Which year 4x4 donor truck for 1995 E350? And question about DRW SRW D70's..

[rebar]

So I'm back to where I was a few years ago after a complete 6bt rebuild.:coffeedrink:

Iv got a 1995 E350 with a intercooled, turned up, cummins engine which is centered, not offset on the chassis.

Back when I bought it, I planned to convert it to 4x4 and began compiling information.. Should I go metric? should I stay old school king pin?.

I'm interested in hearing the pro's and cons of selecting a 86-91 kingpin donor truck vs a 99-04 Chris suggests.

And second.. Is the DRW D70 found in cutaway E350's the same 72" width wms-wms as the SRW D70?

Which brings up another issue.. My engine is centered, but my diff is offset to passenger side.. Should I select a centered truck rear axle and lift it high enough for the differential to clear the gas tank because of this fact?

Thanks!

 

[ujoint]

The 36.5" center t center on the 86-91 kingpin axle will set the shackles inboard of the frame a bit ad you'll have to make some spring hangers for the front of course if you decide to use that axle.

It all really boils down to the question of how much you want to fabricate and piece together yourself.

 

[rebar]

The 36.5" center t center on the 86-91 kingpin axle will set the shackles inboard of the frame a bit ad you'll have to make some spring hangers for the front of course if you decide to use that axle.

It all really boils down to the question of how much you want to fabricate and piece together yourself.

Id like to buy your spring and hangers but source my own axles. I was speaking with a forum member who urged me to use the 86-91 king pin is why I'm considering it.

Would moving the perch's on a king pin D60 allow me to use your kit designed for 99-04 axles?

And would a 99-04 SRW F350 provide me with two useable metric axles?

Thanks

 

[mgmetalworks]

Have you considered an aft-of-axle tank out of a cutaway? (some assembly required)

 

[rebar]

Have you considered an aft-of-axle tank out of a cutaway? (some assembly required)

Please direct me to one! lol as car-part.com wont search for cutaways.. only srw or drw

I'm confused regarding the D70.. I know I want a SRW D70HD but have conflicting information regarding them.. Mainly , if the DRW E350 D70 works in a srw application without offset rims.. If so great.. If not, I'm in the same position only being able to search for DRW and SRW van.. Not the cutaway

Id like to be able to find a donor truck which has everything I need except, for the dodge parts.. Does it exist?

 

[mgmetalworks]

Here is an example on ebay...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-Ford-Su...:E-450+Super+Duty&hash=item2c7cf1a549&vxp=mtr

 

[rebar]

Here is an example on ebay...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-Ford-Su...:E-450+Super+Duty&hash=item2c7cf1a549&vxp=mtr

Oh I understand now.. move the tank to the rear, find alternative spare tire location, then run a centered diff truck axle to match my centered cummins engine..

I wonder just how high of a lift is required where the mid tank wont interfere with a centered truck axle..

 

[ujoint]

Id like to buy your spring and hangers but source my own axles. I was speaking with a forum member who urged me to use the 86-91 king pin is why I'm considering it.

Would moving the perch's on a king pin D60 allow me to use your kit designed for 99-04 axles?

And would a 99-04 SRW F350 provide me with two useable metric axles?

Thanks

Gotcha. The kingpin 60's are good but just not 100% ideal for this exact application. The drivers side perch is cast into the housing so moving it isn't a good option. With the 99-04 all of my parts work together and you don't have to modify the axle at all. ABS ready too. Yes, if you get a pair of axles from a 99-04 you'll be good to go.

 

[rebar]

Gotcha. The kingpin 60's are good but just not 100% ideal for this exact application. The drivers side perch is cast into the housing so moving it isn't a good option. With the 99-04 all of my parts work together and you don't have to modify the axle at all. ABS ready too. Yes, if you get a pair of axles from a 99-04 you'll be good to go.

But, if I pick up a 99-2000 , I would only need the front end , as they were 8x6.5 and would match my existing wheels and also bolt up to your kits..

