sport track dana 30 sas project

[atvfred]

I definitely could have it allot lower than current with this exact setup. I wanted allot of up travel beside I like going fast. I have about 6"up and 6"down travel. The truck would still work very well 2 or 3 inches lower. I would just loose some of the go fast up travel.

 

[atvfred]

here are a couple pics of the roof rack that I built out of conduit. it bolts to the factory roof rail mounting points. the two boxes are locked in and hold tools and recovery gear.

 

[2TimingTom]

Is your axle sleeved? I see it's not trussed.

 

[atvfred]

Sleeved yes and knuckle gussets

 

[atvfred]

So i decided to experiment with new rear springs. I started with 2 upper 1998 f150 springs, then one ford explorer leaf and then a stack of super thin jeep yj springs. I then rearched them majorly to go back to spring under and still keep 6" of lift. I also extended my rear shackle by 3".

This picture is at ride height running a 12" bilstien 5100. As you can see i have about 6" of up travel

This pic is at full droop

This pic is at full compression

I also decided to Install some daystar stinger bump stops at the same time

Some may ask why i went back to spring under. Simple fact. The amount of flex i had was constantly making my springs go into negative arch which eventually led to a broken main leaf on the trail. I also wanted to draw some tips from the desert racing guys. Spring under is the way to go for long travel and speed. These springs preform really well and are very plush and as you can see they do not go into negative arch any longer. Although i did lose a bit of ground clearance but I'm working on some high clearance ubolt plates to help solve that. Might be hard to tell but i also relocated my upper shock mounts to get them as close to the box as possible to be able to run the 12" travel shock. I will also be building some new shackles soon to gain more down travel as the shock will do allow another 2". I also welded a fishplate on the frame were the bump stop is installed.

 

[atvfred]

So after all that work I sold my truck last week. Good news is that I bought another one. This one is a 2005 with heated leather seats, moon roof, and disc brake rear end. Better news is I will be doing an sas swap in the new rig. With the things I have learned from the last rig I will be building a mail order production sas kit. Stay tuned as I will be starting a new thread soon.

 

[Flash Gordan]

Are you going to do the ford/jeep adaptation on the new truck as well?

 

[atvfred]

Yes I will be, but we will also be building a kit to use ford dana 44 from bronco and f150, radius arm solid axle dana 44

 

[OffTrac]

You'd be the first to come through on that claim. Can't wait to see the new build. I thought the last one was great.

 

[atvfred]

Sneak peak at the new 3 link kit. so far 7 bolts holding this one peice bracket on, all using factory frame holes. Transmission crossmember and belly skid coming soon

 

[theluke19]

Very clean - if you mass produce these.. you will make a lot of people here VERY happy!

 

[2TimingTom]

This needs to happen. The Explorer is a great platform with a solid front axle. We need more people to get SAS'd.

 

[OffTrac]

This needs to happen. The Explorer is a great platform with a solid front axle. We need more people to get SAS'd.

Agree. The learning curve to get it dialed in right is too steep for me right now. Bolt on fits my life right now better. I don't think I'm alone in this. I wish hand building an off road truck was a higher priority in life right now but it's not. I'll get there but it's not a priority, it's a hobby. I think there's enough Explorer owners in my same position that find a bolt on application desirable. I have been starting to consider a temporary coilover solution to hold me over because it is less fabrication and adjusting.

 

[atvfred]

Thanks for the support and feedback guys. I had 4 wisdom teeth pulled today so I will not be working on it all weekend sadly. More pics to come next week.

 

[atvfred]

Some more progress on the new build

 

[ProjectAviator]

Fred,
Any more info you can give for the Ranger brake upgrade for the D30. What needs to be modified on the D30 knuckle, Etc. I have a D30 already and would like to keep my ABS on my 98 Explorer.

Tim

 

[atvfred]

Not much more than what I posted. Easiest thing to do is bolt up your ford wheel bearing to the jeep knuckle, drop on the ford brake rotor (after you cut the 2 ears off the knuckle which you will see are in the way for the rotor to fit) after you have the ears cut off the knuckle, and the brake rotor set in place, then take your ford brake caliper and mock it into place and find where you need to drill the 2 holes. I honestly could have both steering knuckles modified for the ford brakes in an hour, so easy once you have everything mocked up.

 

[atvfred]

Here is a link to my new build https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=438774