F**d 4.11 Rear end ?

[Southern Shaker]

Has anyone Swapped a ford 4.11 dually rear in one of there trucks ? Im in the process of doing the swap and i had a Few questions.

1. will the axle fit with coil spring suspension or will i have i have to convert to leafs

2. how hard would it be to do a disc brake conversion on it ?

3. Will i need a custom drive shaft for the set up ?

Thanks in advance -Aden

[dyrt]

Hi there,

I have not swapped the axles but I can tell you the following:

1)I don't know of any ford rear that used the truck arm suspension. You can buy the weld on brackets and convert any rear, but even a leaf spring rear will likely need some cutting and welding unless the leaf spring width is the same. It would probably be easier to swap to leaves.

2)As far as disc brakes are concerned, i would look for a ford rear that you can swap the brakes off of.

3)You will most likely need a custom driveshaft depending on the length of the rear pumpkin, but also because you will most likely need a conversion ujoint.

Just out of curiosity, why not start with a dodge, ford, or gm dually axle that has discs already on it? Is there something special about the axle you have or is it just a "i already have it" kind of deal? You might be able to swap someone for a better candidate to meet your goals.

Mike

[Southern Shaker]

its one of those "i already have it kinda things " haha im not to concerend on the disc that would just be a bonus. id happily trade the ford axle for a newer gm axle but moneys Really tight so im on a budjet till my sponsers start donating

[GASoline71]

It's a total "fabricate it to fit" deal. Nothing will swap over and bolt in. It will be a custom job requiring welding, cutting, and precise measuring.

You will spend more to fabricate all the stuff to make the Ford rear fit. You didn't specify which Ford rear end either... if it's a big honkin' Ford truck rear end... the tubes and axles will have to be cut to fit correctly.

Just find a GM truck 12-bolt that fits the coil sprung rig...

Gary

[Hawssie]

I got a single wheel Ford Super duty in the rear of a 69 I am building. But the catch is I also have the front axle, along with the whole frame, shortened to fit. I can tell you the frame width is 37 compared to 34 for stock in the back that is. If your rear end is from a cab in chassis then it actually would be the same width. But any way you slice it its going to take fab work. The disc brakes would be a plus, you would need at least a adj. proportioning valve. I am using the Ford master cylinder in mine just so I get the same braking as Ford original. My whole goal for this truck is to it handle, ride, tow and brake like a Super Duty, since Ford has the most advanced leaf spring system out there. Since Chevy gave them up in 88 basically. I dont know the bore of the Ford master cylinder but I bet its bigger then the 71-72 Chevy. The picture is before I fitted the bed and fabbed up all the body mounts.