Anyone done a straight axle conversion to your truck. I am looking at doing this. I have been looking at a Dana 60 that should work with my driver side drop NP241. Though things would be better with manual hubs and ditch the electronic actuator. Would be easier to lift also. Any ideas or suggestions?

I like that idea, wish i had the money and resources to do that. Before i cranked my t bars my fisher SUNK my truck almost to the fenders. I love the suspension of the 80s series pickups, but i love the looks of the 90s. IFS is stupid, im not for ride comfort, its a truck i would rather see a solid axle in them..

There are complete conversion kits available.

There are many kits available, but it is easy to build your own kit if you have the right tools. I built the truck in the sig using a kit, the kit sucked so i rebuilt alot of it, i just finished building another truck and i built it all my self, it was not very hard at all. The question is if you have the tools and if you can use the tools?? You will need a welder, saw (band or chop) grinders, drill press, vice, and a bunch of hand tools. Torches are very affective in the removal of the old differential. I have pics of my truck but not of the most recent one. Before you even need to think of how you are going to do the conversion you need to find an axle. If you do decide to do it i would be more than happy to help in any way and will take some pics for you.

its real easy and you can use stock gm parts for most of it, i've done quite a few.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f131/scorpio_vette/Scorpion%20Automotive%20may%2010th/DSC_6205.jpg

stock gm hangers with 8" lift rear springs up front(+ add a leaf for extra spring rate for the big block)

i can flex a ton more if i get longer shocks, they are my limiting factor right now.

I'd like to do that swap too (eventually). I'm tired of replacing CV boots.

I'm tryin to debate between going the easy way and going with leaves, or going with coils or coilovers and a 4 link.

Can you do it they way they have the front setup on the 3500HDs?

Steal the leaves and the hangers from a doner, and find a SFA from a ford.

I was hoping that might work.

I'm tryin to debate between going the easy way and going with leaves, or going with coils or coilovers and a 4 link.

Can you do it they way they have the front setup on the 3500HDs?

Steal the leaves and the hangers from a doner, and find a SFA from a ford.

I was hoping that might work.



if you get the hangers from gm i would think you can do it.

the front shackle goes in a slot cut into the frame and the rear hanger bolts to the frame.
the only issue would be the 3500hd has longer frame horns for the long springs they use so you need shorter springs for a std frame.

using a steering box from a 3500hd works better as well as they have a quicker ratio, my 88 has one from a 93 3500hd along with the hydroboost system and had been from a 4 wheel disk dump truck so it works outstanding with my 4 wheel disk setup

There are complete conversion kits available.

Can you PM me with a link or two just so that I can get an idea of the parts involved. For the most part I will be fabricating my own parts but I would like to get an idea of what people are selling.

I would love some pictures. It isn't a matter of if, more a matter of when. I would like to get this done this summer. I will be looking for / acquiring parts very soon. As I understand it, if I get a Dana 60 off a Ford it will be compatible with my driver's side drop NP241 transfer. Correct? Eventually I will be doing a re-power with a 5.9 Cummins so I will need a one ton or reworked spring to take the extra weight.

As far as gear ratios, I need the same as in the rear diff? Right? Sorry diff work is not my strong suit.

Thanks all in advance for the advice.

One more thing. Any thoughts on saving the front ABS?

One more thing. Any thoughts on saving the front ABS?

no way to save the tone ring to run the front abs

for a d60 you need a 77.5-79 axle, the 85.5-91 axle has the pumpkin offset too much and a spring perch mount of 36" which is too wide.

anything after 92 was a ball joint axle and not worth the time

you could use the pre 77.5 axle but it is a low pinion axle and will hurt your driveshaft angle, also if i remember right it has weaker course spline axles

Does eliminating the front ABS have an adverse effect on the rest of the brake system? So I need a 32.5 spring pad width, right? Outalne94z71 it appears that you are the resident expert on this. Thanks for you help.

since your obd1 system is not really tied into the abs for engine operation you should be ok , at worst you would need eliminate the abs all together and go old school with the brake system but i don't think you would even need to do that.

the 32.5 perch spacing is what is needed and you can use rear spring shackle hangers from a 70's/80's chevy for the swinging shackle hanger for your new front spring, you just flip it upside down and mount it to the frame just like the ord kit

for the front spring hanger on the frame horn you use stock 73-87 4x4 front spring hangers, for the 52" long rear springs up front you would need to make a support crossmember off the front of your frame

like this
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r272/outalne94z71/Recovered_JPEGDigitalCamera_26.jpg

they also move a lot when they compress so i would really suggest against them unless you are going to run a full hydrolic steering and depending on the spring size may require a longer swing shackle.
for the std 73-87 47" front spring you don't need the support as your frame horns are long enough for them

I'm going to remember this thread, I hate the IFS setup. I don't off road really, but I just think a solid front axle is more dependable.

