D50/D44 Go Fast TTB – Gathering Ideas

Stan the Man · Post by **Stan the Man** » Thu Dec 20, 2018 1:07 pm

I recently grabbed a D50 TTB and Sterling 10.25 from a '90 F250. Initial thoughts were "price is right," "this could be fun," "I could always sell these parts," and "this could be a cheap way to go 8 Lug". Now reality sets in and I need to start considering long-term parts list, pricing, and so on.

1. I know that the D50 ears will need to be cut and grafted onto D44 beams. Does anyone have an idea how much this may cost for stock width? While I'm in there, I'd imagine I should truss and go uniballs.

2. Are there any negatives to running the D50 outers, shafts, and ujoints? I've read that the stub shaft won't have as much droop travel without binding, but can that thing be clearanced enough and still be stronger than D44 parts?

3. Initially my gut was telling me I could do all of this front and rear and still come in thousands cheaper than a full float 9". If I were going FF 9", I'd add RCV shafts for the 4 wheel drive beef to the front but then the ball joints become the true weak point.

4. If I decide to sell the parts out, anyone know what a D50 third member with 4.10 gears should fetch?

Tchajagos · Post by **Tchajagos** » Thu Dec 20, 2018 2:00 pm

It was hard to stay stock width because the d50 outers go farther in before the tops come down. This makes it hard to graft on and be able to keep the d44 radius arm bolt holes. You can see the top pic the lines I had to cut to graft it together.

Tchajagos · Post by **Tchajagos** » Thu Dec 20, 2018 2:02 pm

Stan the Man · Post by **Stan the Man** » Thu Dec 20, 2018 3:49 pm

Ah interesting! Thanks for sharing. Your IG is where I got this crazy idea.

So what’s your recommendation? +1.5” or so then custom shafts?

Sounds like it may be cheaper to just keep my D44 beams and go RCV shafts. After all how likely are broken ball joints in the desert and rocky trails?

Tchajagos · Post by **Tchajagos** » Thu Dec 20, 2018 4:03 pm

The main reason I am going with the d50 outers is for cheap(for me) big brakes without having to shell out $3-4K for fabricated knuckles/calipers/rotors and then having to do some kind of swing steer. I also found a d60 rear axle out of a 99 e35” that has the same 8x6.5 bolt pattern but with disk brakes.

For mine I will probably go maybe 1.5” wider but I will make my own radius arms that mount to the back of the beam. That way I won’t have to worry about the radius arm bolt holes on the beams. Thinking about it, it might just be easier for me to extend the driverside beam inward from the diff to match the d44

ChaseTruck754 · Post by **ChaseTruck754** » Thu Dec 20, 2018 4:40 pm

There is also a way to go to 8 lug hubs on the d44 using chevy parts. Pretty sure it's the solid axle d44 knuckles & hubs there us, but it will be documented online I'm sure. Heck, Philo's old "TTB vs. the world" thread probably has the info in there.

RMC was also working on a snout I believe (may be a full upright - not sure) to run the d50 hubs. If it is in fact just the hub it may be worth looking at price wise. Not sure if to would mess with caliper location causing the need for brake upgrades, but it may.

And side note here for Travis simply because I enjoy thinking through the fabrication end of things...
If you were to extend the D50 beams to match the D44 layout would you make your fixture around the d44 beam, capturing the beam mount & hub face/wheel mounting surface (assuming you'd base things off spindle/hub center), and then start with the D50 hub center & fabricate to the beam mount?

Tchajagos · Post by **Tchajagos** » Thu Dec 20, 2018 10:55 pm

ChaseTruck754 wrote: And side note here for Travis simply because I enjoy thinking through the fabrication end of things...
If you were to extend the D50 beams to match the D44 layout would you make your fixture around the d44 beam, capturing the beam mount & hub face/wheel mounting surface (assuming you'd base things off spindle/hub center), and then start with the D50 hub center & fabricate to the beam mount?

I set the fixture up so the wms is perfectly perpendicular with a 0° camber bushing. I then took a lower ball joint apart and bolted it into the beam and welded it to a part that can slide/clamp to the lower square tube on the fixture so I can move it out to however much I want to extend the beams. I etched lines on the lower square tube for each beam/length.

I actually set the d50 end up on the d44 beam and after I got everything in place/tacked and set up for the correct camber/caster I welded the lower sliding ball joint together.

funinthesun95 · Post by **funinthesun95** » Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:09 pm

For mine I will probably go maybe 1.5” wider but I will make my own radius arms that mount to the back of the beam. That way I won’t have to worry about the radius arm bolt holes on the beams. Thinking about it, it might just be easier for me to extend the driverside beam inward from the diff to match the d44[/quote]

The set I had done originally was done this way.

arse_sidewards · Post by **arse_sidewards** » Wed Feb 20, 2019 5:37 am

funinthesun95 wrote:For mine I will probably go maybe 1.5” wider but I will make my own radius arms that mount to the back of the beam. That way I won’t have to worry about the radius arm bolt holes on the beams. Thinking about it, it might just be easier for me to extend the driverside beam inward from the diff to match the d44

This is how I plan to do it. Just split the beams somewhere in the vicinity of the cover, weld them back together with a bunch of plating then figure out what needs to be done to correct camber. The D50 expects a slightly lower beam position relative to the frame so having the pivot end of a D44 beam with the radius arm/knuckle end of a D50 beam should be good for a slight cut and turn (we'll see if it needs more or if camber bushings are enough).

