D44HD conversion caliper question

Kingfish999 · Jun 3, 2012

i found a truck at the junkyard that had a complete D44HD. i was planing on doing the D44HD knuckle-out conversion on my 96 so i have 8 lug all around since im doing a Sterling 10.5 swap. seems pretty straight forward looking at THIS but i have questions about the caliper.

My 96 uses calipers that have the 2 bolt pins, not the sliding pins like the D44HD and pre-94 bronco calipers use. in this it says to use get the D44HD "caliper bracket" but when looking at mine, my "bracket" and the knuckle are one piece and not bolt-on. do i have to get a new steering knuckle to do this? can i not use my stock calipers on the HD rotors?

Rusty Shackelford · Jun 3, 2012

does that work on ttb?

Kingfish999 · Jun 3, 2012

im pretty sure its suppose to. maby im wrong?

my knuckle is 5 hole and the spinde ur suppose to use is 5 hole. but i know the brocos that use that style brakes are 6 hole spindles. i was thinknig i can use the knuckle off my 88 if i have to but its got 6 bolt spindles so i dont think i can use that. i odnt think the D44HD knuckle fits regualr D44 correct?

o well ill pull it and find out later. maby i can sell them if i cant use them

CWbronco · Jun 3, 2012

If it doesn't work send them to me!

Rusty Shackelford · Jun 3, 2012

what is the d44hd from?

Kingfish999 · Jun 3, 2012

well didnt have time to get it today. spent all my trying to get my 10.5 out of the aisles of junk cars. got it paid for with 5 mins to spare before closing. but i forgot the u-botls and spring plates so i got to go back anyways to get them and then ill know more about these knuckles. not sure what year it was its from an old late70s early 80s or so F250

Mike4xdriver · Jun 4, 2012

Ford ran solid axles till 79' in 1/2ton and 3/4ton. 80' was first year for TTB.

Mike4xdriver · Jun 4, 2012

Ford dana44hd is a solid axle since the TTB 3/4 tons are D50's. You need the knuckle from the dana44hd to do your conversion just for the caliper mounting IIRC. D50 knuckles will not fit a TTB Dana 44 because balljoint spacing is different.

badass1tonf100 · Jun 4, 2012

SAS stuff will not bolt to the TTB. You'll need 8 lug stuff from a Chevy 10 bolt or D44 (same thing). KF4AMU has a write up on the 8 lug ttb conversion. Just hang on to your SAS 8 lug stuff if you plan to do a SAS in the future. If you have anymore question feel free to pm me and I'll help you out.

Kingfish999 · Jun 4, 2012

well im not gonna do a SAS to this truck ever. ill do it to my 88 before my 96. i knew the D50 stuff was bigger than the D44 but didnt know if the knuckles of the HD and regualr were intergangeable. i could of swore that you could do this to the TTB tho. ill do saome more reasearch and look for chevy stuff tho. ill still pull what i can jsut incase i can use more.

would it be possible to use my original rotor and caliper, and jsut drill the 8 lug pattern into the rotor and use it? maby i could put the caliper bracket on the opposite side of my existing knuckle? it be cool if i can find a way to get this to work

CW, ill pull them and send them to ya for the cost of parts,shipping and 30$ for labor. or ill send ya jsut the parts ya need like the knuckle and spindle and caliper bracket since itll be best to buy new hub/rotor/balljoints/calipers/pads/bearings

DNBELOWBRONCO · Jun 5, 2012

No man you can't there isn't enough room to do the eight lug configuration on the rotor. I tried to find 5.5 to 8 lug adapters to use 8 lug wheels on my '96 and they don't offer them for that exact reason. You will need some early ('80's up to '91) Ford knuckles because they have the 6 studs for the 6 hole spindles and some hub/rotors off a ('78 to '91) 3/4 ton Chevy and the same year Chevy calipers, pads, outer stub shafts (Chevy uses D44's but the shaft is a hair longer for going through the spindle), and the spindles themselves called (10 bolt/big bearing). Check E-bay for the spindles, stubs, and lockouts and local parts house for the calipers, bearings, and seals.
Ruffstuff or Hefty our vendors have the 6 hole brackets for mounting the Chevy calipers to the Ford knuckles so other than Chevy inner (big) bearings and basic D44 outer (small) bearings, seals, and Chevy lockouts that's all you need. If your ball joints are in good shape you can press them out and use them in the early knuckles! The straight axle stuff is the wrong size for the ttb's so it won't work....:banghead

CWbronco · Jun 4, 2012

You got it man. Move it to a PM, so we don't get yelled at by the forum gods.

catsnw · Jun 4, 2012

http://ylobronc.users.superford.org/lift/8lugswap.html

That ^^ uses Chevy stuff. You also need 6 bolt knuckles. The five bolt (from the 96) won't work. Just find non abs knuckles and it's a bolt up swap.

bronco12372 · Jun 5, 2012

he removed the swap because he kept brakeing beams for some reason .

