Full width axle swap 76 f150

[Jesus_man]

Yeah, it is a bit of a can of worms!

[Gunnibronco]

'Can of Worms' should be my rig's name!

[Justin]

Lol. If you read through my build thread there's a bunch of info on what it took to move mine forward 2".

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[rooster]

Justin I have read through your thread a couple times, I guess my question is since I'm leaving the axle in its stock location for now, would welding the coil towers 1" forward from were they where be a good idea while everything is ready to be welded? Or would this cause the springs to bow forward significantly?

[Gunnibronco]

The coils will bow enough. I really don't think it would be a huge problem. My coils were bowed out a couple inches on each side for years, because I was running stock upper coil hangers & wide axles.

[Jesus_man]

Yeah, if you are putting new towers in, weld them forward as much as you feel comfortable. I might also suggest welding them higher so you can run a taller (read more droop) springs.

[rooster]

Got my front axle in this weekend , I ended up welding the duff towers ( great product BTW) 1.5 inches forward from stock. I cut down the ruffstuff trac bar bracket significantly to make sure it wouldn't interfere with the TRO when under full compression and butted it up against the spring tower and welded them together.
For the trac bar I copied gunnibronco's design and ground down the stock bar to fit inside a dom tube and a hiem so it's adjustable. The hiem also replaces the upper bushing that has been known to wear out prematurely compared to the lower one.
Nothing hits under full compression, in fact the long arms seem to be the limiting factor as they hit the frame rails before anything else does. I will try to get better pics soon.

[Jesus_man]

Nice! yes, we need more pics!

[rooster]

Still haven't got the best pics, been busy and kinda spaced it out. Front is all done now complete with T-bird calipers.(If anybody needs I can get the part numbers for the fittings and lines I used for them).

The rear is out but now I have a new problem...
The guy I bought this bronco from said that when he installed the locker, he also upgraded to 31 spline shafts. So I thought the rear was going to be a simple swap of the 3rd member.
Well after removing axle shafts and the 3rd member it was obvious that this wasn't the case. It does have what appears to be a detroit locker, but it is 28 spline. I feel like I should sell it and put the money towards a 31 spline unit what do you guys think? Also can anybody ID this locker?

[Gunnibronco]

I don't know the prices, but you can change the Detriot Locker to a 31 spline locker, unless it's an 'older' unit (20+ years). You can call Eaton for more info.

[Jesus_man]

If you're offroading, I think it's best to go 31 spl now. You want to eliminate as many weak links as possible.

Then you might as well do a Hi9, pinion brake, frame off resto... Ok, only kidding...

[Justin]

Have you been reading my build thread? #broncocreepisreal

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[rooster]

Here's the part numbers for the brake lines and adapters I used for the T-bird caliper swap,

AN fittings FCM2929
Crush washers FCM3513
Earls brake lines 630117-14
AN to inverted brake line flare adapter FCM2936
All parts were sourced from amazon and fit great . The calipers I bought at orielys


I called eaton today about getting new side gears to convert my detroit to a 31 spline, but they told me that they will not sell just the parts I need separately...I did however meet a guy today who has an original detroit with around 200 miles on it with the right bearing size and splines for 325, plus 150 credit on my current locker.
Any opinions on this? The unit looks brand new as well as the bearings, it's not the newer "soft locker" but the older design. Heard this unit is harsher and loader than the newer design but stronger? As long as I can still drive it on the street safely I could care less about the sound I think.

[Gunnibronco]

I drove on an old Detroit for 15 years, now a Lock-Rite. I don't mind them, but I only really drive around Gunnison. It will lock & chirp tires going around corners if you have your foot on the gas. Can get exciting in the snow.

[Digger]

Here's the part numbers for the brake lines and adapters I used for the T-bird caliper swap,

AN fittings FCM2929
Crush washers FCM3513
Earls brake lines 630117-14
AN to inverted brake line flare adapter FCM2936
All parts were sourced from amazon and fit great . The calipers I bought at orielys


I called eaton today about getting new side gears to convert my detroit to a 31 spline, but they told me that they will not sell just the parts I need separately...I did however meet a guy today who has an original detroit with around 200 miles on it with the right bearing size and splines for 325, plus 150 credit on my current locker.
Any opinions on this? The unit looks brand new as well as the bearings, it's not the newer "soft locker" but the older design. Heard this unit is harsher and loader than the newer design but stronger? As long as I can still drive it on the street safely I could care less about the sound I think.

If you can swing it, get an ARB for the rear. I had a Detroit in a long-wheelbase Ranger years ago. While the driving characteristics were acceptable with 125" WB, you could feel it trying to push the front end around in snow and rain. Worse yet was trying to wheel up a loose rock hill, I could feel the rear end pushing side to side as tires gained or lost traction. The ARB by comparison is much smoother on road and off. Open diff on the street has perfect manners and snow and ice driving is much safer. When locked, off-road driving is also smoother and more predictable.

