Solid Axle Conversion Tech

[b454rat]

Actually I don't really beat on it. Most of those dents where from one wheeling trip that got out of hand. When I bought it had alot of dents already, so I didn't feel too bad about putting more on...

[grgrs]

how hard is it for a 03

[grgrs]

awesome thanks for this thread guys

[b454rat]

I'm gonna be starting a new SAS on a 92 Blazer. Gonna use 52s up front, maybe 63s out back, but dunno yet. Might be going big block in it too. If I remember I'll take pics...

[CRUE CAB]

Originally Posted by GroundUpTahoe

im planning on doing a sfa conversion on my 95 tahoe and i am trying to figure out who has the best bolt on kit. i know of two companys that produce them being offroad unlimited and offroad direct. anyone have any suggestions on other kits? all info is apreciated. and does anyone know how the military type tires (46", 48", and 52") handle on the street?

I just started my sas on my 97 Tahoe. Finally.
I looked at every kit I could find, and the nicest was the ORU kit.
But it is like $800 for just pretty much four brackets.
So I made a front crossmember out of 4x4 square tubing and mounted it to the bottom of the frame with the tow hook holes.
I added 1/4" angle at the inside of the frame and at the back of the crossmember.
Everything used as far as steel is 1/4" thick.
I kinda over killed it because I also ran a 2" reciever through the center of it and may make a winch plate mount on the top.
The springs are rear 52" springs with 4 leaves. I added new bushings and center pins and got rid of the over load spring.
That set up should clear 40" tires. As I have seen a pic of the same set up on Florida 4x4.
The rear of the front springs are going to hang from rear spring hanger shackle mounts and shackles mounted on the flat inside of the frame where it is still boxed.
The shackel mounts are going to be hung upside down so the shackle hangs down.
Iam using a GM 10bolt 3.42 gear axle and making a cross over steering for it.
Just take very good measurments and of course check them twice.
I did a sas on a 86 S10 Blazer with Jeep parts and it came out nice so this isnt my first rodeo.
Good luck with yours.

[TALLHOEDUDE]

Been Offsite For A While,nice Write Up.

[dracos'chevy]

i was curious if anyone had any problems bleeding their brakes after the swap?
My pedal just continues to go to the floor after numerous attempts of bleeding them

[ryanroo]

is your actuator rod long enough?

[dracos'chevy]

well nothing has changed as far as the booster and master cylinder goes - i just hooked up the existing brake lines to the calipers i have on now and am having problems..I get fluid to all bleeder screws but pedal still hits the floor ?I still have to swap in the 14 bolt rear but want to take her around the block.
As of now i have a turbo 350, a 205, and a dana 44 front converted to 8 lug.
I have read most of this thread and have not heard of anyone having any problems or having to change out the master cylinder, does the master cylinder need to be changed ? Or do i have to bypass the abs ?Brakes were working fine when she was parked..I'm stumped and any help here would be greatly appreciated

[fernanbfg1]

I never got stock spring plates when I bought my D60. I believe it uses the square style u-bolts. It's a front out of a 89 F-350. Will I need them? What else can I use?

[dracos'chevy]

hey crue cab can you post some pics of your sas on your 97 tahoe. I as well looked at all the kits and thought to myself, damn thats a ton of money for something i can build myself..I built mine out of 2x4 and added an extra brace in between the frame rails also 2x4.I am currently in the process of installing the 14 bolt rearend.. I am not liking the driveline angle that i have with the chevrolet 44, did chevrolet ever have a high pinion 44 on the passenger side??

[suthrncop66]

How much total cost is a straight axle conv...Thinking about doing it...My av is too much for the lift on IFS..will either do a straight axle or sell my lift and go down to a 6 inch...

[TikiClub2]

?


straight axle conversion will be spendy. Cheapest documented one I have seen was like $3700 or so and is typically more around the $6-10K if you go through and rebuild everything.

[Snoopy26]

im looking into doing a sas on my 1999 gmc sierra and i found this sas kit but has anyone heard of this companey are there kits good any info will help thanks. http://www.setstr8.com/

[TikiClub2]

overpriced

[dracos'chevy]

for the best price i would go through skymanufacturing.com
I built all the brackets myself and they turned out real good.. I am having only one problem so far and that is death wobble, I'm thinking about taking it in for an alignment

[By-Tor]

Originally Posted by dracos'chevy

for the best price i would go through skymanufacturing.com
I built all the brackets myself and they turned out real good.. I am having only one problem so far and that is death wobble, I'm thinking about taking it in for an alignment

Post some pics of your front suspension. I'm betting that your deat wobble would be cured if you installed a track bar (panhard bar). I tried driving mine without one and it had some violent death wobble that wouldn't let me go over 30mph.

Check out the pictures in my SFA build thread to see what I'm talking about.

http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forums/...han-never.html

[b454rat]

I never had a track bar on my truck, and only now and then I got death wobble. I'm betting it was because the steering box was beyond wasted. That was with a GM 60, then switched to a HP60, never got it again. I think alot of it has to do with caster and camber...

[bggrnchvy]

#1 cause of death wobble is castor.
#2 would be worn steering components.

No panhard here an no death wobble for a couple years.

[By-Tor]

Originally Posted by bggrnchvy

#1 cause of death wobble is castor.
#2 would be worn steering components.

No panhard here an no death wobble for a couple years.

Very true but in my case it was the super soft rubber bushings in my springs. They offer very little lateral support. With the track bar disconnected I can get them to deflect over an inch laterally if I turn the wheel while parked. This deflection would happen if I hit a bump in a turn and it would multiply in magnitude. The track arm got rid of this 100%. My caster and camber are 100% within specs for a 79' F-350.

But every truck is different. I'm sure some stiffer rubber bushings or even poly bushings would have helped a ton.

But as said before, get your truck aligned first and make sure everything is within spec.