Question about front suspension?

[Dieselguy123]

Hey all, I am thinking of doing a solid axle swap on my Diesel. What I want to know is How much does the ride quality suffer, handling......All that good stuff. I am going to do a 4x4 swap and wondering if TTB is the way to go Or solid front. I Do alot of Highway driving and put about 25-30K a year on it. I have no problem with a rough riding truck, I just dont want to make it ride like a tank. It just seems to me that the solid axle would give you a more durable and less problematic setup. What do you guys think?

 

[In2Fords]

Solid Axle is the way to go if you will be using 4WD much. With that being said, a D60 is expensive and to go from 2wd to 4wd is expensive. You either have to have the stock leaf spring mounts welded to the frame or go with an custom long arm/radious arm coil sprung system. If you arent a fabricator I think it would be cheaper to find a 4wd truck and not do the conversion.
Good luck, Jeremy

 

[smokin69]

I have an 86 F350 4x4 and it rides softer and handles better than my 93 F150 which is lighter and lower with smaller tires

 

[smokin69]

I have an 86 F350 4x4 and it rides softer and handles better than my 93 F150 which is lighter and lower with smaller tires

 

[Dsl_Dog_Treat]

The solid axle swap is well worth it's weight in gold for 4x4 conversions.

Knowing how these Michigan roads are and seeing that ya shortened it up a bit, I'm thinking yer gonna have a wee bit of a buckin bronc on yer hands.

Seeing how ya put quite a few miles.
If ya have the right shop to get things aligned on a ttb setup, I think you'll be happy with it.

It's retty much a personal preference on what you're gonna be happy with.
On Mater I've got the D44 ttb setup and it rides pretty smooth on the highway and I've been abusing it pushing snow.

 

[hesutton]

I think the Dana 60 is by far and away the better choice. But, it is harder to find and twice the cost (or more) of the TTB 44 or 50. I'm so glad I did the coversion on my F250.

Heath

 

[ghunt]

I'd like to do the swap...but the hell if I'm gonna pay $1000 for a front D60.

I need to have my brother find me one, he knows a lot of people that might have something like that.

 

[Dieselguy123]

Thanks for all the replys. I have actually been thinking about using an F150 TTB setup and then using the cheby parts to convert it to eight lug. My Whole thing is I just want it for the snow......And even then I dont use it much at all. But if I used an f150 setup I could keep the coil spring front suspension which would be nice for the ride. I do want to lift it about 3" but that would be just cosmetic, I dont off road at all in this truck.

 

[Agnem]

I'd like to see you do that. I've been recommending that strategy for a while now, but no one has yet to try it.

 

[Dieselguy123]

I found a nice writeup on the subject, It doesnt look hard at all. It looks like an easy way to obtain an eight lug bolt pattern and bigger brakes. Right Now that is the route I am leaning torwards. Someone correct me if I am wrong but I think the f150 style TTB will bolt right in place of the 2WD ttb....Parts are plentiful if you do have an issue and you wont sacrifice any ride quality cause you get to keep the coil spring setup. I think it might be the way to go in my situation.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Thanks for all the replys. I have actually been thinking about using an F150 TTB setup and then using the cheby parts to convert it to eight lug.

This is actually what many Bronco guys do when they swap the 8.8 rear for the Sterling, it's proven and tested and pretty good setup. For my truck I'd prefer the '70s F250 D44HD solid axle converted to the F150 coil spring setup.

 

[Dieselguy123]

This is actually what many Bronco guys do when they swap the 8.8 rear for the Sterling, it's proven and tested and pretty good setup. For my truck I'd prefer the '70s F250 D44HD solid axle converted to the F150 coil spring setup.

Are the D44 axles any differant. I mean could you put eight lug knuckels on a half ton axle and do it that way. I have also thought about doing that. I guess in a nutshell what I am asking is there any differances between the half ton and the 3/4 ton axle housing as far as tube thickness and all that good stuff?

 

[LCAM-01XA]

My understanding is that the halfton D44 has 1/4" thick axle tubes, whereas the 3/4-ton D44 has the same shafts and internals, but the axle tubes are about double the thickness. Which is probably a moot point, if I truss the halfton D44 good. Do not know if knuckles swap out tho, sure would be nice if they do cause I'd absolutely hate the halfton brakes in my F350 (altho they can be replaced with the larger T-bird calipers).