I'm looking at lifting my truck.I have my eye set on the Rancho lift and the Super lift.They run about $1,500 more or less.I was reading this article about doing a solid axle conversion.Wouldn't this be better than getting a regular lift.I've heard once you do this the sky is the limit on how high you want to lift your truck and it also allows for better articulation and clearance.I was wondering if anyone had done this?I think there is a company called Fabritech that does this.They say you can go 6, 8, 10 inches.It uses track arms and coil springs and they recommend a Dana 44 front end.They say installation is pretty basic bolt on.The price is about $2200.So that is not to bad.And if you know of anyone that has done this.Any info would be appreciated.

 

I think on the 4x4s, there is independant front suspension in the front, hence there is no front axle. You could put one on, however, and it would let you put much more lift and bigger tires on your truck. Y&ou would probably have to throw some new gears down there to give you more power. The company you are referring to is Fabtech. They make lifts for 4x2 vehicles, not for 4x4. I don't know if there is a Fabritech, but who knows, I could be totally wrong and there is one that I don't know about. Good luck.

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1999 super cab
white with tan bottom
4x2 automatic
4.6L v8
BFG AT TA KO 265/75
WAAG grillguard
2 KC daylighters
vampire remote start combo alarm
steelhorse nerf bars
Husky chrome toolbox
4 pioneer 3 way 6x8's
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wants: 2 chamber flowmaster dual exhaust
tan fender flares
american racing atlas
2" fabtech suspension leveling kit

 

Truckluver, there is a company called fabritech, and they do make front solid axle conversions. While a solid axle will allow more lift, I'd be hesitant to make such a drastic change to my truck...Ford designed the f150 around an IFS system, and a change to solid axle might result in high frame stress or other problems.

Steel Breez-- keep checking...who knows, this conversion could be what you're looking for...just make sure you have some research to back up your purchase. Good luck.

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<A HREF="http://www.my-f150.com/swamprat/red14a.JPG" TARGET=_blank> </A> <A HREF="http://www.my-f150.com/swamprat/red1a.JPG" TARGET=_blank> </A> <A HREF="http://www.my-f150.com/swamprat/red16a.JPG" TARGET=_blank> </A>

1998 F-150 XLT 4x4 Off-Road | Red Supercab | Automatic 4.6
3.55 limited slip | 12-disk cd changer | limo tint
Magnum Custom wrap-around grill guard | Offroad lights
Blazer back-up lights | Full-length nerf steps with custom brackets
275/70/17 Bridgestone Dueler ATs

Find out more about my truck here:
<A HREF="http://www.escalix.com/freepage/merlin2/truckpag.htm" TARGET=_blank> </A>
Or email me at melvin02@netzero.net

 

Go to www.setstr8.com you will like what you see!!!

[This message has been edited by Rhyno (edited 03-27-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Rhyno (edited 03-27-2001).]

 

Personally, I would consider it a down grade. It's only purpose is to allow for huge tires. Drivability and handling would be seriously effected. Not to mention the drive train can of worms you would open. I would expect vibration in that area and regular u-joint replacement at the least. That price doesn't include the cost of your front diff. and axle, set up, brakes, etc. You may even have to pay to have someone widen or narrow the axle to have the correct width. How about the wheel bolt pattern? Will you run different patterns for front and back or will you pay to have some axles made with the correct pattern? It makes me laugh when these companys say "bolt on". It hardly ever is. I have bought tons of after market parts for cars, trucks and motorcycles and very few of them have been direct bolt on. Most have required at least some tweeking before they could be made to fit exactly right. With some, there was nothing I could do to make it work and had to send it back. And it's supposed to be bolt on. I would think long and hard before committing to that project.

But, if you have the time, money, skill and patience. And you know what to expect from the finished product, GO FOR IT!

O.K. My rant is over.

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98 F-150 XLT 4X4 ORP Super Cab Short Bed, 4.6, Auto, 4.10's, Mag-Hytec diff. cover, Magnacharger supercharger, K&N FIPK, Superchip, Gibson single cat-back, 80/100w German head lamps, 80w amber fog lamps, Warn HS9500i winch with semi hidden mount, Wrangler dual battery kit with red & yellow top Optima batteries, 285/75R16 Goodyear MT/R's, 16x8 Center Line Hell Cats (JUNK WHEELS), Rancho RSX shocks, B&M deep aluminum trans pan, Rhino bedliner. Needs one more door.
http://hometown.aol.com/ninetyeightfword

[This message has been edited by 98fword (edited 03-27-2001).]

 

If money were no object, it would be an upgrade. Solid-axle 4x4's are known for their toughness, especially for people that spend more time off-road than on.

 

Then, I think it would have made more sense to have started with an F-250.

