sas on 2003 2500hd

[rob h]

I didn't read the whole thread

you got me excited when you said you had a 79 D60 but you might use a D44,

I have a 79 D44 and have been looking for a D60 for 4 years, I will drive it up to you if you want to swap, I am dead serious.

Sorry, just picked up the 60. Its all redone and is super nice, i decided to go all out and do it right the 1st time. Its the same gear ratio and ready to bolt in, thats why i bought it. Was a super good deal....sorry im keeping it. Id of only done a 44 if i couldnt find a good 60. There are lots on ebay that a guy has for a decent price and he does shipping.

 

[rob h]

Heres some of the parts that are here and still 2 im waiting for...heres the pics...(u know who u are)...lol....pics arent in order.

1. Ford d60 with chevy outers...nicely redone..(thanks guys)

2. Ruffstuff d60 diff cover

3. Ord highsteer/crossover

4. Np241 with tall flange, with pigtail, gasket and seal..(all cleaned and ready to go)

5. Bilstein 5125s 2 per side.

6. Cage offroad(bloodyknuckle now) for 8.5 lift, powder coated black......shipping monday/tuesday

7. Wheel spacers, 2.0 rear, 1.5 front.........waiting for fedex

8. Dlux fab tone ring kit for d60

9. Acdelco abs sensors

10. 01-07 chevy tcase shifter and dash pocket for 4wd switch

11. Pitman arm, filed for the 3 blind box, spacer to tighten it up

12. Russel baraided brakelines and fittings, hard line to run like the pic.

13. Calipers, pads and banjo bolts

14. Case of brakeclean, gallon valvoline 80-90, gallon valvoline max life atf, 2 tubes of grease.

15. 4:88 gears for 14b and 60 with trutrac for 14b....done last

Im thinking of painting the whole under carriage of the truck all black with red coil springs and steering.

 

[dfl701]

Wow you already got the kit on there! You work fast

 

[rob h]

I wish it was on there. I might not get it fully for another full week. The wheel spacers tho ill have tuesday. Ill post a real pick of the kit when it comes.

 

[rob h]

More new parts

The 1.5 and 2.0 wheel spacers came in, all billet allum. Not sure tho now ill need the 2.0s tho.. The differance between the front and rear now is 3. inches. I bought the 1.5 for the front and the 2. for the rear to have them stick out some. With the backspacing of the h2s im afraid the tires will rub the radius arms ...it would add some charecter with them sticking out some tho.

Bloody knuckle parts are being shipped this week, a little delay but i dont really need em here staring at me.......

Also gave the 60 a nice coat of black paint and painted the steering parts red, although the draglink will have to be shortened some, just not sure how much. I bought a wfo 7/8-18 tube insert for it when i cut it down since the taps for left hand are so expensive , also some other little odds and ends like u bolts for the yoke, picked up a nv261 t-case shift arm that bolts to the case, dealer item which sucked.

 

[rob h]

T-case is in, shifter all bolted in, came out real good just sucked cutting the floor but all went good . Rear shaft a little short tho but it works with no vibes.

1...The 263 out, left the shaft on..lol. 2...4l80e cleaned with gasket on and ready...pics sideways but cant help that. 3... last the 241 ready to go in, put em side by side to check a few measurements and went right in. As in the pic i used the 261 case linkage, it bolted right on the 241. Also changed the tranny mount with a new one since i was already in that deep.(and no the 2x4 isnt the new mount..lol ) I used all data to find the right speed sensor and its the one out on the tail shaft, the wires are purple and green. I used a standard pigtail that the wires were green and black, soldiered em, used heat shrink then wrapped em back up in the stock loom. The other wires there are not speed sensors as i was told, there other sensors that i just zip tied out of the way and weren't needed.

 

[rob h]

Interior shifter installed and no more dash switch, came out good. I ordered a new plastic cover for it tho, the one in the pic is pretty beat up. The carpet needs to be scrubbed after that since theres dirt marks on it from installation. I unplugged the transfer case control module, pulled the switch out and disconnected the battery, no more service 4wd light...hopefully it stays that way. The shaft is getting retubed in the morning and i should have it back by the afternoon, I checked the size and slip a few times. If it wasnt for the lift the length prob would of worked, it was already out far the way it was, being retubed 1.5 longer should be the ticket.


I have a front shaft for now that would work for the ifs but id rather not spend the cash on a conversion joint for the yoke. Right now the front shaft length is 30 inches, if the d60 bolted in is close ill have a temp shaft until i get one made.

Other news....my coil kit radius arms and a few other parts will be here tuesday, the trac bar should be here saturday, hopefully 2 weeks to do that part of the job.

 

[y5mgisi]

Intersting! Maybe when i (never) start looking at the new trucks i wont worry so much about finding a rare floor shift one!

 

[rob h]

arms, hardware and brackets are here

The coils and trac bar will be here by sat... Arms are still bagged, the mounts,hardware and brackets are pure beef....heavier than i thought. Nice parts, the coating seems to suck tho but thats ok it will be black anyway, makes the welds look chunky but its the coating over them.

 

[rob h]

Hard to see, it was raining but new retubed 1410 shaft, a hair over 5 foot long and it balanced to dead zero. Sorry i coulnt take the whole piece, rain was too heavy, i had to hide under the truck....lol.

 

[rob h]

The rest of my parts came in today, the coil buckets, shock hoops, tracbar/mount and axle mounts are black. The radius arms, coils and the crossmember are silver. The tracbar mount has a nice radius cut into it to fit the side of the axle tube and is made pretty strong. The crossmember is now bolt on instead of weld on which is nice just incase there is ever a problem. The trac bar it self has a sleeved poly bushing at one end and a heim at the other. All hardware is 5/8 and larger, thats a crap load of holes to drill. Looks like 8 each side in the radius arm frame mounts, 5 in each side for the coil buckets, 3 each side for the crossmember and one each side for the hoops.....around 35 holes...Im thinking the frame mounts will get holes to locate them and then burn em in. prob easier than drilling the holes.

Just looking at the parts is eating me up...lol....Hopefully i didnt figure 8.5 of lift being too much, if so ill have to get the 6.5 lift coils, that would really suck. Pics ill have to get at a later date, the parts are boxed. I just opened em to see if there all there.

 

[y5mgisi]

Man i just love having people like you on the site! Thanks for taking the time to share and for keeping us up to date! Looking forward to the build!

 

[rob h]

I thought it was dumb to post like that, if i dont have any pics or any more of the build to show. Just my nonsense...lol

 

[rob h]

Not much done, pressure washed the frame rails down and peeled the old paint off. I put a set of bilstein 5100s on the rear, after having those on there ill never buy cheap shocks again. I started hearing a rattling sound and couldnt find it, so i pushed on a u bolt and it wiggles side to side. I had a new pair made since the old ones were rusted fast. Had to heat the nuts glowing red for em to budge. Luckily the local spring shop is close and reasonable priced.
I went on a little trip this weekend and at around 70 down hill off the gas i get slight vibes. Im going to grease the crap outa the slip yoke and if thats it ill order a new one. Still waiting for the garage space to start on it, a friend of mine is still real tied up with work. He said maybe in 3 weeks which sucks. Times like this makes me really want to buy a garage or a house with one.

 

[rob h]

Started day 1 on the sas today , worked a full 10 hour day. I marked the axle centerline on the frame and started..... Worked out good, unloaded the torsion bars, removed the xmember and unbolted all the lift brackets. Pulled all out in one piece on the floor jack. I plasma cut all the lift brackets off, ground em with the 4 inch grinder...and let me tell you did that suck..lol. Then i cookied the whole rail and painted it satin black. Heres some pics. Thats one day of it so far, hope its done in 2 more. I ran into a few problems tho. I have ord high steer on the axle and cant use the high steer. So i changed the one end and moved the tierod back down on the stock location. It will be a short end and one long end but it fits and works, only tho because in the high steer location it interfears with the track bar mount.

 

[sweetk30]

glad to see you started. if i was in better shape i could have had the whole front on the ground in 1hr.

i did a lot of 6" lifts for these few years ago. i got so good i was able to do the whole lift in 8.5 hr's shop time. in stock out with alignment and 35" tires and rims done drive home.

and dam wish i had known on the ord stuff. i just found a major problem with mine and would have prob swaped ya some parts. oh well i wasted another 200 bucks to fix it.

 

[y5mgisi]

Good work! When do you think you will be able to work on it again?

 

[rob h]

Problems tho had taken more time. The abs tone rings dont fit my hubs at all. I had to take em to a local shop and pick em up. Another was the tierod issue and finding a parts store with atleast a moog end. Then getting the truck on jack stands to be at ride heigth, had to borrow a tall set to be closer to what i need. The ord tie rod i have the ends were that tight in the threads that i had to heat the tie rod to be able to turn em. So ill get the abs sensors on in the am and get the 60 greased up and rolling again. I have both coil buckets centered where i need em so ill be drilling lots of holes too.

It only took like 3 hours to remove the ifs, would of been alot sooner but all the bolts were a rusty mess, i had to torch a few. The lift is on since 2003 so its on quite a few years in the rust belt...lol.


What was wrong with the tierod you have...?....do you have anything i might need..?

 

[rob h]

Oh............lol.....im off the next 3 days, it will and i mean will be rolling by sat afternoon.

 

[sweetk30]

had the thing all greased / anti seized up and in mockup for years. well it somehow rusted 1 tierod to the tube. even with pipe wrench and glowing red hot it wouldnt come out.

but i got new coming so i can hopfully have a good one when ready and it will be covered in copper anti seize this time.

and i can save 90% of the old and reuse the tube for a trac bar and just get hiem ends and 2 brackets.