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learn me about ford D44 front alxes

original balzer

original balzer

1/2 ton status
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Ok I pretty much have traded for a 79 ford D44 front and D60 rear. But its several miles out of town and I probably wont go get it until spring.

I havent got to look at it and the guy I got it from doesnt know crap about it, or anything mechanical really.

All I know for sure is its a 1979 leaf spring 8 lug drive side diff D44. *D44 is the only one ford used in 79*

What are the chances of it being a high pinion and having flat top knuckles?

Can I swap to 6 lug with the big studs, to match a 88+ GM truck? (metric 14BSF) I know the lug nuts are 14mm dint know the actual size of the studs, I just know thy are bigger than old GM 6 lug studs
 
if its leaf sprung it low pin outta a high boy..flat tops im not sure about though..most trucks in 79 that were 250s and 350s had hp60s..the more expensive one for resale...thats what mine came out of
 
I thought that ALL 79 ford front axles were HP type. Also not sure about flat tops on a ford but GM stopped using them in 1975 IIRC.
 
Ok I know the truck as it is one of my best freinds growing up. I just dont know the details of the front axle. This truck wasnt tall so I would say it was NOT a highboy. It wasnt near as tall as my 75 highboy. Just a plain f250. Does that make a differnce? Or was all leaf sprung D44 a low pinion?

I am fairly certain it isnt a D60 I know it had smaller hubs than my 79 k20 in highschool.(I swapped in a older big hub D44 thinking it was a D60 in my teenage stupidity)

Crap maybe I should just bite the bullet and drive out and take a look at it. At least the bees shouldnt be very active.
 
I have a 79 F250 axle in my Jeep and can tell you that it is HP. It also has .5" thick axle tubes which is great. I read somewhere that Ford started using the HP44 in 77. Only the F250s have the .5" thick axle tubes. The main limiting factor of this axle is the ujoint size. Thanks to the aftermarket (CTM) you can work with this. It is still a good idea to limit tire size to 37s if you plan on locking your axle. I'd like to hear more about what you are going to do with this. :waytogo:
 
CUCV2 said:
I have a 79 F250 axle in my Jeep and can tell you that it is HP. It also has .5" thick axle tubes which is great. I read somewhere that Ford started using the HP44 in 77. Only the F250s have the .5" thick axle tubes. The main limiting factor of this axle is the ujoint size. Thanks to the aftermarket (CTM) you can work with this. It is still a good idea to limit tire size to 37s if you plan on locking your axle. I'd like to hear more about what you are going to do with this. :waytogo:
Click to expand...

Does yours happen to have flat top knuckles? It seams to me ford used a steering system that was almost crossover from the factory but not quite a true crossover.

On to your question The biggest rire this axle will see is a 34" LTB or a 255x75x16. Or in simple terms a 33-34 skinny tire.

My 97 GMC is my current daily driver and has 230+k miles on it and its worn out sad and COMMON. I have always been the kind of guy to want something differnt than everybody else. SO Im going to build myself a new daily driver. I also have a 94 GMC light 2500 with a bad 350 and a new 4L60E and a NP241. I want to rebuild the 350, then rob it the trans and transfer case and the computer and harness. It will then all be put in this.

ap20-003.jpg


Not everyones cup of tea but I like to be differnt. It will then get a 5" weld in sub frame lift and a 6" SAS. I would like to make the D44 6 lug and match the studs with the metric 14BSF out of the 94.
 
original balzer said:
Does yours happen to have flat top knuckles? It seams to me ford used a steering system that was almost crossover from the factory but not quite a true crossover.

On to your question The biggest rire this axle will see is a 34" LTB or a 255x75x16. Or in simple terms a 33-34 skinny tire.

My 97 GMC is my current daily driver and has 230+k miles on it and its worn out sad and COMMON. I have always been the kind of guy to want something differnt than everybody else. SO Im going to build myself a new daily driver. I also have a 94 GMC light 2500 with a bad 350 and a new 4L60E and a NP241. I want to rebuild the 350, then rob it the trans and transfer case and the computer and harness. It will then all be put in this.

ap20-003.jpg


Not everyones cup of tea but I like to be differnt. It will then get a 5" weld in sub frame lift and a 6" SAS. I would like to make the D44 6 lug and match the studs with the metric 14BSF out of the 94.
Click to expand...

I got my axle with f150 outers. I bought it that way and do not know if it had flat tops. I thought I read somewhere that flat tops were used prior to 77 but I have no exact years or ranges. The point is that your axle is not likely to have them. I know you can put Chevy 6 lug outers on your axle. I don't know of any D44s with the metric 6 lug however.

That's great that you are thinking outside of the box. I always like to see something different as long as it done well and you can have some fun with it. I think you could call it the Shaggin' Wagon or Mystery Machine if you have a build thread.
 
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