If you can modify it to move it forward I think thats a better solution than the zero rate.
CK5
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SAS'ing my 02 Duramax - Garage Build
- Thread starter grizzlyoffroad
- Start date
grizzlyoffroad
1/2 ton status
More progress on the rear suspension, while waiting on new gears and hydro assist to get here:
As usual, the prep of taking off all the shocks, straps, air bags, factory hangers, etc..took most of the time!
Shackle flip kit....as I remember, an absolute mother to get the factory riveted on hangers off!! Finally, I just torched off the head of the rivets and then knocked them out with an air hammer. I tried just grinding them off with a cutting wheel, but with out the heat from the torch, they were still a bugger to knock out. After getting that all off, it was supper simple to bolt on the ORD kit...nice work on these brackets guys, thanks!
I then popped the tires back on and measured to see what I was going to have to do with blocks to level it out....it was REAL close with just adding the kit and leaving my 2.5" block in there (with 8" springs)....it was just about 1" low. The only real problem was that dropping the rear of my springs tipped my pinion angle up too much, with the angled shim built into the spring pack....and shifted the axle forward a bit. SO, I had to tear the springs apart to get the shim out....While I was doing that, I thought I would go ahead and use the ORD zero rate kit to add an inch and kick the axle back an inch.
After drooping the suspension, it was apparent that the air bags were the main limiting factor to my flex. Now, I know this isn't a rock crawler and I will probably never USE any more than 6-8" of suspension travel, but while I'm building this, I might as well play around and make it as good as I can (within reason). I came up with a little slide extension system for the air bags. I simply put a larger tube in the existing bag extension and then a matching "pin" where the bag used to be bolted to. Now, when the suspension unloads, the air bag can slide up the pin and not restrict the rear flex! The ladder bars are the next limiting factor, but I will get to them another day. For now, this thing is working pretty darn well.
The ORD shackle flip kit installed...
Horrible pic, sorry.
I know it's hard to tell from this garage pic, but the truck is much closer to level...about where I want it.
The pinion angle after the flip...needed to take the angled shim out of the spring pack. After taking out the shim, it pointed right where I wanted.
My air bag slide mechanism....welded inside the existing bag spacers.
Now, when the suspension flexes, the bag slides up the pin instead of limiting droop. Just need to adjust my limiting straps so it can't come all the way out.
Here is the zero rates installed in the rear, lifting and inch and pushing axle back an inch...and no, the u-bolt plates aren't in there, waiting on my new longer u-bolts.
As usual, the prep of taking off all the shocks, straps, air bags, factory hangers, etc..took most of the time!
Shackle flip kit....as I remember, an absolute mother to get the factory riveted on hangers off!! Finally, I just torched off the head of the rivets and then knocked them out with an air hammer. I tried just grinding them off with a cutting wheel, but with out the heat from the torch, they were still a bugger to knock out. After getting that all off, it was supper simple to bolt on the ORD kit...nice work on these brackets guys, thanks!
I then popped the tires back on and measured to see what I was going to have to do with blocks to level it out....it was REAL close with just adding the kit and leaving my 2.5" block in there (with 8" springs)....it was just about 1" low. The only real problem was that dropping the rear of my springs tipped my pinion angle up too much, with the angled shim built into the spring pack....and shifted the axle forward a bit. SO, I had to tear the springs apart to get the shim out....While I was doing that, I thought I would go ahead and use the ORD zero rate kit to add an inch and kick the axle back an inch.
After drooping the suspension, it was apparent that the air bags were the main limiting factor to my flex. Now, I know this isn't a rock crawler and I will probably never USE any more than 6-8" of suspension travel, but while I'm building this, I might as well play around and make it as good as I can (within reason). I came up with a little slide extension system for the air bags. I simply put a larger tube in the existing bag extension and then a matching "pin" where the bag used to be bolted to. Now, when the suspension unloads, the air bag can slide up the pin and not restrict the rear flex! The ladder bars are the next limiting factor, but I will get to them another day. For now, this thing is working pretty darn well.
The ORD shackle flip kit installed...
Horrible pic, sorry.
I know it's hard to tell from this garage pic, but the truck is much closer to level...about where I want it.
The pinion angle after the flip...needed to take the angled shim out of the spring pack. After taking out the shim, it pointed right where I wanted.
My air bag slide mechanism....welded inside the existing bag spacers.
Now, when the suspension flexes, the bag slides up the pin instead of limiting droop. Just need to adjust my limiting straps so it can't come all the way out.
