I am about to purchase this 1978 set of Ford F100 axles. They are 64" wms to wms. The front D44 is coil sprung and has a 3.54 gear. The control arm and spring bracket attached with a bracket that wraps around the axle tube. The tube has a cast lump front and rear, I guess so the control arm can control axle wrap. Is this removable or even in the way for my TeraFlex long arm kit. And, what other problems will I run into with this axle. Based on searches, I beleive the knuckles are not thick enought for a highsteer kit, but maybe this axle is "special" and I am wrong.
http://www.imagestation.com/mypictures/inbox/view.html?id=4192328270&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.imagestation.com%2Fpicture%2F sraid101%2Fpe98eff22ad7d1caf9c35566b158e660e%2Ff9e 1da4e.jpg&caption=ford%20f100%2044

So how do I post a $v(King picture?


http://www.imagestation.com/mypictures/inbox/view.html?id=4192328270&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.imagestation.com%2Fpicture%2F sraid101%2Fpe98eff22ad7d1caf9c35566b158e660e%2Ff9e 1da4e.jpg&caption=ford%20f100%2044

I couldnt see the pic, however, the knuckles probably arent any good for high steer. And yes, the radius arm mounts are cast in. You can probably make them work, but I am not sure how. a better solution would be to look for the axles out of a F250. These are wider (69.5" in the front and 67.5" in the rear) but easier to work with. At least, the D44 is easier, plus it has flat top knuckles. Either rear end should be fine for installation. There are some strength differences, though.

THe cast radius arm mount's are not removeable and they have a thinner axle tube than the leaf sprung version's. I would wait until you found a leaf sprung front 44 with the removeable radius arm mount's. That is what I will be sticking under my TJ this spring. .02

http://www.usjeeps.com/groups/p26-1074629012.jpg

http://www.usjeeps.com/groups/p26-1074629012.jpg

Originally posted by kpj
I would wait until you found a leaf sprung front 44 with the removeable radius arm mount's.

A leaf sprung axle with radius arm mounts? no such thing.;)

Rwrangler, what your front suspension plans are will determine which axle will suit your needs best. The 3/4 ton HP44s used in the F-250s had leaf springs, but I believe the driver side perch is partly cast into the diff. housing. The 3/4 tons had the larger dual piston calipers and 8-lug hubs (which can be swapped out for the smaller 1/2 ton outers). The 1/2 ton HP44 housings had radius arm mounts and the smaller outers, which are 5x5.5 lug. The 1/2 ton housings had weld on radius arm mounts up till '77; so pretty much any 1/2 ton housing used from '78-'79 will have the cast radius arm mounts, which you can not cut off. However, if you want to retain the stock radius arms and coil mounts, you won't need to cut them off.

HTH.

I have a Terraflex long are kit with adjustable uppers. I also have 4.5 inch RK springs and intend to go to a 5.5 inch spring to clear the 37's I am going to upgrade to. So, as long as I can weld the attachments for the tera control arms and the new spring buckets, I should be alright. You think that is possible. I should be able to make some shock mounts to mount on top of the axle somewhere. On a second note, i will probably try to find a set of F250 outers and will have to figure out how to convert the rear to 8 bolt or the front to 5 bolt, so I can do high steer and have one bolt pattern all the way around.

What rear axle are you currently running? what do you want in it's place? Don't forget these are full width axles, so you may want to cut it down to match the rear.

Keep in mind that the 3/4 tons are about 2" wider because of the 8 lug outers, so if you swap the outers from a 3/4 ton to the 1/2 ton, it will be roughly 2" wider. And if you do the same on the 3/4 ton with 1/2 ton outers, it will be roughly 2" narrower.

