IFS axle swap?

[JoshA]

I was curious if anyone had swapped in an IFS axle before. I have been thinking about doing something along these lines and was wondering if it had been done before, or if it was even possible.

'72 blazer 9" lift YOKO mudders 35x12.50 350/sm465/3.73 UTAH

 

[BurbinOR]

Most guys will tell you to have your head examined

. IFS durability and lift height is very limited, as well as tire size/offset. The usual thing is the guys with newer IFS trucks swap in a solid axle. Must be something to it.............

Anything is possible by the way.

<font color=blue>'79 ONE TON TPI K5 - See it at---&gt;<a target="_blank" href=http://www.blazzinor.rockcrawler.com>www.blazzinor.rockcrawler.com</a>

 

[Tommy]

ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKIN MIND!!!!!

Drive it Like You Hate It!

 

[Ryan B.]

Just keep your K/5 with the solid front axle, and go buy a new Z71 or something WITH the IFS. hehe
I agree, Everyone with the IFS wants to junk it for a solid axle conversion.
Its good to see that people are thinking of anything &amp; everything here though.

 

[LKJR]

Well I"m not gonna sit here and flame you like a lot of guys would, your pretty lucky you posted over here and not in the 73-91 forum, major flamage. But anyway you have to decide what is your major purpose for this vechicle? If you want a highway crusier that has a nice ride then go with a 2wd and yes you can swap in an IFS from 67-87 and you could lift that for looks if you so choose, Michael in the 4x2 forum is into the prerunner style trucks <a target="_blank" href=http://www.jmartin.net/parker/goose.htm>http://www.jmartin.net/parker/goose.htm</a> his is 2wd and looks good. If you in want to maintain your 4wd system then you best bet mechanically is to maintain the solid axle for the purpose of simplicity and rigidity. Most anybody into 4wd's will say that IFS is weak and they would prefer a solid axle under there truck.
hope this helps

Like em big and topless
Excuse me...Would you mind removing your import from under my chevy?

 

[Steve_Chin]

Anything can be done...

As I see it, the major drawbacks of an IFS 4WD system are that the suspension just doesn't have the amount of travel a live axle has and that it doesn't have as much ground clearance as a live axle setup has.

The benefits include a softer ride, better on-road handling, and better manners (less bump-steer, less braking dive).

I don't know which setup is stronger, since there are alot of beef-up parts available for either front axle setup. Ultimately, if you compare the beefiest to the beefiest, the live axle setup is stronger.

 

[JoshA]

thanks for the input guys. I kinda expected that response, but steve hit it on the head. my priorities have changed since I bought my blazer and I am now looking to make it handle and steer well enough that I can let the wife drive it with no worries. right now there is a lot of bump steer and nose-dive on braking. I am looking into several ideas to solve these problems. on-road handling and manners are the chief concern. I am not worried about strength, after all I don't see the off-road areas littered with new chevys. I am sure that IFS would be strong enough for my needs.

if anyone has other ideas for solving these problems I am more that grateful for the input.

-Josh

'72 blazer 9" lift YOKO mudders 35x12.50 350/sm465/3.73 UTAH

 

[ErikH]

I have no bump steer and no nose dive (no more than an IFS setup anyway), but I'm running just a mild lift of 1.5" with homemade front shackles, negative arch front springs, and 31" tires. The springs are new throughout as well as the rancho rs9000's. The steering gear box is also new, which has made a huge improvement in highway handling (zero drift). I'd recommend this setup before making the swap to IFS, which sounds costly and involved, and possibly more prone to breakdown considering how custom the job would be.