Ultimate Ford Solid Axle Swap Thread

I'll start.  I've seen this question asked too many times here.  Please update or correct as needed.

I'll start with Ford Twin Traction Beam (TTB) F-150/Broncos.

There are endless ways to do a SAS.  First, you'll need an axle.  Easy right?  Right.  Just call Dynatrac, WFO Concepts, Currie, Solid, etc. and have them build something radical.  Or you can go to a junk yard and find a 78-79 Ford F-150/Bronco 4X4.  Take the front Dana 44 and everything that it comes with.  Radius arms, Springs, Shocks,drag link, tie rod, panhard rod, etc.  If you build one or find something different, Cage Offroad sells mounts for radius arms.  So if you decided that you have to run a Dana 60, then you can get the parts to run radius arms.  I'll not get into rebuilding the axle, but keep in mind that you'll want to conduct a thorough check of all the components, especially the brakes.

Not getting too far off the axle topic, take the coil buckets from the frame and the radius arm brackets.  You may reuse them later and its easier to get them now.

Because 80-96 Ford TTB frames have a large engine crossmember that hangs low, you'll need to get between 4-6" of lift.  If you have 4" of lift, stiffer is better unless you plan on cutting the crossmember.  Don't forget to reinforce it.

Since your truck should have its own coil buckets and you've taken some from a junk yard, you'll have to decide which to use.  I recommend using the 78-79 coil buckets because there is no shock tower attached.  We'll address why this matters later.  The 78-79 coil buckets are two inches taller than the stock 80-96 buckets.  That means you can run longer springs for the same amount of lift (longer spring can mean better ride/flex).

You can contact Jeff's Bronco Grave Yard for some really cool springs made by Deaver Spring in CA.  They rock.  Really!  You can actually use any full size Ford spring you want, but for the price increase for Deaver's, its well worth it.

Now shocks.  Contact WFO Concepts for you local Ford Parts Counter for a set of pre-superduty F250/350 shock towers.  They're bolt on or weld on and you can adjust them for just about any shock you want to run.  The 80-96 bucket/tower combo makes the shock sit slightly ***  Not a big deal.

Now we'll address radius arms.  James Duff, Jeffs, and Cage all offer radius arms for a SAS.  We'll get to that in a minute.  You can use the 78-79 radius arms, but you'll have to make your own mounts for your 80-96 frame.  Since a longer radius arm will result in better flex and articulation.  I've seen many people lengthen their radius arms.  I think for the money, its worth buying a set of Cage Offroad arms.  Just my two cents.

Now the fun stuff: steering.  There are many schools of thought on this.  I can't even tell you how many parts sources there are, but I'd stick with someone you trust.  I really like WFO Concepts.  That being said, Offroad Unlimited offers excellent components too.

The 78-79 Ford Dana 44 has a knuckle over setup. That means that the ball joints are under the knuckle and point upwards.  Since the drag link attaches to the tie rod, this creates a really steep angle when lifted 6".  Its creates bad steering/handling and wears out steering components.  You can run a complete high steer setup, but that can get tricky.  You need to find a flat top passenger side knuckle and have in machined.  Finding a knuckle can mean mixing and matching GM, Dodge, and/or Ford  You have to do the same thing for some types of cross over steering.  

I'd highly recommend purchasing a tie rod reamer.  I got my Snap-On through WFO Concepts.  CAREFULLY re ream the top of the 78-79 knuckle so the tie rod mounts the other way.  DON'T GO TOO FAR.  Use GM tie rod ends that have a larger shaft and will fit tight in the new reamed knuckles.  This will raise the tie rod up nearly 4" inches.  It gets it out of the way of rocks or debris that will end you wheeling trip early.    It will also help you steering assembly.

The drag link will connect to a drop pitman arm reamed for a GM Drag link end.  You'll use a tie rod end and GM drag link end to create a drag link that spans from  the drop pitman arm to the raised tie rod.  You can get all of this from Cage, WFO Concepts, and about a hundred other places.

Now, the panhard rod.  If you raise the tie rod, you may not be able to use the factory 78-79 panhard rod because at full turn, the two will contact.  That means you'll have to build one of your own.  Try you absolute best to keep the panhard rod the same length and same angle as your drag link.  This will keep bump steer down.

Now, you'll have to decide for your self what shocks to run.  Any of the above mentioned companies will offer good advise.  Don't forget to bolt in the coils according to parts used.

Look up www.fullsizebronco.com/forum or www.pirate4x4/forum for actual builds.  CAREFUL, THEY GET MEAN IF YOU ASK QUESTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN COVERED BEFORE.  I'll try to post pics of mine later.  I'll get to leaf springs options land F-250 TTBs next time.  Again, please correct or update as needed.  

80-96 F-250 SAS

This is much easier.  Find a F-350 of this era that has a solid font axle.  It'll be a Dana 60...should be anyway.  Take the entire axle - hub to hub.  Make sure you take the panhard rod and the bracket from a donor truck.  (NOTE:  this axle is difficult to find in junk yards.  Expect to pay for this when you find it).

Remove the TTB from your F-250, including the brackets.  The Dana 60 will bolt in and the engine crossmember will already have the holes to bolt up the panhard rod bracket.  Bam!  easy as pie.  Now, there are companies like Offroad Unlimited that make a shackle reversal kit that will give you a bit of lift and ride much nicer.  Also, Deaver Spring will set you up with a great set of springs.  Alcan is another option.  

I have just done the solid axle swap on a 85 bronco and here are some of the problems I have encountered. The transmission crossmember had to be cut and modified to accomodate front driveline engine crossmember had to be cut and renforced for axle travel. I used a CAGE 6.5 inch lift in front and I used upper and lower coil buckets from a &% ford F-100 (the cage unit were a bit pricey) I also swaped in a high pinion king pin dana 60 in front and a dana 60 rear with 6 inch leaves in the rear apparently 5.38 gears with a full spool and stock axle are not strong enough with 42x15 TSLs cuz I snapped both rear axles within 30 minutes of my first trip out rock crawling. My local 4x4 shop says this axle will never hold up even with chromoly axles (35 spline axles won't fit in my axle tubes with out a $625 reaming tool) any suggestions will be appreciated. I'm in too deep to stop now. I also have a 3 inch body lift that I hate but i have to have it for tire clearance issues. Any info on a mail order prefabbed cage would be helpful.  
Can't beat an old Ford

I have a '97 F250 with a TTB front axle and a 2" leaf spring lift. Can I put a solid axle in and use the same springs or do I need to get new ones?  

Hey does anyone know of a solid axle swap for a 2005 f150.  I like the look of this body style over the rest of the body styles.  So I would like to keep this truck and just make it more offroadable.  I was looking at Fabritech because they said they had one for 1997-up but couldn't get really any info on if they had for a 2004-up f150.  Then plus now i cant find there website and it didn't have any contact information on the website either.  If anyone has any help it would be greatly appreciated.