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On your advice, thinking about SAS--Autotrak question

crashandburn

crashandburn

1/2 ton status
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Posts
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Location
Colorado Springs, CO
First question: The 99 diesel Burb I am looking at has the NP246 (Autotrak) transfer case. I don't care if Autotrak works, especially with manual hubs, but will that case work with SAS?
Other than that, is it as easy as it looks? The ORD kit looks like not much to it. What are the other costs? I know the brackets and crossover steering are gonna be about $1000, but what else do I need, and what can I expect to pay? Seems to me like I will need:
SAS kit
Crossover
springs
shocks
brake lines
driveshaft
axle

Am I missing anything?
Will a 10 bolt, or a D44 be strong enough if I leave it open with 35's or possibly 37's? When I wheel, I am usually fairly gentle, and up here in CT there is no good rock climbing. I want this truck to be low maintenance and reliable, and the more I think about it, other than leaving stock (I am not capable of leaving it stock, so don't ask) what can possibly be more 'set it and forget it' than a leaf spring solid axle?

BTW, happy Thanksgiving. Or as my family calls it, Slapsgiving. No, we didn't get that from the TV show, we have been saying it forever.
 
i cant answer about the t-ase question except that a 241 swap may be in order for simplicity

a 78-79 for f250 front hp d44 would be just fine for what you want from this truck. they are plenty stout and the diff is on the same side as your current set-up. they didnt come with 3.42 though. either 3.54 or 4.10s that i have seen, so a gear swap probably in both axles would be needed right away. although that diesel might do "ok" with 4.10s.
 
1BEATK5 said:
i cant answer about the t-ase question except that a 241 swap may be in order for simplicity

a 78-79 for f250 front hp d44 would be just fine for what you want from this truck. they are plenty stout and the diff is on the same side as your current set-up. they didnt come with 3.42 though. either 3.54 or 4.10s that i have seen, so a gear swap probably in both axles would be needed right away. although that diesel might do "ok" with 4.10s.
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need this if doin swap and leaving the transfer case.it is a driverside drop,so you need a ford axle.241 swap would allow you to use 10 bolt and have a easier time of finding parts.sas isnt as easy as it looks.you must have some fab skills.tools are regular hand tools and sawzall to get rid of the extra brackets you wont need with the sas kit.
 
chulisohombre said:
need this if doin swap and leaving the transfer case.it is a driverside drop,so you need a ford axle.241 swap would allow you to use 10 bolt and have a easier time of finding parts.sas isnt as easy as it looks.you must have some fab skills.tools are regular hand tools and sawzall to get rid of the extra brackets you wont need with the sas kit.
Click to expand...

241s come in both side drops.
 
chulisohombre said:
need this if doin swap and leaving the transfer case.it is a driverside drop,so you need a ford axle.241 swap would allow you to use 10 bolt and have a easier time of finding parts.sas isnt as easy as it looks.you must have some fab skills.tools are regular hand tools and sawzall to get rid of the extra brackets you wont need with the sas kit.
Click to expand...

What else would I need to fab? The ORD kit is supposed to be bolt in, other than some drilling. Shock mounts, maybe?
 
im pretty sure the kit is cut and paste,but it will need to be done correctly and everything measured twice and cut once.the frame will have to be free of all the ifs brackets and everything put in the right place.fab includes building things as well as cutting and paste parts in place as needed.if it comes with brackets for the axle to mount shocks,they will need to be welded on,which i call fab as well.maybe not the right word for it.i thought the 241 was done when they went ifs.i guess with jeep using it 241 would have been used a lot driver side drop as well.forgot about that.
 
If you do a SAS swap, do it with the stock 73-87 front springs. I put 52" springs in the front of my Tahoe and absolutely need to install a track bar up front. My front axle moves around a lot, haha

Other than that, the SAS is pretty straight forward. Your ABS will need to be disconnected. Be really careful not to get air into it when you do the swap as you'd have to take it in to a dealership to bleed it back out properly. I wound up deleting the ABS unit all together and also had to install a 1.5" master cylinder to make things work properly.

The NP241 is still used in Chevy 1/2 tons to this day, btw! As for using the NP246, you won't be able to. It uses the ABS tone rings to detect when the wheels are slipping to operate the clutch up front. You'll have to swap in an NP243 electric shift t-case and controls, or switch to an NP241 manual floor shift case.
 
Why couldn't I just not use the Autotrak? Like just leave it off? It looked like it had a button for it. Or is it always on when in 2WD?
 
chulisohombre said:
im pretty sure the kit is cut and paste,but it will need to be done correctly and everything measured twice and cut once.the frame will have to be free of all the ifs brackets and everything put in the right place.fab includes building things as well as cutting and paste parts in place as needed.if it comes with brackets for the axle to mount shocks,they will need to be welded on,which i call fab as well.maybe not the right word for it.i thought the 241 was done when they went ifs.i guess with jeep using it 241 would have been used a lot driver side drop as well.forgot about that.
Click to expand...
241's with passenger side drop were used 89-91 in the square body style half tons. 89 had the old school speedo cable while 90-91 used the electronic sensors and had an electronic speedo.


Personally I'd find a 241 out of an IFS Chevy and get a Ford D44 to use. Swap the knuckles and make it fit. Reverse cut high pinion D44 > GM 10 bolt or D44.

crashandburn said:
Why couldn't I just not use the Autotrak? Like just leave it off? It looked like it had a button for it. Or is it always on when in 2WD?
Click to expand...
I believe it will throw the computer into a "limp home mode" and not run correctly. All those sensors go to the same couple computers that control everything.:doah:
 
Nah, super easy to swap to a standard electric t-case. Literally just bolt it in and swap the dash controls out. I'd run it for the time being, it is actually not a horrible system.
 
A) Guy I know is selling a Burb up here in Enfield, he kept real good care of it, if you want I can find out the exact year and model and what kind of axle/transfer case its got.
B) When said and done, hit me up to go wheelin!
 
Take it from me. I did a sas swap on my Hd...I pulled the electric shift tcase and installed a driver drop 241. Works fine

Don't do that.

IF you are hell bent on A sas then get rid of that burb, find one with a floor shift manual 241. I promise you its better off in the long run
 
-----Update-----
Not buying that one after all. I had the deal all set up and ready to go when I found a clean 96 with 136k with a new motor, injection pump, lower compression pistons, studded heads, main braces, and a bunch of other goodies for 5000. I'm goin' for it!

Also it has an NP241 instead of the Autotrak, so one less thing to worry about when I do my SAS. If it gives me trouble I can always swap it out, but it will certainly get me running in the mean time.
 
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