1992 f150 daily driver and adventure rig.

[greengreer]

True trac sounds like it might be the ticket. Thanks for the suggestions.
Yes the dually has a 12k winch, although ideally an 18k would be better but it's what I had. It doesn't get used too much but is pretty invaluable when it does. As much as I like the peace of mind of having a winch, especially because I usually go solo, being an arborist has it's perks. I have lots of ropes and pulleys to make mechanical advantage systems so coupled with a come along or a masdaam rope puller I should be able to do most of what q winch does.
Right now the truck really needs the bilsteins and a traction aid to make it more capable, as with any 20+ yr old vehicle there will always be a few more maintenance items that pop up.
Rode out to roan mtn tn to do a bit of hiking. Beautiful area that I need to explore more of.

 

[kojackJKU]

Your truck is not lifted is it? If not, see if Monroe has reflex mono's for it. They are awesome. Handle off roading great but smoother on road than the bilsteins. Plus, you can get them on bogo at most local parts hawkers most of the time. Lifetime warranty is great too.

 

[justcuz]

I saw someone suggested that you swap your rear axle to one off an early '80s F150 - unfortunately you can't easily do that. I mean yes the 9" axle will bolt up right in place of the 8.8 you have now, but it lacks a tone ring and a VSS on the pumpkin. If your truck was one year older you'd be just fine without them as all you'd lose would be the ABS, but starting in 1992 in Ford trucks EVERYTHING that somehow needs vehicle speed information uses that axle VSS - this means speedometer, odometer, ABS, and cruise, none of it will work with a factory '80s F150/Bronco 9" rear axle. Now, given the 9" uses an all-steel housing (piece of cake to drill, tap, and weld onto), I'd imagine it'd be pretty easy to install the VSS into that - but the VSS has to read off something, and that something is the tone ring typically attached to the differential flange for the ring gear. Does someone make a tone ring that can fit a 9" diff - probably, as 9" axles are still pretty popular for racing applications powered by EFI engines via computer-controlled transmissions. Heck for all I know there is a whole 3rd member somewhere out there that is set up with both tone ring clearance and VSS port, but being used to the 8-lug 1-ton stuff I simply don't know what's available in the "halfton" aftermarket world... Something for you to looking into it maybe?[/QUOTE]

On a 9" swap the tone ring and VSS gets relocated to the t-case rear output.

 

[greengreer]

I am pretty much certain the vss is on the t-case in this truck. Not sure what makes it different, maybe the np435? There is no sensor on the rear diff like the sterling in my one ton.
I've run monroes in the past but never got much life out of them, bilsteins just keep going imo. Thanks for the suggestion though. I feel like with no swaybars the last thing I want to cheap out on is shocks.

 

[justcuz]

I like that you are keeping it simple. It is easy to get carried away and many vehicles are overbuilt and rarely ever used to capacity. Lots of money spent on stuff that you could have used for gas and traveling. Traction devices and good shocks should wrap it up. You can mount clevis hooks on old Jeep spring mount brackets bolted to the bottom of the frame rails.

 

[underdrive]

On a 9" swap the tone ring and VSS gets relocated to the t-case rear output.

What are they using, the '91-down factory VSS setup just without actual cable coming out of it (so like a passenger car)? With the PSOM conversion constant changed to correct for gear reduction in the axles and different pulse/rev count? Guess that would work for the cruise and speedo/odo gauge and the PCM (since they're all on the PSOM brain's output side), but I'd imagine the RABS is getting pretty pissed off cause the number of pulses per revolution is way lower than it expects to see?

Greengreer, this is kinda odd for a OBS truck - must be a '92-only thing, as we have access to a '93 halfton and its VSS is most definitely in the 8.8 axle. Transmission type shouldn't have anything to do with it, with those Fords you can swap them to your heart's content (you got at least four 4-speeds to chose from, two 5-speeds, and at least three automatics) and they can all use the same t-case with its VSS and such. But then again, it is a Ford we're talking about here, sometimes the logic behind their decisions can be rather questionable, lol. In any case, if your VSS is not in the axle, then feel free to swap whatever axle you can get your hands on - the 9" is definitely a nice upgrade over the 8.8 you got now.

 

[greengreer]

It's a weird bird for sure. Really wish I had at least the door jamb sticker, the window sticker would be awesome. I think the truck had to be custom ordered.
It's great to know I can put a 9" in, but I doubt I will ever break the 8.8 I dont plan to do anything crazy off pavement or haul or tow any real weight.
If only I was so lucky with the f350. I have had some issues with the sterling and feel like a 14 bolt would be a worthy upgrade, but that truck regularly sees gcvw of 20k which is definitely asking alot.

 

[AFBronco235]

The only real weakpoint I've ever seen in the 8.8 is the axle tubes themselves buckling when they get abused. By abused, I mean jumping a ditch and landing hard type of abuse. I've heard that the only REAL advantage a 9 inch rear axle has over the 8.8 is with how easy it is to swap gears out of, at least compared to the 8.8.

I would also like to mention that I have a factory LS differential in the 8.8 in my bronco and it works great for off road for me. Didn't let me down once on the slick mud and dirt trails I took it down last February. Maybe you should consider that over a locker, which I hear have a tendency to cripple a rig should they break, while the LS may burn up, but won't cripple you on the trail if it does fail. Just my 2 cents.

 

[kojackJKU]

I am pretty much certain the vss is on the t-case in this truck. Not sure what makes it different, maybe the np435? There is no sensor on the rear diff like the sterling in my one ton.
I've run monroes in the past but never got much life out of them, bilsteins just keep going imo. Thanks for the suggestion though. I feel like with no swaybars the last thing I want to cheap out on is shocks.

