4x4 Front Axle identifying

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4x4 Front Axle identifying

BigBrother-84
Hi Gentlemen!

The Marti Report identifies the rear axle, but no mention about the front one specifications.

How to put a name one a 4x4 front axle?  Any code in the VIN?  Only visual method?  Or does the rear axle has something to see with the front one, meaning that it’s a team so if you know the rear specs, you have the front ones?


Thanks in advance!
Jeff / 1984 F350 Crew Cab 4x4/5.8L w351 4V/ T18/ D50 4.10 front/ 8' bed.
Restored 2019-2022.
Nicknamed «Big Brother 1984», due to its soooo-looong shape & nod to George Orwell's 1984 famous novel.
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Re: 4x4 Front Axle identifying

Gary Lewis
Administrator
Have you looked at our page on that?  Documentation/Specifications/Axle Ratios  (Hmmm, it says Ratios and yet speaks to the codes as well.  )
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

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Re: 4x4 Front Axle identifying

salans7
When it comes to the F250 and F350, cab configuration and GVWR were the biggest determining factors if I remember correctly. An F250 regular cab with less than an 8600 GVWR would come with the D44 HD, while a crewcab F350 would come with a D50.

The argument is always muddy because there's always somebody who claims their buddy's uncle's best friend had an F250 4x4 with a 6100 GVWR and it had a D50 in it. Just like there are guys who claim their 1985 F350 built in December of 1984 has a factory Dana 60.
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Re: 4x4 Front Axle identifying

BigBrother-84
Gary:
Thanks a lot, again you showed me the way! I’m going to religiously read at it.


Shaun:
So, figuring Big Bro is a F350 4x4 Crew Cab, chances are that I will find a D50. Unless my buddy's uncle's best friend tells me something else.


JFI, Marti says «4.10 Dana Conventional Rear Axle».

About the weight question… Marti mentions  «9,001-10,000 Lb. GVW», whereas the 1984 brochure shows «9300lbs GVWR».  I admit that this makes me a bit confused.
Jeff / 1984 F350 Crew Cab 4x4/5.8L w351 4V/ T18/ D50 4.10 front/ 8' bed.
Restored 2019-2022.
Nicknamed «Big Brother 1984», due to its soooo-looong shape & nod to George Orwell's 1984 famous novel.
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Re: 4x4 Front Axle identifying

grumpin
What’s on the door tag as far as GVWR?
Dane
1986 F250HD SC XLT Lariat 4x4 460 C6-Sold
1992 Bronco XLT 4x4 351W E4OD
1998 GMC Sierra SLE K1500 350 4L60E
Arizona
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Re: 4x4 Front Axle identifying

BigBrother-84
Aaaarrrgghhhh, Dane, why, why this question?

Shame on me, shame on my body work friend!  We lost the tag!  Each time I think of it, it tortures me.

Was it sandblasted? We just don’t know what happened.

I ordered at Marti a supposedly identical reproduction, waiting for it.
Jeff / 1984 F350 Crew Cab 4x4/5.8L w351 4V/ T18/ D50 4.10 front/ 8' bed.
Restored 2019-2022.
Nicknamed «Big Brother 1984», due to its soooo-looong shape & nod to George Orwell's 1984 famous novel.
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Re: 4x4 Front Axle identifying

grumpin
Oh ok, when I got my Marti reports they requested photos of my door tags.

Sorry to hear you lost your door tag, that’s a major bummer!
Dane
1986 F250HD SC XLT Lariat 4x4 460 C6-Sold
1992 Bronco XLT 4x4 351W E4OD
1998 GMC Sierra SLE K1500 350 4L60E
Arizona
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Re: 4x4 Front Axle identifying

Nothing Special
In reply to this post by salans7
salans7 wrote
When it comes to the F250 and F350, cab configuration and GVWR were the biggest determining factors if I remember correctly. An F250 regular cab with less than an 8600 GVWR would come with the D44 HD, while a crewcab F350 would come with a D50.