Brochoncho · Jun 5, 2012

There are a few different articles on how to do this. Also there is a lot of parts that will not work together. So read a few of them before you try it. Here is one first ones that popped up on a google search. http://www.off-road.com/trucks-4x4/...rming-an-8lug-swap-on-a-ttb-dana-44-front-axle-for-broncos-and-f150s-18627.html

I also have some of the chevy stuff for sale in my add in the classifieds here.

Gacknar · Jun 5, 2012

One does not mearly "Slap" 8-Lug on to TTB.

Like almost everything else with TTB, It's just not that simple.

Kingfish999 · Jun 7, 2012

i already ordered spacers to change the 8x170 to 8x6.5 so i could match the front when i do this. i dont really want to spend 200$ on spacers for the front alone anyways. also idk how you drive your truck but i drive mine VERY hard to the extreme. its a mostly stock truck but it doesnt stop me from jumping the hell out of it. ball joints dont last 6 months with me and my wheel bearings are a constant worry and need to get replaced every couple months. im going on my 4th rear axle now cause the tubes get soo bent from jumping

basicly if im gonna make this 8 lug, i want to do it right without shortcuts. if it would ever stop raining i would go and see what i can find at the JY.

helirich · Jun 8, 2012

If you really want to do it right, Put a straight D60 in.

Kingfish999 · Jun 8, 2012

think i alreadysaid this but no SAS for me. at least in this truck

gafred · Jun 11, 2012

check if late 70s F250 D44 spindle will bolt to your knuckle.

if the do u can use em with same vintage wheel hubs, chevy rotors from 3/4 ton and same calipers along with afermarket brackets.

Kingfish999 · Jun 11, 2012

i pulled everyhting from the spindles out of the 79 250 i found at the junkyard to send to CW bronco. the knuckle itself is defiantly different but. while taking it appart, it honestly make me still want to try and expieriment with it. since they were both 5 stud spindles, it might bolt up, then i would have to check to see if the stub shafts are long enough. if it passes both of those then it should work. as for the caliper i would have to cut off the existing caliper mounts on the knuckle jsut like they do when using the chevy parts. if for some strange reason it doesnt work after cutting, i have a whole spare axle i was gonna use for my 88 but it doesnt need it quite yet and i can barrow the knuckles till i gather the chevy stuff i need.

soo busy tho i cant get to the junkyard as much as i need. this will be a long drawn out project that wont even really get started till after i get the rear axle done which is also a slow project.

Kingfish999 · Jun 12, 2012

alright im jsut confirming. the spindles do not fit the ttb knuckle even close. the HD spindle is alot bigger bolt pattern. defiantly gonna start looking for chevy parts

bronco12372 · Jun 13, 2012

when you get all the parts could you be so kind to list all parts needed /year of chevy truck/ autoparts store part #s and a step by step how to thread so all this guess work bs can be resollved ? would you be willing to grind down everything to fit 15 in rims? pictures pictures pictures:thumbup

bronco12372 · Jun 14, 2012

ya there are threads nut lots of loose enuendos and dead ends . l yes a parts list , truck year , a good picture of what had to be modified or not . if you read this thread alone people have different ideas very different . pictures !!

Kingfish999 · Jun 15, 2012

thats a good list. sometime soon im gonna go to the junkyard. just been very busy latly and havent had time to go. main priorety is the rear axle swap which is slow but with any luck should be done this weekend. theni gotta get enough money to pay for the parts at the junkyard.

the ford knuckles i got covered. my 88 has the 6 stud knuckles but sicne it used tophat lockouts that dont work and are irreplacable, i got a new axle for it. ill use the knuckles from it. that just leaves me with finding the chevy stuff

Brochoncho · Jun 16, 2012

I don't know, the info gets posted all the time just like a SAS. Must be magic like those magnets or something.....

Kingfish999 · Aug 2, 2012

just wanted to update that i have a sort-of write up i made. i jsut got this done on my truck. took a good amount of pics with every step i did and added notes. its all here

http://www.supermotors.net/registry/24917/79984

68Mercury250Ranger · Oct 2, 2012

WOW nice job on the tutorial.

I have no chevy knowledge whatsoever. this looks like a good swap for my 93bronco, instead of a Dana 60 SAS. very little offroad use, but heavy diesel in front.

Thanks for the great idea!:beer

bronco12372 · Aug 2, 2012

this is the best explanation of the conversion iv read on fsb ! thanks guys now idiots like me can live dangerousely through your thread ........ joke

PWMTN · Aug 2, 2012

Wow, interesting read.
I ignored all the stuff you guys are discussing when it got more complicated than I wanted to deal with. I just bought 5x5.5 axles for my sterling. Yup I kept the stock TTB and have been hammering on the that front for many years. There were issues with the sterling for desert use due to movement of the lock collar for my semi floater setup. I now run a FF Tubeworks 9" rear but still have 5x5.5 & 5/8" studs (front and rear).
PaulW

D44HD conversion caliper question

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