Bronco axle upgrade project

In this project I've tried to be as efficient as possible, so I've actually done three upgrades at once.

3/4 Ton axle conversion
Gear swap from 3.50 to 4.10
4 inch lift

Of course not all of these need to be done at the same time, I just figured it would save me a lot of work in the long run if I did them all at the same time.

Parts Aquisition

Here are all of the required parts. Some of the parts and labor overlap for each project which is why I decided to do everything at once.

3/4 Ton Conversion

Rear Dana 60 from any 77 1/2 F250 on up. Don't forget the u-bolt backing plates. Anything earlier will not have the spring perches in the correct locations. The one I got allready had 4.10 gears installed, and also came with 4" lift blocks.

Cost: $100

Front Dana 44 HD from 76 though 79 F250s. Earlier axles used drums, and '80 on up are IFS. The HD's from 76 & 77 might come with the MONSTER external spicer hub locks. You can see the difference by clicking HERE. Although big, they aren't necessarily stronger. The 78 and 79 axles are the ones most people recommend getting due to the fact that they use internal locking hubs (ie, no bolts to come loose) and the outer stubs are the same as the 1/2 ton versions meaning finding replacements is much easier. Dual piston calipers will come on any of these axles and these are the reason for needing 16"+ wheels. I've heard from multiple sources that there is no way to fit 15" wheels with the dual piston calipers. If you really want 15" wheels you'll have to use GM calipers. One thing to note is that all Ford 8 lug rotors from 76 through 96 are the same so finding replacements is easy. The 76 axle I got also had 4.10 gears installed, but they won't work, because in 78 Ford switched to reverse rotation gears. the axle tube itself is not useable due to the leaf spring mounts. You just need all of the parts outside of the knuckle, (The knuckles are the same for all practical purposes) and the outer axle-shaft stubs.

Cost: $150

8 Lug Wheels at least 16" in diameter, plus tires, new brake shoes & pads, and this is the best time to have the drums and rotors either turned or replaced as need be.

Cost: about $300 including all the brake hardware & turning labor, and some VERY used tires & wheels.

3/4 Ton master cylinder to fill up those dual piston calipers

Cost: $15

Gear Swap - Save yourself the trouble and just install the lockers NOW!!

Rear D60 4.10 ring, pinion, and carrier Since the D60 I picked up was allready setup this was a no brainer

Cost: $ZIP

Front D44 reverse rotation 4.10 ring, pinion, installation kit, lockrite and carrier

Cost: $400

4" Lift

Rear Blocks - I opted to go with blocks in the rear because they came with the D60. Besides that, I have almost brand new stock springs on there anyways. Once I've decided on a lift/tire size combo that I want to stick with I will have custom springs made.

Cost: $Nada

U-bolts - I bought the largest diameter u-bolts that would fit through the backing plate holes. 5/8" in my case. I think the old ones were 1/2". The main reason I needed these was due to the lift block. I noticed that both the 9" and the D60 axle tubes have the same 3" outer diameter, so if I wasn't adding the lift I could've used the old U-bolts. I wouldn't suggest re-using 20 year old U-bolts (Not that you could get them off in any sort of usable fashion anyways) but mine were fairly new.

Cost: $40

Front Springs I bought used Superlift 4" springs

Cost: $75

Steering geometry corrective hardware and other necessities including:

Dropped pitman arm
Adjustable track bar
2.75" dropped radius arm bracket & 2 degree C-bushings
Extended length stainless steel braided flexible brake hoses (One for each end)
6 RS-9000 shocks

Cost: about $750 I could've saved a lot of money here, but I wanted to do it right!

The cost for everything came to about $1800. Subtract $375 because I sold my old 15" 5 lug wheels & tires for $300 and I got $75 for my old 9", for a grand total of: $1425. Not too bad considering thats about how much some of the IFS lift kits are alone. (Not including labor!!!) I still need to get some decent tires, wheels, and lockers, but they can wait for now. :P

Doin' the rear end

The rear portion of the upgrade is extremely simple.