Here is the zero rates installed in the rear, lifting and inch and pushing axle back an inch...and no, the u-bolt plates aren't in there, waiting on my new longer u-bolts.
I need to see the pics of the whole thing
grizzlyoffroad
1/2 ton status
Another day of slow progress....
Got the shocks back from a buddy that put Invisasheild on them, to keep the road salt from ruining them instantly! If this ideas works, I'm going to have to patent it! Every nice shock you put on a rig in Alaska is ruined the first winter. Put the shocks on the front and gave him the rear to do.
Finally got the rear suspension wrapped up with getting the limiting straps adjusted correctly, adjusting the ladder bars for the new length and moving the passenger side shock mount to the rear of the axle. Then make new upper shock mounts in the factory crossmember. Not a huge amount of throw, but enough for this truck
Got my new gears, so turned attention back to the front. Spent most of the day tearing the hubs apart (again!) installing the gears, then reinstalling the axles and hubs. Since I was starting with a blank diff, it took about 6 times to get the gears set up right...pisses me off, but they are looking pretty good in there with the new E-locker.
Of course, ran into another snag. I welded on my blocks to the hub, that hold the ABS sensor, holding it barely from touching the tone ring....and it hits inside the brake rotor!! The only thing I can think of is to get the inside of the rotor machined....there's just not enough clearance between the tone ring and the rotor. I am going to try shaving one of the old sensors down first and see how much "extra" material there is in the plastic/rubber button that the wire is molded into.
Got the brackets moved so that both shock with be mounted on the rear of the axle.
I love how much droop you get out of a SFA compared to the old IFS
Front E-locker is finally in after messing with gears half the day!
New Warn Premium hubs in place, with ALL new bears, seals, etc. All worked out great besides the darn ABS sensor.
After climbing up a little hill, all looks good on the downhill side..
But as we suspected, that axle HAS to be moved forward quite a bit...the uphill side hits.
The truck leveled out nicely though. I'm parked on a slight uphill angle here, so it looks higher in the front, but the body line measures exactly and the inner finder well is about 1" lower in the rear. After the front springs sagging a bit, it should be about perfect!
Got the shocks back from a buddy that put Invisasheild on them, to keep the road salt from ruining them instantly! If this ideas works, I'm going to have to patent it! Every nice shock you put on a rig in Alaska is ruined the first winter. Put the shocks on the front and gave him the rear to do.
Finally got the rear suspension wrapped up with getting the limiting straps adjusted correctly, adjusting the ladder bars for the new length and moving the passenger side shock mount to the rear of the axle. Then make new upper shock mounts in the factory crossmember. Not a huge amount of throw, but enough for this truck
Got my new gears, so turned attention back to the front. Spent most of the day tearing the hubs apart (again!) installing the gears, then reinstalling the axles and hubs. Since I was starting with a blank diff, it took about 6 times to get the gears set up right...pisses me off, but they are looking pretty good in there with the new E-locker.
Of course, ran into another snag. I welded on my blocks to the hub, that hold the ABS sensor, holding it barely from touching the tone ring....and it hits inside the brake rotor!! The only thing I can think of is to get the inside of the rotor machined....there's just not enough clearance between the tone ring and the rotor. I am going to try shaving one of the old sensors down first and see how much "extra" material there is in the plastic/rubber button that the wire is molded into.
Got the brackets moved so that both shock with be mounted on the rear of the axle.
I love how much droop you get out of a SFA compared to the old IFS
Front E-locker is finally in after messing with gears half the day!
New Warn Premium hubs in place, with ALL new bears, seals, etc. All worked out great besides the darn ABS sensor.
After climbing up a little hill, all looks good on the downhill side..
But as we suspected, that axle HAS to be moved forward quite a bit...the uphill side hits.
The truck leveled out nicely though. I'm parked on a slight uphill angle here, so it looks higher in the front, but the body line measures exactly and the inner finder well is about 1" lower in the rear. After the front springs sagging a bit, it should be about perfect!
y5mgisi
1 ton status
Sure does look good!
TheBeast_88K5
Banned
That's so bada$$...
BADA$$ Truck!!! Yours and Cruz's truck have be chomping at the bit to do my 99. I need to finish up a few other trucks before I can start, but the Yodarado may get pushed back infavor of the 99 after the Burban is done in the next few weeks.
I really love that front bumper too.
You have built a KICK-ASS truck!
I really love that front bumper too.
