Axle swap.

[dlonno]

Morning guys, might have a dumb question here but I've having a lot of problems with my front end since I bent the I-beams to adjust the camber after I put 8" coils on it. They seem to be neverending and costly, my question is this, I have a dana 60 in town I can pick up for real cheap from 04 psd. I dont want to convert to 4x4 but I'm wondering what would I need to swap my beams for the straight axle. I don't want leaf springs. I've heard fabtech makes a leaf to coil conversion. Any thought would be greatly appreciated.
Dave

 

[Kleetus]

I would think you could probably change to something similar to whats on the 05 and up F Series. But to be honest, I never really looked to see how the control arms hook to the frame, and if it's anywhere close to where the leaf springs picked up.

What do you have against leafs? They're a better ride than a coil, (but more costly)

 

[Crumm]

I've having a lot of problems with my front end since I bent the I-beams to adjust the camber after I put 8" coils on it.

You lifted a 2wd 8"? I can understand that bending the I-beams might create some problems Have you tried taking it to a reputable alignment shop and having it straightened out? One option would be to have a custom straight axle built by a axle shop such as Currie. They can build housings with the proper brackets to attach to your existing suspension. Swapping a Dana 60 from a 4wd into a 2wd and keeping the 2wd suspension would take some modification.

 

[dlonno]

You lifted a 2wd 8"? I can understand that bending the I-beams might create some problems Have you tried taking it to a reputable alignment shop and having it straightened out? One option would be to have a custom straight axle built by a axle shop such as Currie. They can build housings with the proper brackets to attach to your existing suspension. Swapping a Dana 60 from a 4wd into a 2wd and keeping the 2wd suspension would take some modification.

The problem comes in on the back of the spindle where it attaches to the Ibeam. At max camber theres a knuckle that hits the inside of the ibeam. I thought I could just get some new radius arms, steering linkage and new coils and swap them out.

 

[tasaro]

Your best bet, if you don't want 4x4, is to get some brackets to relocate the mounting points for the beams. You would only have to drop them 2-3", and then you don't have to max-out the camber adjusters. You can back those off a bit, and then you won't have such an extreme angle at the beam end/knuckle. If i recall, most of the bent beams out there are only intended for 4-6" of lift but there should be a few companies out there who make drop brackets for the beams. Fabtech, and Superlift would be my first thought. Now, i wouldn't recomend those drop brackets on a diesel equipped F-ey if you plan any serious off-roading, but as long as you keep all four wheels on the ground you should be fine.