hey all,
well i know this subject may have been hacked to pieces......but not really?
ive been doing this awhile and searching like non-other.....but no one ever mentions HOW or if its POSSIBLE to remove the cast radius arm mounts off a '79 f150 d44 front.
so rather than hackin me on finding another, like '77, or getting a waggy, i cant. they are not out there. i would like to stick with the high pinion ford too.
or what are your thoughts, who is running a low pinion on a yj soa?? do you like it, or does it hit everything?

as for removing the cast radius arm mounts. i would think torching it off would heat and warp tubes, how bout a plasma cutter??? i saw that insayne just built over them...but i cant get him to reply to my pm's.....anyone else do this. hows it hold up?

thanks to all,
Sean

Shayyyy Foo!
I emailed a response to you.

friend of mine and i are gonna pull the one outa my 79 and put some chevy knuckles on it for his 95 chevy. Those cast bushing things are gross but we are gonna leave em on. I've heard that the axle tubes aren't super thick so proceed w/ caution.

if you have any desire to read through this long-ass thread i think someone answers your question. i beleive i remeber reading that YOU CAN'T... re-tubing was offered as the only alternative...not sure if its correct?

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=91805

Shayyyy Foo!
I emailed a response to you.

"I have had no trouble with the perches sitting on top of the casts. I had them professionally TIG welded on by a welder in their proper positions. The plates I used were 3/8 thick. I welded a plate onto the perch and the other sandwiches the springs in between. I opted to use 5/8 grade 8 bolts with washers and lock-tite. I am now running 38's on these axles and have smacked into rocks pretty hard. There has been no signs of cracking or breaking. I invert the springs and bend those before I even worry about the welds. If you are really concerned about u-bolts you could always bust out the grinder and grind cast down to the point where it is round so you can have a u-bolt made to wrap around it, but you will have to have a u-bolt plate made for the larger radius u-bolt. The cast portion on most of these is apart of the axle tube. So there is no cutting it off or into it meaning there is no tube underneath it."
http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/users/30861a39/bc/My+Photos/Spring+Perch.jpg?bcyu889AtyFgaujI
http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/users/30861a39/bc/My+Photos/Spring+Perches+2.jpg?bcyu889AhUDkn0om

Like everyone has said, you can't cut off the cast brackets. If you do you won't have much of an axle tube left, if any to weld on. That is the whole reason I avoided those axles like the plague. I got lucky and found several HP44's in on of the local pick-n-pulls and took the what looked to be the best one with the welded radius arm brackets. I think your only option, besides re-tubing, is to weld your new brackets on top.

I run that same axle in my YJ sprung under with no problems. I mig welded my purches on with S7 wire and some pre heat. No problems. I used square Ubolts and made my own flip kit. Under the cast is the shaft(NO TUBE). We are retubing one right now at the shop for a Yota. So it will have a HP44 but the pumpkin will be on the passanger side with Chevy axles and outers.
It's a good axle so build it if you have it.

well i think im going to go for it, and try and do the install the way insayn did it. thanks insayn, the pics help alot.
it actually looks like the radius arm monts are no interfearing with the leaf springs?? its a bit hard to see the pass side, but still doesnt seem to be in teh way. is that true?
on the drivers side it looks like the pumpkin housing is the thinge in teh way of the spring perch?
did you narrow the axel or anything to make it line up this way?
thanks agian,
Sean

The passenger side perch only has one edge that sits on the cast portion. The other end is sitting on the tube.
The driver side perch sits on the cast portion AND on the edge of the differential housing where the tube leaves the diff. No biggie.
The axle is full width and not narrowed and was off a 79 Bronco. My rear came off a 78 F150.
The knuckles are off a 78 Chevy blazer for the flattops. I used the Chevy spindles, caliper bracket and calipers. The rotor and hubs are off a Ford (for the 5x5.5 pattern) along with the appropriate lockouts for a Ford. The hi-steer arms are my own, the tie rod and drag link are Rockstompers with Chevy ends.

Originally posted by SeanYJ93
hey all,
well i know this subject may have been hacked to pieces......but not really?
ive been doing this awhile and searching like non-other.....but no one ever mentions HOW or if its POSSIBLE to remove the cast radius arm mounts off a '79 f150 d44 front. Search some more. I've posted on several threads where this has been discussed. I don't like the 78-79 1/2 ton style, was burn by one.
get a 74-77 if you can.

Your answer is NO you can't remove the cast radius arm mounts on a 78-79 with out re-tubing.

Here is another picture I found:
http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/users/30861a39/bc/My+Photos/spring+perch3.jpg?bcmDL99Av8O5QWFq

I just welded straight on to the cast. So far it has held up fine, and I have beat the hell out of it.

http://www.thejeepsite.com/SOA/SOA-42.jpg

I know you must need to retube them to narrow one because my axle building friend specifically buys 10bolt front housings for 20bucks, burns the tubes out of them, cuts them down and presses them into the HPd44.The tube diameter is the same. Then if you want to change diff sides it is easy. Sean I PMed you. If you plan on running full width, which I believe is only 65in then I would do what Insayn did.

yo,
no flame intended, but waggy front ends are out there. I bought one complete for $75, and this guy will part with his in the neighborhood of $200 (don't quote me on that, I only overheard briefly a snippet of conversation with another guy).

http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=003627

If nothing else, check back to the FSJ site often. I found my centered pumpkin rear D44 ('87 Gwag) and my driver's drop front D44 ('80 waggy) on that site. Both of them within reasonable distance of my house.

Hey Sean without shooting myself in the foot I know a guy selling a pair of waggy 44s for 250 I think. The rear is offset though. Any time I have ever wanted a waggy 44 I can find one in less than a week. Call Pull a part you get a complete front axle for 86 bucks and they have waggys all the time in tacoma.