front cross member along with other sas parts

hey guys, im in the process of drawing out my lastest project, a 92 ford explorer xlt 4x4, ok well im wanting to swap out stock front axle for a dana 44 from a wagoneer. im lookin to buy a front crossmember with the front shackles. and i also heard that i can just use ranger hangers and shackles for the rear leaf spring mount. any more info you guys can provide will help

 

[IZwack]

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=63

That should keep you busy for a few hours

 

[RockRanger]

ranger hangers would be to wide. Build your own. Look for my buildup thread and you will see how I leaf sprung my ranger using a waggoneer axle.

 

[911customs]

well i riped out the front dana 35, and im thinking of keeping it, and the other front susp parts(2" skyjacker coils and shocks).

but, can i make a leaf spung dana 44 sas be under a very streetable explorer? By being very streetable, i mean, highway trips at 80mph, 15-20mpg city/highway, front and rear sway bars

 

[RockRanger]

my ranger goes 70 mph with a SAS and drives strait down the road. any faster and the deep axle gears make the rpms to high. I get about 12 mpg because of the deep gears. If I added sway bars it would be much more streetable. do lots of reaserch it isnt a bolt on mod by any means. its not cheap eather.

 

[911customs]

i think it can be cheap, im gonna list my parts list, tell me what else i need

-wagoneer dana 44 hub to hub(new brake pads) ~$200
-wagoneer leaf springs~$75
-front crossmember materials~$60
-rear shackle or hanger materials~$50
-f250 shock mounts~$50
-regear front and rear 4.56
-extended driveshafts
i want to have somewhere around 7"-8" of lift, so im gonna do a soa front and rear, and then put on aal, and 1"shackle lift

for steering i dont really know what to do, i have the stock wagoneer steering still on the axle, soo i want gonna try and reuse that is this a good or bad idea?

 

[911customs]

for steering i just think im gonna run a 4" or maybe 6" drop pitman arm and hopefully i wont have to bend the tie rod

 

[section525]

Here's some pics of my crossmember:

 

[911customs]

thats one beefy crossmember, mine will be made from 2"x2" square tubing, did u make those spring hangers? or did u buy them(if so from where)?

 

[section525]

They're just 3.5" square tubing (.25 wall) that I cut off one side of. Leaving 3" inside to inside. Cost a couple bucks.

 

[sn0border88]

well, the prices seem ok, minus a few things.

You have no prices listed for the regear. If you pay a shop to do that expect around 500 per axle including parts.

With this new setup, you will be looking for new tires. Expect to pay around 800 for a decent set of 36's (prolly a good size)

Extended and new front driveshaft... expect a good 200 there as well.

Unless you run 2 kinds of rims, plan on finding a way to change the bolt pattern. Waggy is 6 on 5.5 and explorer is 5 on 4.5. Redrilled shafts and drums or custom rotors will run 100-200 from dutchman.

Figure around 100 for smaller parts. (New bearings, u-joints, u bolts and plates)

New shocks ~130

Extended SS brakelines ~100

New balljoints because the waggy ones are prolly shot (I dont know what a balljoint runs)

And lets just throw on another $300 in unexpected costs, because there is always some.

Plus whatever I missed, someone chime in with other ideas.

Total now (including other list)

$3230 And I think this is a little conservative, but you can always find deals and freebies but this should give you a more realistic view.

Beer $200

 

[911customs]

section-wat did you use for your rear spring hangers on the front?

this should cost me 1400 bucks with regear front and rear

 

[section525]

section-wat did you use for your rear spring hangers on the front?

this should cost me 1400 bucks with regear front and rear

I got the bushings from mad4wd (they came with the DOM). The first two pics are my initial set which I measured once, cut twice on. So I had to make a second set (third pic).

 

[sn0border88]

section-wat did you use for your rear spring hangers on the front?

this should cost me 1400 bucks with regear front and rear

Mind if I ask how and what that includes?

 

[RockRanger]

dont forget 400 to do cross over steering. Look for my build up thread and you will see what it will take to swap a 44 in. Dont go cheap on the steering. you are putting your life and everyone else on the roads life in your hands. $3000 is a decent numbe to shoot for doing all the work yourself. That is to do it right and make it safe to dive on the street.

 

[911customs]

front dana 44 w/steering linkage$200
trac bar and trac bar mount$75
4" or 6"pitman arm(already have)
4 shocks$120
wagoneerleaf springs$50
front and rear soa parts(already have)
extended brake lines$(already have)
4.56 gears($300 each axle)$600
extended front driveshaft $200
extended rear driveshaft $200
materials $130
total-$1575
im doing all the work at my works shop

i know alot of people with a soa on a dana 30 and dana 44 and they dont have cross over steering, soo i dunno if im gonna do cross over steering right away

 

[sn0border88]

You still havent addressed the tires, bolt pattern and factored in for other possible costs. Always guess high to make sure you will have enough. And listen to the people on this board, including rockranger. Most people are talking from years upon years of experience and have done what you are about to do. And unless you are only paying 100 for install labor on each rear, guess higher because the gears and master install will cost over 200 alone per axle.

Your estimate for the driveshaft is way high, a new one will cost that much but I checked before and a shop usually charges around $120 to lengthen and balance a driveshaft.

You can also add new rims to the tire cost, and dont forget to get everything on that d44 rebuilt. Those balljoints definatly wont pass inspection if they havent been replaced recently. Im guessing its a disk brake, but if it isnt then you will have to convert it. Rotors will most likley need to be turned. Also consider what the ~35" tires will do to those 30 year old shafts and hubs and front axle u-joints if you ever try and wheel it.

Also for doing a leaf spring setup you wont need a trac bar, the leafs work well to keep the axle located horizontally.

 

[911customs]

then why does the wagoneer have a trac bar stock?

 

[sn0border88]

A trac bar will help, but its not needed. If you feel like making a trac bar and mount and can figure out the right geometry then go for it. Im just saying if you want to do it cheap you can skip that part.

 

[IZwack]

I think we need to stop discussing and well, for 911customs to start building