If you want brackets done easy, look at the RE brackets.

for the sake of you possibly futher answering his question... he has an 8.8 in the rear. Stock explorer width. :) he wants to change the rear to a 9" what has the same WMS" as the front that he wants to put in (64")

Originally posted by Surfzup2k3
for the sake of you possibly futher answering his question... he has an 8.8 in the rear. Stock explorer width. :) he wants to change the rear to a 9" what has the same WMS" as the front that he wants to put in (64")

Easy answer:

Late '70s F-150 front HP44 and the matching rear 9". The 9" is 31 spline big bearing, spring over; you'll need brackets for it, but he can ditch the Tera junk and keep the Ford radius arms, extend them and tie them to the frame with Johnny Joints. The coils will mount right to the coil seats on the Ford arms, but they'll have a slight outward bow towards the bottom because the coil seats are a little outboard of the TJs. However it's not a big deal at all. Lots have done it, all successful.

If he's hell-bent on redoing all the bracketry up front, get an F-150 housing from a '77 or earlier; these have weld on radius arm brackets.

Fullsize Bronco axles are what you're looking for as well, but the front has cast radius arm brackets, which isn't a deal if he wants to keep them. I wouldn't bother swapping outers if you're running a matching rear 9".

Originally posted by JS-Economos

Keep in mind that the 3/4 tons are about 2" wider because of the 8 lug outers, so if you swap the outers from a 3/4 ton to the 1/2 ton, it will be roughly 2" wider. And if you do the same on the 3/4 ton with 1/2 ton outers, it will be roughly 2" narrower.


when i swaped my 1/2 ton knuckles for 3/4 ton knuckles i only gained about a 1/4" on each side.

rwangler- if you can get this axle for cheap use it and make extended radius arms with JJ at the frame end like Economos said. if its not that great of a price wait to find a newer one.

Bryan

Originally posted by norcalXJ


when i swaped my 1/2 ton knuckles for 3/4 ton knuckles i only gained about a 1/4" on each side.


Bryan

Did you just swap out the knuckles or did you use everything from the knuckles out?

Edit: Nevermind, you've got a 14B rear.

I am getting them for a good price, I am getting both the 9" and the 44 for $300. The R&P looked good and not metal seen in the 44. Did not open up the 9 yet. All the bracketry looks to be in good shape and the radius arms are still there. Ok, I like the idea of keeping the front Ford radius arms and extending them, but will I get the flex and stability with them like I do with the teraflex kit, or way more. And should I try to integrate an Upper adjustable control arm to help keep the axle from rolling (can't remember the alignment term). The TJ flexes like a mofo now with the teraflex up front. height to fuck that up.

Also, if I keep the 1/2 ton outers, I can;t do the high steer can I.(safely?) I don;t mind the extra width on the front with the 250 outers, since I will get a better steer and tracking.

Thanks alot for the help guys. I will pick the axles up Sunday, just need some help with the ideas on building a low squat, well flexing suspension.

Originally posted by JS-Economos


A leaf sprung axle with radius arm mounts? no such thing.;)

Rwrangler, what your front suspension plans are will determine which axle will suit your needs best. The 3/4 ton HP44s used in the F-250s had leaf springs, but I believe the driver side perch is partly cast into the diff. housing. The 3/4 tons had the larger dual piston calipers and 8-lug hubs (which can be swapped out for the smaller 1/2 ton outers). The 1/2 ton HP44 housings had radius arm mounts and the smaller outers, which are 5x5.5 lug. The 1/2 ton housings had weld on radius arm mounts up till '77; so pretty much any 1/2 ton housing used from '78-'79 will have the cast radius arm mounts, which you can not cut off. However, if you want to retain the stock radius arms and coil mounts, you won't need to cut them off.

HTH.

Whoops, I wrote that when I was first waking up. :emb3:

here is a link to some radius arms that work good. they are pretty much like mine but my uppers arent adjustable and mine arent wristed plus mine have a JJ at the frame end. mine flexes extemely good with these arms also.

http://www.broncofix.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=1520

Bryan

Originally posted by rwangler88
Ok, I like the idea of keeping the front Ford radius arms and extending them, but will I get the flex and stability with them like I do with the teraflex kit, or way more. And should I try to integrate an Upper adjustable control arm to help keep the axle from rolling (can't remember the alignment term). The TJ flexes like a mofo now with the teraflex up front.

