be sure. There have been a couple of people who said/used spring buckets from a 70-73 2wd F100 will work, and there is one at my junk yard (I'll get them if I can ever manage to get the things off ). I heard that those will provide all of the spacing needed for full-width swap. Once I get some, I will find out if it is enough or if I need to have them spaced out more(or spring seats moved in).

 

[jasonb]

I forgot.. or didn't see it in the posts.. what gears you plan to run?

 

[bmxking5]

4.88s with 35s, then move to 37s. Caleb just told me last night that he'd sell me his 38s that measure 37", with 15x10 5 on 5.5 for a REALLY good deal. I will probably only run the 15x10s for a short time(if I buy his stuff) b/c I know that the full-widths will stick out enough as it is.

 

[Creager]

hrm so the front spring buckets off a 70 f100 will make the full with conversion that much easier huh? What about the shocks? does the shock tower mount to the spring bucket like our fords, or are you going to go with some kind of aftermarket stock tower?

what about the rear... you just use the stock leafs? maybe new leaf perches?

 

[bmxking5]

Considering I don't have a welder and can't weld anyways, the coil buckets will make it easier for me. The shock does mount in there the same as on a 1st gen, but I will buy F250 shock towers(~$15 each) so that I don't have that stupid mount where the shock can spin when trying to remove it.

I would like to go with a new leaf pack...but seeing as how even the OME's will cost me $289 per side plus bushings they will have to wait. I will probably leave the AAL(already in) in there right after the swap until I either get money for better leaf springs or remove the AALs and run a block.

I haven't measured the distance away from the perches, but they most likely are too far away from each other for mine. I was planning on having new ones put on anyways (longer ones to minimize axle wrap). I also have to move the rear shock mounts on the axle b/c they are located on the front of it. As you probably know, the shocks on ours mount on the rear of the axle on that plate. Even if I moved the upper rear shock mounts to keep the ones on the axle, the gas tank would be in the way. Plus, if I move the shock mounts on the axle, I'll be able to move them up more from where they are now to better protect them.

 

[Creager]

why cant you use the stock shock mount from the 8.8? wouldnt it just go ontop of the leaf pack?

 

[Ford_Racing_Guy]

Sweet Project Man....Can't wait to see your Sport with 35's

 

[bmxking5]

I'm not sure if I will yet. I guess I'll decide on that later.

 

[Creager]

id like to see what you do with it.

ive always liked the look of full width axles on sports like ours.

except i think i would do a full width 8.8 in the rear with disk brakes. mainly because i already put gears and a LSD in the 8.8 i got.

but i might just go the route of cutting down a d44 for upfront.

 

[bmxking5]

I just finished completely stripping the 9". Like everything I've read, it is definitely one of the simplest axles out there.

Creager-I didn't really have a reason to keep my 8.8. It has stock LS and 3.27s. :thumbdwn: If I had it built up somewhat, I would have gone with the cut d44 in front. Another thing is that I can get a set of 35 spline shafts and a new third member w/ gears and locker already in (from ebay) for a decent price. This is awesome because I know that even with the 37s I shouldn't have any worries about stock strength, but I still have the option to upgrade to some really heavy duty stuff.

A buddy of mine has an 86 Bronco on 38s with 6" susp. and 3" BL. He doesn't even want to go up anything steep b/c he's afraid he'd roll(probably would since the thing is so d*mn big). This was what made me make my final decision to go FW. I wanted to still be able to go up steep hills, etc. and not be TOO afraid of a rollover.

 

[Creager]

Yeah, a 35splined 3rd member would be the only reason i would go with a 9". I dont see much point keeping it 31 spline, because i mean the 8.8 is 31 spline: they are both 3/4 ton axles!

well, good luck man: show us some progress!

 

[bmxking5]

I will probably finish cleaning up everything this evening, and then reassemble it all tonight and tomorrow. I was going back to the junkyard to get those coil buckets off (I was there earlier today and drilled out a few rivets) and started to crank up my truck. It wouldn't crank. The battery is dead so it looks like I will be replacing it with an Optima Red Top(for the winch and many lights in the future). It will probably cost me about $110 @ Advance Auto, but I might as well upgrade now instead of spending more money later. Anyways, I will have to wait on buying anything else for this right now.

 

[bmxking5]

Here's some progress pics...more tomorrow after it's all cleaned up and painted.

 

[bmxking5]

I got all of the axle cleaned, painted, and will finish putting it together tomorrow. I used brake cleaner to clean it, and used a jack handle to push in the rag into the axle tube.

 

[bmxking5]

More pics: