I am currently working on an engine swap into my 98 Silverado. The engine of choice is an Isuzu 4BD1-T. Not only does the front differential fight with the starter for space, But solid axle's are the BOMB! So an SAS it is.
At first I was planning on just buying a kit from a company such as ORU or the like. Not because I am not confident in my fab skills but because at the time I just didn't know enough and wasn't sure about the geometry of it all. Well I've decided to get over that and the last couple months of studying I've become a little more confident that It shouldn't be too much of a hassle to build myself. I am a certified welder and do fabrication for a living so I should have no problem building the stuff, but there are still some things I'm wondering about.
So just a little bit of into, I plan on doing a Dana 44 just because I'm trying to keep this thing as close to half ton as possible. It's just the whole theme of a "half ton diesel" that I'm going for. And I plan on doing leafsprings just for the slimpicity.
Now to my questions.
Is there anything special I should know about the geometry? I've aways heard things about making sure to move the axle foward a bit, but I'm not sure if this is just for linked suspensions or it's something that should be done with leaf's too. what about things like shackle angle, or angle of the springs front to back? Is there anything I should know about that? Is there any special place for shocks? I've seen them in a couple different locations but I'm not sure why or how to choose where to put them.
Ok now about the springs themselves. What ones would be good to use? Is there a factory spring I could get out of the junkyard that would provide a decent ride and are the right size? What about droop over time, is there somehow I can take factory springs out of the junkyard and have them "recurved" if that is the word? Is doing that worth the money or is there a nice set of aftermarket springs the meet the same requirement and aren't gonna break the bank?
Ok one last question while where at it. Is there a way to convert the Dana 44 to 8 lug GM bolt pattern?
Thank you so much for actually reading the whole thing and helping out with the questions with you do.
At first I was planning on just buying a kit from a company such as ORU or the like. Not because I am not confident in my fab skills but because at the time I just didn't know enough and wasn't sure about the geometry of it all. Well I've decided to get over that and the last couple months of studying I've become a little more confident that It shouldn't be too much of a hassle to build myself. I am a certified welder and do fabrication for a living so I should have no problem building the stuff, but there are still some things I'm wondering about.
So just a little bit of into, I plan on doing a Dana 44 just because I'm trying to keep this thing as close to half ton as possible. It's just the whole theme of a "half ton diesel" that I'm going for. And I plan on doing leafsprings just for the slimpicity.
Now to my questions.
Is there anything special I should know about the geometry? I've aways heard things about making sure to move the axle foward a bit, but I'm not sure if this is just for linked suspensions or it's something that should be done with leaf's too. what about things like shackle angle, or angle of the springs front to back? Is there anything I should know about that? Is there any special place for shocks? I've seen them in a couple different locations but I'm not sure why or how to choose where to put them.
Ok now about the springs themselves. What ones would be good to use? Is there a factory spring I could get out of the junkyard that would provide a decent ride and are the right size? What about droop over time, is there somehow I can take factory springs out of the junkyard and have them "recurved" if that is the word? Is doing that worth the money or is there a nice set of aftermarket springs the meet the same requirement and aren't gonna break the bank?
Ok one last question while where at it. Is there a way to convert the Dana 44 to 8 lug GM bolt pattern?
Thank you so much for actually reading the whole thing and helping out with the questions with you do.