No need for any uppers because of the radius arm design; the upper and lower are all one in the same. Look at how they mount on the housing and you'll see why. Yes they flex well but they also bind, as do most. They'll feel just as stable or more stable than your Tera stuff. Just extend the radius arms to new frame mounts and run the larger RE Johnny Joints and you'll be good to go. Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to get some degreed bushings for the radius arm mounts at the axle as well.

As for flat tops, you can get those from the aftermarket for pretty good deals that are already set up with the hi-steer arms; all you need to do is supply the steering. Or you can always source out Chevy flat tops from the junkyard.

Alright guys. That was alot of help, Now I have a definate plan. I will be back to show you guys how it turns out in a couple of months. I will be also be back to make sure there are no ideas I am missing when I put the 9" in. Pretty basic but there could be some ideas I am missing. Thanks

tell you what Let me make it real easy on you and let you by my HP Dana 44 from Currie/Custom. HP44 1/2 tubes flat top knuckles warn premo hubs 5x5.5 highsteer steup..


oh ya.. its bolt in.:flipoff2:

oh yeah, lets here a price?

Originally posted by rwangler88
oh yeah, lets here a price?

1.) Its HEAR

2.) How are you going to hear it online? Seems like seeing the price would save alot of trouble :flipoff2:

Look here little surfer dude, I know where you live! :flipoff2: LOL

Originally posted by rwangler88
Look here little surfer dude, I know where you live! :flipoff2: LOL

Hey hey now.:p

Soup Bowls, Barbados: Summer '03

http://images.ofoto.com/photos530/1/92/91/2/57/4/457029192103_0_ALB.jpg

WB (home sweet home), Fall '03

http://images.ofoto.com/photos530/1/92/2/71/54/5/554710292103_0_ALB.jpg

Sharp eye makes awesome baords dude, fast. I think i might get one as my next board. My ol' C5 is starting to fall apart. :D

Cool pics btw..

Where in NC are you?

That board was a 6'1 round tail SBX model. Had a slight forward vee to double concave and was SUPER fast in hollow surf; was a little too small for mushy stuff. I rode that board with no problems at way over-head Soup Bowls and Parlours in Barbados; didn't ding once. Came home and surfed a little sandbar just north of Mercer's Peir here in Wrightsville, pulled into a little beach break tube and broke the nose clean off.

My last Sharp Eye, I broke clean in half at MAS during Hurricane Isabel; I found the other half though and they're collecting dust in the corner of my room. BTW, it was only about 4 months old.:D

Since I've broken every Sharp Eye I've ever owned, I'm now riding JS Surfboards. All I can say about these is... WOW!

cool i might look into one :D

Any places in SC that you know of that has them?

Originally posted by Surfzup2k3
cool i might look into one :D

Any places in SC that you know of that has them?

Not really, they're imported from Austrailia. The guy who shapes them is Jason Stevens; Darren Handlay (DHD Surfboards) taught him everything and he shaped under DHD for a while, then started JS. I get all my boards from Sweet Water and as far as I know, they're the only guys who carry them.

Originally posted by rwangler88
oh yeah, lets here a price?

$1900












RC44 already has Hysteer done by the man himself (MIke at 4xdoctor) this aint no barnyard fab job. Ford/CJ knuckles / brackets have all been gusseted. all brackets were calulated and put into precist places for full articulation and no rubbing of anything.