You have built a KICK-ASS truck!
grizzlyoffroad
1/2 ton status
Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.....the hard work if finally paying off!
grizzlyoffroad
1/2 ton status
Ya baby!...getting this beast dialed in!
Finished up the front axles, hubs, etc....then moved the front hanger mount bolt home forward 2". This made a big difference as you can see by the pics below! Installed the track bar, but didn't like the way it sat...so I fabricated new hangers and spring pack mounts so that is would sit level with my steering drag link and not hit my oil pan at full flex. Installed the new rear shocks and went for a test ride....SWEET.
I know it sounds crazy, but it rides and handles better than stock and flexes better than I ever could have imagined! I love it....can't wait to get my transfer case swapped out and my new drivelines built. This thing is turning better than I hoped. I can now even fully stuff the front tire and get massive (for a tow rig
flex on all four corners.
New hanger bolt location..
Dropped upper track bar mount.
Track bar location
New rear shocks in place...not that I need remote res, but they came with the kit!
Some flexing and stuffing...
Finished up the front axles, hubs, etc....then moved the front hanger mount bolt home forward 2". This made a big difference as you can see by the pics below! Installed the track bar, but didn't like the way it sat...so I fabricated new hangers and spring pack mounts so that is would sit level with my steering drag link and not hit my oil pan at full flex. Installed the new rear shocks and went for a test ride....SWEET.
I know it sounds crazy, but it rides and handles better than stock and flexes better than I ever could have imagined! I love it....can't wait to get my transfer case swapped out and my new drivelines built. This thing is turning better than I hoped. I can now even fully stuff the front tire and get massive (for a tow rig
flex on all four corners.New hanger bolt location..
Dropped upper track bar mount.
Track bar location
New rear shocks in place...not that I need remote res, but they came with the kit!
Some flexing and stuffing...
Nice pics man, it sure is looking good now with moving the front spring eye bolts.
grizzlyoffroad
1/2 ton status
Thanks Folken! Yes, feels much better to be able to get full stuff...and everything else is flexing as planned. All the brake lines worked out perfect, track bar, ladder bars working as planned...and my air bag sliders are working just right. They lift about 4-5" on the slider pin at full droop, then back down to do work! I'm loving it
grizzlyoffroad
1/2 ton status
No crazy progress today. Just took the couple hours I got to sneak off, to finish welding up the track bar, put on the new longer u-bots (thanks Six States!), and took the bracing I cut out of the front of the hangers and welded it into the back of the front hanger....just for warm and fuzzy feelings.
Hanger bracing...
And I got me new ORU Hydro Assist kit, that and the transfer case are the next projects on the list.
Hanger bracing...
And I got me new ORU Hydro Assist kit, that and the transfer case are the next projects on the list.
Looks like it is turning out real nice.
I like it a lot.
I like it a lot.
grizzlyoffroad
1/2 ton status
Got the Hydro Assist on today. I must say, my expectations where low....considering all the trouble I've had with the rest of my "bolt on" items, but this kit was nice and clean. Only took a couple hours to do and everything went on just like it was supposed to! Most of the hardware was even already bolted up and just needed to be tightened up! It took ORU forever to get this kit to me, but I must give them props for a good bolt-on and go product. Thanks guys!
Measuring the mid point of the stroke and getting ready to weld on the tie-rod tabs.
The new box....with pre-cut hoses all attached. They are a bit long, but better long than short!
The piston (seems kind of small, but gets the job done) with hoses bolted on and nice bracket that attaches to the diff cover bolts. I just had to do some tripping to the "ribs" on the Rockcrusher cover.
Some more flex photos in the day lights. I also took it down some whoops on the frontage roads and it did quite well. Just a tiny but of bounce in the rear, but my air bags were pumped up. I'll try to get a buddy to video from the road next time.
Measuring the mid point of the stroke and getting ready to weld on the tie-rod tabs.
The new box....with pre-cut hoses all attached. They are a bit long, but better long than short!
The piston (seems kind of small, but gets the job done) with hoses bolted on and nice bracket that attaches to the diff cover bolts. I just had to do some tripping to the "ribs" on the Rockcrusher cover.
Some more flex photos in the day lights. I also took it down some whoops on the frontage roads and it did quite well. Just a tiny but of bounce in the rear, but my air bags were pumped up. I'll try to get a buddy to video from the road next time.
1AMatt
Registered Member
Wow nice job man!
