i have a few and i am using search to look for more. any suggestions or tips from others that have done this? i am considering sacrificing a D44 for the horns and trac bar mount. i know i can get the tabs from a few different places. i see on my spare D44 that the horns are at an angle from the tube, are the weld on horns (tabs) the same? i was going to use something similar to the deals you weld to the steering to attach hydro rams for the tracbar mount on the axle. any other ideas? thanks, AXE

yes the weld on ones are degreed. Here is my article on doing a swap, mostly for a 44, but i do have stuff at the end of it for a 60. Hope it helps some!

HERE (http://www.wt4wheeling.com/tech/sas2.htm)

i have your link saved already. i see you used flat stock to space the radius arm caps. i dont want to do that. the axle tubes arent that much bigger are they? i think if i shave the insides, they should fit with out the spacer. i am thinking about cutting up a D44 to get the trac bar mounts and radius arm mounts to fit like stock. did you have to redrill the lower could retainers to fit the radius arms holes? off topic, what rims & tires do you have on there in your signature pic? did you weld on the horns? who did you get them from? there are a few place selling them. i am just going to measure everything and duplicate the dimensions when the 60 goes in. what about caster? castor? did you just measure the top on the knuckle to determine that? if i use 7* C bushings with my 4" lift, do i just set the castor at 7* with this axle? i am really just guessing on alot of this. i have OX's article too, there has to be a few more. thanks, sorry about all the questions, AXE

You'd be foolish to cut up the 44 as you kill the resale value. I wouldn't even run the C's. If you have the skills to do the swap, get rid of the C's and start from scratch. A lot easier and less expensive. Get rid of the radius arms (which I bent with a much lighter truck than yours) and put some links in. I was talking to Dave and he was wishing that he had been able to do it that way!

-Jack

heck i got 2 D44s and i can sell them as it is. they are scrap to me. i know i should get $400 each for them, but there is no one in kansas thats willing to buy them and the shipping kills the deal. i was going to deliver one to texas for $300 and the guy didnt want to pay that much. i thought about a 3 or 4 link. thats just more time i would have to spend designing one. there is a great tech article in the last two petersons or 4wheelers. if there was a kit i would buy it, i can fab it i guess, but again its more research and time. as for the radius arms bending, i am going to wrist one and sandwich the other with 1/2" plate as well as a length of box welded to one side, either top or bottom. that should be strong enough. if anyone has a good article on link suspension, that would be appreciated. oh hey dblue, in your write up, you mention the weld on tabs being for a 44 and not a 60. the only thing is that most 44s have them already. i would think they were for D60 swaps only. keep the thoughts coming, AXE

http://www.medicine.wisc.edu/~mrm/bronco/d60/

What Dave means is that the tabs are made to match the dia of a D44 tube. You have to grind down the inner radius (or use a 1/2" spacer on the c-bushing cap) to make them work with the larger dia D60 tube.

i got what he was saying, but then i started thinking... that usually gets me in trouble or costs me money. why would they be made for the D44 when they usually have them on the tubes already?? i just wondered why they would have made them for an axle that would have came stock with them already cast in or welded on. i was just going to post that link myself. i got it from a buddy that has a 79 - 429 w/ 40s here in my town. i am already looking for 1/2 ton 4x4s in the years listed in that tech article. and if all else fails i got a spare D44 in the yard. thanks, AXE

I''ve a complete set (4) of coil brackets, or C's. Say $30 to include shipping to your door.
I've pic posted somewhere on this site. Figure a stock set cut off at the weld.

ok i want to make sure what itis you have. is it the triangular pointy parts that the radius arms grip on the D44 axle? if you cut them off, did you cut the trac bar mount too? i am searching the board for all your posts to see what the picture is of. thanks, AXE

I just cut the radius arm mounts & track bar mount off a '77 F150 axle. You can have them for free if you pay the shipping from Canada - probably $20-$30 or so. If you're interested I can snap a pic and e-mail it to you so you can confirm it's waht you want.

you got a deal sir!! please send me a pic & an address to send you payment or your paypal address. thanks, AXE

ok i have a question. it involves math. i have a 79 bronco. 4" lift. i use no drop down brackets, 7* "C" bushings... when i put in my D60 i will weld on the pointy things. lets call them nipples. ok so they say the caster should be 3*on a D44 so i want the 60 to match. what do i set it at? 0* and let the 7* C bushings correct it or put it on under the truck and set the caster at the same as the D44s is? i need to know what to weld on the nipples at. i think i should measure the pinion on the D44 in the truck now and the caster on top of the knuckle. then take it out and duplicate it all and make the jig. then make the D60 match i guess. math sucks. AXE

I believe the spec is 2-1/2* to 5-1/2* allowable positive caster with 4-1/2* preferred. That's for '79 D44 or D60 front axle in an F-series/Bronco. I would work from the spec's rather than how it sits today because lift kits, mix-n-match bushings, and gawd knows what kind of wear/mileage on that front might not be something you want to repeat in a new installation for alignment setup. If an alignment guy could verify this info it would be cool.
Hope this helps you.

here is what i am curious about. lets say i get the caster to 4.5*, do i weld the <O> on level? 0* or do they go on at an angle? i think with the 7* bushings, no drop bracket & 4" lift, do the bushings correct to actual 7* caster to compensate for 4" lift so that its back to 4.5*? AXE

I can only offer you a suggestion AXE, put the whole front together with 4* c-bushings and the <o>'s on but not welded. Then you can set the caster and tack them in place, pull the radius arms, weld it and reassemble. The reason I would use the 4* bushings is you can go to 0* or 7* if you change something later.

Originally posted by axaviere
you got a deal sir!! please send me a pic & an address to send you payment or your paypal address. thanks, AXE

Sent you a PM with shipping costs yesterday. Please reply.

Thanks

I sent the paypal, you should have it. let me know the tracking # if you get one. thanKs, AXE

DUDE D60 TUBE IS BIGGER THAN 44 TUBE BY THE TIME YOU CUT THE BRACKETS TO FIT THE 60 THE C BUSHING AND RADIS ARMS ARE NOT GOING TO FIT SEND ME E MAIL ADDRESS I WILL SEND YOU A PIC MY BRONCO 81 D60 4 LINK

please send a pic to kirshbom@bellsouth.net also
Thanks

ok my email is axaviere@aol.com and here is what i did to the <> pointy things to make them fit the D60 tube and still have the same dimensions as if they were on a D44...
http://www.superford.org/getfile.php?id=95056&toggle=fullsize&f=weldontabs01.jpg
http://www.superford.org/getfile.php?id=95060&toggle=fullsize&f=grinder02.jpg
http://www.superford.org/getfile.php?id=95061&toggle=fullsize&f=grinder03.jpg
here is the link to more pics
http://www.superford.org/registry/vehicles/showmedia.php?id=95056