I have the opposite experience. I have had and seen many bilstiens break their shafts and are very stiff, while my monroes are smooth, and I have 120k on my first set now. still going strong with no leaks, or even rust on the bodies. Did you use the reflex monotubes?

 

[greengreer]

I have no experience with the reflex specifically, I was referring to monroe in general. They seem to get good reviews and work out to be about $100 cheaper than the bilsteins. They seem to be backordered at most suppliers and not being able to get a custom length for the front has me leaning toward the bilstiens. Thanks for the tip though.
Also @ justcuz, can you link me to the jeep spring mounts you are referring to? That's an interesting option. And thanks for the kind words, I am trying to keep this truck relatively simple and with a tight budget. I am hoping to be able to pick up almost any part locally if need be and have a clean factory-ish look.
At this point, a traction aid and shocks are the only definite upgrades left, thinking about throwing together some cheap yakima type rack for the shell too but in no hurry at this point.

 

[underdrive]

The F350 Sterling issue, lemme guess, did your crush sleeve crush too much and wipe out the yoke/pinion splines, ans possibly the pinion bearings? If yes you need to realize this is the same part used in the 7.5" rears, and is a well known issues with these axles. Fortunately a solid spacer and shims for a 9" axle will also fit the Sterling (a minor mod may or may not be needed, depends on the kit's manufacturer), and that is about the only way to make the pinion stuff stay put under heavy load.

Factory LSD works good on these trucks, if it's a bit loose it can always be tightened a bit. Very budget-build friendly as well, the only downside is it may take gutting the axle more than once to get it right if on the first try you overshoot one way or the other. You can also do a front LSD, it can be quite helpful in some situations. Ford actually had it as an option for a few years on the halfton trucks, Trac-Lok diffs in both axles. Don't make it too grabby and it will behave on slick roads when you run with the 4x4 engaged (which in some winter wonderlands can be pretty much all the time).

 

[justcuz]

I'll look around for a possible link to the Jeep spring mounts. Older Jeeps have the shackle mounted up front, the bracket was just bolted or riveted to the frame. Let me see what I can find.
Edit: I just searched Jeep front shackle hanger. There are two types, one is a flat plate with the end bent around like a spring main leaf and the other is a teardrop shaped piece of channel with a tube welded in it. Looks like both can be purchased from different vendors. One vendor was Mountain Off Road.

 

[4x4junkie]

I wouldn't be too concerned about the 8.8" axle in that rig unless you plan to put some really big tires on it (like 37" or larger), which a 9" is no more up for either without some upgrades to it.

The 8.8" does have three known weak areas, all of which can be eliminated pretty easily:

#1. The axle tubes are not real thick (as someone else already mentioned), which can crack and/or deform around the leaf perch area with prolonged hard use (cracks at the ends of the perch welds are common)
#2. The axle tube plug-welds in the centersection can shear, resulting in the tubes spinning within the centersection
#3. The stock differential carrier is weak.

1 & 2 are easily fixable if you have a welder... Weld a couple gussets inside/under the front & rear of the spring perches so that there is more contact area with the tube, and lay some weld down around where the tubes go into the centersection.

3 is taken care of if you install a full-carrier replacement differential such as a Detroit Locker or ARB Locker (I would not recommend a lunchbox locker be put in any 8.8" axle for this reason).

The 8.8" axle shafts are quite strong (same size shafts in a 9", 31 spline), and it has a bit better power transfer efficiency (less gear friction due to less pinion offset, which also means better driveshaft clearance too).

Anyway, just thought i'd throw that out here.

Nice rig.

 

[greengreer]

My issue with the sterling has been with the axle shaft bolts breaking. They are a huge pita, and having regular grade 8 bolts and washers is not a great solution.

Thanks for the 8.8 tips, looks like full carrier is going to be the way to go. Also I must have been blind or had a few beers when I thought there wasnt a vss in the rear diff. There is. 'nuff said.

Had to replace the master and booster yesterday. Not sure why they both went bad but master was leaking internally, and the booster wouldn't hold vacuum whatsoever. Brakes work great now except rabs, I couldn't get hardly anything to come out of the bleeder valve using a vacuum pump. If it is broken it broke open because the rear brakes will lock up if you stomp the pedal. When the one on my f350 went out it acted totally different. I just bypassed it and the brakes work better than ever, but it is always heavy so I dont have much of an issue with them locking up. I would like to retain the rabs feature on the f150 but I am not buying a rebuilt valve.
I am hoping the shocks will help control rear brakes locking up as well, it nose dives a good bit in hard braking.
Got a small fuel leak to fix and I got new motor mounts to see if it helps keep the shifters from moving around so much, that can't be good.
The truck took me mountain biking and has been hauling some of my tools around this week. Canoe trip next week. It's good to have a pickup with a shell again.

 

[underdrive]

I've heard of the Sterling axle shaft bolts issue, but our trucks have never experienced it. Of course we go a bit overkill on the torque, and we use red locktite on the threads as well. So far so good!

The reason your master and booster went at the same time is cause the master has been seeping into the booster for a while and the fluid was eating it from the inside out. Pretty standard situation, that's why most new boosters come with a warning label that says to replace you master at the same time or you get no warranty on the booster.

The RABS issue, is your "rear antilock" or "ABS" light in the dash on all the time? The valves are somewhat sensitive to dirt in the brake fluid, if your old master looked nasty on the bottom of the reservoir it's very likely that same junk has also found its way into the RABS unit as well. It's not exactly user serviceable tho, I mean it may be but we've never taken one apart. The "dirty" solution to the lockup would be a manual brake bias valve, it costs like $30-$40 from Summit and Jegs and the likes - you use it to dial the pressure down when you're empty and then turn it back up when you're loaded.