[Jesus_man]

While I agree that a selectable locker in the rear is a great idea, ARB's are too troublesome for my taste. OX made a cable actuated one, and I think they still do. And Auburn makes an electric one.

[ZOSO]

While I agree that a selectable locker in the rear is a great idea, ARB's are too troublesome for my taste. OX made a cable actuated one, and I think they still do. And Auburn makes an electric one.

I wish aurburn would make the ected for the 9in but sadly they dont.

[Jesus_man]

While I agree that a selectable locker in the rear is a great idea, ARB's are too troublesome for my taste. OX made a cable actuated one, and I think they still do. And Auburn makes an electric one.

I wish aurburn would make the ected for the 9in but sadly they dont.

Thanks for the correction. I must be thinking of the D44

[Gunnibronco]

While I agree that a selectable locker in the rear is a great idea, ARB's are too troublesome for my taste. OX made a cable actuated one, and I think they still do. And Auburn makes an electric one.

I wish aurburn would make the ected for the 9in but sadly they dont.

Same with the Ox. No 9". Air is the only option for a selectable 9".

[Jesus_man]

While I agree that a selectable locker in the rear is a great idea, ARB's are too troublesome for my taste. OX made a cable actuated one, and I think they still do. And Auburn makes an electric one.

I wish aurburn would make the ected for the 9in but sadly they dont.

Same with the Ox. No 9". Air is the only option for a selectable 9".

Fail! me!!

[ZOSO]

While I agree that a selectable locker in the rear is a great idea, ARB's are too troublesome for my taste. OX made a cable actuated one, and I think they still do. And Auburn makes an electric one.

I wish aurburn would make the ected for the 9in but sadly they dont.

Same with the Ox. No 9". Air is the only option for a selectable 9".

Had a buddy that had one in the front of his bronco. The thing sucked to engage and disengage. He would fit for 5+ minutes each time.

[rooster]

Thanks for the replies, all appreciated, but I've kinda blown my budget I had for this clear out of the water so a selectable locker is not really something I can justify right now, the guy with the Detroit also has nice uses axles that are in great shape so I think I will probably buy everything from him in a package since he is willing to make a better deal if I do that... this bronco is more or less a toy that I will occasionally drive to work on nice days and to and from trails. Possibly the occasional trip I hope that a detroit will suit those needs to my satisfaction

Unless someone has a cheap arb they wanna sell
...

[Strike2]

For what is worth I ran both F/R Lockrights on my XJ, although not a DD I drove it to every trail including trips to Ouray, Crested Buttes and Phoenix and they were never an issue. The only issue I had was driving on icy roads on winter I made it 2 miles from the house and then turned back I'm sure it was a combination on the lockers and the KM2 didn't help any! I plan on running the same set up in the bronco unless I win the lotto.

[Jesus_man]

In leiu of Lockrights, you might check out Spartan. I understand they are stronger. When I needed my lockright replaced, Spartan hadn't yet released the D44 version. So in went another lockright.
https://www.ringpinion.com/b2c/ProductD ... rodID=9286

[Gunnibronco]

Sorry to muddy the waters, but I read good things about the Aussie lockers too. Got a ring & pinion & bearings from this company. They were good to deal with & great with prices:

http://www.ronsmachiningservice.net/dana-44-3/

[Jesus_man]

Sorry to muddy the waters, but I read good things about the Aussie lockers too. Got a ring & pinion & bearings from this company. They were good to deal with & great with prices:

http://www.ronsmachiningservice.net/dana-44-3/

Yes, indeed!! I also believe Aussie was in the middle of a re-tool on the D44 and it wasn't available to me either!

[rooster]

Well decided to stick with the Detroit. This one is the old school one but it was bassicly brand new. Got it set up in the 3rd member. I understand now why the 9 inch ford is so popular. The design is so great and I realize why these are so strong.this pattern took my an hour to get vs on the dana like 6 or 7 hours accumulative. Also scored this heavy duty housing that is the right width too.
if anybody is interested i know where 2 more of these housings are. They measure 60" inside flange to flange.

[rooster]

Made some nice progress , got the rear axle all put back together, pushed back, and welded up. The pinnion angle is right around 1.5 so hopefully that will work good. I let the axle all the way down to full droop and the driveshaft doesn't bind. Also moving the axle back an inch really helped to center the rear tires in the wheel wells. Overall I am very hap py .the ruffstuff perches lifted the rear by at least a half inch .(good in my application). More pics soon to come

[rooster]

Nest thought id post some pics, super happy with the stance! Hope to finally finish the brakes this weekend and will post update on how it handles compared to how it was!

[Jesus_man]

That looks great! What did you end up with for front suspension links? It appears the factory style clamps are still there. Did you do anything on the other end?