Straight Axle

[worley91]

Has anyone here done the S-A-S (Straight Axle Swap) to their 88-98 chevy or gmc?

[skchevota]

Originally Posted by worley91

Has anyone here done the S-A-S (Straight Axle Swap) to their 88-98 chevy or gmc?

Yes, I did my 98 1500 that I had about 5 years ago. It started as a 2wd but the convertion is the same. I used super duty front leafs and made my own mounts. I will look to see if I have the pictures somewhere. It rode great and wheel even better, I miss that truck.

[worley91]

Okay well I was looking into doing this and Im looking for someone that could tell me where to get all of the components for this other then the axle and kinda tell me some advice that you learned in the process

[worley91]

any help that you could give me skchevota would be greatly appreciated

[special-K]

www.offroadunlimited.com

[worley91]

yes I found that kit for the brackets but I could not find a list of all components needed and where to get them.

[special-K]

It`s been a long time since I checked it out.Don`t they provide all that info?

[worley91]

Nope they just give you some parts that you may want to order.

[69-350]

hey worley, was lookin up pics of your truck and found this thread.
I havent done a SFA swap yet, but plan to this or next summer maybe. As for ALL and I mean ALL the information you need and then some, go to the FullSizeChevy boards. Join up, post away. Go to the Offroad section, and all the threads you need are stickied.

For a run down, get a Sky weld-on or ORU bolt-on kit. They're the best ones. Get leafs. Alcan leafs are some of the best aftermarket leafs. Now get a front axle. This can be a pain. Best one to get are 78-79 Ford High Pinion axles, F150 & F250 Dana 44, or F350 & heavy duty F250 (snow plow optioned) Dana 60. Next, find a D60 or 14B FF rear. You might be wondering why from 78-79 Ford? King knuckles. Drivers side pumpkin. That's why. Unless you want to swap transfer cases, then you can go 90-91 NP241 passenger side output t-case, from OOBS Blazer/Burbans. Why this one? Only pass-side t-case with speed sensor in it. Plug and play for that. Then you could run any passenger side Dana 60.

Best way is keeping your t-case, run a Ford D60, swap out the outer stuff for Chevy Dana 60, blah blah, etc etc. Go check out the FSC boards for more info though.

[b454rat]

Solid axle who??? Never heard of it....

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2547...SQ?vhost=rides

The ORU kit ain't bad, but wee on the pricey side anymore. Sky Man. makes a good kit, but starts off at 6" of lift over stock. If you want to go big, then that would be the kit. Steering is simple, get a dropped pitman arm for a Ford or Jeep, use springs for 73-87 GMs. Use a Ford front axle if you don't want to change your t-case, if you use a GM axle, will need a 90-91 241 from a Blazer or Burb, they have the VSS so your speedo will work, or if you have a 93 and newer, need it so your tranny will work.....

[69-350]

7/8 ton? Is that kinda like my 5/8 ton 97? haha. Say, 454rat, are you on the FSC boards? Yeah, like b454rat said, 93 up won't even work without the the VSS in there. Well, you'll have 1st and 2nd, no odometer, speedometer, or tripometer. Ask me how I found that one out, first roadtrip with the lift kit and I couldn't even make it 15 miles out of town.

As for Sky, 6" is incorporated already, but if you're going SFA, you'll probably want a little lift. 6" and 35's make SFAs a subtle change, that often takes a second look to notice. SFA with 44's isn't so subtle, but better than IFS with 44's (yes, I've seen it done. Wicked, but unimaginably hard on everything) Anyways, that's my extra $0.02.

[worley91]

Ive been picking through this post on FSC a little bit each day to see what to go by. I was going for more of the 35" tire or so range like 69-350 was saying so Ill prolly end up with the ORU kit. I read in there that you can use the 86-91 D60 also you just have to run less of a backspace on your wheels to keep the tire rub out of the equation.

[69-350]

Originally Posted by worley91

Ive been picking through this post on FSC a little bit each day to see what to go by. I was going for more of the 35" tire or so range like 69-350 was saying so Ill prolly end up with the ORU kit. I read in there that you can use the 86-91 D60 also you just have to run less of a backspace on your wheels to keep the tire rub out of the equation.

86-91 Ford D60? You might not want one of these. A lot of people on FSC bash these a bit. Why? 78-79 D60's run kingpin knuckles, versus later balljoints. Simple matter of stress/strength abilities. Also, I believe you'll have to get Chevy D60 outer stuff to swap in.

As for which kits, ORU is +3" versus Sky's +6". To get 35's, run about 6" lift, so ORU +2 or 4", and rear 6" springs, maybe? That's a +5-7 front +6 rear, about level, especially with 7" front, 6" rear. As for the backspacing, I haven't read up quite enough on that stuff yet.

[b454rat]

The 86-92 D60s are still kingpin, just have the wider spring perchs @36". The 93 and newer are ball joint, they aren't as desirable and more expensive for crossover.

if you use the 86 style 60s, if you go bigger than 38s is when the tires hit the springs at full lock, more backspace will push the tire away from the spring, but the front sheetmetal on these trucks taper, so too much will put the whole tire outside the fender.

[69-350]

Originally Posted by b454rat

The 86-92 D60s are still kingpin, just have the wider spring perchs @36". The 93 and newer are ball joint, they aren't as desirable and more expensive for crossover.

if you use the 86 style 60s, if you go bigger than 38s is when the tires hit the springs at full lock, more backspace will push the tire away from the spring, but the front sheetmetal on these trucks taper, so too much will put the whole tire outside the fender.

Oops, may help if I actually read sometimes. I have a problem with that, skimming. I probably could have pulled a 4.0 off in school, but everytime we had a test I like power-skimmed everything. Usually got something wrong because I forgot to read a number or word. Theres the rabbit and the turtle story for ya. Might help if I'm alive too, at 1:30 am last nite I was... well, "somewhere".

Anyways, so you can use 86-92 axles then, right? Just cut/weld the perches over? And what all did you have to swap out on the Ford D60's to get them to work? I might have to start looking 86-92 F350 D60s then. A little cutting and welding isn't too bad.

[b454rat]

Can't move the perches on the newer ones, just like the older ones, the driver side perch is cast into the housing. If you really wanted to make a newer one like the 78/79 style, you would have to lengthen the driver side tube and shorten the pass side tube. If you get one of these axles to do an SAS, ORU sells the kit to work with these axles. The mounts are made with the perch width made into them. One of the nice things bout the ORU kit, drill some holes, bolt it in and instant SAS!!!!

[thirdstreettito]

http://www.offroadunlimited.com/orus...?idCategory=18

[69-350]

Ahh crap, that's right huh? They're cast in.... forgot that ORU sells the kit for them too. Hmm. There's a guy a few hours away selling some axles, Chevy Dana 60's, 14 bolts, and parting out an 88 F350. I guess I'll just wait out. Hell, this IFS lift ain't a year old, and I want to save up more anyways, since when I do it, I'll probably do a complete rebuild on the axles, with gears, lockers, hubs, seals, paint, etc etc. Sure, I could go cheap on it, and just throw some axles in, but might as well do it right the first time, right?

[worley91]

So is there any real problem with using the 86-91 axles or not?

[69-350]

Originally Posted by worley91

So is there any real problem with using the 86-91 axles or not?

Depending on how big of tires you run. Like said, 38's and bigger rub on the leafs at or before full lock, but if you're running smaller tires, I don't think there would be a big problem. Still king knucks, steering cross over will work, blah blah, I don't see why it wouldn't work fine.

[worley91]

Okay thats probably what I will end up using then.