1995 - Dora the explorer SAS

Hey guys... this is humbling to be able register here. I know that there are like 4 guys going to register very soon.
lizardtrac, morrisey0, FMExplorer, muskrat, jeffseal... i know there are others, but these are the guys who have helped me out in so many ways. not to mention coryl - the guy is an inspiration.

Started with 1995 XLT with 170,000 on the ticker and a tax refund check! (thanks uncle Sam)

I had torn up 2 sets of wheel bearings in the past year, needed to replace control arms, ball joints, my fourth cv axle... in all it was going to be nearly $1k in parts to replace parts that were just worn out... so the old noggin started working. wife got her a new/used car for her and gave me the go ahead to tackle this project.

Ill detail everything in the days to come and am willing to answer and questions, but ill tell like everyone else - do a search first and/or start with this thread
right now i have a High Pinion dana 30 axle out of a 1992 YJ (jeep wrangler) this was a steal of a deal and i snagged it from a fellow i work with. I was attracted to it since it is reverse cut gears, parts are easy to find and gnerally inexpensive, the axle was in excellent condition, the bolt pattern would remain the same, and i got it, with springs, and steering linkage for $250.

the springs were from a 70s wagoneer.

to achieve lift I relocated springs over the axle.

i gotta cut this short since im at work but ill update as soon as i can.

 

[SeXpLoReR820]

I wasnt whinning like a little spoiled 18yr old and for the record I am 20. Dont be jealous. Sorry for all the questions and stuff but I just want to make sure this is done right. I have seen the RCD lift for the explorers and called them direct, they told me that it will not work on a 2wd or a 96 explorer at that. I know IFS is better for prerunners and works a lot better but I really dont want to go prerunner style. I would rather just do the lift rims and tires and re-gear and leave the thing alone because a prerunner is never finished. The kind of offroading I do is more in the prerunner area of things. If someone would like to tell me in a NICE way how to get 35s under my 96 expo 2wd with keeping the IFS than that would be great! Everyone I have talked to at procomp and all the manufacturers say that the spindles will not work on my year. I am not really into the whole body lift thing either. Well any help would be great thanks again!

 

[BUCHVILLEMAN]

Dead Link Removed call them and talk to them if you are really serious.

if you are goign to go ahead and do the SAS for 2wd then go to
Dead Link Removed it has ALL the answers you need. seriously. just read it. every page. look at every pic. every single issue is discussed for a sas leaf sprung conversion. i promise. steering, springs, brakes, axles, clearance, lift, wheel travel, wheel size, trac bar, sway bar, etc. every thing you need to know is on that page or a link is htere to what you need. i promise.

you still stumped then go onto dogpile.com and type in SAS, or solid axle, see what you get. toyotas, chevies, fords, jeeps, nissans, it doesnt matter just search and keep searching, dont stop until you have answered all your questions. i found the brake info i needed on a ford thunderbird page. i found SOA info on a land cruiser page, i found steering info on a ranger page... its out there. SEARCH FOR IT!

you still need help email me and i guarantee if you want to put that axle under your front i will talk you through every step.

to help you out ill give you a few hints.
before i posted my first question on this board i read every thread that contained the phrase SAS. i read every 4x4 magazine i could find. i spent hours searchign the internet. i spent hours in teh parts stores talking to mechanincs, talking to the junkyard owners, looking under trucks at the grocery parking lot. the day i got ALL of my parts together and started the swap i had spent everday for 2months researching exactly what i was going to do.

