Project 91Xplodr

[EXPLODER1991]

Hey all,

Hey, great site, by far the best out there. I love the pics, will be posting some soon but until then, here's the deal: purchased 91 exploder xlt 4x4 with 6" suspension lift and 3" body. Great price, engine and tranny great, body, blah blah blah. After replacing shift motor on tc, and auto hubs, I still have issues I want to get rid of. Rear leaves are UNDER the axle, steering is freaky on anything over 35 mph ( no beef-up/dropping of steering components, etc.), buckling during turning, factory bumpers, have 33 12.50's now, but looking at some 35's. my question(s) are these: I have done a little homework, and, correct me if I am wrong, I have found if you flip flop the shock mounts on the rear--right to left, left to right, they will work fine; the tranny leaks out all your transmission fluid when running hot on beaches due to the design of the muffler system going right by the rear main seal to the tranny in extreme heat ( that was actually personal experience), steering and buckling should be attacked by pitman arms and/or longer radius arms; how much do I need to trim to fit 35's on this thang too. This is my first 4x4 and even with all these issues, I am still very impressed about what I've taken this truck through on some bald dunlop radial rovers!!! I can only imagine what 35's, leaf over axle swap, and some steering upgrades would do for me. Am also looking at what I believe was a push button air locker, which seems to have gotten great reviews as far as small pieces to break. Do I sound like I am on the right track, and if so what do you guys recommend I do. We're looking at about $5000. Thanx.

 

[Rhett]

Your truck has 6" of suspension lift without a spring over axle! !!! Pretty cool, I've never heard of that much lift without spring-over-axle, you must have some really long shackles back there.

 

[410Fortune]

Why not? They make 6" leaf packs that will lift a spring under axle without converting it to spring over. Or you could do a 4" leaf with a 2" shackle, etc etc.


To answer your questions:
The A4LD auto tranny usually leaks from the front pump seal (out the bellhousing) due to heat or excessive torque converter run out.
The shift solenoids are too close to the exhaust, but a simple heat guard can be fabricated to help.

I assume you are planning to convert the rear to spring over axle, there are many posts on this site about how to do this best.
You can bolt the shocks to the axle where the sway bar used to be, that works out nicely on an Ex.

Get a 2" drop pitman arm for your steering and a stabilizer helps a great deal. They may call it a 4 or 6" drop pitman but in reality it's a 2" drop.

Extended radius arms are a must for any 6" lift, if you dont have extended radius arms then you are not improving the suspension with the lift, only lifting the body/frame really.

Also check to see that you have extended brake lines.

35's will require quite a bit of trimming with your 6" suspension, depending on the brand of tires, the wheels you use, and the brand of lift. You can always use cut out flares or fiberglass to clear them, i recommend not using a body lift for clearance, but thats just me

Personally I love my ARB air locker, and for the front diff ARB ios the only company that makes a selecatable locker for your truck. For the rear you can choose between the new Electric locker, an ARB, and even a cable operated OX locker I believe. There are many options for you if you dont need a selectable type locker

 

[EXPLODER1991]

Hey guys, thanks for the feedback. You hit the nail on the head, actually I already have a buddy that works at a steel shop that is going to try to make something work with what I've showed him as far as a heat shield. Yeah, the springs under axle blew my mind too, but apparently they just added a couple leaves and it's a stretch, it really looks terrible, I almost hate driving in front of anyone with any kind of lift, because I'm sure they're like, look how that moron did his lift, but oh well, I'll take care of it and see who laughs last on the trail!!!
I haven't really noticed if the brake lines were too short, when I work on the front end everything seems to be fine---actually, come to think of it, I can recall sometimes, after turning corners, I can step on the brakes, and it will pull to one side. But, if I'm just on a straight path, it won't pull at all even with hands off the wheel. That is a very good point, you must've done the Jedi mind trick on me, because I was wondering about that, and it makes perfect sense. So, gotcha, radius arms and a drop pitman arm. I'll look through a few more good articles before I make a decision on the lockers. Thanks again for all of your help. Any other comments are greatly appreciated as well.