SAS people. Please read. | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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SAS people. Please read.

ahhjaws

Moab Edition Explorer
Joined
March 27, 2002
Messages
2,942
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City, State
Ft. Collins, CO
Year, Model & Trim Level
1992 Explorer XLT
Hey, I have a question. How long did it take for you to complete this process? The front and rear? Did you do it yourself or a shop? Did you have any help?

How long would it take for myself, not knowing too much with some help from a mechanic and some people who know about as much as I do?

I asked one of the mechanics at the shop I work for how long he would think it would take to complete it. He said just the front would take a week! I would think it would take that long. I mean really it not THAT much work, is it? Taking the TTB apart (not hard), put the D44 on. I would think aligning the control arms and steering would be hardest but really that long? I thought it would be worth just him doing it since I don't trust myself but I have to pay his wages if I do that. A week is a lot of $$$.
 



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Well, I have never done it, but a good rule of thumb is... Things will always take longer than you think and will cost way more than you plan for. If you dont have ALL the parts and/or the money to do it all at once then I could see it taking months.
 






It all depends on what you want. If you're just going for the EB setup, using all off-the-shelf parts for an EB, which has been done many times before, I could see it taking less than 40 hours of actual work. I would think that it would take longer than that timeline wise, because you'd be waiting on some little part you forgot about, or another part didn't work quite right.

Now If you wanted a custom 4 link suspension, I could see 40 hours of work going into just mocking up the first test setup and testing it out.
 






waiting sucks, I know, still waiting on more parts and $$

Don't think you can do this in a few weekends, that's what O thought, and here I am, almost 3 moths later, still fine tuning. Research is key, and the hardest part, is steering, find out what you need before hand, and get all the parts. Don't try to skimp out on stupid things, better spendng a little more right off the bat, save a lot of headache
 






So maybe I'll let them do it have them order all the parts, I have most, but I don't know all the things I will need.
 






When I did my SAS, I was the 2nd on this board behind Rick. I chose a non-custom, EB -type setup for simplicity. I had a local shop do the work because I had no time or space, but lot's of $ (working for a dot com....). I was charged $1200 to re and re the axles. This included:

- tearing apart my TTB
- bolting, fabricating brackets for radius arms and trackbar
- steering
- installing coils, shocks, etc

Not cheap, but a fair price for the work. Don't let them charge by the hour, get a firm quote.
 






tiessen, did that include parts by any chance, or was that just labor?

How long did it take for them to complete it?
 






If you go with an EB axle, have the steering built by CoryL. It costs the same as buying new Bronco parts and is much better. Also - I expected 8 weekends. It will take 12-14 weekends to complete. That's not working sun up to sun down - only working until I get punchy. Right now I am waiting on the steering then I can road test - or off-road test...

J
 






Originally posted by ahhjaws
tiessen, did that include parts by any chance, or was that just labor?

How long did it take for them to complete it?

Labor only. I supplied the axle, radius arms, trac bar, brackets, etc.

Mine was an F150 axle, so I shortened it. They also shortened my steering.

Truck was in shop 2 weeks. That included shortening the housing, axleshafts, new rear axles from Dutchman, new gears front and back and rebuilding the front end (not included in the $1200).

Essentially, I paid $5000 out the door, including new gears installed, rebuilt Trac Loc, Dutchman rear axles, tires mounted and balanced on new rims, front end rebuilt and installed.

Cheers
Dale
 






How much does the CoryL charge? What all is included? I hoping to try and get ALL the parts first, then maybe it won't take AS long to work on it.
 






I am getting a custom drag link and tie rod assembly with 3/4" heim joints for about $400. If you bought all of that seperately for a '75 bronco it would run a tad more. This steering system will have much less bumpsteer too...

J
 






So everything I should need:

Axles (duh)
control arms from donor EB (maybe frame brakets too?)
steering assembly from CoryL
Coil springs I got from you FMExplorer
Stuff for SOA in rear

Would I need to extend my drive shafts?

What else do I need to add?(or delete?)
 






I don't know about your states laws, but I know that Heims are illegal on steering compents in NJ (surprise, surprise) I have also heard from several people, in the racing performance field, and the 4x4 shop that Heims have a tendancy to wear out quickly, just a heads up
 






Heims need constant lubrication. You would have to spray them everyday.
 






Jaws,
You're gonna need shock mounts from an ealry '90's F250 to replace the explorer mounts - that is if you want more suspension travel. You can use the existing mounts, but you will have less travel from the smaller shock.

J
 






Alright, so shock mounts, anything else?

And about the heims? Will I really need to spray them everyday? Are they really that fragile? Is there any other way to get around that? Sorry, this is still going to be my daily driver for a little while more.
 






same here, that's why I'm not using Heims. Everyone I've tlked to says to go with regular tie rod ends for steering, will hold up much better, but I'm going to use heims for my trac bar, I think, but I'm may still use bushings
 






So, would I be able to use the tie rods from the Donor EB? Along with the rest of the steering setup?
 






I would bet Cory could make you a steering setup with regular joints. The problem I ran into was the drag link was at too steep of an angle. When at maximum flex, the drag link would be almost perpendicular - meaning little ability to turn...

J
 



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Heims are the way to go in my opinion. Some are totally rebuild able which is what i'm using on my truck. Plus, there is no bushing to wear out. So what if you have to spray them. I'm not sure that everyday is needed, but heck, i think it's worth it for something that is that tough. If Cory didn't run them all over his truck, then i wouldn't run them on mine.
 






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