Gear swap is a good reason! You made it sound like you were replacing it cause it was worn out
CK5
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IFS Overhaul questions
- Thread starter scottishdave
- Start date
Gear swap is a good reason! You made it sound like you were replacing it cause it was worn out
63chevyll
1/2 ton status
yeah i wasnt clear...
and it does have an axle seal leak, so thats enough reason to tell the wife
and it does have an axle seal leak, so thats enough reason to tell the wife
Stomis beat me to it but I agree on the SAS.
It sounds outrageous but trust me I'll never do another "rebuild" on an IFS chevy again. I attempted to do this on my old '00 K3500 and it was a joke in the end.
I replaced control arm bushings, balljoints, power steering box, pitman/idler arms, all the ends and shocks and in the end it was still a POS front end. EVERY trip we went on to go wheeling I'd come back and have to re-align it because of the rough roads we drove on to drop our trailers.
Now days with all these companies making bracket kits for SAS's on 88-98's I'd go that route. A simple HP44 in the front on some leaves and I'd be happy.
My dad has a similar "2 door tahoe" and I already told him when stuff starts to wear out it's getting SAS'd.
It sounds outrageous but trust me I'll never do another "rebuild" on an IFS chevy again. I attempted to do this on my old '00 K3500 and it was a joke in the end.
I replaced control arm bushings, balljoints, power steering box, pitman/idler arms, all the ends and shocks and in the end it was still a POS front end. EVERY trip we went on to go wheeling I'd come back and have to re-align it because of the rough roads we drove on to drop our trailers.
Now days with all these companies making bracket kits for SAS's on 88-98's I'd go that route. A simple HP44 in the front on some leaves and I'd be happy.
My dad has a similar "2 door tahoe" and I already told him when stuff starts to wear out it's getting SAS'd.
Hey Dave...
My 99 Z71 had worn tre's...new ones made a huge difference. It has 224k miles, rides like new. I can see the a-arm bushings are deteriorated, but it doesn't affect the ride, or tire wear.
p.s., when the front end goes, it'll be s.a.s time
p.s.s. take it to a shop you trust & have them put it on a rack and check it over...might not be as bad as you think.
My 99 Z71 had worn tre's...new ones made a huge difference. It has 224k miles, rides like new. I can see the a-arm bushings are deteriorated, but it doesn't affect the ride, or tire wear.
p.s., when the front end goes, it'll be s.a.s time
p.s.s. take it to a shop you trust & have them put it on a rack and check it over...might not be as bad as you think.
the most common parts on these trucks that cause issues with aligning it are the idler/pitman arms. As has been said before, anything worn out needs replaced, but my bet is that those are the two worst culprits. My 93 was the same. I did the idler and pitman and it helped a ton. It's just a poor steering design to begin with. Everything is pretty straight forward though. Drop the front skid, and go to town
Stomis
Professional Amateur
And people seem to forget that you can get a SAS stuffed up even higher with this thing called SPRING UNDER! Lol
What brand lift?
Depending on the lift and the vintage of the lift you could have all kinds of issues there. The multipiece subframe ones like to rattle apart, the ones with aftermarket control arms tend to not align well, the ones that relocate the steering down cause all manner of weird steering issues, etc etc etc.
Twelve or so years ago a friend had a '94 or so Blazer K1500 and had a ProComp 6" on it. The thing rattled apart on him many, many times. Finally he had his mechanic weld all the subframe pieces together after basically rebuilding the front end. Still wasn't perfect but it held together.
Depending on the lift and the vintage of the lift you could have all kinds of issues there. The multipiece subframe ones like to rattle apart, the ones with aftermarket control arms tend to not align well, the ones that relocate the steering down cause all manner of weird steering issues, etc etc etc.
Twelve or so years ago a friend had a '94 or so Blazer K1500 and had a ProComp 6" on it. The thing rattled apart on him many, many times. Finally he had his mechanic weld all the subframe pieces together after basically rebuilding the front end. Still wasn't perfect but it held together.
Of course you're right...
I meant my tires are wearing well...even with the miles my front has on it I keep them rotated and keep an eye on them...
Didnt' realize your dad had a 92/93 2 door. I miss mine!
There was an SAS'd one local, 33's, that i wanted to jump all over. Craigslist posting had no phone number and got pulled down
Always heard it's impossible to do the IFS to SAS swap without about 4" if lift due to clearances under the engine.
I miss my '92 sometimes. Was a sexy beast.
Sexy beast that rattled it's front end apart.
I miss my '92 sometimes. Was a sexy beast.
Sexy beast that rattled it's front end apart.
Multipiece bolt together subframe? Brackets that drop the upper control arms?
Steering drop components?
Steering drop components?
Sure, why not
I know that the upper Control arms are aftermarket, But I will take some pics today and show you whats going on under there.
Ugh. Oy man. You've got basically THE lift kit setup for those trucks that caused most of the lift makers to change how they lifted those IFS trucks in the late 90's.
I have a sneaking suspicion everything is rattling loose and your steering components have worn. You're going to have a lot of stuff to tighten up, replace, and/or get in the correct locations.
I have a sneaking suspicion everything is rattling loose and your steering components have worn. You're going to have a lot of stuff to tighten up, replace, and/or get in the correct locations.
Is that as simple as tighting re-tourquing the loose brackets along with replacing the wear items, Or will something else be required?
I know with my buddy's ProComp it was basically like reinstalling the lift kit. Everything has to be in alignment and torqued down just right to even start building from there correctly with the steering and such.
I'll just wing it
Who needs alignments, driving like this
is more fun anyway.
Who needs alignments, driving like this
is more fun anyway.
Worst decision I ever made was lifting my '92. I put TONS of money down the drain into that thing's front suspension and steering.
I literally could have paid a shop to have done a SAS in 1999 for as much money as I sank into it 1999-2002.
I literally could have paid a shop to have done a SAS in 1999 for as much money as I sank into it 1999-2002.
Up until 1 year ago she drove amazing, I mean this thing has been a trooper its entire life. Multiple crosscountry trips with the lift, being beat on by a young dumb 18yr old Marine who thought the 33's made it a tank, etc...
Literaly though, NOTHING has been replaced on that front end except the shocks for 182k and it just now started driving bad. It has been greased and maintained, But It has been driven hard and held up great.
