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3500hd to 4x4

V30crewcab

V30crewcab

Well-known member
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May 19, 2020
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So I have a 98 3500hd that was my dads, I put a 4bt in it for him a few years back, by swapping the input and bellhousing on the nv4500. I am thinking of making it 4x4, and it looks like I need to either find one of the original front conversion axles, or one from a 88-98 f450 to keep the 10 lug crap. Both of those options seem to be pretty difficult to find. Am I overlooking a way to have the same bolt pattern on the front, or do I need to swap the rear to a different pattern?
 
V30crewcab said:
So I have a 98 3500hd that was my dads, I put a 4bt in it for him a few years back, by swapping the input and bellhousing on the nv4500. I am thinking of making it 4x4, and it looks like I need to either find one of the original front conversion axles, or one from a 88-98 f450 to keep the 10 lug crap. Both of those options seem to be pretty difficult to find. Am I overlooking a way to have the same bolt pattern on the front, or do I need to swap the rear to a different pattern?
Click to expand...

Motorsport Tech makes an 8-10 lug conversion spacer that is about 2" thick that might work
Grendel has a bunch of tech in the Dana s110 thread in the tow rig forum that might be helpful.
 
well its leafspring, but a beam axle with the kickup on the ends. basically a motorhome front axle. not a hollow tube like a dodge 3500hd.
 
The only 1 ive seen in person looked like it had a late ford kp/bj axle.
The outfitted trucks all have custom axles via quiggly/pathfinder.

Lets start with the basic info.
Whats the wms on the oe axle?
Whats the spring cl on the chassis?


This something ive wanted to do.

Iirc corey young may have had a set of the ford 10lug hubs. I know there was a thread on pbb about them.
 
V30crewcab said:
well its leafspring, but a beam axle with the kickup on the ends. basically a motorhome front axle. not a hollow tube like a dodge 3500hd.
Click to expand...
Yeah, so a 1999-2006 F450/500 front axle's is not 10 lug, but 8 on 225MM. You can use 2005+ unit bearings and hub adapters to go to 10x225mm.

I have one here, if you get into trouble finding them.
 
the 10 x 225 is bigger than the chevy 10. its 10x 7.25 which comes out to 184mm. so that still doesn't just fit. the 88-98 f450 run the 10x7.25 pattern but I'm guessing not many of those were 4x4 either. might just have to run 8-10x7.25 custom adapters to make it work.
 
V30crewcab said:
the 10 x 225 is bigger than the chevy 10. its 10x 7.25 which comes out to 184mm. so that still doesn't just fit. the 88-98 f450 run the 10x7.25 pattern but I'm guessing not many of those were 4x4 either. might just have to run 8-10x7.25 custom adapters to make it work.
Click to expand...
Not hard to do, I've done a shit ton of research on them. There are adapters that go from the 1999-2004 8 on 170mm of the unit bearing to whatever pattern you want to run on the wheel side. So replace the front OEM adapter, instead of running two.
Might get away with redrilling the Ford adapter, if the hub pilot works for you?

Might be easier though, to just bolt in a matching Ford S135 rear. You'd have to move the spring pads, but it's more than enough axle. Would cost about the same as a quality adapter for the front.
 
I think I'd prefer to run a basic SRW kingpin diff, where its easy to hookup the push-pull steering. Adjust the perches as needed. Then get adapters for 10-lug.

edit: I have seen the OE (Dana) 10-lug hubs on the Marmon-Herrington D70's built for the 88-97 F-Superduty. AFAIK, those are no longer available. If you can find one whole, that ought to be a good choice too.
 
So, why not a 78-79 Ford Dana 60 front and use custom adapters?

Could also use a Chevy 60 or Dodge 60, but they drop on the wrong side for most modern t-cases that can be adapted your trans. But since you don't have one, a 205 isn't that hard to do.

What's the rear axle? Shouldn't be hard to swap in a matching rear, too. I think it's a 14B, in which case, hubs are easy to swap.
 
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78-79 ford 60's are hard to find here, and very expensive. plus the brakes need big upgrade right off the bat. Don't want to go smaller on the front brakes for sure. I'll probably just do the 99up ford axle and adapt it to the 10 lug pattern.
 
V30crewcab said:
32 3/4
Click to expand...
The 99-04 Superduty is about 37.5". IIRC, that's 1" more than the 85-97 ford at 36.5".

There is the cheaper 76-77 ford D60 (low pinion) that can be done up with modern hubs and shafts.
 
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Would it kill you to run 2 spare tires? Or even just a spare for the front? Unless he travels far from home, heavy, I get that.

Does this have a drive line parking brake? If you're ditching that for a t case, a front and rear super duty swap makes all the sense...
 
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