When the opportunity is there you gotta take it!! Most of the time you hear, "I can't afford to buy that!" But did you know that if you just add one little 3-letter word in that sentence, it totally changes. It turns it from a negative statement to a positive one!! When you find a deal as good as the one I found you will be adding that 3-letter word into that sentence.
I Can't Afford
Not
To Buy It
You are probably wondering, “What the heck does this DIY guy have planned now?!” “A truck without a bed... that’s real nice :eyes roll” Before you go getting all judgey let me give you my valid excuse for picking up this 2005 Ford F-350 4X4 with no bed and a bad valve in the engine. The axles... I have been wanting to do an axle swap on my 1997 F-350 dually for a long time but a set of axles runs close to $2,000. I mean, holy crap!! I only paid $6,500 for the truck when I bought it.
Alright, I’m going to get a little mechanic-y for a bit and throw some parts and terminology at you. A little shop talk if you will. I will do my best to make it easy to understand but if I don’t I really do apologize. I’m gonna keep it as straight forward as possible.
Okay, the reason for wanting to do the axle swap... well there is several. First, the turn radius!! My 1997 CrewCab Dually 4X4 takes very wide turns. It’s like turning a frikken school bus. It takes almost and acre to make a u-turn!! Slightly exaggerated but you get the picture. This becomes a big pain when backing up or towing a trailer, turning into parking stalls (since they are all made for Prius’s), and simply turning right down a road when someone is at the stop sign. (You follow me?)
watchout
Then there is the general “Ride” of my truck that will be significantly smoother. Currently my ‘97 F-350 has leaf springs with a shock in the front... old school suspension. It’s a stiff rough ride partially because it’s a 1- ton truck but then again... it’s a Man-Truck so I can’t expect a Cadillac ride.
leaf springs
Now, the front axle setup from the 2005 has Coil springs and Radius Arms. This is a totally different setup and provide a totally different driving experience. Better sharper steering and a smoother ride. Plus bigger disc brakes for better stopping power.
Coil Sprung
The majority of the differences will be up front. Along with the most work to make the swap happen. In the rear I will be changing from a dually rear-end to a single wheel rear-end. For one, there will be less tires to buy (since I am about due anyway) and I will actually find a big tire that fits the rim correctly. :wink:wink I currently have 35 inch tall and 12.5 inch wide tires on it. These size tires are made for a minimum 8 inch wide rim. Well my dually rims are only 6 inches wides so.... do the math. 😉
Another upgrade in the rear axle is the brakes. The old 1997 has those crappy drum brakes and the new/used axle will have disc brakes. Again this will help a lot with the braking power of the truck. Especially when I am dragging around a camp trailer or other heavy loads.
To the typical driver this stuff isn’t a big deal. Most people would just sell their old truck and buy a new one. Not this guy!! When you have and engine/transmission combo like mine... you aren’t getting rid of it anytime soon. Especially when it only has 156,000 miles on it. The 7.3L Powerstroke Diesel Engine has often been called the Million Mile Engine. Then there is the fact that I can still work on it myself. It isn’t loaded with a bunch of computers and all that crap like the new diesel and gasoline trucks are. Plus I am not too worried about scratching or denting it :wink:wink
Now is $2,000 worth those upgrades? From what I have heard from my fellow truck guys is... Yes No question about it. So I just kept my eyes open for the opportunity to show itself to get me a set of these axles. I mean I could sell my old axles and get about 75% of the money back but.... I ain’t sneaking no $2k out the door I can tell you that. Lol. Especially when it is more of a “Want” than a “Need”
So what do you think? Did I provide valid excuses for wanting these axles? I figure if I can get them for the right price and sell my old axles I could potentially be ahead of the game?? Thay Dana 60 front end I currently have is pretty sot after in the Jeep communities. That is if it all works out the way I would like it to. Isn’t that the way we wish everything would work.
So after driving by this truck about a million times, my curiosity got the best of me and I had to stop and take a look.
“I wonder if it has those axles under it?”
I jumped out and to my surprise.... there they were!!! The axles I wanted for the swap!! Did I just hit the jackpot??? Wait... I might be able to get a screaming deal on these. The owner is an excavation contractor my company uses from time to time. Well I guess it doesn’t hurt to ask right.
So I talked to him for a quick minute and he had the whole truck for sale for $1,400. I just want the axles not the whole truck. He said the 5.4 Gasoline V8 engine has a bad valve but the transmission and everything else seems to work. He bought it from an Indian Reservation Hops Farm just for the utility bed that was on it. So he took what he wanted and getting rid of the rest.
I told him my plans and his eyes got pretty wide like, “Wow, that seems like a fun/cool project” I told him I would ‘t be ready for a while to do it and need to gather parts here and there and Christmas isn’t too far around the corner either. Then he made an offer I couldn’t refuse...
He expressed how he had so many projects laying around and needed to get some of these old cars outta here and clean his property up. He said, “How about $500 and the whole truck is yours? I just want it outta here!”
.... Uhhhh Okay!! You don’t have to twist my arm!! I wasn’t born yesterday. He then said something that made me realize that there are still trustworthy people out there...
“I know where you work and You know where I live. Get me the money whenever you can, just give me half right now and it’s yours”
With straight body panels and all sorts of good parts on it, I should have no problem getting $500 in parts. The truck would be paid for. Then hopefully with the leftover truck or parts I can buy the kit for the front end that makes this project so easy.
After close to a month and after I rebuilt my gate to accommodate pulling this truck behind it, I had the opportunity to pick it up. Well I had an hour to pick it up before I had to pick up something or rather someone else... the kids.
The Excursion was already warmed up and it just so happened that the warehouseman at work lives just around the corner and he has a car trailer. So I figured WTH and I gave him a little jingle and wouldn’t you know he just so happened to be doing nothing at the moment and was more than willing to make this operation happen.
That little 5,000 lb winch didn’t like dragging that heavy truck up on the trailer I can tell you that much. I got my skinny butt behind the truck and helped the poor little winch with all my might. Hey, every little bit helps. :wink.
After arriving at the house and opening my nice wide double gate, I backed the trailer up over the curb and through the front yard to the gate. All that is left is to push it off the trailer and this mission is complete.
Easier said than done but after a bit of putting our backs into it the parts truck was in its new home. Tucked in all nice and neat behind my new fancy fence. (That isn’t quite complete 😉)
Look at that, you can just barely catch a sliver of the top of the truck over the fence. Outta sight... outta mind.
Well Step 1 of project ‘97 to ‘05 Axle Swap is complete.
- Find Donor Truck ✅
Next Steps are: - Sell parts/truck to gather funds for axle kit
- Remove Axles and Steering Box from 2005
- Remove Axles and Steering Box from 1997
- Do the Swap
- Enjoy My Frankenstein Truck!!!
Most likely I will be doing this project after winter when the weather is a bit nicer. But until then I am getting this truck put up on multiple websites to sell parts off of it. Who knows, I could end up coming out ahead on this one.
Steem On
and
Sometimes You Just
Can’t Afford
Not
To Buy It
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