I got a 96 F250 4x4 for free, Now what?

[redneckracer305]

http://www.ford-trucks.com/
wll honestly this is best that i ever frequented lots of knowlagable people on there, thy have an off road section,they an re specific for these style trucks and if you got question sombody up there help you out im sure

 

[STL84Calais]

Turn that thing into a bad *ss mud truck, going through the mud is just as fun as going fast. I have a Ranger myself, Ford makes a damn good truck.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Just remember to keep the gear ratios of the front and rear axles matched if you start swapping axles. If you do not, it will obliterate the T-Case the first time you put it in 4WD.

As for the rear axle, it may be a Sterling.

 

[Munkey B]

From the little surfing I've done. I haven't found any gold mind for info specifically for my F250. Either my ford is to old or it's to young or this or that 4x4 site doesn't really have a lot of what I'm trying to find out. It seems you guys are thinking just like me about what to do with this thing. Put some big tires on it and have some fun, and that's pretty much what I want to do with it. My goal is to make it the best rock crawler/mud truck for as little $$$ as possible using as many junk yard parts as possible.
From my own general vehicle knowledge and the little i've gotten from web sites. I've come up with a wish list of things.
1) It does have the ttb front end, which I plan on switching to a Dana 60 if I can find one.
2) I don't know what rear I have. I think there's two kinds for that year and model. I would like rear disc-brakes, because they work better in the mud
3) I don't know what kind of T-case it has but it's mechanical. To get in 4Lo you put the transmission in neutral. I plan on leaving the engine, transmission and transfer case alone for reliability. Unless that's a bad idea for what ever reason.
4)I think you can put rear spring on the front for a cheap front lift

My biggest question is what years do axles interchange. I'm very friendly with this one junkyard that has a 200? F250 with a solid front axle and a rear with disc-brakes. Could those axles work on my 96?

as redneck said, your T-case is a Borg Warner. decent but not nearly as much aftermarket support as a NP or NVG has.
your rear will be a Sterling. there are 2 different versions depending on what was orig ordered and your GVW.
your front axle is a Dana 50. it's stronger than a D44. the aftermarket is really coming up w/some good stuff for it. alot of ford guys are dumping these in favor of D60's, which means there's a ton of'em out there.
cheap w/many mods available. there's your cheap.

 

[itsnotanova]

Is there a way to tell which rear I have. The one I have now is a one-legger with drums. Ford puts a tag on the rears with numbers and letters on it. I know with the 8.8's put in explorers, you can tell what gear ratio you have and if it has a locking rear. It sure makes junkyard shopping easier.
As for the front, I think my heart is stuck on the D60. From what I've read, with the ttb front end. The more you raise the ttb the more the tires get out of camber unless you get an aftermarket lift.
redneck thanks for the link. Most of my truck knowledge is from that site. I guess I'll have to join and ask them all these question and see what happen. I like the format of this site better because I'm stuck in my ways and I know my way around somewhat.

 

[redneckracer305]

no problem, im as much of a ford guy when it comes to trucks as much as i am a g body guy when it comes to cars. well and i have i thing for geo/suzuki trackicks to now that i have wheeled mine. your ratio i belive would be either a 3.55 or a 4.10. my dad has a 87 f250 460 4 speed 4x4 with a posi 10.25 with 4.10s. my old one was a peg leg with 3.55s and a 5 speed behind a 302. i think those really were the only ratios from the factory. as far as figuring out if you have a full float or a semi full float, ive read you can tell by the size of the hub but, i had the big hub with my 302 lighter duty f250, so i kinda figured maybe that wasnt accurate, never looked into it any further