leaf springs in front?

[black beauty]

ok we all now and most of us hate the ttb axle set up on 80-96 broncos. also the way to get around it by converting to a solid axle(thank god its possible to do) while still being able to utilize the coil sprung front susoension. now ive never heard of this but maybe some of you have. a 92 bronco with dana 60 front axle and the coils were done away with and they had put leaf packs on it. yea, leaf packs like you would find on a 3/4 or ton ford. anybody want to shed some light on how they think this might have been done? >

 

[Justshootme84]

The 78-96 F-350's used a DANA 60 axle with front leafs. That's what I put under my 84 Bronco. JSM84



Link to the SFO gallery:

http://www.supermotors.net/clubs/superford...ry/1133/51970-4

And the build thread here:

http://broncozone.com/forums/index.php?sho...92;dana60\

 

[black beauty]

so it can be done then. i thought no one was ever going to reply. first question is how did you do it and how hard was it to complete? second, would you recommend this over the coil spring set up if i did a solid axle swap on my 89? and lastly do you like this better that the coils? thanks jsm

 

[BB33's]

There are alot of advantages to having a coil sprung suspension. The first being ride quality. Most coil springs are marketed as progressive rate or tuned but that is really just a bunch of hoo hah, the only tuned coil springs are in a coil over shock setup or something of that nature. The reason coils are marketed as progressive rate is because as the winds of the coil compresses the dampening effect increases. The second big advantage of coils are that they can flex more than a leaf spring, for obvious reasons. However when building a custom front suspension, like you want if you choose too stiff or too soft a coil you suspension won't perform as well as it could. In my opinion I would use you stock upper coil buckets and get some rear axle coil pads off a jeep grand cherokee and weld them on to your Dana 60 (or whatever you decide to use) axle. That would be the cheapest way of getting coil sprung suspension. As far as coils, any F250 or F350 coils from a superduty('99-up) truck would work fine.

 

[black beauty]

wait a sec, i thought the 2&350 trucks had leaf springs in front, not coils like my '89

 

[Justshootme84]

so it can be done then. i thought no one was ever going to reply. first question is how did you do it and how hard was it to complete? second, would you recommend this over the coil spring set up if i did a solid axle swap on my 89? and lastly do you like this better that the coils? thanks jsm

The leaf-spring D60 axle from the 88 F-350 was rather simple to put under the 84 Bronco. I made a custom crossmember that was welded to the front of the frame, with hangers for the front of the leaf springs. I bolted the stock F-350 front spring hangers to the Bronco frame. After I removed the Bronco coil and shock mounts, I bolted up the F-350 shock mounts. The D60 steering bolted right up to my 84 gearbox. You can read through my thread on the swap and look in the superford.org gallery for more details. This was a very simple install compared to installing a coil-spring front axle.The stock F-350 front leaf springs are a pair of very stiff leafs, and make for a bouncy ride. I tried using the rear leaf springs from the F-350 and then the Bronco to get more lift, but this altered the CASTER of the front axle too much. I bought a pair of 4" lifted front springs for an F250/F350 that I will install later to gain more front lift. Be aware that some models of the F-250 which have leaf springs in the front actually have a Dana50 TTB axle, not a solid or strainght axle like the Dana60. IF you decide to use coil springs, you'll need to use radius arms and a coil-spring axle like a Dana44. You can install coils on the Dana60, but it's more work. CAGE Offroad makes some custom radius arms that work well with the SAS. You'll also need to use a track bar to keep the axle centered under the rig with coils, where you don't need one with the leaf springs. Coil springs will flex alot more than the leafs. I would say the determining factor would be the type of axle you find and decide to use. JSM84

 

[love_my_bronco]

The leaf-spring D60 axle from the 88 F-350 was rather simple to put under the 84 Bronco. I made a custom crossmember that was welded to the front of the frame, with hangers for the front of the leaf springs. I bolted the stock F-350 front spring hangers to the Bronco frame. After I removed the Bronco coil and shock mounts, I bolted up the F-350 shock mounts. The D60 steering bolted right up to my 84 gearbox. You can read through my thread on the swap and look in the superford.org gallery for more details. This was a very simple install compared to installing a coil-spring front axle.The stock F-350 front leaf springs are a pair of very stiff leafs, and make for a bouncy ride. I tried using the rear leaf springs from the F-350 and then the Bronco to get more lift, but this altered the CASTER of the front axle too much. I bought a pair of 4" lifted front springs for an F250/F350 that I will install later to gain more front lift. Be aware that some models of the F-250 which have leaf springs in the front actually have a Dana50 TTB axle, not a solid or strainght axle like the Dana60. IF you decide to use coil springs, you'll need to use radius arms and a coil-spring axle like a Dana44. You can install coils on the Dana60, but it's more work. CAGE Offroad makes some custom radius arms that work well with the SAS. You'll also need to use a track bar to keep the axle centered under the rig with coils, where you don't need one with the leaf springs. Coil springs will flex alot more than the leafs. I would say the determining factor would be the type of axle you find and decide to use. JSM84

How hard is it to actually switch out ttb's to dana 60 straight axel? i wanna get that done but i dont know the best way of doing this so it can last and what suspention i should use when im done. i mudd occasionaly but mostly daily drive and long distance.