The argument is always muddy because there's always somebody who claims their buddy's uncle's best friend had an F250 4x4 with a 6100 GVWR and it had a D50 in it. Just like there are guys who claim their 1985 F350 built in December of 1984 has a factory Dana 60.
F-250HD SuperCabs also typically came with a Dana 50.

And I believe that regular cab F-250HD with a snowplow package would have the Dana 50.

But all of this has to be taken with the typical grain of salt that Ford could use whatever they felt like on any given day, so there are oddballs.
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
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Re: 4x4 Front Axle identifying

BigBrother-84
In reply to this post by grumpin
grumpin wrote
When I got my Marti reports they requested photos of my door tags.
I already received the Marti Report by email, and still waiting for the door sticker.  In the report, there is a picture of the sticker I suppose they are going to send me.
I this is the case, I’ll be a little disappointed, some informations seem to be missing (tires, for example):



But there is a Type-GVW spec on it: W361.  What does it mean?
Jeff / 1984 F350 Crew Cab 4x4/5.8L w351 4V/ T18/ D50 4.10 front/ 8' bed.
Restored 2019-2022.
Nicknamed «Big Brother 1984», due to its soooo-looong shape & nod to George Orwell's 1984 famous novel.
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Re: 4x4 Front Axle identifying

grumpin
BigBrother-84 wrote
grumpin wrote
When I got my Marti reports they requested photos of my door tags.
I already received the Marti Report by email, and still waiting for the door sticker.  In the report, there is a picture of the sticker I suppose they are going to send me.
I this is the case, I’ll be a little disappointed, some informations seem to be missing (tires, for example):



But there is a Type-GVW spec on it: W361.  What does it mean?
Post #9 in this gives some information. Don’t know if it’s correct.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1228209-truck-specs.html



Dane
1986 F250HD SC XLT Lariat 4x4 460 C6-Sold
1992 Bronco XLT 4x4 351W E4OD
1998 GMC Sierra SLE K1500 350 4L60E
Arizona
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Re: 4x4 Front Axle identifying

salans7
In reply to this post by BigBrother-84
https://www.garysgaragemahal.com/model-codes.html



Disregard the "Cab and Chassis" part. I just looked and found a few other F350 4x4's with the same code, and none of them were chassis cabs. The Ford literature is well known for misidentifying info like this.
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Re: 4x4 Front Axle identifying

BigBrother-84
Many thanks Dane & Shaun, you made me realized that the Marti gives these codes informations…. So sorry guys, I am curing a Covid and it is obvious that the Marshmallow-Under-The-Scalp isn’t completely gone, my synapses are slowly working again.




For my 1984 Crew Cab, W361 is identified as 9300lbs GVW.  Same as the brochure.

Wife and I were confined at our chalet, going back home soon, I’ll be able to crawl under Big Brother to identify the rear and front axles.

Thanks again all of you, for your friendly help!


Jeff / 1984 F350 Crew Cab 4x4/5.8L w351 4V/ T18/ D50 4.10 front/ 8' bed.
Restored 2019-2022.
Nicknamed «Big Brother 1984», due to its soooo-looong shape & nod to George Orwell's 1984 famous novel.
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Re: 4x4 Front Axle identifying

grumpin
Nice! I’m a fan of Marti reports.
Dane
1986 F250HD SC XLT Lariat 4x4 460 C6-Sold
1992 Bronco XLT 4x4 351W E4OD
1998 GMC Sierra SLE K1500 350 4L60E
Arizona
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Re: 4x4 Front Axle identifying

Ford F834
Administrator
In reply to this post by BigBrother-84
Hello Jeff, your front axle should be a D50. Check the aluminum tag if it is still present, if not, measure the outboard hub diameter as a quick way to distinguish a D50 from a D44HD.



I am sorry to hear about your door sticker. It probably isn’t much help but here is mine from my 1986 crew cab:



My axles are D60 monobeam front and Sterling 10.25 rear, neither of which were used on 1984 F350’s. On the rear axle, defer to the aluminum axle tag if it is present. It could be either D60 or D70, but I have read that 4x4’s more often used D60’s.

