Will newer Ford parts fit our Trucks? - axle and brake components needed!

[doni10]

Hi everyone,

Was going to ask whether anyone knows if some newer Ford parts might fit our trucks?
Am currently in the process of trying to fix up an '81 camper, but finding parts here in the UK seems next to impossible and having them shipped over, extremely expensive.
it seems i spend almost as much time looking for parts online as i do working on the thing!
how i miss o' rileys!! :)

It occurred to me that newer models might share the same components? if so would be significantly easier to source...

Todays bits that I'm after, are

> rear brake cylinders (2.5")
> rear wheel bearings & oil seals

any brake drum shoes knowledge would be a super bonus too!

thank you.

[Nothing Special]

Most newer trucks have 4 wheel disks so brake parts aren't very likely to cross over.

Your truck probably has a Dana 60 rear axle.  They were pretty common and were used into the 2000s in Ford vans.  I don't know if that will help you with bearings and seals or not, but there's a chance.  Although you'll need to match up semi- or full-floating (I'd guess your '81 has a semi-floater, but that's not an incredibly well-founded guess).

[doni10]

thank you!. have just been looking up 'Dana 60', and it seems land rover put them in some of their models. will investigate. Will hopefully get some joy there.
on the brake cylinder front, i know most new new trucks will be rolling with four disks, but its more about a model 'existing' here rather than its age. older Jeep parts for example i imagine could be found easily enough...
we're just not very good at trucks around here!

[Blacktop]

I am also in the UK and getting parts for my F150 is easy. Just use Rockauto. Use the FedEx international shipping option at checkout and all the vat and import charges are shown before you place your order.

Alan

[doni10]

thanks mate.will go the rockauto route.
shipping from there's not as bad as i'd thought. last time i was there i think i must have had a body panel and one or two heavier things in the basket and they were asking 600$ to deliver it! scared me off for a while! :)

[Blacktop]

I have used Rockauto more times than I care to remember over the years, got a load of the fridge magnets

[RenoHuskerDu]

Warning about the LR "Dana 60" as I too considered it for my Range Rover trials rig whilst living with the frogs for nearly 2 decades.  Look a bit more closely and you'll find that it's made under license, and was fitted into all the long wb armored Defenders used to patrol Ireland during "The Troubles" for example.  But in typical fading empire fashion, LR skimped on metallurgy so much that a standard LR axle is stronger with just a few key mods.

Alas and alack, the fabled LR "Dana 60" is of little use for trials competition. But it might meet your needs in street use.

Back to your initial question, it is quite possible and common to upfit systems from newer Ford pickups, but only until 1996 for the 150 and 1997 for the 250/350. For example, you can upgrade your 81 brakes to 87-91 brakes relatively easily if you replace all hydraulics except at the wheels. Each case must be evaluated separately, as Ford did beaver away at mechanical improvements with each facelift.