97 f350 D60 swap into 96 f250

OuchThatHurt · Jan 14, 2015

Ok guys... Im getting ready to purchase a d60 off a 97 f350 (hub to hub) comes with trac bar, bracket, brake lines... even wheels and tires. I need to know if there as anything special that i need to know before I attempt this.

As of right now... from what I have looked into, everything is bolt on accept the trac bar. and even then... i get everything bolted up, do some measureing off the frame and drill the holes in the cross member....

This is probably the biggest project I have ever attempted to do on a daily driver... just want it to be safe.

Thanks in advance

superpsd · Jan 14, 2015

Did you make sure it has the correct gear ratio?

OuchThatHurt · Jan 14, 2015

both 96 f20, and 97 f350 axles are stock. Is there a way to tell without opening up the pumpkin? I believe mine is 3.55

psduser1 · Jan 14, 2015

It's listed in the code on the doorjamb, drivers side.
It's also stamped on a tag, bolted on the cover.
There's also a code stamped on the axle tube, may list the gear ratio.

OuchThatHurt · Jan 14, 2015

Awesome. I'll get that checked out today.

OuchThatHurt · Jan 14, 2015

Ok, I made a mistake. The axle is out of a 1994 F350. Upon a little more research. The brake lines are more or less the only obstacle?

Also, I will not be lifting the truck anytime soon.

OuchThatHurt · Jan 14, 2015

...And, the 94 Dana 60 does not come with the drive shaft, or xfer case yoke. I hardly ever use 4x4 qand the truck is stock height. Will D50 driveshaft work on the dana 60?

OuchThatHurt · Jan 14, 2015

I am reading alot of this on different forums... but nothing for a 94 dana 60 into a 96 f250. Sorry if these questions are repetative.

psduser1 · Jan 14, 2015

OuchThatHurt said:
...And, the 94 Dana 60 does not come with the drive shaft, or xfer case yoke. I hardly ever use 4x4 qand the truck is stock height. Will D50 driveshaft work on the dana 60?

I think the yokes are the same, but the dana 60 pinion is "about" an inch longer, meaning you'll probably have to shorten the shaft by that much.

gnxtc2 · Jan 15, 2015

I have a '94 D60 under my truck. The '94 D60 is ball jointed but with slide pin calipers. The rotors are slightly smaller than the 95-97 D60s. The brake hoses for slide pin calipers have a different angle to them where they bolt up to the caliper.

You can replace the knuckles on the '94 D60 from a 95-97 D60, they'll bolt right on. You then could use all the braking components from your '97. I ran the '94 and when i found 95-97 knuckles, i swapped everything out.

The driveshaft will not work, it'll fit but be colapsed. Best thing to do is that the measurement between the yokes and have driveshaft shortened. You might get a vibration in 4x4 due to the operating angles of the u-joints. The F350 front shaft has a double cardan joint. If you find a F350 shaft, you need to change the yoke on the xfer case if you have the 4407 xfer case.

You also going to need to install the F350 rear leaf blocks to level out the truck.

You must get the Trac bar and bracket. You must also get the driver side u-bolt bracket.

You should also try to get the F350 pitman arm; it'll give you more of a turning radius.

Billy T.
[email protected]

OuchThatHurt · Jan 15, 2015

Thanks for the great write up. This seems very straight forward and easy

Obsledpuller · Jan 15, 2015

The trac bar bracket will bolt up in the old d50 holes in the crossmember when you remove it. The hardest part is getting those darn brackets out. I just ended up cutting them off with the torch. Other than that yes it's a fairly straightforward job time consuming but not very technical.

gnxtc2 · Jan 15, 2015

You need to cut the bracket bolts because they are long. When you push them up, they hit the oil pan.

Forgot to mention, do NOT use the F250 springs, use F350 ones. The F250 ones are thicker to combat the twisting and up/down motion of the TTB.

The swap is a bolt in deal.

Billy T.
[email protected]

OuchThatHurt · Jan 20, 2015

Well the axle came with 4.10 gears fml. Looks like the drive shaft will have to stay off until i re-gear it. Speaking of driveshaft. Has anyone actually done the swap and had issues with the front shaft? I'm doing a factory swap. No lift.

gnxtc2 · Jan 20, 2015

Depends how fast you are going to go in 4x4 will dictate if the F250 driveshaft is going to work.

There is a reason why Ford opted to install a double cardan joint on the F350 shaft.

Billy T.
[email protected]

Obsledpuller · Jan 20, 2015

OuchThatHurt said:
Well the axle came with 4.10 gears fml. Looks like the drive shaft will have to stay off until i re-gear it. Speaking of driveshaft. Has anyone actually done the swap and had issues with the front shaft? I'm doing a factory swap. No lift.

It can go either way if you stay with the 250 non cardan joint shaft. Some have problems some don't. Like Billy said depends how fast you want to go. I had the double cardan joint shaft went 12.66 at 106 no vibration in 4wd my $0.02 get the shaft and yoke. Do it once.