GUESS WHAT? some of my questions were not answered until i started custting and turning wrenches. some answers didnt make sense until i sitting there at midnight with a flashlight and a beer just looking at it measuring, writing things down... thining it all through one thing at a time.

i know i sound like a big ******* right now but its pretty insulting to guys like, me, muskrat, fmexplorer, robb, cory, josh, taxxman, lizardtrac, and many others (i know there are others sorry if i forgot you) that have invested HOURS of time researching countless resources, and investing bottomless $$$$ into their trucks to get questions that have been answered a couple dozen times.

guess what? sometimes it doesnt work out just right. sometiems it does. if someone tells you can do it for $1000 it will cost $2000.

if you are serious about it - you will get your hands dirty, use your head and do your homework.

i really am not a flaming idiot but if you would have read my thread or robb's thread you woudl have seen what to do for a steering shaft, and you would know what springs we used. its there for anyone in the world that has net access to find.

now that i sound like a wordy old man - here is some facts that might help:

-my swap cost $1500 or so
-my truck was down 1 month
-i did 2 months of research
-i have owned my ex for over 4.5 years and have fixed or replaced every single thign but the motor itself (not saying im a great mechanic but i have a history with this vehicle)
-i am still working out the bugs (loose ball joint, shock set-up (going with dual soon))
-i set my spring perches the same width that the wagoneer dana 44 as that will be going under there in the next year or so
-i am currently running 33s as i do not think the dana 30 would last too long on 35s
-those are the only things i can think of at the moment.

is there anything else that i can do to help you out?

 

[FMExplorer]

FWIW,
A solid axle in 2wd makes no sense. The travel and stability of independent front ends makes more sense for a pre-runner, given the terrain and speeds they travel, a solid axle would pretty much suck.

Each swap is different. I spent 4-8 hours every weekend on my swap for 4 months. Put well over 2k just in parts - never mind all the specialty tools I needed to buy. It's done - it's sick as hell - and I sold it (Thanks MadMike).

Here's a link to the pics of my swap

SeXpLoReR820 - I would be careful about stating you have a lack of knowledge and then switching your story around, and then stating a higher level of knowledge. It really pisses us old guys off that really do know everything

J

 

[SeXpLoReR820]

Im not here to piss anyone off! If I did or have oh well I dont really care!!! Thanks!

 

[Muskrat]

I'll tell you right now, I have a crap load of automotive backround, I thought I knew enought to do the sas, got everything I thought I needed, and started the swap. I was quick to learn that I don't know jack **** about steering geometry and all that good stuff. I ran into severe problems with my track bar, radius arms, mounts, and drag link. I thought everything was the way it was supposed to be, but I had bump steer like you would not believe, there was no way to drive it on the road the way it was. I got frustrated after my truck being down for 3 months, making my final payments on it, and paying to insure it every month it sat in my buddies garage. I gave up, and since I have the TTB suspension, I had to cut nothing out, so I went right back to the TTB suspension, and settled for 2" lift springs for now. I bought brand new parts for the D44, everything that could be replaced, was, and I ended up spending over $1000 for nothing, I'm not *****ing, but I hope others can learn from my f-ups. Right now, I have everything for sale, but if the parts don't sell, I may decide to do the swap again, the right way. And for the record, I'm only 21

 

[cdsl227]

Im not here to piss anyone off! If I did or have oh well I dont really care!!! Thanks!

Now there's a real genius for ya!

 

[BUCHVILLEMAN]

just picked up my HP RC Dana 44. it was out of a 78 bronco. it needs spindles and shafts.

i located a drivelin shop and am waiting to hear quote to cut it down 7" to fit under my front end.

i need to custom order axles shafts too.

my thougth right now is to get shafts made with 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern. or jsut adapt the rear to 5 on 5.5"

any sugestions?

and here is a recent wheeling pic. i let my 3 year old drive

this has been in my plan all along. notice i did not go too big with tires ont eh d30. i bought jon mcleods 35s and put them on the jeep. i put 33s on the explorer. my thought is to get 36" x 12.50" military goodyear tire from my local tire guy. they are cheap and i can cut some lugs out for more grabbiness. approaching 200k miles i am preparing to make explorer a trail only vehicle.

 

[Premier]

I would go 5 on 4.5

 

[cdsl227]

I went out and got 78 Bronco outers for my LP Waggy D44...I'm going to adapt the rear to 5-on-5.5 to match the Bronco outers and since the D44 is about 2" wider than the rear the adapters will help even things out.

I'm looking at tires and rims now...thinking Thornbird Super Swampers or TSLs.

