88swampedmj Posted February 22, 2007 Posted February 22, 2007 ive decided i really don't like coils.. and wanna put leafs on the front.. ive been readin up alot and talkin with brettm and i think it won't be too hard i found a late 80s-early 90s blazer at the junkyard with a front leaf conversion it has a D44 drivers drop with waggy leafs i think.. iam gonna try to get that and swap it in .. then get the chevy passenger knuckle and do a cross-over steering setup. and 8.8 in the rear haha and run 5.13s with 35s
feerocknok Posted February 22, 2007 Posted February 22, 2007 i found a late 80s-early 90s blazer at the junkyard with a front leaf conversion it has a D44 drivers drop with waggy leafs i think.. iam gonna try to get that and swap it in .. then get the chevy passenger knuckle and do a cross-over steering setup. and 8.8 in the rear haha and run 5.13s with 35s It's an S-10 Blazer? Yeah, mounts might be weird, and the caster might be off a bit, as the frame dimensions are different, but everything sounds like it'd be there.
88swampedmj Posted February 22, 2007 Author Posted February 22, 2007 pretty cool.. if i have to i can cut off the leaf mounts and weld on some other ones
Pete M Posted February 22, 2007 Posted February 22, 2007 It's pretty easy to burn on leaf perches (and that way you could get them in exactly the right spot). I'm just saying, don't limit yourself to this one particular axle just because it already has leafs on it unless it is eactly what you're looking for. If I was to do it, I'd go with 3/4 ton (or pre-78 1/2 ton) Ford stuff for the high-pinion front, but there are other options out there as well.
88swampedmj Posted February 22, 2007 Author Posted February 22, 2007 well iam only lookin to get around 6" of lift and if they are waggy leafs then that would be cool 3/4 ton ones would be stiffer right?
Pete M Posted February 23, 2007 Posted February 23, 2007 I'm talking about the axles, not the leafs. I don't know much of anything about what leafs work best for a front setup.
carnuck Posted February 23, 2007 Posted February 23, 2007 Just a short note: The front frame horns were NOT built for leaf spring attachment. They don't have the weight capacity.
DirtyComanche Posted February 24, 2007 Posted February 24, 2007 Just a short note: The front frame horns were NOT built for leaf spring attachment. They don't have the weight capacity. Yeah... They're about 18ga. Umm, personally, I'd skip the front leafs. It has a lot of headaches. Go look at my thread - it shows about half of the stuff I wound up building to make it work. Not to mention all the money I have in my steering now... Oh, and the tires rub because the axle is only 61.5" wide and the springs are on a 32" centre. You can't really inboard the springs any farther - so if you want to run a big tire you need a really low BS rim. A 35x12.5 on a 15x8 with 3.5" BS did not clear to full steering. A 37x12.5 on a 15x8 with 3.5" BS didn't clear either (oh - the suprise!). But given that I've done it once, I know I could do it again and have it work 10X better.
pingpong Posted February 28, 2007 Posted February 28, 2007 Go find you a 79 Ford 3/4 ton and grab both axles.... They are full width, and the passenger side can be machined for hi-steer, and if you were closer I could sell you a matched set. d44 and a d60 with all the stuff to hook it up
DirtyComanche Posted February 28, 2007 Posted February 28, 2007 The ford knuckles are weak. I don't know ford's reasoning, but both their D60 and D44 knuckles suck because they made them 'lighter'. At least, I'm pretty sure all the D44 ones are the same.
pingpong Posted March 1, 2007 Posted March 1, 2007 The ones on the 3/4 tons use the same brake parts as the d60. I have never heard of them being classed as "weak" though.
Oizarod115 Posted March 1, 2007 Posted March 1, 2007 The ones on the 3/4 tons use the same brake parts as the d60. I have never heard of them being classed as "weak" though. gotta remember dirty's problem with the brakes too. bigger brakes means you need a better master cylinder too. or soemthing like that. another thing to consider. i seem to remember someone using an E350 master?
DirtyComanche Posted March 1, 2007 Posted March 1, 2007 The ones on the 3/4 tons use the same brake parts as the d60. I have never heard of them being classed as "weak" though. I'd have to go read Mr N's guide to D44s again, but I know MOST if not all ford D44 knuckles are missing some serious beef on the one side of the casting. Hence they like to crack. I've never seen a ford D44 do this, but I saw a ford D60 do it. And it ain't cool when your knuckle decides to be two peices - each with their own balljoint (well, kingpin). I had a set of F-150 stupid-cab ones and they were definatly the weak casting. I compared them to both the stock waggy and the part's mike knuckles. FWIW - I'd not use a ford knuckle. Oh, and yeah, a E-350 master is apparently a bolt in swap and should fix that. Yes, I haven't fixed my brakes yet - they work fine offroad.
carnuck Posted March 2, 2007 Posted March 2, 2007 There are aftermarket knuckles available (likely due to the flawed stock design) that even have high steer holes made into them.
DirtyComanche Posted March 2, 2007 Posted March 2, 2007 There are aftermarket knuckles available (likely due to the flawed stock design) that even have high steer holes made into them. Yes, dedenbears. They're avaliable for more than just ford - they make chevy/jeep D44, IH D44, and chevy D60 kingpin ones (they fit ford/dodge kingpins too - I think). Several other companies make chevy/jeep D44 ones (part's mike, etc). Crane also might make D44 ones, they definatly make D60 kingpin... Anyways, I don't have a point here.
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