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98 F-150 XLT 4X4 ORP Super Cab Short Bed, 4.6, Auto, 4.10's, Mag-Hytec diff. cover, Magnacharger supercharger, K&N FIPK, Superchip, Gibson single cat-back, 80/100w German head lamps, 80w amber fog lamps, Warn HS9500i winch with semi hidden mount, Wrangler dual battery kit with red & yellow top Optima batteries, 285/75R16 Goodyear MT/R's, 16x8 Center Line Hell Cats (JUNK WHEELS), Rancho RSX shocks, B&M deep aluminum trans pan, Rhino bedliner. Needs one more door.
http://hometown.aol.com/ninetyeightfword

 

My thoughts exactly, 98fword!

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Black 1997 F-150 Extended Cab
4x4 w/Off-Road Package
5.4 liter Triton V8
Luverne Stainless Steel Nerf Bars
DeeZee Silver Series Toolbox
Grizzly Oval Style Chrome Grill/Brush Guard
Wrap around bug shield
Ventshade Ventvisors
Ford Factory Bedliner
Pioneer Deh-P6000 45 Watt CD stereo w 2 12" Sony XPlod Subwoofers
3" Performance Accessories Body Lift running factory tires right now
Smittybilt Outland Tail light guards.
Just Received today: 16x10 American Racing Polished Atlas Wheels

 

Ah, finally a subject that I know something about. Ok with this conversions you have some things to think about. Do you want to lose the drivability of your truck. If you do this the ride quality will go down.

I looked at doing this to my truck, but I decided against it for now. I looked at this conversion from this company and I think the conversion for 97 and newer F-150s are a coil over suspension. This would be much better for setup for durability because it would not put as much stress on the frame as a leaf sprung axle would. You wouldn't get as much flex out of this setup as a leaf spring.

You could go with a leaf sprung front axle, but I would strongly recommend that you don't. You would have to brace the frame where you put your shackles which would most likely involve welding the frame and that usually is a bad idea in areas where you will be having alot of stress. The only way I would put a leaf sprung front axle on my truck would be if I built a custom frame for it. If you try and convert an IFS frame to a leaf spring setup you will be opening a big can of worms with all the frame dynamics.

Another thing I saw on the F150 pics the company used to have is the steering angles when you get that high can be very scary. You would need to take the time to carefully plan out exactly how you would have everything arranged.

As far as the axles I would run a Dana 44 up front because you can get those with a coil over suspension setup. I have never seen a Dana 60 with that setup before, they have always been leaf sprung. I would either convert the rear axle to a 5 on 5 1/2" pattern or replace it with a 8.8 rear end out of an older truck that had the 5 on 5 1/2" pattern or run a Ford 9" rear end. If you want you could convert the front to a matching bolt pattern for your rear. You would probably have to get custom axle shafts made for this. If you decide to swap the rear axle you would have smaller rotors and drums so you could run 15" rims on the truck which would open up alot of tire and wheel options, since there are so many trucks that run 15" rims with 5 on 5 1/2" bolt patterns. And 98fword was right you would have to have new drivshafts made for the truck.

Basically this is going to be so far from a bolt on that its not even funny. Granted it would be a pretty sweet setup, but I don't think that it would be a good idea unless you're ready to sink alot of cash and time into this thing.

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1997 F-150 Lariat
Ext Cab Short Box
4x4 Off Road Package
3.55 Gears
265/75 R16 Uniroyal Laredo M/Ts



My 2 cents worth

If you're gonna stroke it, POWERSTROKE IT!!!

http://www.powerstroke73.homestead.com/

 

Thanks a lot guys for the info.Yeah a solid axle conversion sure would be sweet.Especially with some big meats.But I just read this other post about the Whiplash 10' inch suspension.The the pics of the truck that had it done looked like a monster.Has anyone had any experience with that.How dependable is it.I've seen it advertised for about $1,299 not bad.But I wonder how good the quality and how much does the ride suffer.Once again thanks guys for the info.

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2000 F-150 4x4 XLT
Current Mods:
Ford Window Deflectors
Ford Bug Deflectors

 

Ok I forgot one thing in my other post. Also I talked to some people who had looked at thte farbritech kit as well. From talking to them it is closer to a bolt on than I had originally thought. So this swap might actually work farily well.

Ok now what I didn't think of in my last post was in the axle setup. If I was to do that I would find a standard dana 44 housing for the front so you can use the conversion kit, and then stuff dana 44HD guts into it. They used dana 44HD axles on the late 70s F250s. Then in the rear I would run a dana 60. This would be the strongest setup you could run with a coil over swap. You would have floaters front and rear and 8 lug axles.