One last question about the king pin Chris.. Is building my own inboard spring hangers the only challenge? And whats the perch width difference from a king pin to a 99 axle? I thought they were both 36.5"?

 

[ujoint]

99-04 are all 8 on 170mm. The 86-97 axles are 36.5, 99-04 are 38's. Besides the spring pad width you have steering, brake lines, sway bar, ABS, etc to deal with.

 

[tgreening]

I'm curious why the love for the kingpin and the DRW D70? The only "advantage" I can think of for the kingpin D60 is they're easy peasy to rebuild the knuckles, but in reality how many times are you likely to have to do that? Buy your axle and have new ball joints put in, and most likely never have to do it again, unless you REALLY drive the snot out of the thing or use sub-par ball joints. Plus as Chris mentioned you have the perches to deal with. Putting on new spring pads is no big deal if you're moderately handy with tools and can wrestle a welder. But getting rid of the cast in drivers side spring pad is not so easy. Figure on torching, gouging, and/or grinding till you're sick to death of all the above before you're ready to weld on the new pad. And you better be good with those first two tools or you'll send your new axle to the hospital real quick.

If it were me and I were doing a standard E-series van, I buy a matching pair of axles from an SRW F-series and be done with it. You're buying a front anyway and that's where the expense is. Generally rear axles are dirt cheap compared to the fronts. Now they match bolt patterns, gears, mileage, AND Chris's gear bolts right up. In this case the wheel has already been invented. I don't think it'd be worth your effort to invent a new one.

 

[rebar]

99-04 are all 8 on 170mm. The 86-97 axles are 36.5, 99-04 are 38's. Besides the spring pad width you have steering, brake lines, sway bar, ABS, etc to deal with.

Thanks for that correction. It was the vans that remained 8x6.5 until 01. Ford went to metric wheels in 1997 on F Series trucks. From what I hear! lol

 

[ujoint]

Thanks for that correction. It was the vans that remained 8x6.5 until 01. Ford went to metric wheels in 1997 on F Series trucks. From what I hear! lol

Yea can get confusing. The vans never went to 8 on 170mm, stayed 8 on 6.5 till the end. The 99 F series was the 1st to get the metric pattern.

 

[ujoint]

I'm curious why the love for the kingpin and the DRW D70? The only "advantage" I can think of for the kingpin D60 is they're easy peasy to rebuild the knuckles, but in reality how many times are you likely to have to do that? Buy your axle and have new ball joints put in, and most likely never have to do it again, unless you REALLY drive the snot out of the thing or use sub-par ball joints. Plus as Chris mentioned you have the perches to deal with. Putting on new spring pads is no big deal if you're moderately handy with tools and can wrestle a welder. But getting rid of the cast in drivers side spring pad is not so easy. Figure on torching, gouging, and/or grinding till you're sick to death of all the above before you're ready to weld on the new pad. And you better be good with those first two tools or you'll send your new axle to the hospital real quick.

If it were me and I were doing a standard E-series van, I buy a matching pair of axles from an SRW F-series and be done with it. You're buying a front anyway and that's where the expense is. Generally rear axles are dirt cheap compared to the fronts. Now they match bolt patterns, gears, mileage, AND Chris's gear bolts right up. In this case the wheel has already been invented. I don't think it'd be worth your effort to invent a new one.

All good points, the unit bearings & ball joint fail rate isn't as bad as what guys make it out to be. The unit bearings are easier to deal with and replace too.

 

[nely]

I asked all these questions to Chris b4 I did my conversion.

I ended up with the superduty axles. The kit is made for it so there's no custom pieces.

The later model 05+ sterling are 70wms I believe so that's close to the d70.

In 2001 the thread pitch on the superduty wheel studs changed, that's one thing to keep an eye on.

Like everyone has said, you can run the king pin axles with a custom build. Buy Chris' kit and superduty axles if you wanna have proven pieces and a straight forward installation.