Philofab's 1986 Ford F250 "Phorged"

[philofab]

I have looked at doing the same 4x converstion on an 83. I was told that I should replace the entire cross member because the one on the 4x4 is thicker than the 2x4. The shorter beams from the 3/4 ton front would cause the crossmember to flex and crack on the 2x4 cross member. Just wondering if you are going to keep the coils or swap in the leaves?

The cross member is slightly different but not really any thicker. I'll measure though for curiosity sake.

I plan on building my own pivots for the factory cross member then building a radius arm setup so I can retain the factory style coil buckets and coils. I'm not a fan of the leaves but they are tolerable with a good shock and shackle reversal.

[RSR]

I'll be interested to see what the difference in the thickness of the crossmember is. Please post your measurements when you take them. That is one of the issues that kept me from doing this conversion. I had never considered making my own mounts for the beams. That would be a lot easier than swapping the cross members. The only thing that has kept this truck from being the best truck I've ever owned is that it is 2wd.

[Deleted Account]

put the 44ifs frontend in it and do the 8 lug conversion... bolt right in..

[philofab]

put the 44ifs frontend in it and do the 8 lug conversion... bolt right in..

Been thinking about that.... it's a whole lot less work. What are your thoughts on the Dana44 knuckles/hubs vs the Cummins weight.

I'll be interested to see what the difference in the thickness of the crossmember is. Please post your measurements when you take them. That is one of the issues that kept me from doing this conversion. I had never considered making my own mounts for the beams. That would be a lot easier than swapping the cross members. The only thing that has kept this truck from being the best truck I've ever owned is that it is 2wd.

All the crossmembers I measured are .220 or so. Early Bronco vs 4wd early F250 vs Late Bronco vs 2wd late F250.

[Deleted Account]

could swap the hole end of the beam to a 50.. hard call. depends on what you are going to do with the truck i guess. i would do an 06 up sd 60 solid axle .. but that is $$$$$

[RSR]

What parts are needed for an 8 lug conversion on a d44 IFS?

[philofab]

What parts are needed for an 8 lug conversion on a d44 IFS?

Early 6 bolt TTB knuckles, and everything knuckle out from a 8 lug d44 Chevy including the outer axle. You also have to cut the caliper mount off of the TTB knuckle. I may be putting some kits together for this soon.

[philofab]

Burt up the forward clutches on the C6 today. Going to try rebuilding it myself.

[damon1272]

Philo,
What Tcase do you plan on running in that thing?

[philofab]

Philo,
What Tcase do you plan on running in that thing?

A 1356 or 241HD would be most desirable but it will most likely be whatever I can get a GV adaptor for. I don't plan to use the 4wd a lot so I'm not really worried about ultimate tcase strength.

[philofab]

Unhooked the vacuum modulator today and was able to drive the truck home. Trans was still slipping like crazy though, hit 200 degrees on the gauge. In the past it had never gotten over 140. Going to try some type F and a new modulator to prolong its life for another month or so.

[johncharlesb]

The type F will increase the line pressure a bit. Did you tighten up/check the bands?

[philofab]

The type F will increase the line pressure a bit. Did you tighten up/check the bands?

That's on the list too, along with dropping the pan and inspecting for broken pieces and a clogged filter. I felt the trans let go taking off from a light so I suspect a seal let go somewhere in the clutch apply circuit and is allowing line pressure to return to the pan. No slippage in reverse, but there is a delay going into first and it slips in 1st and 2nd. Unsure about 3rd.

[johncharlesb]

1st and 2nd are on one band, 3rd and reverse on the second, (3/r farther to the rear of the trans if I remember correctly). I am not looking this up, so double check, but I thought the c6 was 1 1/2 out and the c4 was 1 1/1/4, yet I have set them with a little as 3/4. The band should gradually pull down, if you don't feel anything the bad may be snapped. You can pull the valvebody and look. It will snap right next to the bracket and sometimes it will only break on one side, you will see it when you look. There were replacement bands that can be installed from the valvebody without pulling the pump and mainshaft, cluthes, etc.

[mxrider99]

SO hows this one coming along?

[philofab]

Nothing new.

[mxrider99]

Balls.

Im diving into mine more and more every week.

After my new motor is in im slapping my 37"s on and cantilevering the rear with my 12" 3.0 3 Tube Bypasses and building radius arms and and engine cage and installing my 14" 3.0 Coilovers in the front. Gunna try to make her a bit faster in the dirt than the average diesel chase truck.