Call me crazy, but I just can't see the point in swapping to a solid front axle (a major fabrication project, not exactly a weekend job) on a truck that will never see any serious offroad use or even be driven in the winter. Save that for a rock crawler (the F-150 wouldn't be my first choice for that due to the width though) or a serious mud toy.

The TTB will ride much better for a DD anyway. Hell, these trucks and the TTB Rangers are two of the best platforms to build for desert racing due to the nice ride and the amount of suspension travel you can get out of them with a little work.

 

yawn... all 32 of you posts are complete BS
you can drop the know it all front,
but there are guys here that have done it.

my 91 with a 6" lift and stock drop brackets, and 7deg bushings and 35" tires, lockers front and rear, has had the tire stuffed into the fenders more times than I can count( which you cant do if you make the bumb stops longer why put a lift on at all if your still going to limit the travel?), i've dropped the front axle off a 6 foot bluff countless times. even had the tire jammed into some rocks one time and spun the tire on the rim and shreaded the bead.

oh yeah did i mention this was a 91 with a 6" lift stock drop brackets, 7 deg bushings, 35" tires locked front and rear? oh I forgot it's a soild DANA 44 out of a 79 ford f150, that took me about 4 hours to install once I got the TBB out, so about 6 hours all together!

I suggest you sit back and learn a few things when people post info on things, instead of just jumping on with counter claims on things you have never even done.
or go back to racing celicas, and leave the trucks to the big boys.

 

There's so many things wrong with this post I don't even know where to start!
So instead of wasting my time I'm just going to sit back and laugh!

 

Thats kind of what Im doing, hahaha except im also trying to decide whether to do the swap or not. I think it would be cool, but is it necessary if its never going to see mud or off roading? I heard that with ttb the tires turn inwards when backing up with a lift on. Is this true at all or a bunch of BS.

I planned on rough country lift since Im not going to do any off roading. how do these kits hold up?

Fordtrucknut-----Your running stock drop brackets for the radius arms. I was thinking if I kept the TTB I would get drop brackets too, but I heard the frame is prone to cracking with those, is this true?

 

if your not going to wheel the TTB the chances you will crack the brackets or crossmember are very very slim, they have made these kits the same since 1980, if it was that bad they would have changed the design,
my 91 is an SAS and i have yet to crack the frame or the bracket, or snap a radius arm, yes all three can happen, and might happen anytime, but i've seen stock no lift TTB trucks with cracked brackets and frames, and SAS trucks crack the frame and bracket. i've seen a stock 2wd truck that has never seen dirt its whole life snap a radius arm going down the highway,
anything can happen at anytime,

even if you wheel it there are hundreds and thousands of lifted trucks still running the TTB, on trails every year. they have their down sides and up sides too, same with an SAS too.

the soild axle is going to ride rougher and does not have the on road handling that the TTB offers.

asking a ford guy which is better is like asking what oil is the best or what tire is the best, your going to get 50 different answers from 50 different people.

I did mine because
1: I had the truck, it had a bad stub shaft in it and no title, but had a 6" lift with rear lift springs(no cracked frame)
2:the 44 and the rear axle were loaded with gears and lockers and a 6" lift with blocks for the rear. when I picked them up super cheap, and I didnt want to break the locker out out of the 44 (and the rear is a 9") because I knew they wouldnt stay in the truck forever I have since smoked the motor, and the truck is now sitting out back ( about 7 years now,lol)waiting for a decent bronco 2 or early model exploder to cross my path for the right price, to swap them and the trans and transfer into it for a jeep sized crawler.

 

they do it on a stock truck too, it is just not as noticeable because the tires are smaller and the truck sits lower, its more of an optical illusion because the higher truck and bigger tires make it look like it is doing it a lot worse than it really is.

 

True the brkts crack up when stock but lifting the truck and leaving stock ones in is a bad idea,the aftermarket ones are thicker and lower the radius arm Angel allowing for a smother ride ,he said he wasn't going to wheel his truck so I assumed he wanted it to look stock,hence the reason for my suggestions on the bump stops,if u are not going to use the center pin mount cut it out ,it just looks like crap,yes there are different ways to do things and sorry if I spend a bit more $ on my rigs ,but they never let me down and always work,

 

How u mean turn inwards,like toe in or camber in,

 

Yea, and is there any way to fix this? Or is it just the nature of the beast? I will only be running 35's max, if not 33's.

I decided ill stay with TTB since I will not be offroading with it or wheeling.

I was not going to reuse stock radius arm brackets, I was talking about the drop brackets that come with the kit. I was wondering whether it was worth it to use these or go with extended radius arms since I wont be wheeling

 

The longer arms offer a way better ride and more flex but not mandatory for a mall crawler,the ttb does that due to the weight transfer and geometry of the suspension travel ,it is unavoidable,35 inch tires is kinda pushing the limits of the front axle but our staying on the road so u should be fine,note the u joints are the weak points not the shafts from what I understand....just try to replace as much as u can while its apart