 

Ok, here's my two cents breeze. A solid axle is a sweet setup, however, you are looking at a multi-thousand dollar setup here (2200+1100(gears)+ upgrades to stock components). Don't get me wrong, if you have money to burn, by all means do it. If you really want the solid axle but want to avoid the hassle...look into a f250 with a solid frnt axle, those are nice. Like everyone else has said so far, expect ride and driveability to suffer terribly, just because solid axles are not as plush anywhere, which can be good and bad. So, my point is, if you want the axle for its extreme offroading ability then go for the solid axle...
however...
If your whole goal is just to fit bigger meats then you can achieve 39s with a 5" RCD and 3" body lift. You can fit 42s with the 10" Whiplash kit, and 44s with a 10" whiplash and a 3" body (man thats big!). This would be more practical than switching to a solid axle because its cheaper and uses more stock components. However, you should consider some things when upgrading to tires that large...
1) stock 8.8 rearend is made to handle about 31" tires, not 44s ...youre talking about adding 100 lbs per wheel now...and thats a lot...
2) you'll have to get new gears if you get anything over 35s, or you can expect to be replacing the transmission soon. Most people you'll see are running 4.56s but i believe you can now get 5.13's for the 8.8 rear axle.
3) How much do use your truck around town & have you ever tried to get into a 13" lifted truck w/ 44s (its really really hard). My truck has 35s and a 3" lift plus about 1" torsion adjustment, and people are always complaining.
4) What size engine do you have...although gears will definetely help...if by some chance you have the 4.2 i would forget it, just not enough power unless you want to spend another couple of Gs upgrading that too.

My opinion is that you go with 38s or 39s, a RCD 5" + Performance Accessories 3" body. If you still want more articulation go with the Whiplash 8" + 2" body or something. Your truck will be huge but with 39s you aren't going too far overboard, and it'll still be more driveable than a solid axle with 44s...hope this helps.

This truck is from the user gallery...has 39s and 7" of lift i believe...


This truck was submitted by JDm...think he got it from whiplash- this has a 10" suspension and 39" baja-belteds...


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-Brandon Warford
97 F150 4x4 Sport Brt. Red SuperCab
4.6l Triton V8
3.55LS Rear-end
MECHANICAL MODS:
3" Performance Acc. Body Lift & lift lips
1-1.5" torsion bar adjust. so it sits level
Clear Corner Lenses
315/75R16 Yoko. Geolander MTs
American Racing Atlas 16x10
True Dual Exhaust
--(2) 3 Chamber Flowmasters (Exits like the Lightning)
FUN MODS:
Pioneer 8000 3D series
Boston Acoustic 5x7s
Sony Xplode 4ch Amp
(2) 8" RF XLC Subs
Custom 4x4 Sticker
Viper Alarm
FUTURE MODS:
4.56 gears
Repaint around Headlights where clearcoat is coming off >=(
Fix ding in tailgate
Skidplate
New pinstripe
Heckethorn or Rancho Steering Stabilizer
Rancho RS9000 Shocks & Control System
Thats about it for now!
Killintime4fun@aol.com
"THROUGH the river and OVER the woods to grandmother's house we go."

"...the road curves to the right and there are a lot of signs that say you cannot turn left...TURN LEFT."

[This message has been edited by BigBadRedLiftedFordMan (edited 03-29-2001).]

 

I helped a good friend of mine convert his '92 Flareside to a solid axle. He purchased the early kit from Fabritech and it wasn't too far from bolt on. However, there was a ton of parts, bushings, bearings, etc. that added to the cost over and above the actual kit really quick. And talk about labor! We worked on that for many evenings and weekends before it was driveable again. His truck actually rides the same as it did before. He did install longer and softer coils, I wonder if that has something to do with it.

I guess all I am saying is if you want to do it, than by all means go for it. But be prepared to tear into one heck of a project.

Crotteau

 

Well first of all, thanks for all the info.I really appreciated.I don't know what I would do if I didn't know this website existed.All this information has really helped me.Seeing as I'm really not experienced with a lot of stuff like making modifications to my truck.I was wondering what is the biggest lift that I could get without switching to solid axle setup, excluding Whiplash and one more thing is the 10' lift from Whiplash the only one they make or do they make smaller ones.I'm looking at Rancho, Superlift, and Whiplast.Which do you all think is better.What are the PROS and CONS for each system.

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2000 F-150 4x4 XLT
Current Mods:
Ford Window Deflectors
Ford Bug Deflectors

 

Superlift makes a 5" lift, and alomst everyone else makes a 4" suspension lift. Most IFS lifts are going to run you around $1500 or so. Now as far a quality I don't have one on my truck (wish I did) but my friend had a rancho on his truck and he hated it. The customer service from Rancho was really bad. They basically told him that he could go screw himself when he called them about getting some service. Mudder has a Rancho lift, so I would ask him about it. There are other people here who have Superlifts and other brands of lifts that could probably give you some more info.