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DANA 50 SOLID FRONT AXLE VS ???

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Ray Cecil

DANA 50 SOLID FRONT AXLE VS ???

School me on solid front axles. I found a parts truck locally with a lot of good parts. Its a 89'. It appears to have a Dana 50 solid front axle. I've been looking for a Dana 60 to swap in, but wondering if the Dana 50 would have the correct 8 lug bolt pattern for my stock wheels. This parts truck was a 2wd 300I6 that was converted to 4wd at some point. Ive never messed with a Dana 50. Only the 44 TTB, Sterling 10.25, and whatever is under my 88 F250 TTB setup....Im not even sure which diff is in it.

The ride quality of my f250 is horrendous. So, ive rea that a solid front axle swap and some proper shocks improve the ride quality.

I can get this f250 parts truck for 1500 bucks. I figured the axles, good body are worth that.

1988 F250 Supercab Longbed 7.3 IDI, C6, 1356, GEARVENDORS, 4.10 Sterling with autolocker

1986 F150 302, C6, 9" 2.75, Wood Flatbed

Ford F834

Re: DANA 50 SOLID FRONT AXLE VS ???

Administrator

The straight axle D50’s that I’m familiar with are from later applications with metric bolt patterns. Some are also coil spring applications, but if it is currently living under a 89 F250 it is probably set up for leafs. That’s a decent price but you would need to use both axles and the newer wheels.

SHORT BED 4-DOOR DIESEL: 1986 F350 4x4 under construction-- 7.3 IDIT ZF5+GVOD

STRAIGHT SIX 4X4: 1981 F150 2wd to 4x4-- 300 I6 close ratio diesel T19, hydroboost brakes, Saginaw steering

BIG F: 1995 F-Superduty under construction— converting to 6.9L IDI diesel ZF5+DNE2

salans7

Re: DANA 50 SOLID FRONT AXLE VS ???

1999+ Solid axles are 8x170mm, so they don't have the same lug pattern as our trucks. I wouldn't be surprised if the rear axle has been swapped out as well with a Sterling 10.5, which is what came in the 1999+ F250 and F350.

351FUN

Re: DANA 50 SOLID FRONT AXLE VS ???

Your ride quality is terrible because the ttb should never be paired with leaf springs. TTB on coils will ride far better than a solid axle ever could and perform better in most situations, but it is a more complicated swap to add coils vs just solid axle swapping. If ride quality is what you're after though you're probably going to be disappointed afterwards, because a solid axle will always perform poorly in that regard.

Gary Lewis

Re: DANA 50 SOLID FRONT AXLE VS ???

Administrator

I agree but also disagree. I agree that TTBs and leaf springs give a bad ride. And I agree that TTBs and coils give a very good ride. But I disagree that a solid axle can't have a reasonable ride.

Big Blue had a horrible ride with the TTBs and leaf springs. And it had almost 2" of articulation. But now with a D60 solid axle, RSK, and Superduty springs the ride is reasonable and it has 8" of articulation. No, not nearly the ride that Dad's truck with TTBs and coil springs has, but then it is an F250 vs an F150. So in comparison to what it was it is great.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Dad's: '81 F150 Ranger XLT 4x4: Down for restomod: Full-roller "stroked 351M" w/Trick Flow heads & intake, EEC-V SEFI/E4OD/3.50 gears w/Kevlar clutches
Blue: 2015 F150 Platinum 4x4 SuperCrew wearing Blue Jeans & sporting a 3.5L EB & Max Tow
Big Blue: 1985 F250HD 4x4: 460/ZF5/3.55's, D60 w/Ox locker & 10.25 Sterling/Trutrac, Blue Top & Borgeson, & EEC-V MAF/SEFI

Ford F834

Re: DANA 50 SOLID FRONT AXLE VS ???

Administrator

I have owned coil spring TTB, leaf spring TTB and stock leaf spring straight axle.

Leaf spring TTB was really rough and I didn’t like it.

Coil spring TTB is the smoothest, but can lurch side to side on rough surfaces.

Leaf spring straight axle is stiffer than the coil TTB but the bumps tend to be up and down more than side to side. Out of the three this is my preference on rough roads.

Gary Lewis

Re: DANA 50 SOLID FRONT AXLE VS ???

Administrator

Interesting observation on the coil spring TTBs lurching side-to-side, Jonathan. I can see how the shorter pivot arm of a TTB vs solid axle would tend to give more sideways force.

I've not driven a coil spring TTB on rough roads, so haven't noticed that. But I have had Big Blue on really rough roads and the solid axle suspension handled them well. Yes, you feel the bumps, but nothing like with the old leaf spring/TTB setup. And the steering isn't really impacted.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Ford F834

Re: DANA 50 SOLID FRONT AXLE VS ???

Administrator

I felt that my straight axle truck had better road manners with regards to steering and handling than any of my TTB or TIB trucks, but all have been old and certainly wear and alignment had a lot to do with that.

I am not anti-TTB (at least not of the coil spring variety) but I do wonder if sway bars and dual front shocks would mitigate the lurching. It’s one thing to have your bum lift off the seat momentarily, it’s another to have your spine yanked side to side violently and repeatedly over a long stretch of unmaintained road. It is tiring and unpleasant.

salans7

Re: DANA 50 SOLID FRONT AXLE VS ???

For those who might have 3K to spare....

https://cpaddict.com/dana-50-ttb-front-leaf-spring-delete-kit/

Gary Lewis

Re: DANA 50 SOLID FRONT AXLE VS ???

Administrator

I think that's the outfit I talked to that said they could do a D44HD for the same price. I spent about that much going with the D60 by the time I bought the axle, springs, and Sky Offroad kit. Or maybe more.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Ray Cecil

Re: DANA 50 SOLID FRONT AXLE VS ???

Thanks for all the responses. I'm pretty settled on the dana 60 leaf spring swap. Mainly because we are now planning to hit the road in the next year or 2 for a few months of family travel. I'm going to outfit the truck and buy a travel trailer. See my latest post on calculating GCVW.

1988 F250 Supercab Longbed 7.3 IDI, C6, 1356, GEARVENDORS, 4.10 Sterling with autolocker

1986 F150 302, C6, 9" 2.75, Wood Flatbed

Nothing Special

Re: DANA 50 SOLID FRONT AXLE VS ???

In reply to this post by Ray Cecil

Ray Cecil wrote

School me on solid front axles. I found a parts truck locally with a lot of good parts. Its a 89'. It appears to have a Dana 50 solid front axle....

I can get this f250 parts truck for 1500 bucks. I figured the axles, good body are worth that.

An '89 F-250 wouldn't have had a solid axle (at least if it's a North American truck, I know they did some different things in Australia???). It would've had either a Dana 44HD TTB or a Dana 50 TTB, either one with leaf springs.

There are people who don't understand TTB and since it isn't the IFS that they are familiar with they say it's a solid axle. So that might be what's going on here?

Bob
Sorry, no '80 - '86 Ford trucks
"Oswald": 1997 F-250HD crew cab short box, 460, E4OD, 4.10 gears
"Pluto": 1971 Bronco, 302, NV3550 5 speed, Atlas 4.3:1 transfer case, 33" tires
"the motorhome": 2015 E-450-based 28' class C motorhome, 6.8L V-10
"the Dodge": 2007 Dodge 2500, 6.7L Cummins