| Step 1 |
 |
Before picture. Featuring a Skyjacker
Softride 4-inch suspension lift. |
| Step 2 |
 |
Remove the
axles and suspension |
| Step 3 |
 |
Took
about an hour to remove everything. |
| Step 4 |
 |
Slide
the Dana 44 under the truck. Put the coils on the axle and carefully let the truck down on the coils. Hook up the
shocks. These are Duff early Bronco 3.5" variable rate coils. $115
for the pair. The axle is a Dana 44 from a 74 Bronco $250. 4 inch lift
shocks will work fine, 6 inch lift shocks would be better. I'll be going
to a wristed arm with RS9000 9012's, which will require a new shock
mount. I'm also going to swap the coil buckets out, but the stock ones
will work fine. |
| Step 5 |
 |
The radius arm drop brackets
from a 1978-1979 Ford F-150 or Bronco work perfectly for this swap. They have a
4-inch drop that will help keep the caster correct. My axle had 4
degree duff bushing that came with it. It rides nice, so I imagine I'm
close on the caster specs. |
| Step 6 |
 |
Drill the holes for the radius
arm brackets. |
| Step 7 |
 |
Notice the hole on the bracket
is directly below the existing hole on the frame. This keeps the wheel
base exactly what it was before.
|
| Step 8 |
 |
Make a track bar mount.
It bolts up
to the existing power steering gear bolts. If you don't mind welding to
your frame, then it will be really easy. I prefer bolt up stuff. |
| Step 9 |
 |
After picture. It sits exactly
4-inches higher than the Skyjacker 4-inch lift. Was that so hard? Certainly
not rocket science. I left out a few things about a good way to hook up
the brakes, transmission cross member, and steering. I did this entirely by my self in one weekend. |
