The Ultimate 2011 Ford F-150 EcoBoost Part 4

The Ultimate Adventure is a weeklong wheeling road trip where we head to a small segment of the United States (different each year) and explore the trails and tarmac. The trip is made up of around 20 vehicles, including selected readers, sponsors, old cronies, and staff. The lead truck is our official Ultimate Adventure vehicle. For 2011 we are building a new Ford F-150 to lead our expedition of off-roading.

Our ’11 F-150 is equipped with a twin-turbo V-6 EcoBoost engine touted as having V-8 power and V-6 economy, which is good since this truck will be spinning 40-inch rubber in both mud and rocks as well as down the highway. To build a unique and capable off-roader from this truck, we headed to Randy Ellis Design in Phoenix. Ellis has experienced all types of off-road racing and rockcrawling, and his shop has a full line of bolt-on light bars under the Sleekster brand. If that’s not enough, Ellis also has years of experience doing custom fabrication on both two- and four-wheeled vehicles. Best of all, he isn’t scared to try out-of-the-box projects such as this F-150 with one unique request: Build an independent front suspension (IFS) that can survive 40-inch tires.

We know that IFS gets a bad rap, and we claim some of the responsibility for that view. We have seen many examples over the years of IFS failure from severe off-road use and have reported on such. But as much as we despise IFS, there are only three new 4x4 vehicles available in the U.S. with a solid-beam front axle, so it’s time to set our prejudices aside and delve into the merits of an opposing A-armed off-roader.

We recently came across some top-of-the-line components that we feel will give the IFS strength that has rarely been seen before on a street driven truck. These are parts from major axle manufacturers mixed with a good bit of custom fabrication resulting in a front end that (crossing our fingers) will survive the week of wheeling and road tripping known as Ultimate Adventure. Some of the best names in the business—Randy Ellis Design, Dynatrac, RCV Performance, ARB, Fox Racing, PolyPerformance—are supplying parts to assemble this front end. Only time will tell if it can withstand the same abuse we have been throwing at solid axles for years. But even if it fails in a blaze of glory, we can at least say we tried something different.

Our F-150 has 420 lb-ft of torque from the EcoBoost, six-speed automatic transmission with a 4.17:1 First gear, and a Borg Warner 44-19 transfer case with a low range of 2.64:1. We didn’t find any aftermarket transfer cases that would adapt to our six-speed, so we opted to upgrade our axle ratios to as low as possible, resulting in a 5.38:1 ring-and-pinion ratio. This should give us a crawl ratio of around 60:1, about average for this much truck and tire.
Our F-150 has 420 lb-ft of torque from the EcoBoost, six-speed automatic transmission with
Our plan for the IFS was simple enough: Make it similar to the stock layout, but stronger with a larger ring- and-pinion, lower gears, beefier axleshafts, and giant constant velocity joints. We went to Dynatrac, purveyor of fine solid axles such as the ProRock series 44, 60, and 80, and discussed our plan. We decided on a high-pinion ProRock 60 front centersection. We then took this nodular iron centersection back to Randy Ellis Design and began fitting it into the stock front housing location.
Our plan for the IFS was simple enough: Make it similar to the stock layout, but stronger
What is neat about IFS is that the front axle can be built very close to the engine, since all the front suspension movement is outside the framerails at the A-arms, resulting in great ground clearance under the differential. Ellis made spacers to move the engine up half an inch in order to get the larger differential and axleshafts in the exact same position as the original units. This resulted in slightly over 1⁄4 inch of space between the engine and front differential at the tightest point.
What is neat about IFS is that the front axle can be built very close to the engine, since

The ProRock 60 housing from Dynatrac is designed for maximum ground clearance when used as a solid axle; however, we wanted extreme clearance along the top of the casting to clear the engine oil pan. This was achieved by taking an old housing and chopping away at it until it fit nicely beside the engine. Dynatrac took this mockup and machined a new axlehousing to match the chiseled one to fit in the F-150.
The ProRock 60 housing from Dynatrac is designed for maximum ground clearance when used as
To duplicate our chiseled front Pro Rock, Dynatrac digitally scanned the piece, transferred that data into a giant mill, and whittled away material from a new centersection. Because the front differential will still be offset to the driver side, a long tube is pressed into the passenger side of the casting.
To duplicate our chiseled front Pro Rock, Dynatrac digitally scanned the piece, transferre
Just like a normal axle, our IFS housing is pressed together in a massive press at Dynatrac’s facility. The inner axleshafts will be retained in the housing with a pressed-on bearing and retainer plate similar to a rear semifloating axle.
Just like a normal axle, our IFS housing is pressed together in a massive press at Dynatra