 

[black beauty]

ya i was aware of the ttb dana 60. my 93 ford diesel has that setup with the leaf springs. so i was gonna do a soild axle swap and still retain my coil setup but after this im really comsidering doing it with leaf springs with my dana 60 front(which is what i will use regardless). thanks alot jsm i preciate it

 

[Justshootme84]

The 3/4-ton TTB axle is actually a Dana 50, not a Dana60. Only usable parts from the D50 are the axle outers to beef up the D44 TTB, IMO.

 

[black beauty]

alright my bad for the mix up but i follow you now. so the back hangers for the leaf springs? are they the same distance back as what they were on the donor truck? and lastly, the coil and shock mounts that you replaced with the 350 shock mounts, was that a simple bolt up or did it have to be modified slightly to fit?

 

[Justshootme84]

alright my bad for the mix up but i follow you now. so the back hangers for the leaf springs? are they the same distance back as what they were on the donor truck? and lastly, the coil and shock mounts that you replaced with the 350 shock mounts, was that a simple bolt up or did it have to be modified slightly to fit?

No, the front leaf hangers are mounted on the Bronco about the same spot where the #2 body mount is located. On the F-350, the hanger is behind the body mount bracket. On most SAS'd Broncos, the hanger needs sto b e slightly modified to fit inside the body mount bracket. On mine, I had a tab for the rollcage outrigger in the way, so I basically chopped dthe F-350 hanger in half. Then bolted it up and tack welded it to the frame. Look for a pic in my write-up. The Bronco TTB coil and shock buckets re riveted to the frame. I simply ground the heads off the rivets and punched them out to remove the brackets. I used one of the rivet holes and drilled another to bolt up the F-350 shock mounts so they would be about centered above the axle. There is no interference with the Bronco inner fenders, even though I don't have them installed in the pic posted above.

lmb, I hope I answered your question in the post that you quoted me on. The SAS is simple in my view, but does take some fabrication and welding. Most important aspect is thte steering or alignment, since that is a safety factor. Caster becomes a big issue. The kingpin D60 I used has a very short tube length on the driver's side, making using a radius arm and coil mount a bit harder. JSM84

 

[black beauty]

ok ive pretty much religiously looked over the pics on the link you added to your post. this is helping me to decide whether or not i want to do my bronco the same way and i think i do. my last question is when you had to trim off 3/8" off the front leaf spring, how did you go about that?

 

[Justshootme84]

I had to trim the shackle for the front leaf spring, used a hand-held grinder. The shackle came from the rear leaf pack, and needed mroe cleance to fit over the eye of the front leafs. i could not use the F-350 front shackle, since it has a different shape and only fits the front of the spring and the F-350 frame, which is notched for the shackle. The key to this set-up is building the front crossmember with the hangers for the front of the leaf springs. i used 1/4" thick steel and had that piece fully welded by a pro. I can provide you with the measurements if you need them, but that will depend on the year model of the axle you use. Mine is designed for 80-up Dana60 axles. The 78/79 D60 has a narrower frame, so the hangers will be closer together. JSM84

 

[black beauty]

yea if you would please send me the measurements i would be grateful to you. this seems like the bes alternate to col spring due to what i think is the ability to go with a higher lift since coils over 6" tend to 'bow' under stress. anyway now that your project is completed are you satisfied with the overall finished product? and i mean ride and handling and all that. now im goign to run a 80 and up dana 60 like yours and its goign to be under a 89 bronco. i really appreiciate all your help jsm

 

[Justshootme84]

Sure, I'll gather up the list of measurements and psot the mup or PM them to you. Good luck getting the Dana60, as they ca nrun over $1000 for one. Best advice is to shop around and maybe find a whole donor truck for $500-$1000. That way, you get the rear axle, too, and maybe a good engine, tranny and t-case. JSM84

 

[black beauty]

actuall luck seems to be runing on my side. one of my buddies(who happens to swear by the bow tie) said he had a dana 60 front and rear. he said the came out of a 87 350. now if memeory serves correctly those trucks used a sterling 10.25 rear axle correct? anyway he knows for sure the front is a dana 60 but hin being a chevy fan he may not know a sterling. but as far as rear axles go, how does a sterling compare with a dana 60 rear? and thans for taking time to gather up your measurements for me. that will sace me a lot of headache when i go to tear mine apart

 

[Justshootme84]

Yes, the 87 F-350 should have a Dana60 front and Sterling 10.25" full-floating rear axle. The Sterling is better than the older rear Dana60 in my opinion.

 

[black beauty]

ok thats what i thought they had in them. i was aware that a sterling was a full floater axle. the truck he has the axles are coming from is about to get massacred. im going down there on saturday to pull the leafs and the hangers, shackles etc. it doesnt have a motor but it does have the C6 in it. i thought about robibng it too but ill just find a 460 somewhere else and keep my 5 speed maunal and have it built later on for the extra horsepower since i plan to build my motor at some point after the SAS