Lifting a 94 F250 idi

[Chadillac]

Ok, so after reading the thousands of threads on the hundreds of forums, I thought I would post the question and hopefully the thread won’t get hijacked with the Dana 50 vs Dana 60 debate.
I want to lift my 1994 F250 7.3 idi. I want it to be safe and reliable and not eat front end components and tires for breakfast. I also don’t want it to be a giant financial burden either. I would not feel comfortable in a DIY situation with the front end either.
I can figure sh*t out under the hood, but the front end/ suspension stuff just seems like a disaster waiting to happen in the hands of a rookie.
So, I want a 4” lift with 35’s. The front end is a Dana 50 and a sterling 10.25 with 4:10’s in the rear.
I will be towing a 3300 lb trailer with all my camping s*hit in the bed. Possibly a bigger trailer in the future, but I don’t need a big trailer to have fun, just a fire to fall asleep by !
Since this is my favorite forum with what seems to be the most informed and willing to help people, what are your experiences and suggestions?
The Dana 60 sounds good. But finding one and installing it seems like a pain in the a** without air tools. The Dana 50 TTB is pretty much what I think I’m stuck with a shop doing a lift and an alignment on it.
Again guys and gals, thanks for all of your help. I love this truck and want to keep it around for a lond time!

 

[u2slow]

I would still do the Dana 60 swap. I had one done in ~4 hours in a driveway. (Air tools did speed things up).

Didn't even have to open the brake system because it used the same calipers. Tape measure alignment. No more eaten tires. Had the driveshaft shortened at a later date.

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

I would still do the Dana 60 swap. I had one done in ~4 hours in a driveway. (Air tools did speed things up).

Didn't even have to open the brake system because it used the same calipers. Tape measure alignment. No more eaten tires. Had the driveshaft shortened at a later date.

NICE. How much lift does the straight swap give?

 

[u2slow]

NICE. How much lift does the straight swap give?

Its been a few years... and the truck is 300miles away. I want to say 2". It levels an F250. You need the taller F350 block in the rear to get the factory 'rake' back again.

 

[Thewespaul]

I really like the look of an rsk 60, with f350 block in the rear. I wonder how much lift an rsk on a dana 50 would bring?

 

[Macrobb]

So, a couple things:
1. Go invest in a big DeWalt or Milwaukee 1/2" 18v/20v impact. Expensive, but you only cry once.
My DeWalt DCF899 is one of the most valuable tools I own. I haven't had to pull out an air impact in quite a while, and batteries last a lot longer than a small air tank.

2. To lift a TTB, you have to lift all three points on it - the angles should stay the same.
So, you shift the front and rear spring points down, and then shift the center pivot points down the same amount.
As long as you get everything down the same amount, it all should work fine.

3. I don't have issues with scuffing tires with (multiple) Dana 50 TTB trucks. I however have access to a local tire shop that actually knows how to align a TTB!
The key is that weight must be on the tires when they are doing the alignment - the lift should have pivot-plates mounted to it that the tires rotate on.

 

[Chadillac]

As far as the D60, I am also worried about all that talk about “death wobble” and the like.
So do you think with moderate mechanical skills I could do the swap in my driveway?
And if so, what should I be looking for as far as a complete front end? Again, forgive my complete ignorance, I’m just trying to learn as I go.
I have no idea what to look for as far as an old D60 goes.

 

[Chadillac]

So, a couple things:
1. Go invest in a big DeWalt or Milwaukee 1/2" 18v/20v impact. Expensive, but you only cry once.
My DeWalt DCF899 is one of the most valuable tools I own. I haven't had to pull out an air impact in quite a while, and batteries last a lot longer than a small air tank.

2. To lift a TTB, you have to lift all three points on it - the angles should stay the same.
So, you shift the front and rear spring points down, and then shift the center pivot points down the same amount.
As long as you get everything down the same amount, it all should work fine.

3. I don't have issues with scuffing tires with (multiple) Dana 50 TTB trucks. I however have access to a local tire shop that actually knows how to align a TTB!
The key is that weight must be on the tires when they are doing the alignment - the lift should have pivot-plates mounted to it that the tires rotate on.

Are there kits that move all the pivot points down, or is that what they call an RSK?

 

[Macrobb]

Are there kits that move all the pivot points down, or is that what they call an RSK?

Quick google says that https://www.sdtrucksprings.com/inde...MItryM99CK4AIVQyCtBh28VwVXEAQYASABEgLQi_D_BwE for instance.

 

[austin92]

I can DEFINITELY vouch for that dcf899. 700ft lbs spinning, 1200ft lbs break away torque. Haven’t touched an air impact since I bought mine.

You want to look for a dana 60 from an 87-96 f350


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Golden Helmet]

As far as the D60, I am also worried about all that talk about “death wobble” and the like.
So do you think with moderate mechanical skills I could do the swap in my driveway?
And if so, what should I be looking for as far as a complete front end? Again, forgive my complete ignorance, I’m just trying to learn as I go.
I have no idea what to look for as far as an old D60 goes.

Usually the people who get the death wobble from a D60 swap are people who did the job incorrectly. A lot of people try and re-use their F-250 springs, pitman arm, tie rods, etc etc, and then they wonder why their truck rides like ass and has death wobble issues. But if you get ALL the parts off the donor F-350, you won't have any death wobble issues. It would be exactly like a stock F-350.