Very cool! I love the way it looks now...good job man! 
grizzlyoffroad
1/2 ton status
Been a while since an update...sorry. Been turning our Fishing Lodge around from monthly rentals to daily rentals and it's been crazy!
Finally got the new 273 xfer case installed, clocked slightly down with the clocking ring. Had to move the Antilock brake mechanism to the top of the frame and extend some wiring...but overall a nice bolt in operation. Thanks Transfer Case Express!
I then had big plans of building a custom bent tube cross member to hold the tranny and dip below the new driveline angle...but I'm running out of time and low on motivation! I decided to just notch the factory x-member and build a HD bracket that gave some room for the new drive line
Now just waiting on my custom drive lines to be built...come on Six States!!
Got the new transfer case installed...whoohoo
Cheesed out a bit and just notched the factor x-member. I welded some tubing along the member before cutting it completely in half...so it wouldn't move from the factory location while I was creating the custom bracketry.
Here's the new "arch"...
Installed in the truck.
Straight on view along the path of the new drive line.
Finally got the new 273 xfer case installed, clocked slightly down with the clocking ring. Had to move the Antilock brake mechanism to the top of the frame and extend some wiring...but overall a nice bolt in operation. Thanks Transfer Case Express!
I then had big plans of building a custom bent tube cross member to hold the tranny and dip below the new driveline angle...but I'm running out of time and low on motivation! I decided to just notch the factory x-member and build a HD bracket that gave some room for the new drive line
Now just waiting on my custom drive lines to be built...come on Six States!!
Got the new transfer case installed...whoohoo
Cheesed out a bit and just notched the factor x-member. I welded some tubing along the member before cutting it completely in half...so it wouldn't move from the factory location while I was creating the custom bracketry.
Here's the new "arch"...
Installed in the truck.
Straight on view along the path of the new drive line.
Looks good. How long is your rear driveline going to be?
grizzlyoffroad
1/2 ton status
Thanks. The rear drive would have been a VERY long one piece, so I decided to keep the stub shaft and carrier bearing, cut it down, just weld a joint and flange on it for the Ford style case (24.75" long) and keep the rear drive line basically the same as it was.
The front will be be about 37" from yoke face to flange face with a 2 inch pilot.
grizzlyoffroad
1/2 ton status
Got the new rear driveline back from six states and finally got to do some road testing of the new shoes. We didn't do anything special with the rear drive...just shortened the intermediate drive line, added the new joint and Ford flange, then balanced out the whole set up with the rear driveline. With approx 2.25 inches of drop on the carrier bearing, everything lines up and rides well....even without a dual cardan anywhere in the combo.
Drove the truck around town for a 20-30 miles with no issues, then made the 150 mile drive to Anchorage. All I can say is....Nice! The truck drives straight and true, no vibrations or issues. The ride is better than it was with the IFS lift and I think better than my wife’s H2. I assumed that I was going to need a sway bar of some design, as high as this heavy beast sits, but it really drives well (even with high speed swerving) and seems to be fine with just the track bar and current steering set up. There's still a tiny bit of slop in the steering due to the worn out tie-rods, but that should be fixed with the new custom rod I got built with dual replaceable ends.
The only things left are the front drive line and the new tie-rod....whoohoo! Lovin this like-new tough ass truck!
Sorry for the horrible cell phone pics....
Shortened intermediate shaft with new joint and Ford flange to mate up to custom 273 transfer case.
Rear shaft is basicly stock, just new joints and balances with new setup.
Parking lot side shot
Comparison with a customer's truck we did a 6" lift with 35" Nito Trail's
Drove the truck around town for a 20-30 miles with no issues, then made the 150 mile drive to Anchorage. All I can say is....Nice! The truck drives straight and true, no vibrations or issues. The ride is better than it was with the IFS lift and I think better than my wife’s H2. I assumed that I was going to need a sway bar of some design, as high as this heavy beast sits, but it really drives well (even with high speed swerving) and seems to be fine with just the track bar and current steering set up. There's still a tiny bit of slop in the steering due to the worn out tie-rods, but that should be fixed with the new custom rod I got built with dual replaceable ends.
The only things left are the front drive line and the new tie-rod....whoohoo! Lovin this like-new tough ass truck!
Sorry for the horrible cell phone pics....
Shortened intermediate shaft with new joint and Ford flange to mate up to custom 273 transfer case.
Rear shaft is basicly stock, just new joints and balances with new setup.
Parking lot side shot
Comparison with a customer's truck we did a 6" lift with 35" Nito Trail's
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