What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Consulting the SAS gods

R

RIPPEDK5

Guest
I came upon a friend of a friend who has many Dana 44 front axles from 70's fords, all with radius arm setup

are these the ones I want?

he also has a 10 bolt front for cheap ($150 or less)

14BSF rear in decent shape

9+1 leaf rear leaf springs -monsters

and front 3/4 ton leaf springs

he has the radius arms, springs and steering etc. aswell

he has Ford 9" rear axles aswell

also he has a divorced 205 tansfer case with mount and driveshaft.

is any of this what I want? whats a good price to offer him on these things?

there sitting in his yard, rusty, axles will need brakes, ball joints, new lube, and maybe joints at best



Please, SAS gods, give me your wisdom and teach me
 
you can do radius arm stuff. check rob h out he has a setup like it but custom kit.

and fyi 70's ford f150 ext cab had leaf front and dana 44 from what i have been told. so if looking for leafs in front look for one of these axles.
 
I am not real sure, he has all the brackets and radius arms and steering.. I assume it would have to be some sort of cross over steering or the old Ford Y steering
 
oh and this isnt from an sas god, just have alot of time in searching and working on my own project.

This whole sas deal really depends on how much money you want to spend to do it and what way you wana go. Would u rather do coils or even leafs..? Also depends on if this truck is 2 or 4wd and what year is it..? Also the 78-79 bronco is supposed to be right around the same as a 2500hd, but i seem to differ since my truck sat way tall. You need to know also how tall and big your going to go with lift heigh and tire size.

Heres a few ideas..

1...The 78-79 ford 44 should have the cast wedges for coil springs. If your going that route you can stay 5 lug and get the 9 inch too if they have matching gears. Also the steering all can be used by just changing the pitman arm and a few adjustments.

2...On another note if you get the 10 bolt and sf14 you can stay 6 lug but to me staying with a 10 bolt isnt worth the hassle of the job. unless you plan on upgrading later. But also is the truck a 1/2 ton or 3/4. The 1/2 ton sas might be ok this way.

3...Use the ford 44 and swap some chevy parts into it to make it 6 lug and then use the 14sf. But to do a sf all up you should just use a 14ff.


If you look at my sas thread you can see the radius arms and the kit, the kit can also be bought to fit the cast wedges on the ford 44. Now the kits a few bucks but its worth every dime.
 
The truck is a half ton

all these axles have the radius arm wedges on them

I also have access to a 14BFF.

obviously would like to do this as cheaply as possible..this is why im fishing out basically junk yard parts.....

its either that or just a lift kit... everyone says it takes about $10k dollars for an axle swap.
 
Thats a load of horse sh!t, i have almost all new parts in mine and have a lil over half of that in mine.
 
As im thinking of the cost ill throw some rounded numbers up. The kit with radius arms, mounts, coils, buckets, steering was in the 2000.00 range(i bought it without steering) shipped. The axle i have about 1500.00 in complete. Shocks which are 4 bilsteins were 325. Russel Brakelines about 80.00, abs kit and machining 200.00, Tcase shipped with gasket and vss pigtail 300.00. Shafts= shortened/balanced rear 80.00, retubed front shaft with ground and rebuilt cv 125.00, steering stabilizer 135.00.

Still tho under 5,000 but thats still alot of cash.


To be honest you prob can do better and cheaper with leaves. Im not sure id use the factory ford radius arms but if you think you can make em work go for it. Take lots of time and think it all over before jumping into it, its alot of work and a huge job. Do lots of google searches...lol.
 
Stomis said:
You can easily do a leaf SAS for under $1000 including the axle.
Click to expand...

I generally agree with this statement. If you've got the time to shop around and the know how to do things yourself its possible. I'd budget $2000 and try to stay under it. Not including the axle I've got about $1000 in my front end, including a Tom Wood's long slip front driveline and ORD crossover steering.
 
Stomis said:
You can easily do a leaf SAS for under $1000 including the axle.
Click to expand...

X2

There are kits out there to make an SAS with leafs on your truck a no brainer. Will it ride as good as coils? probably not. Will it get the job done? hell yes.

The front 10b will not work, the diff is on the wrong side. Unless you plan on swapping the t-case to an older hand shifted case cause you most likely have the push button case now, drivers side drop.

Front D44s can be swapped to 8 lug to match an 8 lug rear. To keep cost down find a front and rear with matching ratios, look for 4.10s or better yet 4.56s for best results with a 35" tire. You want bigger tires than that plan on buying the cheapest axles cause you are going to be regearing them anyways. Actually, 37s are pretty much the limit for a well built D44, so keep that in mind with your axle choice.

