Well we got a huge storm last week, and a total of 22" i think. 5" the day before, and 17 the next day. Super plow bronk was in 4L for almost all the day, was plowin from 12am to 9pm. Then some the next day. Anyway at the end of the day I noticed the axle shaft u joints making some noise, and some clunks from the front. Well I knew what it was, the orig ball joints at 152k finally became lose with the new to me 8ft super plow I now run.

Ordered up some Moog greasables, and Persision HD Greasable Axle shaft u-joints. I didnt realise that the inner right u u joint doesnt come out unless you take the diff apart. Yea wasnt doing that after work. Anyway its all tight now, and no more noises. Rear u joints are next

Yep, and the D44 has C-clips holding the stub shaft in.

Super retarted, B350 in the future. No more TTB

I clicked on this thread thinking I would see some cool pictures.

Don't start a TTB argument here... you will not get me to back down. It works and works well for what it was designed to do. And later model solid D44's still had the clips so its a moot point.

The TTB was a horrible idea. It worked well when new. But put some wear on it and it was a sloppy mess.

For around town and stock 4wheeling applications, I think it works just fine. Like any other mechanical piece on any vehicle, it needs it's routine maintenance too. For much more than reasonable stock use, yes, I'll agree it's garbage. But where does it stop...do you say a solid D44 is garbage when a D60 should be in it's place. I used to be the biggest TTB hater of them all, but after having a couple TTB equipped broncos, I realized the TTB does serve it's purpose and serve it well, and you have to understand what reasonable use is. I think the TTB gets a bad rap similar to the 400 and power assist steering...most guys get a hold of them after years of abuse and they've been trashed, so they assume the whole design sucks. But understanding the system and a little TLC to bring it back within spec, it's not so bad, I think it all boils down to what can be reasonably expected and reasonable use. It's a stock system, of course there will always be something bigger and badder out there.

i agree with that. But even with it kept up to spec its to easy to damage something and have to replace partially worn parts. Ive been there ive done it.
This was before i started abusing my truck, when its only job was to get me to work and back and to haul stuff around.
For what it is, its a decent set up, but i wish it was easier to maintain and not be so troublesome. If that makes sense, im not sure how i would change it, and still keep the IFS idea... I guess im partial to solid axles. I dunno, brand new out of the box the TTB can be decent and performs its pavement pounding duty well, but if you ask much else from it. It cries and you pay.

I'm there with you Don...I almost felt dirty defending the TTB, but I just don't think it's fair to make a blanket statement about it, because there are certain scenarios and terrains it does well with...albeit street scenarios and gravel/dirt roads...but it tackles them well. Besides Don, you know as well as I do 90% of people who buy 4x4's use it less than 5% of the time. I look at the TTB as the first steps in de-truckifying trucks, so the soccer mom could be comfortable.

If you drive Ms. Daisy on those said gravel/dirt roads then ill agree. But i can recall a few times of tearin down some gravel roads taking corners like i was in the general lee, and my truck needed an alignment afterwards...

I agree though, maybe thats why i am partial to Solid Front Axles...

Does TTB meet my needs?
Yes

Does TTB get a worse rep then deserved?
Yes

Would I choose not to have TTB?
Yes

FordF-SuperDuty said:

Does TTB meet my needs?
Yes If you use it to commute to work and back sure, plus your in a lite bronk, i have a light duty 350 if you really wanna look at it.

Does TTB get a worse rep then deserved?
Yes No, not from those of us that actually work our truckcs like work trucks, the TTB serves its function if you use a 4x4 as a commuter car, which some people have to do. Im not disagree with that, snow and ice sometimes require 4wd, but if its slightly worn (the ttb) then it will cause more problems than if you just rolled with a 2wd. Ask me how i know.

Would I choose not to have TTB?
Yes

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my input in red.
I was in no way tryin to attack you personally, if it seems like i am please forgive me. I have no issues with you personally, so i have no reason to take shots at you.

Truckin4life said:

I was in no way tryin to attack you personally, if it seems like i am please forgive me. I have no issues with you personally, so i have no reason to take shots at you.

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I'm unclear...were you attacking Taylor personally or not?

The TTB has taken my abuse, i see no issues with it other then i cant do all 3 ujoints. Only can do 2. Haha What did I start. Did i need to put pics of ball joints and u joints?

UTfball68 said:

I'm unclear...were you attacking Taylor personally or not?

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Yes i was directly esmashing his face in with a brick.

95F350XL said:

The TTB has taken my abuse, i see no issues with it other then i cant do all 3 ujoints. Only can do 2. Haha What did I start. Did i need to put pics of ball joints and u joints?

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It will continue to give you problems, they tend to be unhappy on plow trucks, just sayin.

2 years at it. New ball joints and u joints, nothing else to go wrong.

Truckin4life said:

they tend to be unhappy on plow trucks, just sayin.

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Never gave me any trouble when I was plowing with an 88 Bronco.

I wish it had a 351 or 460 haha

I've been places with my TTB-equipped Bronco that super modified EB's (thats Early Bronco not yuppie (Eddie) Bauer) had trouble navigating. Why? Because when one front wheel was down in a hole it didn't force the other one up into the opposite wheel well! Solid axles do that...period. Its just physics. Yeah, there are a lot more moving parts so there are more things to keep an eye on for wear and tear and admittedly Ford did a lousy job using the "inverted Y" steering linkage with it but, the TTB setup works damned well in significant off-road situations.

I will point out that while they were 2WD versions, Baja Ford racers sought out the TTB-type front end for stability and superior articulation that simply cannot be achieved with a-frame or solid axle setups. (With long enough springs the setup can easily exceed the maximum allowable articulation of 15" by Baja race rules. They actually have to use limiting straps to keep the front suspension "legal").

I chalk this age-old argument off to the same line of thinking that made most folks scoff at the Rochester Quadra-jet carburetor. It worked well and no one really understood why but when it broke they couldn't fix it because they refused to learn how it really worked and just tossed them aside in favor of old outdated technology because they already understood it. "Its a POS..because, uh, well because its got lots of moving parts and well, I can't figure out how to fix it properly. So it must be junk."

If you cant figure it out, thats not the parts problem, I had a few 80's Wranglers with the Carter BBD 2BBL carb that everyone hated. Other then no power in the jeep, as long as they were set up right, the worked awesome. Did a few rebuilds and tunes for my friends wrangers and they were happy. TTB is gonna be taking a break now as we have no snow in the future and weather of the 50's and 60's to come.