Does anyone else wish that their F-150 still had a solid front axle? I know it's been over 20 years since the 1/2 ton f-150 had a solid axle up front, but I've seen quite a few swaps and am considering about doing it myself, as I can find the parts very easily and cheaply. I know there's been some times when I've been off-roading and the extra articulation from a solid front axle would have really helped in the equation. It's also simpler to raise, and maintain. Broken hub? No problem! just pull it off with a hex-head wrench and put a new one on for less than $50. Now, with all these 4x4 systems without any front hubs, parts can cost as much as $500! Dodge went with the coil-sprung/live axle setup for 8 years and had no trouble whatsoever in keeping a soft ride in this time of carlike suv's and IFS pickups. Just my $.02 on this situation.

 

Yeah but for alot of us spending an extra couple of grand to do the swap and then having a truck that might be rough as hell for normal driving isn't in the equation. I would love to have a straight axle truck, but I don't think I would do it with my F150. There are better trucks out there to do that to. On a 97 and newer F150 going to leaf springs would be a pita. Your best bet would be coils and you won't get the same kind of articulation out of coils that you can out of leaf springs. If you really want to do a swap on an F150 I would reccommend that you do it on a 96 or older truck. It would be 10 times easier to do the swap. Coils would be pretty easy and leaf springs would actually be a possibility.

 

Sometimes, yes, a solid axle setup has a tendancy to ride a little rough, but if you do it right, the ride should be fairly competent. I've ridden in a few straight-axle rigs that corner and ride just as nice, if not better than a stock F-150. I'm looking at this from an off road perspective, however, and I'm looking for more articulation without the complexity of an IFS system. When a break occurs in the field, it is much easier to work on a straight axle suspension than an IFS. If something breaks, that a little more peace of mind, knowing that it's probably easier to fix. Once again, just my $.02

-Flea

 

It's a truck. Who cares about the ride?

I plan to do the swap at some point in my truck's life.

-Jay
98 F150 SC 4x4 ORP with stuff
http://www.nx2k.com/truck/

 

Like I said I would like to have a straight axle under my 97. The sob rides like a tank now, can't get much worse from here but I know alot of people on here who are real uptight about thier ride quality. Personally I think the swap would be really bad *** but not for the money it would take. There are better trucks out there for this swap than the newer ones. With all the crumple zones on the newer trucks trying to go to leaf springs is opening pandoras box. You have the cost of the kit from Fabritech if you decide to go that way, the cost of the axle itself, and the cost of either converting the front axle to the 5 on 135mm bolt pattern (not the best move) converting the rear axle to 5 on 5 1/2 if you use a dana 44 front axle, or just flat out swaping the rear axle all together (best idea). What I want to do to mine is to find a dana 44 housing that is set up for coils (off a 70s F150) and then get the guts out of a reverse cut dana 44 HD (off a mid 70s f250) and then find a full floater dana 60 rear axle.