Solid axle ?'s

I have decided to skip the lift kits and go with the solid axle swap. I am in the planning stages of the swap. I would like to lift it to about 4 or 5 inches. I Know a guy that builds and modifies 79 Broncos. He sold me a Dana 44 out of a 79 Bronco and told me he can get me every part of the 79 Bronco suspension for cheap. Is this a reverse rotation 44? I am wondering if anyone can help me, by making a list of parts or telling me what I would need. Should I go with leafs or Coils in the front? Do I need the radius arms, Coil brackets? How would I get it to be about 4 or 5 inches all the way around? How would i get the most flex? Any advice would be greatly helpful.

 

[tiessen]

Phone Dutchman or Moser and ask if they'll chop the housing as well?!

 

[expobronc]

but hten i have to wory about the cost to ship it. i may just try to find a shop in the twin cities. i can take it up there my self and its only like 150 miles away

 

[Sandy]

You might want to look into a Machine Shop that caters to the stockcar racing industry and is located within traveling distance from your home location.
These guys cut their axles all the time.

I did not read back through the 10 pages of comments, but why not use an Early Bronco 9"er and have the axles redrilled for 5x4.5 bolt pattern?
Any machine shop should be able to handle that.

 

[expobronc]

huh?? then you would still have 5.5x5 in the front and 4.5 in the back?? not sure i understand your question.


dana 44 5.5
dana 35 ttb 4.5
ford 9" 5.5
ford 8.8" 4.5

 

[expobronc]

weeeee!!! found a shop!! 90 miles away and $125

i figure thats not bad because this guy actualey came highly recomended and he sounds like he know WTF he's doing!!!

but... i got to looking at my expo (you know pondering like we all do) and im thinking is 6" enough lift?? does anyone have a link to their ex with 6" and maybe like 31-33" tires?? for a daily driver that should be plenty right?? also what kind of rpms would i be looking at with 4.10s vs my 3.73? what is the o.d. ratio on the M5OD?

sky here i come!!

 

[tiessen]

I'm running 6" of lift and 35's with 4.56 gearing. Plenty of lift, still OK for daily driver.

 

[Diff Whack Daddy]

Almost Done

Well, I am finally almost done. I went with 79 bronco coil buckets and shock mounts from a late model f-250. It's not quite done but here are some pictures of what I have so far. I still need to put the upper shock mounts in and finish fabbing up my tranny crossmember. Other than that it has 5" bronco lift springs, bronco coil buckets and radius arms, one of which is wristed.

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/mcinchaks2/lst?.dir=/Solid+Axle&.view=t

 

[A91EBexplorer4x4]

wristed

got some pics of your wristed radius arm and of your rad arm brackets?

 

[Diff Whack Daddy]

I can get those friday.

 

[expobronc]

why did you use f-150? coil buckets??? wont the ex's work? what kind of coils are they and about how much lift (over stock) did you get with them?? your rig looks sweet thats the same color mine is

 

[expobronc]

hey also... are those mazda tailights?? they look weird.. i like them A LOT!

 

[Diff Whack Daddy]

I wanted to use bronco spring because of their progressive spring rates and easier bolt on to the the axle with the stock coil plates and the ex buckets are not big enough or the right shape to handle the springs. There is a total of about 7 inches of lift and because I replaced the coil buckets I was able to put them where I wanted to attain the lift to fit the 35" tires.
Yes, those are Mazda tail lights.

 

[expobronc]

hmmmmmmmm

where di you go to snag the buckets? i was thinking of using wild horses 5.5 rock crawler coils for the eb. i guess now they wont fit.

 

[tiessen]

Yes, the EB coils will fit. But you'll need to modify the buckets a bit. Do a search on the internet or on the Ranger board for info. I used James Duff EB coils for my SAS.

Cheers
Dale

 

[expobronc]

well i guess im not totally sold on the eb coils because some of the eb guys are saying the WH rock crawlers are TOO soft. im thinking if anything the expo is a bit heavier in the front than the eb is (trust me i've lifted my eb's front, sheetmetal anyways)

so does anyone know a good company that makes a softer 5-6" coil for the expo. not looking at superlift, i think JD only makes like a 3.5" i guess keeping my stock coil bucket will save some $$$ but using the EB buckets would be a good way to go because then i would have an easier time adding dual/triple shocks later

 

[tiessen]

The JD EB coils are way soft, variable rate 175lbs/in and 350lbs/in. They're great! Not too soft....Skip the EB buckets, use the X buckets and then use F350 shock mounts, they are really long and really strong.

 

[expobronc]

does JD make a 6"??

 

[tiessen]

The JD EB 3.5" coils give about 6" of lift with the SAS. They are as long as the Stupidlift 5.5" coils. For longer EB coils, BC Bronco is the way to go, so I've heard.

Cheers
Dale

 

[91xltTerd]

What is the total cost of an axle swap(without cutting the width down) for front and rear?

Dana 44 front and 9" rear with detroits and discs on front, coil sprung and about 8" lift

How much is a good price to look for for a 9" fullsize for the rear?

Also, I would do all the work other than the welding(which I can have done cheap, I think).

 

[expobronc]

sorry stupid question:

SAS??