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05+ SD Axle Swap - With an Icon Twist!

6K views 25 replies 12 participants last post by  fiveohmatt 
#1 ·
The time has FINALLY come to get rid of this pile TTB on my 96. I will be doing the Icon 2.0 coil over conversion kit as well as their steering stabilizer kit. Custom towers will be fabricated in order to reduce overall ride height (looking for small lift)

The Rig: 1996 F250 PSD 4WD 7.3 130k


Found a donor chassis for a steal so picked it up. 05 F350


Now cut all the bull**** out!


Front axle ready to be installed.


Test Fit

 
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#5 ·
Very pretty welds. They're making me feel the need to master walking the cup.

Should be a great riding rig when you're done too.
Everything did come out pretty good! Utilized the factory 05 bump stops. With everything cycled the shocks are in full bump when the axle touches down. That should account for a good ride!
 
#7 ·
Here's some shots of the track bar bracket. I really wanted this piece OVER built to ensure no hassles down the road. Most I see done look like they're going to rip the frame off with it!



It captures the frame with 2 side bolts and 3 from the bottom. Molded to the trimmed part of the crossmember section and tied in with 2 more bolts.



 
#14 ·
nice work sir :clap:
Nice work.
super work, man ! looks fantastic.
Thank you guys! I'm really happy with the way everything is coming along! :flag:

super clean work!
wished i could weld like that!
i am curious to know what made you not weld the buckets to the frame.
stock stuff is riveted, and its definitely strong enough.
just curious.
The main reason was to be able to remove them if I ever need to access the exhaust manifolds, or anything on the sides of the motor for that matter. There are 6 bolts on the face of the frame, 2 from the bottom, and 2 from the top as well that I haven't pictured yet (all grade 8 american made 5 star heads) The way these buckets are designed, they actually capture more points than the stock 05 riveted towers would, so I would say it is more than adequate without any welds.

that is sweet

you want to know something interesting? due to the way most truck campers are situated ( including my 4000lbs unit
they add minimal weight to the front end. mine front gains an extra 100 lbs on a scale . so unless maybe a WD hitch transfers more weight to the front from your crawler trailer ?
i say your way over the stock 05 capacity before the laminated supports

but i like overkill specially when it ads aesthetics
nice work
That is an interesting point! I actually have never pulled the front only onto a scale to ever see what the weight distribution is like. I'll have to try that when I'm all loaded down and compare it to an empty weight. :scuffy:
 
#12 ·
super clean work!
wished i could weld like that!
i am curious to know what made you not weld the buckets to the frame.
stock stuff is riveted, and its definitely strong enough.
just curious.
 
#13 ·
Test fit went well so time to laminate and reinforce the buckets. I tow a 3k lb truck camper while towing the crawler so it needs to be able to handle some load!
that is sweet

you want to know something interesting? due to the way most truck campers are situated ( including my 4000lbs unit
they add minimal weight to the front end. mine front gains an extra 100 lbs on a scale . so unless maybe a WD hitch transfers more weight to the front from your crawler trailer ?
i say your way over the stock 05 capacity before the laminated supports

but i like overkill specially when it ads aesthetics
nice work
 
#16 · (Edited)
Glad you're liking it! I've thought about making a kit for these things out of it. I guess that would depend if people were interested in the coil towers for doing the Icon swap at the same time. Here's some more detailed pics of the brackets and buckets.

Better pic of how the buckets capture the top and bottom of the frame


Track bar bracket and steering arm. The steering box was redone not too long ago so I stayed with the OBS box. The arm was punched out and reinforced. The SD ball joint is quite a bit bigger than the OBS one.





 
#17 ·
I'm not sure my needs would go as far as doing the Icon upgrade at the same time but the track bar mount and resized pitman arm would be a killer kit option that I would be interested in right now. I just finished doing the 05 rear swap on my truck and am about to start on the front. Either way you do amazing work. I wish I could weld like that.
 
#19 ·
Got all the brake lines done. Left the stock line inlet locations, a few blocks were made for fittings.




Wilwood Proportioning valve on the rear. Need to see how the camper does and have a stock and loaded notch figured out.


E-Brake Cable Coupler made. Did not modify OBS or 05 cables.

Small brackets made to support the lines
 
#21 ·
That is some of the nicest cleanest fab work I have seen. Mad Fab skills. That truck is really nice. If my Dually comes out 1/2 as nice will be doing back flips. So what's next on the truck?
 
#22 ·
Thank you so much! Really happened with the way it came out. I'm sure yours will turn out great!

Well, as you can tell by the pics, I REALLY need to paint that rear axle! Ordered a high capacity diff cover to make maintenance easier and holds a bit more gear oil. I have some Bilstein 5100 series shocks for the rear I need to put on at the same time (might go Icons down the road, we will see). That pretty much wraps up the suspension! I also have a Banks intercooler on the way, so that will go on in the next few weeks. I'd also like to do a type of wheel to wheel running bars with bed access as well, but I'm not really impressed with anything on the market so something custom will be coming up shortly!
 
#26 ·
Hey I am looking to do something similar myself. I have access to a couple sets of fox coilovers I am trying to adapt up front.
Couple questions
1. how does it ride?
2. what spring rate did you go with?
3. Whats the od and id of that spring?
4. Whats the center to center length of the coilover fully extended?
Thanks
Matt
 
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