Just bought a '94 powerstroke

[pjwoolw]

Originally Posted by LarryR

I had been kicking around that idea. I guess the king pin dana 60's will last practically forever. The parts are pretty cheap though. The ball joints and tie rod ends are only about 200 bucks. If I could find a good dana 60 front end complete at a reasonable price I would consider the swap but it looks like buying that in unknown condition would cost north of 500. If I was buying an unknown I would want to have it rebuilt (I dont have the tools to rebuild an axle). So throw on another 1200 plus if your going that far you have got to throw in an ox or arb locker.... That slippery slope winds up around 3k or so ...

I hope I am not giving the idea that I am a cheap skate. I just don't want the mrs to get to angry with me.

I will take that reference on Walt's auto service. I had been wondering where to take it for an alignment after I rebuild all of the steering.

Are the Dana 50's that bad? Just deferring back to this one has been there for 255K miles ... I know the straight axle has some benefits but I don't plan on lifting it at all. It is plenty tall already. It makes my jeep cherokee look like a low rider

Larry

If you look at the total cost including brakes and hoses, springs and bushings, steering box and associated parts, bearings, axle u joints, seal for the D50. Even if the axle cost you a tidy sum you will be ahead in the long run doing the swap. There are some pitfalls depending on what transfer case you have. Different front driveshaft. Just the money you will save on tires and alignments will be worth it.

[Patrick Feeley]

You can also get the SBC Con-O if you are going to keep the power level stock or just add a chip, etc. That should run $600-$650 or so. Cheers!

[LarryR]

Originally Posted by speeddemon31176

I forgot to mention that after you do the adjustment take it out for a test drive ana make several turns at intersections to verify that the wheel returns back to center(straight) on its own. If it doesn't jack it back up and loosen the jamb nut and turn the screw with the allen socket counter clockwise about an 1/8th turn and tighten jamb nut and test drive again and repeat procedure until truck returns to center on its own. You probably won't get every bit of play out depending on how long it was like it is now but it will be seriously improved.

Thanks for the additional information. I plan on doing the adjustment this weekend. I cant wait to get working on it. The long drive to and from work means I have little time to do anything during the week.

Larry

[LarryR]

Originally Posted by pjwoolw

If you look at the total cost including brakes and hoses, springs and bushings, steering box and associated parts, bearings, axle u joints, seal for the D50. Even if the axle cost you a tidy sum you will be ahead in the long run doing the swap. There are some pitfalls depending on what transfer case you have. Different front driveshaft. Just the money you will save on tires and alignments will be worth it.

I hear you. I just wont be putting that many miles on the truck. It will be for towing my race car, hunting, 4 wheeling, and hauling stuff out of the yard. I will probably only put about 3-4k miles a year on it. My daily driver is a 09 jetta tdi cranking out 40 mpg for my 100 mile a day commute.

I will probably bump the power (I thought I would not initially) however, I was looking at the oil leaks tonight after work and it looks like some of it is coming from the pedestal under the turbo. I read somewhere that this indicates time for replacement and the demon in my head started screaming so what if it has tons of power if you have to rebuild the turbo more power is always nice. However, I am always easy on the go pedal when off road.

[LarryR]

Originally Posted by Patrick Feeley

You can also get the SBC Con-O if you are going to keep the power level stock or just add a chip, etc. That should run $600-$650 or so. Cheers!

I think I am going to go for the 350 hp rated kit. I did not see a price for it but the site I was looking at quoted 600-895 and that one is in the middle so I am guessing 700ish? I might have to replace the turbo so a little more boost, an intercooler and 4" exhaust could be fun. I am guessing (still very new to the powerstroke) that it would take a lot of modifications to get much past 350 hp. It seems weird for diesel applications to rate things in hp instead of torque.

Larry