Off the top of my head, to do the swap right you need the axle itself, the F-350 leaf springs, the front yoke off the transfer case, the pitman arm, tie rods, u-bolt plates, the drag link, the front driveshaft, the rear lift blocks, and the rear overload springs if your F-250 didn't come with that package from the factory. If your donor F-350 happens to have sway bars, grab those too if you want them, though they are optional (and they're somewhat rare, you can make a few bucks off those if you don't want to use them)

I can't speak for doing it in a driveway, I paid a very pretty penny to have someone else put the D60 in, but to me it was money well spent because the person doing it knew exactly what had to be done to do the job RIGHT.

NICE. How much lift does the straight swap give?

The rear F-350 blocks add about 2 inches of height over the F-250, the front is maybe 1.5-2 inches over F-250 height. If you keep the F-250 blocks the truck will sit almost level, maybe ever so slightly nose-high.

Here's a few pics to give you a visual. The angles aren't perfect since I wasn't really trying to do a before and after comparison, but it'll give you an idea. The tires are 265's, a little wider than stock 235's but their height is the same.

Stock Dana 50, pre-swap
Stock Dana 60, post-swap

 

[SebastIDIan]

I did a 2wd to 4wd dana 60 swap on my gravel driveway while laying on plywood sheets. No airtools, just an electric drill and a grinder. I think you'll be okay

 

[franklin2]

Ok, so after reading the thousands of threads on the hundreds of forums, I thought I would post the question and hopefully the thread won’t get hijacked with the Dana 50 vs Dana 60 debate.
I want to lift my 1994 F250 7.3 idi. I want it to be safe and reliable and not eat front end components and tires for breakfast. I also don’t want it to be a giant financial burden either. I would not feel comfortable in a DIY situation with the front end either.
I can figure sh*t out under the hood, but the front end/ suspension stuff just seems like a disaster waiting to happen in the hands of a rookie.
So, I want a 4” lift with 35’s. The front end is a Dana 50 and a sterling 10.25 with 4:10’s in the rear.
I will be towing a 3300 lb trailer with all my camping s*hit in the bed. Possibly a bigger trailer in the future, but I don’t need a big trailer to have fun, just a fire to fall asleep by !
Since this is my favorite forum with what seems to be the most informed and willing to help people, what are your experiences and suggestions?
The Dana 60 sounds good. But finding one and installing it seems like a pain in the a** without air tools. The Dana 50 TTB is pretty much what I think I’m stuck with a shop doing a lift and an alignment on it.
Again guys and gals, thanks for all of your help. I love this truck and want to keep it around for a lond time!

My f250 has the dana 44 ttb. It also has a 4 inch lift with 35's. I do not have unusual tire wear, and it drives straight with no death wobble. It has lift blocks in the rear. With the diesel and the 4.10's it still can tow most anything I want behind it.

It did have a bad vibration in the front while in 4x4 when I bought it. After messing around with different solutions, the one that worked was installing a f350 front driveshaft on it. It is very smooth now. The f350's with the dana 60 frontend used a special driveshaft that has a double cardan joint in it. That is why the other poster recommended you change the front yoke on the transfer case, I had to do this to use the double cardan f350 driveshaft so it would fit up. These transfer case yokes are getting hard to find, I found one in a junkyard in New York and they shipped it to me.

I also get some axle wrap from the blocks in the rear when heavily loaded. Nothing much to worry about, but it is there.

 

[Rossroams]

I went with a Tuff Country 2in lift with diesel springs. Ended up near 3.5” but if you remove the second spring from the bottom you’ll get it right near perfect camber, rides great too. I ran 35s on mine with no issues. Also the HD springs for early 80-86 F350s are a 2in lift, just use 2in drop brackets. 35s look tiny with trucks with 4in lift kits and they’re stiff as hell.

 

[u2slow]

As far as the D60, I am also worried about all that talk about “death wobble” and the like.
So do you think with moderate mechanical skills I could do the swap in my driveway?
And if so, what should I be looking for as far as a complete front end? Again, forgive my complete ignorance, I’m just trying to learn as I go.
I have no idea what to look for as far as an old D60 goes.

I did a 2wd to 4wd dana 60 swap on my gravel driveway while laying on plywood sheets. No airtools, just an electric drill and a grinder. I think you'll be okay

Another driveway success story... It's not that bad at all.

Death wobble is more about insufficient caster, crap tires, and worn parts than anything else. Also run a steering stabilizer since they had them stock.

I'd recommend an 86-94 Dana 60 (from a F350 SRW) which uses the same hubs and brakes you currently have. 86-91ish uses kingpins. 92ish+ uses balljoints. 95-97 uses 1/2" bigger rotors and different knuckles for different calipers.

Along with the steering links, leafs, trac-bar & bracket, ensure you get the driver's side u-bolt bracket. Sway bar if you think you need it. The F350 driveshaft and matching yoke can get spendy from a wrecking yard (driveshaft $200-300; and $500 tcase cuz they won't sell a yoke a la carte). That's why we did the ~$100 shortening on the stock shaft.