AFAIK the front wheels are the only ABS wheels on these....

Yes it only has ABS in the front. I was really hoping to save the ABS system when doing the conversion. It sounds like it is a done for. If I have to lose the ABS I may just strip the ABS system out totally and change the master cylinder over to something more adapted to four wheel disks. My neighbor if a machinist, when I swap the front maybe something can be fabricated to save the system.

I am waiting for a local junkyard to have a sale. Last year they had a sale on axles for 50 bucks. When they have the sale I will go get the parts.

there is no front abs only system, its is either rear wheel abs or 4 wheel abs.
if its rear wheel abs then it will still work as the sensor the abs uses is the speedo sender , 4 wheel abs has a reluctor wheel on the end of each half shaft and that would no longer be there with a solid axle swap unless you retrofitted a newer axle from like say a 2000 superduty or something that would have that reluctor/tone wheel on the axle shaft

I worked at lot with a company out of Burbank, CA that does these conversions every day. I don't think I am alowed to give you there name on a thread but if you send me a private email I wold be happy to give you there number.

there is no front abs only system, its is either rear wheel abs or 4 wheel abs.
if its rear wheel abs then it will still work as the sensor the abs uses is the speedo sender , 4 wheel abs has a reluctor wheel on the end of each half shaft and that would no longer be there with a solid axle swap unless you retrofitted a newer axle from like say a 2000 superduty or something that would have that reluctor/tone wheel on the axle shaft

So I know for a fact that I have wheel speed sensors in the front. I do not have any sensors in the back at all. So what you are saying is that the rear ABS operates on a speedometer sensor in the transmission? So if and when I change this to an NV 4500 I will lose that also? It has been a while since I tore the front brakes apart, so I wasn't sure of the configuration of what is there now for a reluctor ring and what the D60 axle has or doesn't have. I was just thinking out loud that if it could be made my neighbor could make it.

I am just trying to think ahead, Thanks again for the help.

the trans makes no difference, its the same vss output for the speedo that it reads for the abs, and on a 4wd the vss is in the t-case

OK I got it.

I was also thinking of doing a conversion from 2wd to 4wd with solid axle. Was thinking leafs or coils with 4 link, and a divorced 205. My problem is I really just want a 4wd, not so much a monster truck, but I think with my cross over frame section under there, it might have to be pretty high to even fit an axle under there with out clearance issues. Not sure what I want to do yet.

I was also thinking of doing a conversion from 2wd to 4wd with solid axle. Was thinking leafs or coils with 4 link, and a divorced 205. My problem is I really just want a 4wd, not so much a monster truck, but I think with my cross over frame section under there, it might have to be pretty high to even fit an axle under there with out clearance issues. Not sure what I want to do yet.

even the 4wd frame needs 73-87 4" lift front springs(gives 7" lift) to clear the oil pan.

for the work on a 2wd frame, it would be easier to swap to a 4wd one and they are cheap these days as everyone is parting out 88-98 trucks right now.

i know of at least 8 trucks getting cut up on the local craigslist that you could probably pick up a frame for a couple hundred bucks, i sold my whole rolling solid axled 94 club cab chassis for $500 a couple months ago

The ABS unit should be removed when you complete the SFA swap, it wont work propperly, and is just extra plumbing and parts to fail. If you plan on running larger tires you will be glad you got rid of the ABS unit.
I installed 52" springs on my truck because they ride alot smoother than the shorter springs. I also used 57 1/2" wide spring spacing to make the truck corner better, i dont even use the sway bar and it rides great. On my current SFA swap i am using 3" wide springs that are 52" long, i am hoping to make this truck ride better than my truck and be capable of hauling a goose neck trailer with out the front end dipping when i stop.