It's still a big undertaking, I hope this is not your only vehicle. An SAS on that truck is not a weekend project for the average DIYer. You have electric t-case and ABS stuff to deal with. You need a good welder, a good supply of tools and the skills to use them, knowledge on steering systems, alignment angles, suspension travel, etc. Don't expect to just bolt on stuff and go.

I still think you would be better off not touching that truck and finding an old square body to start with.
 
yeah it is my own/ only truck, its been a toss up for a while on what this truck is meant to do, and there are people who think its a great idea and those who dont,

i have the other post about what to do with it since its a lowered 4wd on 20's...truck looks goofy and some days it doesnt, some days i like romping on the pedal, and some days i like to go grandpa slow, right now its a bit awkward with the way it sits going off-roading. it feels almost like, if i get wheels off the ground, its gunna come off (but i know its not, i hope)


this is why im trying to do all my homework (whether people think its beating a dead horse over and over or not)...a lift kit is easily $1000 plus cutting and welding, so not a whole lot of difference there, lowering it more is just useless in N.E

I have tools and ambition but no welder, never did have enough work to justify buying one.

I havent found these kits for my truck....ive found kits that fit 90's trucks and 2000's 2500's and up. but nothing for a mid 2000 1500

Ive looked at a bunch of square body trucks, and while that would be ideal, people just want too much for there junk. Ive got a line on a blazer for $900 but it needs sooo much (ie: brakes, rear floor pan, front floor pan, and other work)

I have partial means to do this job, a home garage, any hand tool i can think of and ambition (and a good source of parts), but its doing it, thats the problem and knowing if its worth the effort, and knowing each step when doing it.
 
I know that it was said that the frames are the same on the 00 up trucks but thats not the case. I know for sure mines(03) different that an 02, not much but enough that parts a specific. Not a whole lot diff either, just some charecteristics up front. Ive read crumple zones once ot twice... Please look into this for your own good, id rather not see you put spring hangers on the front rails all the way up if the crumple zone is the case. In that case coils would still work tho since there in the center of the wheel well a decent distance back.


Remember like i said it could be false info , ill look to just to be certain.


(edit i did a lil search and found only that 2000 was the change over mid year of body styles and most companies didnt want the confusion)
 
looks to me like just one big headache even if i have good donor parts...

I dont see any crumple zones but thats not to say there not there

what do you think the average time frame is to a swap like this?
 
Working at a constant pace and having EVERYTHING you need at hand...... 20 hours at minimum.

When I SAS'd my S10 I prob had close to 40 hours into it, took a couple months working on it here and there in my spare time. But there was no "kit" for it when I did it, I had to build/fabricate and mix n match stuff to make it happen. Then order a front drive shaft after it was built. It was fun to do, couldn't tell anything was out of place, ride and drive quality was awesome, and that little buggy worked great on the trail/rocks. I should have kept it but really wanted a K5.

DSCN0208.JPG

DSCN0211.JPG

DSCN0353.JPG
 
Depends on which way you go and if you collect all the parts before hand. Prob one of the simplest installs would of been offroad directs leaf spring kit but there now no longer open. Id search tho through kits, the skys kit looks beefy but the front hanger is way too tall. Figure out what way to go and get the axle you wanna use prepped.

I know mine for example took 4 days, mostly 10 hours each and there was 2 of us. If you look at my thread my axle was done except for the abs before hand. Plus i collected every piece. Also had a full kit that fit but not perfect, still had to mod alot. It also had alot of grinding and welding etc. The whole 1st day was removing ifs/plasma cutting/grinding and painting. Many others tho have weeks and months in theirs, i couldnt do that. For one its my daily driver and two time was limited.


Honestly tho i will admit its something that i didnt need at all, it was a want not a need. My ifs lift was fine and it was already on 37s, but all the front end was worn out and i took that alternative...lol...
 
well talking with you guys, i think i am going to veer away from doing the swap...

wile it would be cool and people have good points made..in this case I think that its more of a hassle then not, and the truck is not worth the effort, looking at the big picture of the truck. I think the truck isnt up to the task. while it will beef the truck up and give it good stance etc. I would be better off getting a square body truck when i can get a lump sum of cash and already it having a solid axle in it, (or a dodge....yikes I know)

so with that said i appreciate getting the input and making an educated decision
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom