# So what is better/reliable?



## Pcoz88 (Jun 30, 2007)

What is more reliable /best in 4x4 trucks front end? Solid front axle or IFS? 3/4 -1 ton(no duallies ) pick-up trucks ?

 :monkey:


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## TDunk (Jul 1, 2007)

IMO, the solid axle is alot more durable and easier to fix. IFS will give you alot better ride and are pretty stout as long as you get a 3/4 or 1 ton. Ford seems to have a good 3/4 and 1 ton trucks. I see very little dirveline problems with those trucks.


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## DarylB (Jul 1, 2007)

Both are equally "reliable" if you use them correctly and avoid abusive driving. For the hardcore off-roader you cant beat a solid. For the occasionaly 4 wheeler and proper 4wd usage your personal preference should be just fine. Just remember, when you play you pay - regardless of what's under the front end!


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## clearance (Jul 1, 2007)

Chevy/GMC trucks turned from the best trucks into culls when then went to the weak, complicated and useless i.f.s. front ends. The injection and plastic didn't help either. This was in '88, '92 for the 1 ton crews, blazers and suburbans. They ride better, sure, but they are trucks, not cars. Just my opinion now, but I have owned 70s Chevies and they are tough, simple and strong trucks, not like the weak cousins that replaced them.


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## hanniedog (Jul 1, 2007)

The solid axle is easier to repair and will stand up to heavy use better than a indepedent system. Just like anything mechanical the more moving parts there are problems are more likely to occur.


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## rahtreelimbs (Jul 1, 2007)

I like the ride the IFS gives you..............but let's face it trucks of the 70's and eraly 80's with the solid front axle were stellar trucks. Almost anyone could work on them................not so now!!!


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## ShoerFast (Jul 1, 2007)

It would impress the h311 out of me if there ever were anything tuffer then the old-school "Full-time" Power Wagons and Old School Jeep Trucks, Binder (international) made some good Old-Iron also. 

One of the best things for the time, Ford and Chevy had real trucks on the road, but they were not anywhere near the best, of course IMO.


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## NYH1 (Jul 1, 2007)

I was reading a magazine article a few months ago that tested the Toyota FJ Cruiser against the Jeep Wrangler. They gave the nod to the Jeep for serious off-road use because it had a solid front axle. 

I have a 2007 1/2 ton Dodge with the IFS front end. It won't see to much off road use. Pretty much just getting in and out off hunting camp, which is on a seasonal road and doesn't get maintained at all. Some times there is a lot of mud and/or snow. The rest of the 4x4 use it will see will be just driving around town. We average 120 inches of snow a year. That snowfall can be doubled a 1/2 hour north of me. I've been known to go up there from time to time (shot 4 deer up there!:biggrinbounce2: ) so 4x4 is a must for me.

My friend always use to get 1/2 ton Dodge's, when they went to the IFS front ends he stepped up to a 3/4 ton. He does a lot of hunting, fishing and trapping as well as work that requires his truck to see a lot off road use. He won't own a truck with IFS. If I was in his situation I would do the same.

My family and I had some really bad luck with Ford's in the 90's, which was pretty much all we bought. So between the bad luck and me getting really good discounts on Chrysler products we pretty much go with Dodge and Jeep now. 

I haven't looked at Ford trucks since I got my 2000 Ranger (last Ford we owned) so I'm not to familiar with them anymore. I know their 1/2 and 3/4 ton trucks had IFS front ends. Two guys I use to work with had 1996 F-250's. When they would lift their plows off the ground there front tires looked like this /-----\ (looking at the truck from the front) . Are they still like this or did they change this. I know in 1997 Ford junked the Borgwarner transfer cases and went back to using NVG transfer cases in their heavy duty F-250's and all F-350's . A few years after that all F-250's came with NVG T-cases and starting 2009 or 2010 the F-150's will be using NVG T-cases again.

So who has what? I know what Dodge is using. What about the other two?
Dodge
1/2 ton= IFS
3/4 and 1 ton= solid front axle

GM
1/2, 3/4 and 1 ton= IFS

Ford
1/2 ton= IFS
3/4= ???
1 ton= ???


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## clearance (Jul 1, 2007)

*Best front axles*

Dana 60s, the big three all used them at some time, same with the best transfer case, the New Process 205. Cast iron, gear drive, manual hubs, gear oil, if it wasn't broke, why did they "fix" it?


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## Treeman587 (Jul 3, 2007)

Do Not Buy A Freakin Pos Chevy!!!!!!!!!

Whats wrong in this pic HMMMMMM/


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## Treeman587 (Jul 3, 2007)

Ford is solid axle on 3/4 and 1 ton since '99. But before that the 250 had twin I beam which is way stronger than the a-arm setup chevy has. 

Chevy has not built a truck since '88

If it isnt available with an eight foot bed, its not a truck

If you cant pull out the rear drive shaft and drive it home it is not 4WD

Sorry I always get on a rant when it comes to trucks.

Oh and all these fags driving around in Honda ridgelines thinking they own a truck you are wrong, It is an AWD El Camino


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## chowdozer (Jul 3, 2007)

2000 Kodiak
300 hp Cat, 54,000 GVW 

Ford doesn't build anything comparable.


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## NYH1 (Jul 4, 2007)

Treeman587 said:


> Do Not Buy A Freakin Pos Chevy!!!!!!!!!
> 
> Whats wrong in this pic HMMMMMM/


Looks like something is broke in that picture.


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## NYH1 (Jul 4, 2007)

Treeman587 said:


> Ford is solid axle on 3/4 and 1 ton since '99. But before that the 250 had twin I beam which is way stronger than the a-arm setup chevy has.


Treeman587, I worked at a repair shop part time after my regular job from early 95 to Nov. 97. I pretty much just helped out, the owners did most of the work. To be honest we didn't do a whole lot of work on Chevy/GMC front ends, they seemed to hold up pretty well. We did more work on Ford front ends. These were mostly snow plow applications.


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## Treeman587 (Jul 4, 2007)

Hey, 200 posts.

I can see where that would actually be valid NYH1. As most people you see driving chevys are older men and women who buy them for the ride comfort, who rarely use the 4WD. As where most Ford and Dodge owners are younger. And most of the Fords around here are Power Strokes that are lifted. I am at the truck pulls all the time and see it, Not that a Ford or Dodge never breaks though. Hell at the hunt club this spring one of the guys was going about 5 mph in 4wd and that CV shaft they use just exploded. Not come apart, Broke the collar out and everything. Not to mention a chevy Z71 only has about 6 inches of ground clearance. A 2WD Dodge 1500 sits as high as a Z71. I did my time in the shops as well, at a Chevy dealer. When a Ford breaks the front end it is usually a hub, slap a set of warns on there and you are good to go. When a Chevy does it, well then it can be a number of things. That little collar that slides over the shaft to engage it, a hub, a CV shaft. Solid axles are simple and stout.

Oh and that picture of the Kodiak, If you look real hard you will discover Fords HD trucks aren't under Ford anymore. That is their marketing. How about an L9000 Tandem. Ford actually has an entire company devoted to HD trucks.

I will put it to ya like this. The front end of my Dumptruck is a sollid axle for a reason, It is strong and dependable, I want the same for my pickup, Yeah my 2005 Power Stroke Lariat 4X4

Sorry yall, I warned ya trucks get me on a rant


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## spacemule (Jul 4, 2007)

Treeman587 said:


> Sorry I always get on a rant when it comes to trucks.
> 
> Oh and all these fags driving around in Honda ridgelines thinking they own a truck you are wrong, It is an AWD El Camino


Wow! I'm amazed by your intelligence! How can you manage to come up with such brilliant things to say? What other gems do you have in store for us?


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## NYH1 (Jul 4, 2007)

Treeman587 said:


> Hey, 200 posts.
> 
> I can see where that would actually be valid NYH1. As most people you see driving chevys are older men and women who buy them for the ride comfort, who rarely use the 4WD. As where most Ford and Dodge owners are younger.


That couldn't be farther from the truth in this area. The plow truck of choice is a 3/4 ton Chevy/GMC or a Ford followed by Dodge. They all have their good and bad points. We worked on Ford and Dodge more then we worked on Chevy/GMC. Plowing snow will tear a truck up bad. Back when I worked on trucks 95-97, we did more preventive maintenance on the Chevy/GMC and more work on the Ford and Dodge. Chevy/GMC seemed to hold up better then the other two and they were ran just as hard.


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## Treeman587 (Jul 4, 2007)

You definately know more about plows than me, I can promise you that. We get an inch of snow and the world is ending around here. Do yall plow in 4WD?

Most of our 4WD usage around here is on the beach in sugar sand and in deep bottomless mud. Oh and hookin to the sled to see who has put the most rediculous amount of money into their trucks. We have diesels runnin around on the street with 600 HP and over 1000 lb/ft of torque.


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## Treeman587 (Jul 4, 2007)

spacemule said:


> Wow! I'm amazed by your intelligence! How can you manage to come up with such brilliant things to say? What other gems do you have in store for us?




You must drive a ridgeline


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## spacemule (Jul 4, 2007)

Treeman587 said:


> You must drive a ridgeline



Nope. I was simply enthralled by your intelligent diatribe.


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## Treeman587 (Jul 4, 2007)

spacemule said:


> Nope. I was simply enthralled by your intelligent diatribe.



And I am sure you are a model of intelligence and good morals yourself


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## spacemule (Jul 4, 2007)

Treeman587 said:


> And I am sure you are a model of intelligence and good morals yourself



You think so? Why thank you! You're quite an astute observer!


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## Treeman587 (Jul 4, 2007)

OOOH snap you got me there didnt ya. duhduhdhuhhh


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## NYH1 (Jul 4, 2007)

Treeman587 said:


> You definately know more about plows than me, I can promise you that. We get an inch of snow and the world is ending around here. Do yall plow in 4WD?


We average 120 inches of snow a year. A half hour north of me they usually double that, they get more lake effect snow then us. Yes you have to plow in 4WD. The snow plow set up weighs any where from 350 to 600 lbs. That weight pulls down on the front of the truck and lifts up on the back of the truck. Kind of like if you load the box of your truck up with a lot of weight, it makes the back of the truck squat and lifts up on the front, it's just the opposite with a snow plow. This causes a lot of wear on the front end.


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## Treeman587 (Jul 4, 2007)

Okay enough, I need to stop laughing now


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## Treeman587 (Jul 4, 2007)

NYH1 said:


> We average 120 inches of snow a year. A half hour north of me they usually double that, they get more lake effect snow then us. Yes you have to plow in 4WD. The snow plow set up weighs any where from 350 to 600 lbs. That weight pulls down on the front of the truck and lifts up on the back of the truck. Kind of like if you load the box of your truck up with a lot of weight, it makes the back of the truck squat and lifts up on the front, it's just the opposite with a snow plow. This causes a lot of wear on the front end.




I bet there is some money in clearing parking lots up there eh


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## NYH1 (Jul 4, 2007)

Treeman587 said:


> I bet there is some money in clearing parking lots up there eh


Big $$$$$$$$


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## chowdozer (Jul 4, 2007)

Treeman587 said:


> Hey, 200 posts.
> 
> 
> Oh and that picture of the Kodiak, If you look real hard you will discover Fords HD trucks aren't under Ford anymore. That is their marketing. How about an L9000 Tandem. Ford actually has an entire company devoted to HD trucks.



You're right but you're wrong.

You're right that HD Ford trucks aren't under Ford anymore.

You're wrong that Ford has an entire company devoted to HD trucks.

In 1996, Ford sold their HD truck line to Frightliner and Frightliner renamed it Sterling. As you well know, Frightliner is owned by Mercedes Benz.


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## Treeman587 (Jul 5, 2007)

chowdozer said:


> You're right but you're wrong.
> 
> You're right that HD Ford trucks aren't under Ford anymore.
> 
> ...



Yeah you caught me I forgot about that. And since Daimler took over Chrysler Have you seen the Medium Duty Sterling coming out this year, With a Dodge cab, Sterling Grill, And a Cummins motor.


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## chowdozer (Jul 5, 2007)

Treeman587 said:


> Yeah you caught me I forgot about that. And since Daimler took over Chrysler Have you seen the Medium Duty Sterling coming out this year, With a Dodge cab, Sterling Grill, And a Cummins motor.



I didn't know that. I'm not a big Dodge fan though.
I know there were alot of questions several years ago as to when a MB engine would go in the Dodge. Now that MB wants to dump Dodge I don't think that is going to happen.
I'd like to see IH start making a pickup again.


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## Treeman587 (Jul 5, 2007)

That would be cool. I dont think that Navistar is far from making a pickup. They built the CXT. Which is not a very marketable item. I would think their first venture would be something around a 450. But the truck market is very competitive now so who knows. The pic of that sterling medium duty is in the new Diesel Power magazine


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## chowdozer (Jul 6, 2007)

Treeman587 said:


> That would be cool. I dont think that Navistar is far from making a pickup. They built the CXT. Which is not a very marketable item. I would think their first venture would be something around a 450. But the truck market is very competitive now so who knows. The pic of that sterling medium duty is in the new Diesel Power magazine



The real fact is, most of the people with pickups just use them for driving around. Many of the people that actually use their pickups use them beyond their limits and would be much better suited to buy a mudium duty truck. The example I think of is Ford saying the new Super Duty can pull 24K pounds. Yeah, a little tail waggin' the dog there. The Ford clutch, transmission and brakes aren't going to put up with a steady diet of that. A medium duty truck will be very happy pulling 24K pounds for 5x the distance. With a medium duty you get the whole package. Brakes, engine, trans, axles, clutch, frame, wheels, tires etc. 

Alot of ranchers buy 1 tons and pull humongous stock trailers with them. They wear out the truck in 50K miles and buy another. The reality is it's cheaper than paying the insurance on a medium duty truck.


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## Treeman587 (Jul 17, 2007)

The towing claim ford is talking about is true. They have started marketing the F-450 with a pick up bed, like an even bigger dually. And the F-450 is a medium duty truck, a small one however


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