The tubes are plug welded for retention. We will eventually return to Dynatrac for a fresh set of Dana/Spicer gears and ARB Air Lockers, but first we need to build brackets to mount the housing so we returned to Randy Ellis Design.
The tubes are plug welded for retention. We will eventually return to Dynatrac for a fresh
We mentioned the EPAS in a previous issue and commented on how we were not confident it could survive 40-inch tires, since Ford doesn’t even use it on its own Raptor off-road trucks. This is our solution: a massive 3-foot-long double-ended hydraulic steering ram from The Off Road Connection.
We mentioned the EPAS in a previous issue and commented on how we were not confident it co
The EcoBoost engine has no provisions for a power steering pump, but through the assistance of PSC Motorsports we sourced a small power steering pump, a reservoir, a cooler, and a steering valve to control the giant ORC ram. Ellis then engineered a mount and idler to run the pump off the secondary air conditioning serpentine belt.
The EcoBoost engine has no provisions for a power steering pump, but through the assistanc

Ellis also devised a mount for the orbital valve, tying it into the stock steering column. The hydraulic power steering system will be filled with hot fluid under very high pressure; it is always safest if you run this type of system to mount all the hoses, pumps, and valve outside of the passenger compartment where a leak or puncture is less likely to spray occupants with hot steering fluid.
Ellis also devised a mount for the orbital valve, tying it into the stock steering column.
The ram will mount to the crossmember just in front of the front axlehousing. This space, along with all the clearances around the axlehousing, engine, and power steering, is quickly getting tight. But again, these parts should not move much, if at all, so tolerances can be close.
The ram will mount to the crossmember just in front of the front axlehousing. This space,
The axlehousing itself is mounted off of three points: a mount on the driver-side bearing retainer plate, a properly welded point near the pinion, and a point along the passenger-side tube. All mounts are securely gusseted and tie into factory frame mounts.
The axlehousing itself is mounted off of three points: a mount on the driver-side bearing

The next step in the front suspension is building the front A-arms and steering knuckles. These components are all built from the boxed chromoly plate we sourced through Competitive Metals. Various material thicknesses with an elaborate inner structure will result in bash-proof components.
The next step in the front suspension is building the front A-arms and steering knuckles.
The knuckles are also built from chromoly with a bell from Spidertrax. This bell is used in many of Spidertrax’s axles utilizing a heavy-duty unit bearing, but we opted for a Dodge Free-Spin unit bearing replacement kit with a rebuildable spindle and hub system from Dynatrac. This allows us to run a set of Warn hubs and offers a very short mounting surface in order to keep the truck from growing excessively wide.
The knuckles are also built from chromoly with a bell from Spidertrax. This bell is used i
The inner constant-velocity joint is a huge series 30 CV available through RCV Performance. These are capable of nearly 30 degrees of angle, have a diameter of approximately 6 inches, and use massive intermediate shafts almost 13⁄4 inches in diameter at the splines. Often used in high-horsepower desert race buggies, they should be plenty strong for our trail machine. There is much more to come on the specifics of this custom front suspension, not to mention all the other exciting upgrades going into this truck, but we’re out of space for this month. Check out 4wheeloffroad.com and our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/4wheeloffroad) for sneak peeks from both the buildup and the Ultimate Adventure trip.
The inner constant-velocity joint is a huge series 30 CV available through RCV Performance

SOURCES
Poly Performance 245 Tank Farm Road Units L & M San Luis Obispo CA 93401 805-783-2060 www.polyperformance.com	Competitive Metals 619-442-4130 www.competitivemetals.com
RCV Performance 611 Beacon Street Loves Park IL 61111 815-877-7473 www.rcvperformance.com	ARB 4x4 Products 720 SW 34th Street Renton WA 98057 800-761-8192 http://www.arbusa.com
Dynatrac 7392 Count Circle Huntington Beach CA 92647 714-596-4461 www.dynatrac.com	PSC Motorsports 11468 FM 730 South Azle TX 76020 817-270-0102 www.pscmotorsports.com
The Offroad Connection 1417 Decatur Hwy. Fultondale AL 35068 800-792-2280 www.offrdconnection.com