Hey guys, i bought my 97 cc f250 about 3 months ago and have been noticing the gradual decline of the ttb. Today I walked up to the truck from far away and saw that its gettin pretty bad. I'm just wondering if the cost of fixing it will be equal or more than converting to a D60 kingpin, which I will do myself. Also, I'm sure I'll have this problem again, probably after some time, but will it be worth it swapping now so that I don't have to go through this again?
Add a leaf will help but it will still have a problem. Rob's truck still aims the tires out when he's parked & he has an add-a-leaf.
This is my truck back when I had the TTB-
& after my second 60 install-
Don't think that you need a Kingpin, actually the 95-97 axles are nice because they have bolts instead of slide pins to hold the calipers on. Of all the things I've done ditching the TTB was one of the best things you can do.
A place back home I had put springs in the rear of my truck, and I asked them about the front (TTB).
Choices are:
1. New springs, best option to keeping TTB. Expect them to start sagging in 60,000-100,000 miles.
2. Re-arch old springs, cheaper than new, But starts sagging again in about 10,000-12,000 miles.
3. D60, arguably the overall best option.
Some things I noticed:
-Really bad TTB springs (like in Cat Rebel's picture) allow the axle to hit the bumpstops a lot more than you think. I picked up a LOT of body roll with the D60 simply because the axle was no longer hitting the bumpstops around curves.
-Really bad TTB springs hit the bumpstops a lot more than you think just during normal driving.
-My turning radius increased 6-12" with the D60.
thanks for the quick reply everyone. my front end looks like cat rebel's and it sucks just looking at it. I plan on gettin the RSK and SD springs eventually, building up to a 4" lift, but do I absolutely need to have the SD springs and RSK when I do the swap?
Nope since all my stuff was rusted on there I didn't want to spend the money on getting new bushings & then throwing in new ball joints just to go back to square 1.
Look at these pics close & you'll see what TTB springs will do over time. Notice how they curve diffrent ways? :doh:
Depends what needs to be done. I have heard of some people paying upwards of $1000+ for new ball joints, tie rods, bushings, alignment & labor for it. If it's close to the $700 range just search around for a 60 you'll be 10x better off.
thats eventually what im going to do, but money is short and i was wondering if i could just use the stock springs without the RSK for now. also, how much would you say a TTB job is?
2 years ago I did new ball joints, tie-rods, leaf springs and bushings. I did the leaf springs and bushings and bolted the tie rods in place then took it somewhere for the BJ's and alignments---$800+ the springs and bushings I was almost $1100. 30,000 miles latter started having problems with it, made it till 45,000 and cut it off for a D60. $750 off ebay+ $350 in bearings races, seals, u-joints, rotors, and pads. MUCH BETTER RIDE! DO THE 60!!
Thanks for all the input everyone. I'm pretty sure that I'll do the D60 swap, and if anyone knows where i can get one for a decent price around St. Louis I'd highly appreciate it. Rollingthunder, how much lift do you have?
Rotors I'm not sure about, I just used what was on the axle. You can use TTB hubs on a 60. The steering is diffrent but the pitman arm is the same. Main thing is grab everything from the pitman arm down. Also grab the track bar it will be useless without it. Don't worry if it doesn't have a sway bar or a steering shock you don't "need" those to drive it. It just makes it alittle nicer.
Also, i was just under the truck and the tag on the front axle says is a 3.54 and the rear is a 3.55. Aren't they supposed to be the same? Or is it possible for them to be different
Also, i was just under the truck and the tag on the front axle says is a 3.54 and the rear is a 3.55. Aren't they supposed to be the same? Or is it possible for them to be different
t-land ---I have 4" of lift. The d60 will sit up 1-2" higher than the ttb, so grab a 350 rear block as well. If I had it to over again I would have skipped the lift kit and done the 60 with a 3" RSK and v-code SD springs THat would get you 4-5" over the stock 250 height
Your ride height looks nice, and is the height I am aiming for. Could I also add leaves in the rear or would my ride be horrible then? I've been doing my research on the SD springs, so the v-codes are the best ones to go with then? Yeah, my front end is 2.5" lower than the rear now.
I concour with everyone else, go D60....I did stock F350 front springs with mine, however I've already got the SD springs front and rear here and ready to install, hopefully in a couple weeks, along with a homemade RSK.
My take on the TBI..Nothing can be done to make them ride much better and nothing can fix the problem that they have ..only way the suspension will flex is by twisting the spring and mainly twisting on the front shackle..which will destroy the bushings very fast. cycle the suspension and look at the front shackle as the tire moves in a arch..stupidest suspension design I've seen on a truck.
If you want a suspension to work properly, provide a great ride and not eat bushings and tires you must install a D60...with a RS kit and SD springs.
I've helped hundreds do this mod and carry everything needed.
PM if additional help or pricing is needed.
First axle was out of a 95 & had 3.55s but I wanted 4.10s so I sold it. Then bought a 60 off a 97 dually that had 4.10s & swaped it in. It sure beats R&P work.
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