Remove the brake hose coming down from the frame
Disconnect the U-Joint from the differential
Remove the shocks
It's easiest to just cut the old U-bolts off, but in my case they weren't too rusted because they're fairly new, so I was able to just un-nut them.
pull the old 9" out, and line up the D60
Attach the new U-bolts. In my case I also added the lift block.
hook up the brake line
hook up the shocks
Hook up the driveshaft u-joint. The Dana 60 uses a 1330 Ujoing and If you have a 78 you will either need a 1310/1330 combination U-joint, or you will have to have a driveshaft with a 1330 end on it. The best way to accomplish would be to get the rear transfer case yoke and driveshaft from a 79. See my 78-79 differences page for a clearer explanation If you have a 79 your old U-joint should work fine.

Bleed the brakes and you are done... It took a friend and me a couple of hours to do this swap.

Doin' the front

This is where 90% of my time was spent.

Disconnect the front shock and the little bracket that attaches to the c-bracket - (VIEW GRAPHIC)
Remove the sway bar
Then remove the tie rod nut and the track bar nut - (VIEW GRAPHIC)
Remove the caliper, disassemble the hub assembly, and then the rotor will come off - (VIEW GRAPHIC)
Loosen up the 5 spindle bolts so that the nuts are flush with the ends of the bolts. The 4 top bolts can then be pounded out. The bottom bolt cannot be removed because the ball joint is in the way, so just remove it's nut. - (VIEW GRAPHIC)
the spindle and caliper support can now be removed. These are lightly pressed into the knuckle so a little pounding on the caliper support will loosen them up enough so that can be removed. Once they are off, the axleshaft can then be pulled out. - (VIEW GRAPHIC)
repeat this for the other side. I had a little problem with the driver side tie rod end. After breaking a ratchet, and then the socket while using a breaker bar (gotta love those lifetime warrantees) trying to remove the nut, I just decided to take the knuckle off instead and leave the tie rod attached. - (VIEW GRAPHIC)
Now that the axleshafts are out, remove the springs. (VIEW GRAPHIC)
Once the springs are gone, remove the drive shaft u-joint, the brake line coming from the frame, and the track bar from the axle. Then remove the 4 bolts that each radius arm clamp uses. The clamps can then be removed, and the axle should be free. Once pulled out it should look something like THIS
While the axle was in the shop getting the gears swapped, I took the opportunity to remove the nasty rust scale from a lot of the brackets, and paint them.
I also had to swap the outer axleshaft stubs from the F250 axleshaft onto the inner axleshafts of the Bronco.
Swap the 3/4 ton master cylinder in. Note, the one I got has the lines coming out of the drivers side and uses different sized fittings then the Bronco M.C. This is easy enough to take care of, but it's something to note to reduce the number of trips to the parts store.
Once I got my axle back from the shop I installed it just doing the reverse of the dissasembly using the 3/4 ton parts in place of the 1/2 ton parts. Here's a nearly completed picture sans calipers - (VIEW GRAPHIC)

Notes

Rancho Shocks - I can't comment enough on how much nicer of a ride the RS9000's give, but their book is wrong as far as suggested sizes go. The shocks they recommend for a 4" lift are only 1.5"'s longer then stock. Just make your own measurements and use these when ordering.
Dual Piston Calipers - Awesome! Makes the swap well worth it. It feels like it could stop a train now.

Many Many thanks go out to all of the people on the Late Model Bronco mailing list http://www.bigbroncos.com and the Ford Truck Enthusiasts mailing list http://www.ford-trucks.com who answered all of my questions. Without their help I would not of been able to accomplish this project.

Disclamer: I make no reference to safety devices used during the project, and I assume if you're capable of doing this swap you know how to use jackstands, wheel chocks, and spring compressors. Also, auto manufacturers are notorious for not always using the same specs for parts throughout a model year, so even though years I have listed for the parts I aquired worked for me, they might not work for you. It's best to always measure BEFORE you buy. Thats all I'm going to say about that.

Michael R. Masse