Solid Axle, 2WD to 4WD

[KELLY88]

Truck's lookin awesome. Can't wait to see how it works when it's put together.

 

[colinrmitchell]

Alright, I got my high-steer kit in the mail from Summit. It's from TeraFlex. I was really surprised with the quality. The knuckle is huge and thick, with the high-steer arm being more than I expected. It also came with rod ends and a tie rod and drag link.

The links are chrome alloy or something, I wasn't paying attention when reading the specs. They are REALLY thick, at least 1/4", but I suspect larger. They're hex-shaped, so I can put a wrench over them to turn them (nice ).

The rod-ends are 7/8", pretty sturdy. The pitman-arm rod end was smaller than the stock one, so I could replace the new one with my old one, since they turned out to be the same size and thread pitch (double nice ). Everything bolted up to the new knuckle perfectly.

The high-steer knuckle has more than enough clearance for the leaf springs, and from what I can tell, the drag link should run parallel to the tie rod, giving me minimal bump steer.

Well, the hardest part is solved. I expect to get my brackets for the springs in the mail to'morrow, so hopefully I can get this done by Sept. 13th for the Truck Show at Summit Racing in Tallmadge.

Here's some pics:

 

[colinrmitchell]

Got the axle under the truck tonight. Went pretty smoothly. Once the weight of the truck got down on the springs, I realized how soft the Jeep springs were. Looks like I'll be adding some leaves to them. Otherwise, they'll work out great.

Just need to make shock mounts and bleed the brakes, and I should be in business. I'll post up pictures soon.

 

[bobbywalter]

did you look into a tre flip kit yet?

if you leave the springs soft you may want to run a trac bar as well. i prefer it on the street setups myself.


lookin good bud

 

[86ford]

Got the axle under the truck tonight. Went pretty smoothly. Once the weight of the truck got down on the springs, I realized how soft the Jeep springs were. Looks like I'll be adding some leaves to them. Otherwise, they'll work out great.

Just need to make shock mounts and bleed the brakes, and I should be in business. I'll post up pictures soon.

hey colin, i have some CJ or YJ front springs i mite be willing to part with. they are skyjacker lift springs with what looks to be a similar arch to the ones you already have. the one spring has a significant bend in the end of the main leaf that just barely bent the 2nd leaf too but if you cut the eyes off and trim them down a little they mite help you maintain your current arch and stiffen it up significantly. i got these springs cheap and they only have minor surface rust. if you need em let me know we can work out a deal. the build looks like its coming along well. i should have mine done a few weeks after you get yours done so we need to hook up for some wheeling and compare your leaf sprung setup to my xj coils. PM me if you have any interest in those leafs, i was/am only going to use them to stiffen up my rear leafs to level them with my 3 inch lift up front along with maybe save some of my fenders from the sawzall.


86

 

[colinrmitchell]

Alright, no need for your leaves, Chuck.

I redid the leave packs today. I got an add-a-leaf, and then mixed in two leaves from my old rear leaves. The truck sits exactly where I want it to. Once the bumper's on there, it should be perfect. Just need to get the shocks and stabilizer hooked up, and I should be all set.

It was pouring rain all day, so no pictures. I'll post up some to'morrow.

Okay, here's a bad cell-phone picture:

 

[Boggin]

insanely awesome, I already seen the pic tho
good work

 

[colinrmitchell]

Okay, I got the brakes bled today, and that's about it. Got distracted drinking beer.

Gotta do the shock mounts and steering stabilizer to'morrow. Got some catfishing to do tonight.

Anyways, I drove it around a little bit, it is SO much better than the old suspension. Here's several pictures of a "test flex":

Need to fix the shackle angle. Didn't turn out the way I had hoped. Also need to jack up the rear end a little, the front sits higher. I might wait for the springs to settle a little first, though.

 

[Boggin]

awesome work

 

[colinrmitchell]

Well, it's done for the most part. It drives a lot better on the road than the old suspension did. The front's a little soft, but nothing dangerous. Haven't tested on anything hXc yet, but that'll come soon enough.

The shackle angle is a little shady, but if the springs flatten out all the way, the shackle will be not quite horizontal. I'll do a little testing to see if I should change it or not.

I might get some pictures pretty soon here. Even if I take the camera wheeling, I never stop to take pictures, anyways.

Well, thanks for the help and stuff. I am only about $1000 away from a sweet off-road machine. Maybe we'll meet up at the mud bog sometime.

 

[ftirish86]

Id figure id post in here since i just went thorugh all the pages nice work and congrats im working on getting my 05 2wd to 4wd with a d44 waggy front cant freaking wait hope all the tranny work comes out ok for ya. It must be exciting one step closer to 4wd.

 

[compaqeo]

what?

the d30 dosent have hubs? if so can u put some on it...? i need to do a small axle do to lving in Bc where theres "mad" trails with trees u rub your fenders on going trough...

 

[colinrmitchell]

Yeah, you can get a manual hub kit. It's like $1400, which turned me off to it.

 

[alpinestar]

so hows your D30 held up so far? only problems ive had since my build is keeping a front driveline in it. this last weekend i kept pulling my slip in the center of it apart from too much flex.

and colin could you post a picture of your leaf packs? i'm running 2" wrangler rancho springs and i dont like them. im thinking of going to a waggy leaf these are just too soft and not enough lift to them.

 

[colordranger27]

how you gonna run that t case? you could run a divorced set up