noob d44 question

[mynameisaric]

i got a deal on some axles from a 1976 f250. axles look to be in pretty good shape for being almost twice my age.

300 bones for the front (i think low pinion d44) and rear (i think low pinion d60) rims, tires, and steering box. the axle has some weird hydraulic assist looking thing on it.

problem is, i dont know how good the axle is being low pinion. if its a d60 then i'm happy, but if its a lp d44... then i'm only satisfied(i'd rather be happy)

but that all leads me to my questions... which is:

can i take a center section from a hp d44 ttb and and press the tubes from the lp d44 into it and create a hp d44?

pictures to come, and maybe you guys can help tell me what the heck i'm buying:roll:

 

[mynameisaric]

heres the front view, cant tell much i know....

closer pic(camera phone pics... sry)

and a terrible picture of the hydraulic deal

 

[FROADER]

Are you sure it's a 75? That is a 78/79 grill.

This is a 75 grill:

Also, a low pinion isn't a bad thing to have either. DB_1 has a LP d44 from an early bronco and it works great!

 

[cgriffin_5139]

Thats a 79 the 78 headlights were round!

 

[mynameisaric]

forgot to mention... he swapped a 79 f350 body onto a 76 chasis

and i want the high pinion for a bit more strength because i want to run 37's... but i'm not real rough on the throttle, so with upgraded shafts and ctm's i'll probly be fine with the low pinion, i'd just prefer a high pinion, thats why i asked the question about swapping center sections.

 

[FROADER]

I don't know the answer to that, but if you come across a center section, it will probably have the tubes along with it.

 

[Mud Bug 94]

i think all TTB centers are aluminium.....just go with the lp's

 

[mynameisaric]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford...731QQitemZ280023908382QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

 

[IZwack]

Wow that looks like a vacuum disconnect on that front axle.
Anyways, the LP is not a big problem altho, as you said, an HP is muh better.. but I run an LP ehehe

 

[Mud Bug 94]

dont even bother....

 

[mynameisaric]

lol ok. thanks guys. i feel much better about the lp.

so chromos and ctm's will hold up 37's pretty good right?

are hub fuses worth the effort? the idea behind them sounds pretty good.

and the locker i'm thinking about gettin in the front is an OX, and a detroit for the rear. do you guys have any opinions on these? from what i have researched, the detroit is bullet proof, and the ox used to be a pain in the but and the cable had to be fiddled with all the time, but they have since been redesigned and are good as gold now, and their technical support is suppost to be top notch.

i wasted almost 3k on all the IFS crap in my truck, (lockers, gears, rims, tires.. etc.) and i'm left with no front axle and a rear axle that only delivers power to the right rear. so i dont want to spend twice that amount on a SAS and have the same thing happen.

sorry about all the questions, i have been using search, so all the info i need on getting the axle under truck is pretty easy to find, but about the axle itself is a bit harder.

 

[5.0]

lol ok. thanks guys. i feel much better about the lp.

The only advantage I can think of for running a HP axle is for a better front driveshaft angle and to keep the shaft higher off the ground for more clearance as you drop off of rocks. What are your plans for steering?

Thats a 79 the 78 headlights were round!

78's came with round or square.

 

[IZwack]

The only advantage I can think of for running a HP axle is for a better front driveshaft angle and to keep the shaft higher off the ground for more clearance as you drop off of rocks. What are your plans for steering?

hehe I think he understood what the advantages of the HPs were - but just wondering how it would limit flex as flex is dependant on how far the U-joint can go before the yoke starts binding on each other.

 

[mynameisaric]

well i plan to push the axle forward a bit, and tip the pinion angle as much as allowed (7 or 9 degrees?.. sumthin along that i think) and a custom square driveshaft with the double cardigain(sp) yoke at the transfer case.

for steering, i havent looked to far into it. can i just flip the tie rod to the top of the arms? i'm not running leafs, so hi steer would only benefit me in the ground clearance department right? but if my knuckles can be machined for flat tops... i will probably just do it. i have access to a machine shop at school and i can indicate parts and power tap... etc. etc. and make custom flat top arms out of tool steel (a2 or s2.. cant remember which is on hand). and i'm going to start researching the chevy tre's a bit more.

for connecting the axle to the truck, i'm probably going with a custom radius arm on the drivers side and a link on the other with a pan hard to locate the axle. heims on the axle side of the links and bushings on the truck side of the links.

suspended with 5.5" wild horse. i was thinking for the upper coil bucket, i would make it kind of like Rick's first setup where the coil would be allowed to drop away from the bucket.

37" goodyear mtrs or bf goodrich mt's(rather go with mt's since midwest mud sucks) on 17" beadlock rims(having the rings cut out on the laser at work and the steel is free from my dads work.. just have to get some rims )

if i sound like an idiot, PLEASE let me know before i make an expensive mistake.

 

[IZwack]

a double cardan on the axle .. hmm i havent seen too many of that.. do some research on that to see how that would behave with a CV or another double cardan (if u swapped to a manual t-case) at the transfer case. research should also reveal what angle you should set your pinion at with this concept.

as for the hi-steer arms, you have to make sure you have flat-top knuckles or else there wont be much metal left after you machine them to support the stresses of steering. this is what flat tops look like (wth arms sitting on top of them)

 

[mynameisaric]

double cardan at the t-case (isn't that what the double u-joint thing on 91-95 explorers is called?)

and i probably won't do flat tops unless i have the knuckles for it, and i probably dont, so i probably won't.

 

[IZwack]

Ahh sorry, I misread your post and took it as saying double cardan at the pinion ahahah! okay I understand! my appologies!

 

[mynameisaric]

not a problem. i'll listen to anything you have to say since your truck sits on a solid axle, and mine only sits on a solid axle in my imagination.

 

[jrgaylor]

Although the knuckles on the f250 D44 look like they wold work as flat top knuckles, there is not enough meat there to handle the stress.
You can move your tie rod to tie rod on top be using a 7* reamer and reaming the knuckles

 

[mynameisaric]

sweet. thats probly what i'll do then. thanks for the info guys. i'll be starting a sas thread soon enough.