Whats the deal ? The wife is buggin me to lift / work on her truck . She wants an Expedition for a DD and keep the Bronco (full size) for a trail rig . We arent going crazy extreme on the build up , she just wants to run 36's gears ,lockers , a warmed over 302 . Ive heard the factory front axle assembly doesnt like lockers all that much , and that once they get lifted you run thru front tires because keeping it aligned is a PITA ! Is it better to just bite the bullet and swap in a straight axle ? If so whats the best year , model etc to look for in the bone yard ? I mean best as far as durability but also in ease of swapping in ? Im thinkin a well built D44 should be more then good enough for what shes ever likely to run into , so Im not even thinkin about a D60 or anything like that , those are reseved for my buggy build :D Thanks all

Everything you want to know is in this link
http://fullsizebronco.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=29

A 76 up will have disks breaks ans the old solid axels are the same as the d44 in the bronko as far as strength and lockers but it wont flex as well as a solid axel .

easiest if you can weld a little is to throw a coil sprung 44 up front. A little extra work gets rd of the ttb which does have some inherent problems. Not really a whole lot "weaker" than a solid 44, its got an extra ujoint, the tierod set up is the shits, and the steering wheeli is NEVER straight, the ttb will last through moderate wheeling, depending on driving style and terrain.

Follow my sig, mines a 94 with one tons, but had a 44. Reinforce the 8.8, it likes to spin tubes and tear spring perches.

a 78 d44 is going under mine this weekend, my bronco has virtually no power so I assume i'll be ok with 37s.

Power doesnt matter its all in the gearing.

Lol I just realized I am saying this and yet my truggy has well over 400 hourspower.

I put a 6" lift on my 96 Bronco, but added all the extra stuff (supperunner extended radious arms and supperunner steering). I have had no issues with the tires and it handels better now than before the lift w/upgrades. I haven't done any serious off roading with it (just the tank trails on Camp Lejuene), but it holds up to what I do with it. I know one other F-150 that had an 8" lift with just the drop down brackets, and he went through tires like crazy. He eventually did a SAS.

Keep the suspension lift at 3-4" tops and use a drop pitman arm, you shouldn have too many issues with it eating tires. The centersection & axles on it are all HP D44 stuff, so its strength is decent.

Yes, the tire thing is almost solely due to the bad steering linkage angle after lifting (drop pitman arms alone don't work well when you go over 4" lift). This causes a constant toeing in/out of the wheels which is what eats the tires (not to mention makes for crappy handling).
A steering conversion of some sort should be used if you lift higher on those things, but is rarely ever done (and aftermarket conversions are pretty much limited to the Superlift Superrunner conversion being the only choice, so getting something better than that basically forces resorting to home-grown stuff. The Superlift kit still leaves some room for improvement in many cases as well).

drop a 44 in from a 78 f150 or if you wanna go leafs drop in one from a f250, you wont be sorry

Keep the suspension lift at 3-4" tops and use a drop pitman arm, you shouldn have too many issues with it eating tires.

Are you talking about lift with the SAS or lift with the TTB? If you're talking SAS then there are issues with the engine crossmember if you go less than 6".

Are you talking about lift with the SAS or lift with the TTB? If you're talking SAS then there are issues with the engine crossmember if you go less than 6".
Not if you go with a 85.5 up 60. The center section has already been moved over for just such a thing.

Are you talking about lift with the SAS or lift with the TTB? If you're talking SAS then there are issues with the engine crossmember if you go less than 6".


Most people trim that crossmember a bit.

I trimmed mine a bit, and am using 6" springs.

This has a 6.5" spring and theres an adaquate ammount of clearance untill the axle hits the crossmember. I never have had the front end airborne, but if I did it probably would hit. I hit steep sand dunes at a pretty good speed with this and it hasn't touched yet so I'm not really worried about it.
And just a note, the front springs are Superlift springs which are known to be very stiff. With a softer spring my clearance might be a problem

http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/200446/fullsize/100_0038.JPG

http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/200448/fullsize/100_0041.JPG

Are you talking about lift with the SAS or lift with the TTB? If you're talking SAS then there are issues with the engine crossmember if you go less than 6".
TTB.

I trimmed the doun portion of the crossmember and just left the flat part under the oilpan and it gave me plenty of room for my SAS on my 81 f150 truggy

This has a 6.5" spring and theres an adaquate ammount of clearance untill the axle hits the crossmember.
http://www.supermotors.org/getfile/200446/fullsize/100_0038.JPG


Right. Which would only take a wee bit of stuffing on that left side before the pumpkin whacks the frame. :shaking:

Just because it's cool sitting in your driveway doesn't mean it's 'adequate'

Right. Which would only take a wee bit of stuffing on that left side before the pumpkin whacks the frame. :shaking:

Just because it's cool sitting in your driveway doesn't mean it's 'adequate'
Its adaquate because it has never got close enoufgh for me to worry about it hitting. The front axle needs to compress about 5.5" untill the differential contacts the crossmember, which I have never been able to do. Even in hard hits when I was testion it I still had 2" of clearance left. And I can stuff the left front tire up as high as it will go and there is still 3" of room left untill it hits the crossmember. I was even doint that with the truck rocking on 2 tires when I measured.

If it was a problem I would fix it. Theres no problem, its not even close to being a problem so I'm not going to worry about it.
Like I said they are stiff springs. With softer springs it might be a problem.

That independant front (TTB) will hold up to 36's and a locker. Go bigger and you will have problems bending the steering rods. The TTB is better for higher speed running, whommpin', desert running fast etc. The solid is better for crawlin'. Build for what you run, but that TTB will take you many places including some crawlin'. You will find much bias against it though.:shaking: Good luck!

That independant front (TTB) will hold up to 36's and a locker. Go bigger and you will have problems bending the steering rods. The TTB is better for higher speed running, whommpin', desert running fast etc. The solid is better for crawlin'. Build for what you run, but that TTB will take you many places including some crawlin'. You will find much bias against it though.:shaking: Good luck!

Your pvc pipe roll cage sucks.

Check out Fabitech at setstr8.com, they have all you need for an easy conversion.

the fabritech kits way over priced, under engineered and wont flex. It also has bumpsteer. You can do your own for WAY less.