Has anyone done a '05-'07 axle conversion in an '99-'04?
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No. I did the stock conversion. I finished that then I thought about lifting it. Oh in the middle I built the bumper. I liked the Icon stuff but its so darn expensive so I built my own lift. I used Icon 4.5 springs and icon adjustable track bar and the rest I made. I used Johnnie Joints style bushings in the rear of the 4 links. The top ones are adjustable for alignment purposes. Made them out of 2"DOM. Fabbed up radius arm brackets in connection with the factory style brackets I had just installed for the axle swap. I Used Icon blocks in the rear and Billstien shocks all around. Made the swaybar links and bump stop mounts for the increased lift. I must have measured right because everything went on great and I dont seem to need an alignment as the tires are wearing great and no wandering. I just put it on and drove it. So far about 3k miles. It really drives like a stock setup no noises or rattling etc. I wouldn't do the 4 link unless you really want to as its not much of an improvement over a stock ride. The icon springs are a little stiffer.It does have much better susp. travel though. Also another point with the steering box is that since the newer 05 up axles are 3 inches wider the steering angle is increased along with better turning radius. The 05 box is made for the extra turning radius of the new lifts. Don't forget the 16 wheels wont fit on the new front axle! Not even close. I ended up using 16.5s beacause I like the price of them and military tire options) i know BFG dont make them anymore they have been saying that for 15 years) But with even 16.5s I had to do a fair amount of grinding on the front calipers.So make sure you use 17s or up. The hardest part for me was I needed to drive home from my shop every day. So I did it in stages. For instance I would drill out the holes and get things done then take it off so I could drive it again. Once I had finished all the fab work It took one long day to put it all on and I drove it back that night. I did have the great help of having an 06 sitting around for reference. Non runner though(what a suprise!). But after looking it all over I was able to see how easy the swap really was. So many holes are already there. And the factory brackets from Ford are designed to be bolted on for replacement purposes.
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With the axle and radius arms together, we set it on the floor on wheels with the springs and lowered the truck down to it. Thank the LORD for a 10k vehicle lift.
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The front axle got some work to bring her up to snuff. New u-joints (Precision), hub seals (Ford) and axle shaft seals (Ford). New upper and lower ball joints (Moog), and new EBC YellowStuff pads and a complete brake fluid flush with Dot4.
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The original rear leaf springs were rebuilt with added leafs and re-arched, adding 2.5" of lift without the use of lift blocks.
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The front axle got some work to bring her up to snuff. New u-joints (Precision), hub seals (Ford) and axle shaft seals (Ford). New upper and lower ball joints (Moog), and new EBC YellowStuff pads and a complete brake fluid flush with Dot4.
The original rear leaf springs were rebuilt with added leafs and re-arched, adding 2.5" of lift without the use of lift blocks.
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The truck has been my daily driver for over a week with only minor issues.
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The speedo had to be recalibrated so I used by tuner for that task.
I took the truck into Firestone for an alignment. Toe was REALLY out and the steering wheel was clocked to 2:00 so the steering arm needed adjustment.
Check out the speedometer and tach. NEVER saw that RPM range at highway speed...
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The speedo had to be recalibrated so I used by tuner for that task.
I took the truck into Firestone for an alignment. Toe was REALLY out and the steering wheel was clocked to 2:00 so the steering arm needed adjustment.
Check out the speedometer and tach. NEVER saw that RPM range at highway speed...
Did you change R&P ratio? That's the speed/RPM combo I have with 3.73's, 285x75R16's, and a ZF-6 (0.72:1 OD), 70 MPH @ 2,000 RPM.
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What is R&P ratio? I just programmed the wheel diameter using my Hypertech.
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Nice work!!
Thank you for documenting this!!
I've got a 2x4 and have been going back and forth whether or not I should go with a 2005 up front axle when I convert it to 4x4.
Did you have to cut the teeth back in the pitman arm after making the mounting hole larger?
Thank you for documenting this!!
I've got a 2x4 and have been going back and forth whether or not I should go with a 2005 up front axle when I convert it to 4x4.
Did you have to cut the teeth back in the pitman arm after making the mounting hole larger?
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It's worth noting that I have 20" wheels.
The diameter is 33.25" on the tires.
The diameter is 33.25" on the tires.
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Glad you've enjoyed it.
This is a question to consider but I'm not sure there is a significant price difference in going with one or the other. Just find a decent donor truck with a limited slip rear. 06's and 07's with blown or stolen engines shouldn't be hard to find. If I had to do it over again, I would have bought the steering box with the suspension.
I modified my original pitman where the steering bar attaches by boring out the hole to fit the larger steering bar end. Very simple with a drill press and the snap on tool. So I didn't have to do anything with the splined end of the pitman. Just pulled it off to drill and reinstalled.
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Thanks for sharing your pictures.
How much did the buckets and springs and brackets cost from Ford if you remember??
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I forgot to mention that my lower radiator hose was a little low and rubbed the steering stabilizer. So I pulled it off and trimmed 1.5" where it connects with the motor. This didn't get it completely off the stabilizer but it was close enough for my comfort.
Thats funny I remember having to do the same thing with my radiator hose and making a note of it.It is a close fit but after so many mos of driving it hasn't rubbed or damaged itself.
