2wd swap alternitvie option....

[FarmerFrank]

So i do a lot of driving, which leads to a lot of thinking and i think i thought of another pea-brained idea.

So i have a rusted out cab 4x4 truck and a rust-less 2wd. I gathered a new cab, new front end, hypermax turbo, hydra-boost setup, zf-5, rebuilt a 7.3 and might put a dually rear under it. Now i bought a house and wont have time to do the work until winter, but dont want to down the 4x4 in the winter time.

I got to thinkin about converting the 2wd truck over and keep the other one a beater truck for around the farm but the 2wd rides so much nicer

Now on to the meat and potatoes.... WHAT IF you used 1/2 ton ttb arms and kept the coil spring front axle? They look the same length and ride smoother. For the hubs you can do a little trick i did to make my bronco 8 lug up front called "TTB Chevy 8 lug swap" where you use 70's chevy dana 44 8 lug hubs on the ford knuckles.

What's your guys thoughts??

 

[kuskoal]

Throw a detroit trutrac in the back. My personal experience is 4wd isn't practical unless you add a locker/traction aid in one if the axles. If you put a detroit trutrac or an auto locker in the rear, I'm willing to bet you can use the truck as a dd in the winter. Either way, 2 wheels will be spinning with open diffs. With the tru trac the 2 wheels are spinning but the tire with the most traction gets the most torque.

 

[FarmerFrank]

Thats true too, just more or less throwing out an idea that hit my mind

 

[riotwarrior]

Nothing wrong with D44 with bigger brakes and such so long as you don't haul/tow heavy or beat it in 4WD. Toss a True Trac in the front and locker in the rear...almost unstoppable.

BTW...I wonder if the FORD HD D44 8lug would fit...same size as chevy front 44...just saying...

 

[kuskoal]

With the ttb swap (it will work), you gain bigger bearings but probably need some custom springs to get camber just right. I love these fords. Giant legos that can burn motor oil

 

[kuskoal]

BTW...I wonder if the FORD HD D44 8lug would fit...same size as chevy front 44...just saying...

D44 ttb or a solid axle? The d44 HD is weird and has a SUPER small short side. Don't even know how it even cycled the suspension

 

[FarmerFrank]

i remember having a hard time finding any ford parts that would swap over to the dana 44 ttb but found if you cut all the brake pieces off the 44 ttb knuckles you can bolt on the chevey spindles and brakes. i found a chevy front for 150, stripped the hubs and axles and sold the rest for 100. google it, the bearings are bigger than a regular 44 and the spindles are longer. but you have to run the chevy calipler, rotor, hubs. Then you have a long arm coil sprung front axle that will accept a dana 50 center section. i regularly take my bronco to truck pulls and that front end has yet to give me any troubles with a 400 horse 450-500ftlb Big Block. Ive driven home on the front axle more times than id like to admit... It makes a neat mut of a frontend that makes a lot of people look how you did it.

 

[FarmerFrank]

I dont mind the way my 4x4 rides most of the time but its no secret that a 2wd truck rides smoother.

1/2 44 ttbs have the long d/s arm that goes to the passenger side, just like the 2wd axle. illl have to measure the broncos arms and the 2wd trucks and see how close they are but i cant imagine they are too far off.

The answer is no, the 44HD parts will not work on regular 44 arms. axles are shorter and heavier, u joints bigger, the spindle bolt pattern is larger and the knuckles are taller. the 44hd and 50 is pretty much the same except the 50 has yet another different spindle pattern but you can swap out the whole knuckle if you want the bigger hubs.

EDIT: my bad, yes the slip yoke u joint stub will interchange. i was thinking you meant the outer ones.

 

[kuskoal]

Are you talking about a jana 54? Or was it a jana 45? Either way look up Jantz Engineering for d50 stuff in the d44 housings.

I do believe the bronco guys that keep their ttb for hard use use d50 parts. Look at gofastbroncos' forum or broncospeed in general for ideas.

 

[FarmerFrank]

The Dana 44 d/a axel shaft is the same spline as the 50 so it's pretty much a direct bolt in deal

 

[franklin2]

The Dana 44 d/a axel shaft is the same spline as the 50 so it's pretty much a direct bolt in deal

If that's true, what is the advantage of swapping them?

 

[kuskoal]

Oh! Very nice! The d50 shafts use d60 u joints (1480 series?)

But d50 carrier needs a lil persuasion of the housing .

 

[FarmerFrank]

If that's true, what is the advantage of swapping them?

To say you have it I guess. I went with the 50 carrier because I bought it and the 10.25 rear as a package deal

 

[franklin2]

I don't know much about it. Is it true the dana 44 and the dana 50 are pretty much the same at the pumpkin, but the axles get larger and the u-joints also beyond the pumpkin? And of course the spindles and balljoints are bigger out at the ends.