78 Dana 44 Disc brakes

[Synister3]

Picked up a HP 44, spindles out parts are pretty worn, rusty. Are the earlier Bronco parts interchangeable from knuckles out? Or should I stick to replacing 78/79 disc brake parts. Any help appreciated. Thanks

 

[doran4x]

Yes. 78-79 knuckles out are compatible


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[Synister3]

Ok great, thank you for the help. I appreciate it.

 

[DirtDonk]

The spindles, hubs, rotors, brake caliper brackets, and brake calipers are all swappable between 76 to 79 Broncos/F150s.
The knuckles swap between 71 to 79 Dana 44s.
The spindles do not swap between disc brake and drum brake knuckles.
The ball joints are the same part number between all Ford Dana 44’s from 71 to 79. And quite a few others as well, but not universally every Dana 44 out there.

 

[Synister3]

So the drum spindles only work with the Chevy disc kit? I need ford disc brake spindles.

 

[Yeller]

So the drum spindles only work with the Chevy disc kit? I need ford disc brake spindles.

Yes you need the spindles to use the 78 knuckles and brakes. They are not the same, not even close. The drum brake are 6 bolt and only work with a Chevy conversion. The 78 Ford are 5 bolt and a larger diameter pattern.

 

[Synister3]

Ok good to know

 

[DirtDonk]

And to be clear, with the Chevy disc conversion, you’re not using the Ford drum spindles. Even though they will bolt up, they’re the wrong bearing spacing. Or if not the bearing spacing, something about their length is different.

 

[Synister3]

Thanks again DirtDonk, Yeller, and Doran4X for taking the time to answer my question. I registered years ago but recently started to use the site more. I know my question has probably been answered before but I haven’t quite learned all the search options on here. Thanks again