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]

An EB with do fine, as long as it has disc brakes already. With only 5" of lift, the pinion angle will be fine. The F150 rear brakes SHOULD work, although I know of no one that has done it. They do have the same bolt pattern on backing plate. The axles SHOULD work, as they are both 31 spline, 8.8, big bearing but again, I do know anyone who has done this.

 

[HIX]

Pics

Do any of you have a close up pic of the ra mounts on the frame? I am just trying to locate the RA frame and I'll be spacing it 3/4 of an inch forward so the pics should help me.

Also did any of you bend the ra mounts so that the fit more flushly against the frame?

 

[mattmm]

parts list

You can go to National Tire and Wheel they have a axle swap for ford and you can buy all the parts as a package. Hope this is what you wanted. Good luck!!!!!!

 

[HIX]

Almost....I have all the parts, i was just looking for some close ups or measurements for the ra brackest from the rear of the body mount.

 

[tdavis]

Re: parts list

Originally posted by mattmm
You can go to National Tire and Wheel they have a axle swap for ford and you can buy all the parts as a package. Hope this is what you wanted. Good luck!!!!!!

If I may say..

The kit listed on that page isn't bad, just horribly expensive for what you get.

For the $2k they wanted, I did way better on my own.

 

[tdavis]

Originally posted by HIX
Almost....I have all the parts, i was just looking for some close ups or measurements for the ra brackest from the rear of the body mount.

HIX, there's a few pics at http://navajo4x4.rockcrawler.com/solid

As for measurements.. hm.. I was supposed to measure?

Thought it was cut twice, measure once...

 

[expobronc]

cost again

is anybody cutting down both sides of the axle?? how much does it cost on average to do this kind of work?

anybody know any shop in iowa that will do it?

 

[HIX]

For me it was 50 bucks to have one side cut down and another 40 to have the axle cut and splined.

 

[Sandy]

Radius Arms brackets are located by using an exisiting hole in the frame on the passenager side and locating the front end from that point.
Can't say for sure what measurements I used but everyone is a little different. Some people like to locate the front end a little further ahead.

I used a set of '79 and earlier radius arm frame brackets, they seem to work OK, I am sure there are better setups but this worked for me; FREE too!

The advantage of using the front end out of say a '79 Pickup/Bronco is that they have a high pinion and you can cut the long side for the correct width, not just putup with EB width. If I were to do it again, NOT, I would go with a truck high pinion unit and cut it down.
Using the EB D44 with 5.5 inches of lift may interfer with the cross member a little. You should be able to get around this by bending some of the cross member lip out of the way, this applies to all front ends.

Good Luck,

 

[expobronc]

well thats it!! my wheel is coming loose now so ive convinced the little woman its time to park the expo and do the swap. sooooo

ive got a line on a 79 bronco front axle
question: were ALL 79 bronco axles HP the guy was not sure.
hes asking $125. so picking that up next week. he most likely has all the redius arms etc. so i can snag those too.

`nother question:
what is everybody using on the steering setup?
i was considering geting some DOM tubing and custom rod ends and just making something myself, probably the track bar too. where can i order such tubing and rod ends??

well its getting close now i'm gonna start spending money on this thing no turning back now!!!!!

 

[HIX]

Go to the rockstomper.com site and call up scott and Aaron. They made my steering for me. It used chevy ends and where it attaches to the pitman arm is a left hand outer from a E-250.

 

[expobronc]

so really were all 79 bronco d44's high pinion?? were any of them full time hub'd?

also what is everyone using for brake lines? i want stainless steel, but 6-10" longer to accomodate lift and flex

 

[Oknut]

Hi,

Your brakelines don't need to be 10 inches longer, you can buy brakelines from superlift for the front and if I were you I wouldn't even worry about the rear. I have lifted mine and I can flex pretty good..

 

[expobronc]

so you're saying the stock rear brake lines will work with a 6" lift?? sweet! does this apply to the p-brake cables?

 

[Oknut]

For a 6 inch lift you can buy a p-brake extension. very simple and easy to intall.. But no you don't need to extend the rear brake line.. I have 16 inches of lift and I didn't..

 

[expobronc]

16"!!! man do you have any pics of that? i would love to see your truck!

 

[Oknut]

Yeah it's on the board, under featured explorers. Or you can see it on www.sequimboggers.com click on the red explorer.

 

[expobronc]

okay you guys by now have realized that i am a CHEAP ASS!!! so heres the new question...

can i use the stock x steering?? i mean if i cut the new axle down to the exact length the 35 is, and maybe have some bushings made if the tierods are smaller than the x's (which i doubt) or have them reemed out if they are bigger. the only thing that might be a problem is if the d44 nuckles are angled more towards the tire then the tierods may not be long enough. i just am one of those guys who is like "if it aint broke dont fix it, but if its broke go to town" and the stock setup is working fine. tight as any vehicle ive ever driven.

or you could just call me cheap!

thanks guys

 

[expobronc]

wah HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

got my axle today!!! D44 from a 79 bronc. all it needs is new calipers, rotors, and locking hubs. got the radius arms and brackets too. total price? $150 plus gas to drive 280 miles to get it money has been spent i am now commited!!

 

[91xltTerd]

Why is everyone cutting down their axles to make them more narrow? Why doesn't everyone just swap to a fullsize front and rear like Oknut? I love his X.