Passenger beam will be a pain in the ass though because you can't just use the 3rd as a reference point like you can on the driver's beam.

funinthesun95 · Post by **funinthesun95** » Fri Feb 22, 2019 5:13 pm

arse_sidewards wrote:
funinthesun95 wrote:For mine I will probably go maybe 1.5” wider but I will make my own radius arms that mount to the back of the beam. That way I won’t have to worry about the radius arm bolt holes on the beams. Thinking about it, it might just be easier for me to extend the driverside beam inward from the diff to match the d44
This is how I plan to do it. Just split the beams somewhere in the vicinity of the cover, weld them back together with a bunch of plating then figure out what needs to be done to correct camber. The D50 expects a slightly lower beam position relative to the frame so having the pivot end of a D44 beam with the radius arm/knuckle end of a D50 beam should be good for a slight cut and turn (we'll see if it needs more or if camber bushings are enough).

Passenger beam will be a pain in the ass though because you can't just use the 3rd as a reference point like you can on the driver's beam.

this is correct passenger sucks

also note that the steering arm on a 50 knuckle are lower then 44

Tchajagos · Post by **Tchajagos** » Sat Feb 23, 2019 5:16 pm

arse_sidewards wrote:
Passenger beam will be a pain in the ass though because you can't just use the 3rd as a reference point like you can on the driver's beam.

The passenger beams are nearly the exact same length. I was planning on opening the axle window and reinforcing it enough to cycle properly. The center u joint on the Dana 50 is almost on the center line of the beam pivot so it doesn’t move the axle up and down a lot like the d44 does so it doesn’t need as big of a window as the d44. It’s almost like we should just put d50 beams and beam pivots on and forgo all the d44 geometry. Lol

AussieRod · Post by **AussieRod** » Sat Feb 23, 2019 8:01 pm

Tchajagos wrote:
arse_sidewards wrote:
Passenger beam will be a pain in the ass though because you can't just use the 3rd as a reference point like you can on the driver's beam.
The passenger beams are nearly the exact same length. I was planning on opening the axle window and reinforcing it enough to cycle properly. The center u joint on the Dana 50 is almost on the center line of the beam pivot so it doesn’t move the axle up and down a lot like the d44 does so it doesn’t need as big of a window as the d44. It’s almost like we should just put d50 beams and beam pivots on and forgo all the d44 geometry. Lol

Tom's Minty Green Monster (BAJAF250) uses the factory pivots, has 18" of travel with custom made radius arms and will whip most Broncos in the desert. KISS.

AussieRod · Post by **AussieRod** » Sat Feb 23, 2019 8:03 pm

: Picture 043.jpg (52.3 KiB) Viewed 4148 times

ChaseTruck754 · Post by **ChaseTruck754** » Sat Feb 23, 2019 8:05 pm

So you're saying ditch the bronco & buy an F-250?

Oh and I just realized I never answered the very end of the original post about value of a d50 3rd w/ 4.10's. I got $50 for mine a little while back.

arse_sidewards · Post by **arse_sidewards** » Sat Feb 23, 2019 8:56 pm

Tchajagos wrote:
arse_sidewards wrote:
Passenger beam will be a pain in the ass though because you can't just use the 3rd as a reference point like you can on the driver's beam.
The passenger beams are nearly the exact same length. I was planning on opening the axle window and reinforcing it enough to cycle properly. The center u joint on the Dana 50 is almost on the center line of the beam pivot so it doesn’t move the axle up and down a lot like the d44 does so it doesn’t need as big of a window as the d44. It’s almost like we should just put d50 beams and beam pivots on and forgo all the d44 geometry. Lol

Yeah. Somewhere on the internet there's pics of all four beams side by side that I've taken. I know the pass beam is almost the same. The length is very close but the D44 beam has the pivot point higher up relative to the knuckle.

I was thinking I'd just hack it up the D50 passenger beam as I need to rather than copy the D44. It's all going in a Ranger so all bets are off when it comes to pivot points anyway.

ChaseTruck754 · Post by **ChaseTruck754** » Sun Feb 24, 2019 9:43 pm

I think there's pics here of the beams side by side in the "ttb vs. the world" thread.

funinthesun95 · Post by **funinthesun95** » Thu Mar 07, 2019 6:26 pm

the beam my buddy Dave did for me also Dana 44HD and Dana 50 snouts side by side.

: dave bronco 44 50 beam axles 3.jpg (25.93 KiB) Viewed 4063 times

: dave bronco 44 50 alxes test 2.jpg (26.88 KiB) Viewed 4063 times

: IMG_2167.JPG (134.48 KiB) Viewed 4063 times

Tchajagos · Post by **Tchajagos** » Wed Mar 13, 2019 9:56 am

Took these today d50 vs d44

squiggy_bum · Post by **squiggy_bum** » Tue Apr 02, 2019 7:27 pm

Travis, what would you charge for a set of D50/D44 beams extended 1.5” with some custom rad arms that eliminate bolting them to the top and bottom?

VintageIronFab · Post by **VintageIronFab** » Sun Apr 07, 2019 10:37 pm

Wouldn’t it be a whole lot easier to extend the driver side beam on the pivot side?