(barn yard fab jobs always run into clearance rubbing issues when they go full hysteer with ZJ/XJ/TJ front setup.) I dont think youll have this problem tho:flipoff2:



This is how much I spent on the axle
Currie RC Dana 44 - $1400
Flat top knuckles - $230
Parts Mike Hysteer arms - $250
Drag link/tyrod /Trac bar w/GM 1ton tie rod ends(4xdoctor) $350
Hysteer setup including brackets (4xdoctor) $750
Warn hubs $70
Timken Bearings / seals (hub) ~$125
Rotors/ / 1/2 ton chevy brakes/ ORME SS brake lines ~$200
hubs spindles $50
Dana spicer ball joints $90
Factory GM flat arm stud kit $40
POR-15 Paint $40

Im to fawkin ashamed to total this 'MISTAKE' :rolleyes:
but Ill let it go for $1900. if you want I have waggy axles I can throw in no charge but the inners still ahve to be cut down...


Oh did I mention this axle is brand fawkin new??? never even seen assfawlt yet! :flipoff2:


wait till I get home Ill snap a few pics just cuz im a nice guy

here is just a though kinda thing, the front axle i am putting in my TJ was a ford RC radius arm front (early style) so i cut off the mounts and shortened the short side to fit a scout axle and didnt touch the long side. this makes the front end 63" from wms to wms. the cool thing about 63" is that it will match a C&C 14 bolt. so my front can follow when i upgrade. here is a pic of the axle with grand cherokee coil buckets (the are 1.5" taller than TJ also the are way more stout)

sorry for the shitty pic, i can get close ups if you want them.

dont get any better than this my friend;)

2

3

4

you like my bolt on kit on roids???:flipoff2:

5

(notice the 2nd double RIB?) that means its an HD44 housing

Heres where all the $s at..... no copying guys:flipoff2: :flipoff2:

Alright Karmir. First off, since going from a YJ to a TJ, I have limited my funds. I made some stupid agreement with my wife that I would have to upgrade less when the TJ came along, now its harder to get shit by her. Second, I have simply built two 8.8's and done some d30 upgrading. Now, its time to learn how to set up a 9" (fawkin easy) and learn how to make a 44 work in the TJ, then do a a highsteer and so on without spending $2,000.
Thirdly, shipping from the west coast to the extreme east coast is going to be expensive. I really appreciate the offer and its a sweet axle that is definately ready to kick some @$$, but no.

Chrisjeep: Please send me some more pics man. I've heard good things here about utiliziing the radius arms, but some other people I have talked to said that the Ford guys hate the radius arms. I like the idea of fabbing the radius amr bracket into a long arm style link system. Can you send me some more pics, and have to trailed it yet? how did it flex out and ride? Was there alot of binding when flexed? pics pics pics man. Thanks

hey this is what the fawking for sale section is for, also PM's are nice.

this is fawking tech, keep it that way:flipoff2:

Originally posted by rwangler88

Chrisjeep: Please send me some more pics man. I've heard good things here about utiliziing the radius arms, but some other people I have talked to said that the Ford guys hate the radius arms. I like the idea of fabbing the radius amr bracket into a long arm style link system. Can you send me some more pics, and have to trailed it yet? how did it flex out and ride? Was there alot of binding when flexed? pics pics pics man. Thanks

first off i cut the ford radius arms off, they suck. YES my front is going to be a radius are suspension modeled after the rubicon express kits, cuz its simple and kicks major ass off road...search more for info on that.

the binding in a radius arm suspension IS the radius arms.

(i think your using the term long arm like is its own style, its a radius arm design)

They're junk! Go with a D60

Originally posted by rwangler88
I have a Terraflex long are kit with adjustable uppers. I also have 4.5 inch RK springs and intend to go to a 5.5 inch spring to clear the 37's I am going to upgrade to. So, as long as I can weld the attachments for the tera control arms and the new spring buckets, I should be alright. You think that is possible. I should be able to make some shock mounts to mount on top of the axle somewhere. On a second note, i will probably try to find a set of F250 outers and will have to figure out how to convert the rear to 8 bolt or the front to 5 bolt, so I can do high steer and have one bolt pattern all the way around. :eek: