solid axle swap.

[Knanthrup]

Hey guys, I\'m just stepping in because I\'m curious on how much work and how hard it is to do the front soid axle swap from IFS. I\'ve been doing some research for my 4X4 S10 project and quickly realizing the limits to the IFS setup on the S10\'s... atleast as fart as lifting goes.



I\'m nowhere near being able to do this yet because I\'m still finishing my 2wd V8 swap and I don\'t have the cash right now either, but I\'d just like to get an idea for the future. I know people like IceQueen have done full frame swaps... but im looking more to keep my current frame.



For now I\'m limited to a body lift, cranked Tbars and 31\'s.

[ardusatomus]

Hey, i am almost done with my solid axle swap. I may not of done it As perfect as someone could, but it is definately functional.



I took the axles from a 85 grand wagoneer (dana44\'s) with leaf springs for the front.

I made a crossmember from the front 2 frame rails with heavy channel iron. I then plated the top and welded it to the frame mounts. After that i put 3 5/8 grade 8 bolts to bolt the channel to the frame rails. I made shackle mounts on the new member, and welder and bolted em to it as well. ( I love grade 8 bolts)

Make some shackle mounts for the back of the front leaf springs and weld and bolt them up and bingo front axle in.



BENEFITS OF SOLID FRONT AXLE. spring it over and with 33\'s on it you will get the hood at 60 inches from the ground. about 30 inches from the ground to the bottom of the truck AWESOME



Best part, is you dont need a remote oil filter, or a small starter, or much of anything else in the book that they say are required. I dropped the 350 in and had the motor mounts and tranny bolted up in 15 minutes. YES 15 minutes from hanging above the truck to mounted and set it, first time and pertfectly dropped in.

Email me on here with a message if you like more info on a personal note. I will help all i can and send pics if need be. http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif

Good luck... i bought both axles at pull-a-part for 250$ total.. ya cant beat it. Any v8 jeep with 6 lug is almost all the time dana 44(they use amc 20 as well so beware)

let me know

[wickedsten]

ardusatomus-

do yo have any pics of your x-member, spring hangers or steering?

[Knanthrup]

ardusatomus,

that\'s awesome. I would REALLY love to see pics or hear any info that you can share. Tips, hard spots, etc. I\'m getting ready to do this with my 4x4 soon... probably along with the 350 swap. I heard that wagoneers are a big help as donor vehicles. Do the D44\'s bolt right in? I was told that the D30/33 from an XJ jeep are easy bolt ins and that anything else would be harder. I\'d love to hear from you

[89blaze]

im about to start my sfa swap, and im sure i will need some help from u ardusatomus. pics of the x member, and the axle from the bottom would help us all

[BadBowtie]

I was going to do a sfa swap in mine but im gonna get a suburban frame from a frined and shorten it to fit the blazer body

[89blaze]

to much work for me. i think that the sfa swap is easier than swaping an entire frame.

[IceQueen]

frame swap is easy as pie plus v8 is already bolted on http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif



Me love pie... Pies good.

[89blaze]

Hey Knanthrup, here is the best site that i have found for getting info for a SFA on an S10. Just look around in the forums, and u will find all the answers u need s10-4x4.org

...Eric

[BadBowtie]

For me there is 2 reasons for a full frame swap. well actually 3.



1.) Frmae from suburban is stronger than frame from s10.



2.) More room in the engine bay means i should be able to find some header that fit a fullsize v8 and be cheaper than s10 v8 headers.



3.) IceQueen said its cool so thats a good incentive!

[IceQueen]

lol wish ya lived closer badbowtie id love ta help ya with your project! BTW give yourself a favor do a 2\" body lift while your at it with a 2\" body lift you can fit under the hood with the motor it sits so low lol.

[TorturedSouls]

I have an 85 S10 Blazer, do we happen to know what frame fits perfectly under it??? I know when I turned a 72 Pinto wagon into a 4X4 we used a Jeep pickup chassis..



What I want to do is add a 4 inch body lift, and a 6 inch suspension lift so I can run 44\" Monster Mudders, I have a small block 400 and will be putting in a heavy duty 4 speed tranny... Any help would be great, you can also email me at terry_dudley@dell.com

[89blaze]

you wont be able to run 44 with only 6 inches of suspension lift and 4 body. yes, they might fit, but when ur wheel travels, it will hit ur fenders severly. unless u want to cut up some new tires, i would either go with more lift, or do a lot of cutting on ur fenders. i have 11 inches of suspension lift, and 3 body, and im only gonna run 38s for that reason. if you have any fles, u will tear ur tire up

[BadBowtie]

On of the other reason i like the frame swap is cause i dont ave to worry about getting the steering and suspension geometry right so i know it will be safe to drive on the roads.

And yeah Ice queen i wish you lived closer too, i will probably need the help. I still have to get the suburban home from North Bay to barrie. Then all the fun begins! Just got to wait for the damn snow to go away!

[89blaze]

doing the sfa is easier than doing a frame swap. it has only taken me a week so far, and i am almost done. getting the suspension and sterring right isnt hard, just takes time to measure and measure again. i will get some pics up soon

[IceQueen]

umm did a frame swap for a guy took two days lol.. drop body on weld mounts hook up steering/brakes/shift linkage and done.



in his case we actualy welded plates to the mounts and bolted the mounts ontop the frame with 6 grade 5 bolts per mount.