How and where do you find shocks for this sort of lift? Do you just get shocks from Rancho or Skyjacker for a straight axle six inch lift?

you just measure what length you are at sitting on all four wheels and you can figure it from there.

i got my bds shocks from a 4x4 shop in slinger wi but you can tell any 4x4 shop what your standing measurement is and they can tell you what you need for whatever brand, perhaps there is a site vender that deals in shocks that can help you?

im goin the easy way doing my sfa/cummins swap in my 89' i found a complete 96' dodge 3/4 ton 4wd for $1,500

you just measure what length you are at sitting on all four wheels and you can figure it from there.

i got my bds shocks from a 4x4 shop in slinger wi but you can tell any 4x4 shop what your standing measurement is and they can tell you what you need for whatever brand, perhaps there is a site vender that deals in shocks that can help you?

I did not realize it was that easy.

no way to save the tone ring to run the front abs

for a d60 you need a 77.5-79 axle, the 85.5-91 axle has the pumpkin offset too much and a spring perch mount of 36" which is too wide.

anything after 92 was a ball joint axle and not worth the time

you could use the pre 77.5 axle but it is a low pinion axle and will hurt your driveshaft angle, also if i remember right it has weaker course spline axles

The Dodge D60 that BadBowtie and I have will have FRONT ABS...I'm almost positive the dodge and GM work off the same signal count as well.

Balljoint and unit bearing equipped axles are not garbage, if they were spidertrax and dynatrac wouldnt be making them for comp axles. You can find some smoking deals on newer balljoint axles, I got my drivers drop dodge 60 for $0, and it being newer doesn't need to be rebuilt unlike every kingpin axle you're going to find. I also like the idea of being able to keep my push button 4wd just by adding a solenoid to the axle. The fact that it comes with drive flanges factory is a plus for me to...hubs are no fun to break.

When I am finished with my SAS (copying dodge 5 link basically with my own custom cut brackets, 3" ballistic joints and f250 2wd coils), I will have less invested in the entire SAS than what a lot of people have in there axle alone...

So just one more thing. Is gear ratio something that I should look for when purchasing the axle? Someone told me that Ford did not put 3.73 in their Dana 60. They said the Ford D60 gearing is something like 3.78. I don't know if I believe them but if so is that small difference going to hurt anything or should I plan on changing the ring & pinion?

most ford dana 60's have 4:10 gears it seems, there are other ratios, but the 4:10 is the most common. 3:73 is available

you can mix gears a little like gm had a 4:11 rear ratio and ford had a 4:09 front and you can run them together

i wouldn't mix ratios ever...thats asking to kill tires and snap shafts...

If they had a 3:73 then that shouldn't be an issue because that is what I have in the rear. The problem is finding one now.

most ford dana 60's have 4:10 gears it seems, there are other ratios, but the 4:10 is the most common. 3:73 is available

you can mix gears a little like gm had a 4:11 rear ratio and ford had a 4:09 front and you can run them together

Could you send me a pic of how you lifted the rear of your truck? Did you just block it or did you change the springs?

I have yet to see a 78-79 dana 60 out of a Ford with 3.73 gears. A lot of 3.54 gears and the optional 4.10 gears.

dynaa treck does it , my friend got it done on his truckno way to save the tone ring to run the front abs

for a d60 you need a 77.5-79 axle, the 85.5-91 axle has the pumpkin offset too much and a spring perch mount of 36" which is too wide.

anything after 92 was a ball joint axle and not worth the time

you could use the pre 77.5 axle but it is a low pinion axle and will hurt your driveshaft angle, also if i remember right it has weaker course spline axles

dynaa treck does it , my friend got it done on his truck

They have a web site? I searched and did not find anything related.

They have a web site? I searched and did not find anything related.

That's because it's spelled Dynatrac and it's www.dynatrac.com... ;)

Could you send me a pic of how you lifted the rear of your truck? Did you just block it or did you change the springs?

i converted from a long box to a short box, the long box frames have the bend in the frame behind the cab while a stock shortbox frame has the bend under the cab, now when you convert like that it moves the front spring hangers down that bend which gives you lift and i did a shackle flip on the rear hanger with longer shackles to add more lift and keep the spring packs at the right angle, i also used a 3" block to get me about 16" of lift in the rear(about 2" less than the front lift)

They have a web site? I searched and did not find anything related.

pm him his handle is bigredhd

come on i was close :rolleyes:That's because it's spelled Dynatrac and it's www.dynatrac.com (http://www.dynatrac.com)... ;)