I once had a 1981 F250 with 16.5” rims, but I think that was the end of that tire/rim era. I think you can safely assume that by 1984 your wheels would have been the same as my crew cab, 16”x6.5” rims and 235/85/R16 load range E tires.
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
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Re: 4x4 Front Axle identifying

BigBrother-84
Jonathan, many thanks for these informations.

Door sticker:
I paid Marti to receive a supposedly identical replica of Big Brother’s door sticker.  I received the report by email and still waiting for the sticker.  I am really curious about the informations it will contain.  Thanks for sharing yours.
Stupid question:  Where to stick it on the door post and what orientation?  I saw on the web that some are vertically oriented, but others are 90° flipped.

Front axle:
We are on summer vacation right now and we came back home yesterday.  The grass was so long (!) that I had to differ my truck projects:  The tractor mower strap finally burned out, will repair and finalize the mower job today.
Can’t wait to go under Big Bro.

Jeff / 1984 F350 Crew Cab 4x4/5.8L w351 4V/ T18/ D50 4.10 front/ 8' bed.
Restored 2019-2022.
Nicknamed «Big Brother 1984», due to its soooo-looong shape & nod to George Orwell's 1984 famous novel.
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Re: 4x4 Front Axle identifying

Ford F834
Administrator
Hi Jeff, the crew cab door pillars don’t have anywhere to place the tag, so Ford placed it on the driver door just above the latching mechanism:

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
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Re: 4x4 Front Axle identifying

BigBrother-84
Jonathan, you  have found the solution to my torments:  I was sure that the sticker was on the pillar!
When restoring Big Brother, its two front doors were in so bad shape that I decided to buy brand new ones.  So, the famous sticker isn't gone in a sandblast operation or similar painting job.  It's gone with the door!
OMG, I never realized that!


Well, thanks again for this precious information!
Jeff / 1984 F350 Crew Cab 4x4/5.8L w351 4V/ T18/ D50 4.10 front/ 8' bed.
Restored 2019-2022.
Nicknamed «Big Brother 1984», due to its soooo-looong shape & nod to George Orwell's 1984 famous novel.
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Re: 4x4 Front Axle identifying

Ford F834
Administrator
Sorry that information was too late for you to save your sticker, but at least it is a mystery solved in terms of what happened to it 😓
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
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Re: 4x4 Front Axle identifying

BigBrother-84
In reply to this post by Ford F834
Ford F834 wrote
Check the aluminum tag if it is still present
Ok, here are the results of my undertruck investigation:
• The front axle aluminum tag still exists, but is almost unreadable.
• Mesuring the external hub gives me +/- 4"
• Accordingly to Marti Report, Big Brother is equipped with a 4.10 Dana Conventional Rear Axle.
• Accordingly to some other information read on the forum, rear and front axles ratios must be the same.
• I think that I can distinguish a «4  10» on upper left corner or the tag...  Can I really see it?

So, with these informations in hand, can we conclude that Big Brother's front axle is a 4.10 Dana 50?

Oh, btw, maybe somebody would be better than me to decrypt the rest of the aluminum tag numbers?  
I can read couple of numbers, but not enough sure of what I see.

Finally, there are other stamped numbers on the differential casing... can they be decoded?  I did not find data about these kind of stamping.

Thanks in advance for any kind of help!







Jeff / 1984 F350 Crew Cab 4x4/5.8L w351 4V/ T18/ D50 4.10 front/ 8' bed.
Restored 2019-2022.
Nicknamed «Big Brother 1984», due to its soooo-looong shape & nod to George Orwell's 1984 famous novel.
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Re: 4x4 Front Axle identifying

Ford F834
Administrator
Jeff, I think you are right on the mark with it being a 4.10 D50. The tag is indeed very difficult to make out, but it does look like there may be the remnants of a “4  10” there, and that is the correct portion of the tag for the gear ratio:



Here is also an additional aid in confirming the axle is a D50

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
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