F250 converting to F350

frankenyoter

frankenyoter

No Rain, No Rainbow
Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Location
DARK CITY
I have a 97 F250 PSD that has the D50 ttb front axle :)poop:). Needless to say it is need of repairs. The axle shaft u joints are bad. Two of the ball joints look original. I probably won't do the work myself due to time required and my dd being down. I don't have tons of cash and know that the bill will probably add up and at the end of the day I still have a D50.

That being said I am thinking about finding a complete D60 from an F350 and installing it myself over a weekend. I am operating under the assumption that if I have a complete axle with steering from the pitman arm and the F350 leaf springs that it should all bolt up. Does anyone have any experience with this conversion? Am I making correct assumptions?
 
I want to say the springs dont make a difference.....dont quote me on it tho, ill have to call a buddy of mine and ask. As long as you have the axle and steering components i think your good. Have you tried any of the diesel forums? powerstroke.org, powerstrokenation.com, and dieselbombers.com are good ones, they will keep you busy for days on end reading and learning
 
I have looked into other forums slightly, but a dude can get lost for days reading it all. I believe I am correct and from what I have read the 350 springs are better for the solid front (apparently the 250 springs are a tad too soft). Perhaps it would be better to post the question there, but I was hoping a fellow nc4x4er could cut to the chase provide a straight answer.

The D50 isn't a terrible axle for my application. I don't have big tires and the truck is for the road mainly and the occasional trip out to get firewood, ride around in the snow, etc. To the best of my knowledge the only difference in the 250 and 350 is the axle. It just seems like a good opportunity to upgrade,
 
Theyre really not too bad to do...plan on a couple hours per side, and you could do the ujoints on the axleshafts while you have everything apart to do the balljoints. Of course we were doin mine in a full shop with a lift and whatnot. If i had the money i would do the same thing your tryin to do
 
Okay, talked to my buddy.and have an answer for ya....you will need axle,steering components and leaf springs. You can run the 250 leaf springs but contrary to belief they are actually much stiffer than the 350 springs due to the leverage forces of the ttb suspension. Guys up north actually swap the 250 springs into their 350s for plowing. Supposedly leaving the 250 springs in with the solid axle causes one of the roughest rides known to man. Everything will be a bolt in affair for you as long as you get the axle off one of the obs trucks. The only cutting grinding you will have to do will be getting the factory rivets holding the ttb brackets to the frame. Save your outers off your ttb because they are 60 outers and you can keep them as spare parts. Might want to measure driveshaft length on the two trucks to compare if they are the same or not....dont know if there is any difference there. Also dont remember if there is a teack bar or anything on the 350s or not, dont think so, but if there is you will need that and the.mounting bracket off the donor. Good luck with it...dont know how far away from me you are but if you go thru it i wouldnt mind givin you a hand, as i have been wanting to do the same to my truck just havnt had the money for an axle.
 
x2 on everything he just said.

F250 hubs are the same as SRW F350 hubs... calipers, rotors, pads, and 4wd lockouts, too. Keep that in mind if you see a DRW front for cheap. All you need from the DRW are the spindles and stub shafts.
 
redneckjeep87 said:
Guys up north actually swap the 250 springs into their 350s for plowing. Supposedly leaving the 250 springs in with the solid axle causes one of the roughest rides known to man.
Click to expand...

One of our plow trucks is a 350 and last fall I made some bastard packs out of some junkyard 250 packs because the factory ones were too soft. Even with the weight of a 460 above them, without the plow on the ride is pretty damn harsh.

Can't say as to what the spring rate differences might be, but the 250 leaves are definitely firm.
 
redneckjeep87 said:
Okay, talked to my buddy.and have an answer for ya....you will need axle,steering components and leaf springs. You can run the 250 leaf springs but contrary to belief they are actually much stiffer than the 350 springs due to the leverage forces of the ttb suspension. Guys up north actually swap the 250 springs into their 350s for plowing. Supposedly leaving the 250 springs in with the solid axle causes one of the roughest rides known to man. Everything will be a bolt in affair for you as long as you get the axle off one of the obs trucks. The only cutting grinding you will have to do will be getting the factory rivets holding the ttb brackets to the frame. Save your outers off your ttb because they are 60 outers and you can keep them as spare parts. Might want to measure driveshaft length on the two trucks to compare if they are the same or not....dont know if there is any difference there. Also dont remember if there is a teack bar or anything on the 350s or not, dont think so, but if there is you will need that and the.mounting bracket off the donor. Good luck with it...dont know how far away from me you are but if you go thru it i wouldnt mind givin you a hand, as i have been wanting to do the same to my truck just havnt had the money for an axle.
Click to expand...


You are the man! By steering components I assume my pitman arm can be retained. I have already been looking into an axle. Kinda hard to find. It may take me a bit to scrape up the extra coin before I can get one but that is the route I would prefer to go. I am in Black Mountain so about 2 hours away. I will let you know when I have the parts. Glad to provide the :beer: and whatever grillables needed.

Thanks
 
So will a 99-2004 Super Duty front axle bolt in to your 97 f250? Are the spring perches the same width?
 
Different wheel pattern and the superdutys im pretty sure have a different spring width...they also have different type of leafsprings
 
Back
Top