Hey there,

I am new to this forum, but am a regular to The Diesel Stop. The guys there say this is the place for 4x4 Q's. I currently drive an 87' F-250 with the ttb setup under it. I want to upgrade to a solid axle and have a D44 that I can use. I have heard that these are not strong enough to put under a diesel. Is this true? I use my pickup for a daily driver and only use the 4x4 on icy roads. Does any one have any input?

Thanks,
Ben

Honestly, if you only plan to use it on ice, maybe in some snow, and are easy on the throttle...It could last you with good universals. If you could get a 60, you'd be much safer because of the torque the diesel puts out.

But again, be easy on it, and you'll be ok depending on tire size. Anything over 35's with that engine and you're asking to blow something up.

I don't have a turbo on my pickup so I don't think that torque will be an issue. thanks for the reply. Any body else?

I think you currently have the dana 50 ttb setup under your f250, but im not sure. You should be ok with the solid D44 if you are not doing any serious offroading.

my 87 had the 460 and the D44 TTB. I had a lockrite in it on 35's and only broke twice... my 460 had nearly 400 HP and 500 TQ, I think the D44 should be okay..

I think you currently have the dana 50 ttb setup under your f250, but im not sure. You should be ok with the solid D44 if you are not doing any serious offroading.

I know what you mean....you'd think so. The other day I was at the local exhaust shop, and a younger guy has a 92ish F-250 with a 460, 5 speed. He asked if I'd look at his front end to tell him what it was. I said, "It's probably a D50." I walked out & looked at it, and it was indeed a D44. Easy to tell by looking at the size of the lockout hubs and axle U-joints......

I have a Plain-Jane '88 F-250 4x4 in the garage that I'm working on to sell it. It is a 351, and it has the D50. I've had several F-250's from the late 80's-early 90's. All of them have had the D50.

As Forrest Gump would say if talking about many items on Fords, "You never know what your gonna get."

Buford

Thats the difference between the F-250 and the HD F-250 I guess. From what I am hearing I can do this. Does anybody know about the spring perches, I know the D44 under the 70's fords had the perch cast into the pumkin on the drivers side. Since Ford has never done any thing the same for two years running I bet the frame widths are different, am I going to run into a problem?

nope..

The F250 has a semi floating and the F250HD has a full floating axle. That is the difference. The HD trucks are 8600 or more GWVR.

All the F250s i've seen (HD or non-HD) have Dana 44HDs. Those are '86 or older. A lot of the newer F250HDs have Dana 50s.

if you look at the door tag, a 3850GWVR front is the 44HD. the 4600GWVR is the Dana 50.

my '85 has a Dana 70HD, a Dana 44HD, and 8600lb GWVR.

I have seen newer fords (92-94) with full floating rears and Dana 44HD fronts as well. I think it is just a crap shoot.

That diesel has some weight to it, i would be more worried about bending the housing.

The only F-250 you are guaranteed to get a Dana 50 under is a super cab with a 460 or diesel.

That diesel has some weight to it, i would be more worried about bending the housing.

Unless he's going to be jumping the truck, which based on reading his post, he's not, I'd seriously doubt that he's going to bend the axle housing under normal use.

Buford

if your only using it on icy roads, theres no advantage to a solid axle over the ttb you have. sounds like a lot of work for nothing, not flaming, just saying...

justin

if your only using it on icy roads, theres no advantage to a solid axle over the ttb you have. sounds like a lot of work for nothing, not flaming, just saying...

justin

The only pluses are that the Dana 60 will keep better alignment, and your alignment won't be boogered if you add a plow..

Not sure what the weight difference is between the ford diesel and the cummins 6BT, but the older dodge trucks I have seen that did the diesel swap start to taco the D44 front axle (one '73, the other '74) without an axle truss. - no wheeling at all.

If you decide on a D44, I would truss it. Also make sure your axle tubes are solid & do not have the cast wedges. Those will bend. Check out Mr. N's stuff on finding the correct HP d44 if you go that route.

Yeah trussing is is a very good idea especially since you are going through all the trouble of getting it under there you might as well make sure its not going to bend under all that weight.

the 7.3L diesel weighs about 860lbs.. a 460 weighs 640... not a big difference... I'm not sure what a 6.9L weighs.

the 7.3L diesel weighs about 860lbs.. a 460 weighs 640... not a big difference... I'm not sure what a 6.9L weighs. probably real close as the early 7.3's and 6.9's shared the same block..

Over 200 somthing pounds then a 460, thats a pretty good bit heavier. Probally heavy enough to bend the housing...

I think it'd pretty pretty hard to bend a ttb housing since it hinges in the middle

Over 200 somthing pounds then a 460, thats a pretty good bit heavier. Probally heavy enough to bend the housing...

I think you are probably full of shit. :flipoff2:

I think it'd pretty pretty hard to bend a ttb housing since it hinges in the middle


Read the post dude...he's talking about putting in a solid axle Dana 44. Not TTB. :shaking:

My '90 F250HD 7.3L had a D44HD TTB so I don't see why a D44HD solid axle wouldn't work.

Read the post dude...he's talking about putting in a solid axle Dana 44. Not TTB. :shaking:

oppss. sorry. i'd keep the ttb before i put in a SA 44. Dana 60 time.

or he could get one out of a late 70s f250 and use it... they are probably a lot beefier than a 1/2 ton.

probably the reason why dodge diesels bend the dana 44s is b/c of that lame ass CAD bullshit.. :barf:

just weld the ibeams together for solid axle action.. :flipoff2:

I put the 3800 lb D44 out of a '78 F250 under a 75 F250 4x4 for probably 50k miles with a hot 390/Np435 and then ran it about another 100K with a 6.9 and a T19D. Tires were 33" mostly road or ranch miles. I did manage to nearly rip the center out of the clutch jerking on a truck trying to roll it back on its feet. Never bent it though.