Solid axle ?'s

[Oknut]

It's not to hard to run full size axles.. I used 4 inch lift leafs for a 1972 scout internal. That leaf has worked fine so far, But I wish I would have gone with some toyota leafs, they are a bit vider. With the solid mount in the front and 4 inch lift leaf and no body lift you would end up with about 15 inches of lift. The reason why is because of the frame on the explorer, the front mount has to be built down a ways. unless you did the conversion like a jeep and had the shackle in the front and the solid mount could mount straight to the frame.

Also if you plan on running full size axles you need to extend the frame out about 3 inches on both sides.

Another thing that's cool about leafs, is that you could move the front axle forward when swapping..

 

[expobronc]

Originally posted by Joe93
ok so what is the easiest and cheapest way to narrow a fullsize 9 inch out of a 79 truck? looking for the least amount of custom parts. like axle shafts and such.

I guess there again you can cut it down to accept EB shafts. Right now I'm hunting for a 76-77 Early Bronco 9 inch. The 76-77's almost all had the 3300lbs BIG bearing axles, they ALL had the 11x2.35" drum brakes.

I found one but the guy wants $300 for it, which kind of pisses me off, because i KNOW he let the front dana 44 go for $250. I'm gonna try to swing a deal with him for some other "common" parts that I need. But really from what I'm finding $300 is a common price for the narrower 9" because they fit in street rods so well.

just my 2 hundreths of a dollar

 

[Joe93]

OKnut would it be a good Idea to set it up like a jeep? If I did do it this way would I still need to extend the frame 3 inches? Why do you need to extend the frame?
Could you use rear leafs from the explorer?

 

[Oknut]

You could set it up like a jeep, I just don't like that setup. Some jeeps change their setup to have the shackle in the rear instead. I just gave you that idea so you wouldn't have to lift your truck to much and still use leafs.

The reason I had to extend the frame out is because the leaf mount on the axle is right next to the pumkin and for me to center the axle under the truck I had to extend the frame.

What do you mean by using rear leafs ? are you talking about the front or the rear.. If you are talking about the rear, then yes you can leave em there. Get an add a leaf, longer shackle and some blocks.

You don't even have to mess with the brake lines. no need to extend em in the rear, just in the front.

 

[Joe93]

Well I have decided to run fullsize with Coils. Would a Dana 44 built with heavy duty parts survive 38's? What it the least amount of lift needed to run 38's? Also the radius arm mounts do they need to be mounted to the side of the frame or can they be mounted under the frame? I know there is more but I can't think of them now. Thanks

 

[expobronc]

this needs a bump, plus i've made some progress. I have my 9" I payed 300 for it, thats more than i wanted to pay but... Its from 77 EB, BUT for some rare reason it has the full size center section, with the full web. my 76 doesnt and they are both the 3300lbs big bearings... cool. Now I'm working on gears. I want 33"s in the near future. I'm running 3.73, and 31"s right now. I want to see a little more get up and go, but dont want to kill gas mileage on this daily driven beast. a 5.0 is the next project anyways , so do you think 4.11's are enough or should i bite in and go 4.56??

 

[alx]

how to cut down a 78-79 R/C 44
click here

 

[RFR2212]

If yer gonna run 33's get at least 4.56 gears
Pete

 

[68bullit]

hey guys what about using a rear from a maverick or something that is quite narrow?

i was eyeballing 1 the other day and i believe it was like 51 inches from backing plate to backing plate.

would it work?

also i dont understand welding the trans crossmember to the RA brackets?wouldnt it be a little tricky swapping out the trans?

one other question about a rear sway bar equipped truck and than using a 9 inch.what about mounting the bar to that.would i fab the mounts and than build quick disconnects?

i just picked up both a rear 9 inch and d44 rc hp matching out of 78 p-up and will be installing them into a bronc 2.

these are really the only real things i havent figured out cept the steering.

 

[Randall]

originally posted by 68bullit
also i dont understand welding the trans crossmember to the RA brackets?wouldnt it be a little tricky swapping out the trans?
one other question about a rear sway bar equipped truck and than using a 9 inch.what about mounting the bar to that.would i fab the mounts and than build quick disconnects?

That's why on mine I bolted a peice of 1/4" stock to the radius arm bracket, and then welded the tranny crossmember to the peice of plate.
As far as sway bars, I don't beleive that most people are using any. I plan on putting some RS9000's on with some type of spinner nut so I can remove them when I get to the trails.

Dead Link Removed

 

[shawnbru]

Review of my SAS Ideas

I put on a JD 2.5 lift and 31's off my ranger and went to the Easter Jeep Safari. Ran Gold Bar Rim and Porcupine just getting a feel of how I was set up. I did fine. Went places where fully locked up CJs and TJs on 35s couldnt go. Watched 4 rigs break Dana 44 rear axles. But came away knowing it was time for SAS.

Proposed Setup:

1. HP Dana 44 narrowed to accept right EB axleshaft
2. JD 3.5 Progressive Springs for ~ 5.5" of total lift
3. Coil Buckets out of 78-79 Bronc or F-150
4. JD Long Travel Shock Hoops that accept up to 3 shocks per side
5. JD Long Travel Radius arms for EB (Same length as 78-79 radius arm with Heims at the frame and an extra shock mount.)
6. JD 15" travel shocks
7. Same steering as Tiessen and Diff Whack Daddy
8. SOA with Ranger leafs and either JD or Warrior Shackles to dial in correct height.
9. Hellwig Anti-Sway bears - the biggest ones avail for my soft springs, obviously with quick discos
10. I guess I'll have to fab up my track bar mount as their is no quick adapter avail.

Please comment on the how well this would work.

I have a couple of concerns:

1. Will I have to trim the engine X member to get the HP pumpkin to clear it? What about the EB D44?

2. How straight (from side to side) is the front drive shaft after either of these swaps? In pictures the Diff appears to be more toward the middle than the diff on a D35 TTB is, causing the whole clearance problem in the first place?

All help greatly appreciated

Shawn

 

[tiessen]

1. Don't worry about sway bars.
2. F250 shock towers are longer and cheaper than the JD stuff. And you don't need more than 1 shock per corner.
3. The new diff will be very centered. I hacked my crossmember completely flat and plated with 1/4" bar. I also had to rework exhaust crosspipe and flip my auto tranny shift linkage to the inside because it rubbed on my driveshaft. With 5" of lift, the HP diff will be in the way but workable. Any less lift and you'd be fubared.
4. Get some regular radius arms and wrist the pass side. See Ford board at Pirate4x4 for ALL the info you need. Way cheaper than JD stuff.
5. My steering is basic. I cut the tierod 6" and chopped the draglink and threaded it to accept my Dana35 tierodend connected to dropped pitman arm. It works, but its low. I've smashed it 3X. I'll be doing a tierod flip sometime.

That's it.

Cheers
Dale

 

[Jacked93]

Dana 44 and 9"

I have found a 79 bronco that I be able to get hold of. Hoping to do the SAS, one question that I have is that most everyone, cuts down their axles, but if I were going to use the 9" out of the bronco too then why not just go full length, 6" just doesn't seem that much wider maybe it is please enlighten me. I could see cutting the 44 down if you were going to use the 8.8, but are there any other reasons. Also if you only trim off the pass. side tube doesn't that move the pumpkin more to the pass side, making the driveshaft off center? I understand only cutting the pass side to not have to use custom shafts, but are there any angle problems with pumkin and driveshaft. Thanks everybody for any help you can give.

 

[RFR2212]

Re: Dana 44 and 9"

Originally posted by Jacked93
I have found a 79 bronco that I be able to get hold of. Hoping to do the SAS, one question that I have is that most everyone, cuts down their axles, but if I were going to use the 9" out of the bronco too then why not just go full length, 6" just doesn't seem that much wider maybe it is please enlighten me. I could see cutting the 44 down if you were going to use the 8.8, but are there any other reasons. Also if you only trim off the pass. side tube doesn't that move the pumpkin more to the pass side, making the driveshaft off center? I understand only cutting the pass side to not have to use custom shafts, but are there any angle problems with pumkin and driveshaft. Thanks everybody for any help you can give.

Um, yer gonna have to do 2 things... space the coil mounts 3in out, or cut the axle down (D44)... The spring perches and c-bushing part is cast on, not welded... if you leave it full width, it'll be fun makin spaced coil mounts on the frame, and R/A arm brackets
Pete

 

[Chad Spalding]

whaa, whaa, haaa, haaaa, I can't see any of the pictures, whaaaaaaa, I feel so left out, (sniffle, sniffle)

 

[jshexplo96]

If you are stuck on leaving it full width....you very easily do so by using leafs...

 

[CHH777]

I have a solid Dana 44 from a 79 Bronco. One radius arm is bent badly but it's where I'm going to wrist it anyway. Does anyone know if these radius arms are left/right specific?

 

[tiessen]

Radius arms are not side specific. But don't use a bent arm, just get another.

 

[CHH777]

Thanks for the reply. It's bent in the area that will be cut out for wristing and will be boxed heavily.

 

[RVZFloydian]

Just a thought, Since most figure they'll get new wheels, why not get wheels with the correct backspacing to "suck up" some of the width of a full-width 44? That should help keep the tires under the wheelwells.