TTB or SAS?

[MiniGeneral92]

I'm planning on lifting my 92 XLT, and I think I'm gonna end up with about 8" or so by the time I'm done. So I'm wondering if I should spend the time and money to do a SAS or if I should just stick with the TTB?

I've always had old Fords with a solid front axle so this is my frist experience with TTB. To me it seems like SAS is what it needs but if I can do it without that and still ride ok and get some decent flex with my TTB then I'll just leave it until I can get everything together and modified properly.

So the overall question is, is 8" too much for the TTB to handle? Or will it still be alright?

Thanks for any input guys,

 

[bobby walter]

with custom work 8 in is doable for it to take some mild abuse.....

just depends on goals really.


if you are not going to abuse it off road , an 8 in shelf kit with some superrunner type steering upgrades are ok imo..

if you want to beat on it, a 4 in is a bit better. preferably a skyjacker type setup that is strong at the minimum for costa. gets spendy from there.

what are your intentions? why 8 inches?

 

[Rick]

My recommendation for anyone wanting to keep the D35 TTB and run big tires is to do the D44 knuckle swap.

#1 It spreads the bearings farther apart which means they stay in adjustment and don't go bad nearly as quick as with the stock spindles.

#2 You can run better hubs which are much stronger than even the manual D35 hubs.

Going to a D44 or bigger front axle with a SAS will accomplish that and more.

 

[86 slo-vo]

As said above, depends on what you want to do.

 

[jmdirk]

You can get approx 8 inches and run 35s using a 6" Sky Jacker kit and some spacers. Certainly not the ideal setup, but the Skyjacker stuff can take a fair bit of abuse.

You do have to keep a very close eye on your bearings though. Inspect, regrease and retorque frequently. Consider it a labour of love...and it's a heck of a lot cheaper than having a bearing disintegrate on you on the road. In my case it takes out both bearings, the rotor and the spindle. It even destroyed one of my hubs in one case.

 

[red.EDDIE.4x4]

i would lean towards SAS, i chose TTB when i did my lift because i wanted a cheap way to get some height. now i actually regret it and wish i had saved my pennies more. if i could do it again i would go SAS the first time.

 

[Slowlyvverot]

And also keep in mind there are plenty of people who regret not going to 1-ton axles right out the gate when they did a SAS on their truck. A D44 is less expensive to buy and swap in but by the time you add stronger aftermarket parts, you could have just swapped in a stock D60 for the same amount of money. And obviously you can build a 60 much stronger than a 44. Just something to think about, what are your views for this vehicle in terms of terrain and tires size? That will dictate the axle you would want to swap in.

 

[SuRrEaLNJ]

#1 It spreads the bearings farther apart which means they stay in adjustment and don't go bad nearly as quick as with the stock spindles.

thats just the trucks way of making sure you pack/replace your bearing frequently

 

[4x4junkie]

I think what's more important on the bearings is making sure the preload is set properly, and not using cheap china-crap bearings or low-grade grease (yes, the D35 bearings can be finicky in that regard which is related to their closer spacing).
I do mine about every 3-4 years or 20,000 miles or so and still have the original bearings in my D35 (I think I have somewhere around 80,000 on the axle now). That's mostly with running 33", now 35" tires too.

To the OP: I guess I'll also join the crowd here to ask why so tall, and what size tires are you planning and what is your intended use? (Crawling rocks? Running your typical rutted fire/logging/mining/powerline trails? Blasting through the desert? Mud whomping? Driving the local mall parking lot...? Only one of those might you possibly need 8" lift for... (Ok, maybe two if you include the mall parking lot lol)

 

[jmdirk]

Only one of those might you possibly need 8" lift for... (Ok, maybe two if you include the mall parking lot lol)

And let's face it, the TTB sucks for mud

 

[4x4junkie]

And let's face it, the TTB sucks for mud

I guess if your suspension was sagging leaving the thing hanging way down in the way...

 

[jmdirk]

It's more a matter of having the nice round tubes of a solid axle versus the flat, comparatively large front profile of the TTB

 

[4x4junkie]

I understand that, though it ain't that bad once you've raised it up some with coil spacers or longer springs (A TTB C&T'ed at the balljoints would be even better still).

MiniGeneral here needs to come back and tell us what the heck it is he's trying to accomplish though. If 8"+ lift and mud running is his goal (or tires bigger than 36"), then certainly a SAS of some sort would make sense. Anything less than that though, it might be better to keep what's already under there and stick to a shorter lift.