I beat you to the conversion by 7 mos or so, but I am glad someone else tackled it on their own. The cost for the brackets are as follows coil spring mounts 119.78 for the right and 100.64 for the left. I cant find the receipt for the radius arm brackets but they were cheaper then the coil spring brackets I remember that. The track bar mount was 76.22 but you can get that used as it unbolts. By the way I got it all from Tousley. If you need part number I should be able to provide those too. The new style steering box was $100 from ebay with free ship and it came with the right pitman arm. I wouldnt redrill out the old one,it makes no sense as the new box is beafier and is part of the new style suspension and steering. Better turning radius too. Also if in the event you have to get a new one or want to lift it and need a drop pitman arm all you need to do is source another for a 05 up truck. Just re-drill the three original frame bolts out to the larger size. You dont have to worry about anything because the hole position is the same, the new box just uses larger metric size bolts, get those and your done. But you do have to change the return power steering line to the 05 up but after 260k miles it didnt hurt to replace it with a new one anyways .I got most everything else from the wrecking yard. I had them leave on the radius arms the swaybar and mounts the track bar and all the steering. Also the coil springs and isolator mounts. They did cut the brake lines which was a pain because the old lines wont bolt up to the new calipers. I got some longer stainless steel one's for my lift anyways. I got everything from the doner vehicle for $550 plus $200 ship and $80 extra for the calipers on ebay. It was from an 06 single cab f350. I have done a lot of stuff like this over the past 20 years, Countless engine conversions,I even put a 6.0 and 5r100 in a 7.3 truck . back in 05(before I knew better) and a lot more but believe me this is a real easy swap. Ford has made it so easy with so many of the holes already there that there is no real measuring to do or worrying about drilling the holes in the right place. Im going to do it again on a Excursion next. If you get all the pieces lined up and plan it out. The actual work can be easily done in a three day weekend. Between the two of us who have already done this for advice,anybody that is patient and interested should be able to accomplish this swap. I bet it becomes popular in time. Dont forget 16 rims wont fit and the new axle uses 2.0 metric thread while the older axle and rear of course uses a 1.5 metric thread so you will need new lug nuts for the front.
I beat you to the conversion by 7 mos or so, but I am glad someone else tackled it on their own. The cost for the brackets are as follows coil spring mounts 119.78 for the right and 100.64 for the left. I cant find the receipt for the radius arm brackets but they were cheaper then the coil spring brackets I remember that. The track bar mount was 76.22 but you can get that used as it unbolts. By the way I got it all from Tousley. If you need part number I should be able to provide those too. The new style steering box was $100 from ebay with free ship and it came with the right pitman arm. I wouldnt redrill out the old one,it makes no sense as the new box is beafier and is part of the new style suspension and steering. Better turning radius too. Also if in the event you have to get a new one or want to lift it and need a drop pitman arm all you need to do is source another for a 05 up truck. Just re-drill the three original frame bolts out to the larger size. You dont have to worry about anything because the hole position is the same, the new box just uses larger metric size bolts, get those and your done. But you do have to change the return power steering line to the 05 up but after 260k miles it didnt hurt to replace it with a new one anyways .I got most everything else from the wrecking yard. I had them leave on the radius arms the swaybar and mounts the track bar and all the steering. Also the coil springs and isolator mounts. They did cut the brake lines which was a pain because the old lines wont bolt up to the new calipers. I got some longer stainless steel one's for my lift anyways. I got everything from the doner vehicle for $550 plus $200 ship and $80 extra for the calipers on ebay. It was from an 06 single cab f350. I have done a lot of stuff like this over the past 20 years, Countless engine conversions,I even put a 6.0 and 5r100 in a 7.3 truck . back in 05(before I knew better) and a lot more but believe me this is a real easy swap. Ford has made it so easy with so many of the holes already there that there is no real measuring to do or worrying about drilling the holes in the right place. Im going to do it again on a Excursion next. If you get all the pieces lined up and plan it out. The actual work can be easily done in a three day weekend. Between the two of us who have already done this for advice,anybody that is patient and interested should be able to accomplish this swap. I bet it becomes popular in time. Dont forget 16 rims wont fit and the new axle uses 2.0 metric thread while the older axle and rear of course uses a 1.5 metric thread so you will need new lug nuts for the front.
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283 Posts
Dang!! And I JUST bought and installed a new RedHead steering gear box!
Ring & Pinion Ratio. It's the ratio that the drive-shaft has to turn so that the wheels turn once. 3.73 and 4.10 are the most common.
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160 Posts
OK. Yes. My truck came with the ZF-6 and 4.11 gear set in the rear. The new front and rear axles are 3.73.
To be honest, its a little doggy. In hindsight with larger tires and wheels, I should have gone with 4.11.
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14 Posts
05-07 axle conversion
hey vegoil im getting ready to do this conversion is there any tips for the front that you can give me before i get started. i beleive i met one of your buddys a while back i want to say he lives in saginaw( i bought some tires from off a 11-12 superduty if i remember correctly he also has a excursion) he told me yall had done this conversion at your shop. anyways any help would be greatly appreciated
hey vegoil im getting ready to do this conversion is there any tips for the front that you can give me before i get started. i beleive i met one of your buddys a while back i want to say he lives in saginaw( i bought some tires from off a 11-12 superduty if i remember correctly he also has a excursion) he told me yall had done this conversion at your shop. anyways any help would be greatly appreciated
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