 

[BUCHVILLEMAN]

after pricing everything it looks like i can build this myself for $400-$500. ill have to have a second set of shafts made at the same time but itll be worth it. my father in law seems to think that we can narrow it our selves. we got all sorts of clamps and stuff so as long as knuckles are aligned perfectly he can weld it and ill put my faith in it.

the one thing i need to check on is if the center hole of the 5 on 4.5" wheel will be big enough to clear the hubs that went to 5 on 5.5" i should be able to measure that this week.


does anyone know if the D44 TTB spindles brakes and hubs are the same as SA d44 spindles brakes and hubs? they look so similar and i can score those for nothing at local scrap yard. also have a a friend with cherokee d44 sitting there. i may have to see what he has left as it was his donor for another axle he pu tunder his jeep.

 

[BUCHVILLEMAN]

update...



got winch and snorkle on

loving it!

ive made little progress on the D44 - just cleaned her up... i decided to go ahead get the winch rather than build the d44. basically my thought is now to wheel it till it breaks then swap in the bigger axle then.

 

[cdsl227]

Very sweet, I'm kinda liking how beefy those 9000 winches look, maybe it's my eyes, but the cable looks way heavier than the 8000 I got.

Nice snorkel too...think that tube is wide enough!

 

[BUCHVILLEMAN]

you shoulda seen my first snorkle - it was 4" and looked like i should have a toilet hanging off the end of it that one is 3". my son thinks i should have 2 so it would like semi-truck stacks.

the cable is 3/8" x 100' TBH its a little bit more difficult to handle than 5/16" as it tends to want to coil and doesnt move as free - time to hit the gym. its not that bad and im not worried about it since it almost seems overkill, its the same cable they use on the 12k model.


hows your SAS coming? i havent been around in a while.

 

[Yomie]

Looks good gabe!

 

[cdsl227]

Axle is pretty much done, like an @ss- I was using a wire wheel to clean the gasket area and I had a towel stuffed in on the ring and carrier, needless to say the damn wire wheel snatched up the towel, the towel snatched up the tube from the ARB and whella! I had to get another seal housing from ARB. Now if that wasn't enough- I went to take off the brand new Warn Premium Hubs to pull the axles so I could pull the carrier and pull the seal housing AND- 2 of the retaining screws stripped on one side and then another 2 on the other side -SO I had to drill the heads off and of course I screwed one cap while doing it and by then I was so pissed- I got even with the other hub cap by drilling the hell out of it!

I got it all back together, I was going to put the gasket on today, but I had to work.

I've got the new Warn Hubs and a new spindle nut kit coming from JBG...other than that...

I'll the pumpkin cover on and filled tomorrow. The hubs and spindle nut'll go on when they come.

I plan on slicing out the front end the end of this month beginning of next- weather permitting.

 

[BUCHVILLEMAN]

sounds like you and i went to the same mechanic school...

i think you are going about you swap the most intelligent way - patient and precise. sounds like youve got it by the horn. once you get that crossmember cut off you will be giddy with joy!

 

[cdsl227]

I actually can't wait- I'm starting to fiend!

 

[BUCHVILLEMAN]

just wait until you flex across a 6 foot wide 3' deep ravine and that front axle droops down and grabs the bottom and pulls you through where you would have flipped over with IFS... or when you go the the grocery store and the balding 40 year old guy with an eddie bauer looks at you with a tear in his eye and salutes as you give him a head nod. and those times when you are wheeling and the guys you are with realize whats under your truck and they all congregate and stare and drool under the front of your truck. jeepers gather to the side mumbling to themselves giving you glances over their shoulders... jealous.

its all good!

just made a deal for warn hubs and jeep outers for my d44 might come together sooner than i thought!

 

[Yomie]

I know exactly what your saying Gabe

hey I gotta Q fer ya. Where did you get your front shaft? and fer how much, Jess (@ HighAngle) wants 450 and Tom(@ Woods) wants 400

 

[XplorerKid]

LOOKS Good !!! Hopefully we Can meet up sooner or later, im gunna go check flexplorers to see if theres any local runs, been a while since i checked in over there...

PEACE