CK5
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One Piece at a Time: My 1985 Diesel Suburban
- Thread starter AgDieseler
- Start date
Did you guys use the big block or small block ord cross member?
Pretty sure the diesel uses the small block one.
It’s probably going to be similar in height to the K30 convertible, so ~2” lower than it is now. At least, that’s what I’m targeting. We’ll see what hits and fits.
David
Yeah 3/8” basically.
I used the small block one with the LS and spaced the engine a inch and a half higher with custom mounts.
My panhard goes a qtr inch below the crank pulley full bump.
Sorry for the terrible picture but you can see.
My panhard goes a qtr inch below the crank pulley full bump.
Sorry for the terrible picture but you can see.
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Let’s roll.
David
David
Quite the pile of parts.
beags86
Eastbound and Down
I see two tubes and bunch of boxes.
Wrong house..... I'll call Fed-Ex today and let them know.
-G
-G
Sounds like you need to build a cantilever setup for the rear. Should be plenty of room under a suburban to run the coilovers horizontal.
Can't wait to see you put your spin on the ORD coil over/link setup. Awesome.
Kings and ORIs? Might as well.
My credit card statement disagrees.
Stephen and I talked about finagling rear coilovers and links, but settled that we can get 90%+ of the same performance out of a set of 64s and nice smooth-body Kings. From there, the next upgrade to this truck's suspension, will be to build a different truck.
Most of my interpretation will come from wrapping the engine cage around my 6.2. I see a few notable conflicts: the turbo, the downpipe, the crossover pipe, most of my exhaust after the downpipe, the intake charge pipe, the PSC remote reservoir, and the radiator return hose. I think that's about it.
But, I like solving these problems. The downpipe is the only one that has some hard boundaries to work out.
David
Yesterday was a good start.
The tarp is up, and the truck is fully leveled on some heavy duty screw jacks – front to back and side to side. I have a backup set of conventional stands under the slider, and the rear tires are still in place as safeties. It’s a heavy truck, and I’d like to keep it from crushing me or my friends.
If you saw on the instagrams, I did a quick cycle of the suspension to show how the axle moves forward 1.5-2" from static to full extension. It's also on video for a later episode, but showcases the bargain leaf packs have to make to locate the axle and provide spring rate.
Glad I got the new ORD Kevlar grease cups.
From there, it’s a standard axle removal.
The Pivotal axle skates are pretty darned slick.
David
The tarp is up, and the truck is fully leveled on some heavy duty screw jacks – front to back and side to side. I have a backup set of conventional stands under the slider, and the rear tires are still in place as safeties. It’s a heavy truck, and I’d like to keep it from crushing me or my friends.
If you saw on the instagrams, I did a quick cycle of the suspension to show how the axle moves forward 1.5-2" from static to full extension. It's also on video for a later episode, but showcases the bargain leaf packs have to make to locate the axle and provide spring rate.
Glad I got the new ORD Kevlar grease cups.
From there, it’s a standard axle removal.
The Pivotal axle skates are pretty darned slick.
David
I often wish things went back together as quick and easy as they come apart. 
I sometimes wish things would come apart as easily as you put them togetherI often wish things went back together as quick and easy as they come apart.
beags86
Eastbound and Down
Fighting rust/crude/general greasyness.
Much nicer with new parts and hardware.
I enjoy steady, methodical progress. That’s going to be a continued theme.
I got my fixture table setup as my axle workstation. A quick zip of the 3-3/8 hole saw and some table clamps is all it takes.
I haven’t taken this axle down since I built it in 2005, so this was a good chance to cleanup and get it ready for the next 15 years.
The performance and wear check on these bushings was good. Normally, these are dead nylon soldiers. Not today.
Stripped, cleaned, and ready for some plasma.
What used to take me hours when I was a dumb kid, now takes about 10 minutes.
I should have ordered the offset nozzle so I wouldn’t have to grind as much.
Organized and ready for inspection/reassembly.
Next up: cleaning the tubes, pressing out the old studs, turning down the hubs, test fitting the link brackets, and sketching a truss.
David
I got my fixture table setup as my axle workstation. A quick zip of the 3-3/8 hole saw and some table clamps is all it takes.
I haven’t taken this axle down since I built it in 2005, so this was a good chance to cleanup and get it ready for the next 15 years.
The performance and wear check on these bushings was good. Normally, these are dead nylon soldiers. Not today.
Stripped, cleaned, and ready for some plasma.
What used to take me hours when I was a dumb kid, now takes about 10 minutes.
I should have ordered the offset nozzle so I wouldn’t have to grind as much.
Organized and ready for inspection/reassembly.
Next up: cleaning the tubes, pressing out the old studs, turning down the hubs, test fitting the link brackets, and sketching a truss.
David
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A thought did enter my mind in response to the question, how do kingpins work?
Grease. Lots of it.
David
Not sure if you have the bolts yet for the caliper but they are H839. I got mine straight from Dodge dealer. The torq bracket isn’t as thick as the stock Ram, so I had to trim the bolt length down a 1/4” or so, as to not hit the rotor.
All that scrap lumber for fixturing makes me feel right at home. 
-G
-G
