just a thought in the head.....how much do you think a Straight Axle Conversion would cost on a 2005 F-150?

 

depends how much you wanna spend. Are you doing it yourself or paying someone to do it. Ill have a total of $7k into my suspension once its finished im a $4k right now. Im redoing the whole thing in march so that will put about another 3k or so.

But I did both front and rear axles, and had my axles built up.

if you do it yourself the front can be swapped for under 2-3k if you get some good deals on parts you can do it for really cheap.

 

im not doing anything to my rear except maybe new leaf packs to get the lift i want.

but front i am just looking to do some leaf springs and shocks.

i dont need a super heavy duty front end....im guessing just a dana 44 or something
not sure...dont know much about SAS swaps

 

you could use a dana 44 from a late 70s f150 for a pretty easy swap

check out fullsizebronco.com and the solid axle swap forum for a lot of info on it

 

personally id do both axles. So you can keep the bolt pattern the same front to rear.

Id use a Dana 60 front end from a F250 97 or older, and a GM 14 bolt rear.

the D60 will be high pinion, and most of the time you can find them with manual hubs. If you get a king pin even better, this axle will run you about 1200-1500 for one thats setup, a stock one can be had for around 900-100ish. The GM 14 bolt will be stronger than your 9.75 and it will have the 8x6.5 lug pattern like the front. This axle already setup shouldnt run anymore than $500. Stock 14 bolts can be had for under 200.

what size tires would you want to run?

 

probably keep my 38;s for now.....but run 40-41" later.....so i need a total of 12 inches of lift probably.

well i dont have any reason to change out my rear end. its plenty strong for what i do.

 

well then you will have to have 2 different bolt patterns then. and with tires that big it wont last too long. Not from major breakage but from wear and tear.

wheel adapters are out there but they suck, they cause more issues then they solve

D44 isnt gonna like 38-41's either

 

well then a d60 up front then?

why wear and tear from diff bolt patterns?

 

Cost is going to depend entirely on the axles/suspension you choose and how much of the work will be farmed out. My explorer SAS has run around 2k. But I scrounged the junk yards for parts, wheeled and dealed a lot, and did all the work myself including gears.

Definitely go with a d60 up front and a matching 1ton rear.

 

you arent getting wear and tear from different bolt patterns. you are gonna be getting wear and tear from running a 1/2 ton axle with 40" tires.

The different bolt pattern will just make it a pain to rotate the tires. Cause you with a a 8 lug front and a 5 lug back. So everytime you want to rotate you will have to swap the tires to different rims. If that makes any sence.

Like i said you can pick up GM 14 bolts for cheap, dont do have of the job.

 

Trimble-didn’t Ford go to the weird metric size around 97 in the superduties, like 8 by 170mm I want to say or something like that.

Also he’d have to get a F350 axel as the 250s were only Dana 50s.

O and he has a 05 so its 6 lug rear, small point but still different than the 8 lug front he'd be getting.

OP- What motor do you have? That will decide if you have an 8.8 or a 9.75. 9.75's are similar in strength to a Dana 60 and with a few upgrades can be stronger (Petersen’s 4wheel and off-road did a write up and build of one) with the correct gears and keeping it on the street it will be OK with 38-41's. Now if you plan to use the skinny pedal or do any actual off roading your gonna need chromo shafts and lots of other upgrades to keep that thing happy with that big of tires.

Like trimble said unless you get a new rear axle or a conversion spacer on the rear(tons better to run them on the rear than the front, but still not great) your gonna need two sets of wheels and will only be able to rotate left to right so the tires will wear unevenly.

Also to fit those tires your gonna need alot of lift which means big hanger drops or big leaf packs. Big lift leaf packs are super stiff and super big hanger drops are frowned upon but so are big blocks (don’t ever use them in the front).

So to sum up your gonna need a Dana 60 front, big leaf packs for it, and a custom fabbed way to mount the springs to the frame and a modified steering setup (read new linkage and at least hydro assist for that large of tires let alone full hydro steering), in the rear your gonna need wheel adapters and another big leaf pack. Your gonna have to gear way low for those tires. Probably 5.13's all around (I think the lowest gear for the 9.75 rear is 4.88). The price will depend again on who’s doing the work and whether you get junkyard finds or buy new. Start googling all of these things and search on Pirate4x4 in the ford section (know exactly what you’re asking before you post or post it in the newb section)

 

got alot more work to do than i thought haha.

i currently have 4.56 gears on my 38's on my truck....runs great. And i offroad...but not hardcore....just some mudding. here and there...some hill climbing.

well how about....a small hanger...with not as big leaf packs...

and i prob woudl switch to a new rear end eventually put first thing first i would do the front end..

and i have the 5.4L so i have the 9.75

 

All depends on how much work YOU will be doing, what axles you choose, lift height, steering. blah blah blah... the list is rather large

example.
$1000-1200 for Superduty axles,
Gears runs about 6-700
replacement carriers i want to use, i think are around 500 a piece?
Leafs common price is about $400
Master install kits for axles are typically 100 range.
so far, that right there places my build at 3250 ish. and thats not a complete list.

 

anything 99 or newer has the 8x170mm lug pattern. if you go with one of those axles its gonna be a D50 which doesnt really matter. However then you are stuck with running a Sterlin 10.5, Id much rather run a GM 14 bolt, but thats personal preference. 4.56's will work for 38's but i think 4.88's or 5.13's would be a better choice for the 41's. Im not familiar with the 04+ steering setup, but my 99 turns 46's fine with just crossover. But hydro assist would always help keep the stress down.

Im runnin 12" leaf springs in the back and 16" leaf springs in the front. i have about 5" of hanger in the front. I kept all my leaf springs 2.5" wide to keep them as soft as possible.


This type of thing can nickle and dime you to death if you really look at it.

 

alright trimble

help me with a breakdown of what i need and prices?
i dont need the softest leafs...but deff not a rough ride...

i wanna do this as cheap as i can...not as in the crappyest thing i can put together but cheapest best i can do. so what do you think....4-5" hangers with 8" leaf packs? or all leaf pack? which would be cheaper/ride better?

minus rear axle replacement....what do you think im looking at for a front axle and what do you think i should use up front for what i do with my truck (little bit of towing, some good mudding, daily driver).

labor costs...just any help you can get

i have a 8" rize lift right now. which i would sell to help pay for some of this.