i hope that it was a typo when you said the suspension was definitely done correct, because he has that thing built at blue torch fab, that shop does nothing but top notch work if the suspension wasnt correct it wouldnt of left the shop.


i dont know why you dont like full hydro steering its absolutely amazing how powerful it is. they way things are looking now i will be running full hydro steer on a non wheelin truck. its just something awesome to have.

 

yeah that was a typo... its a great setup.

yes full hydro is amazing ive ran it on buggies and offroad trucks. But dont like it on the road. First its not even legal to run it were im at without a certificate. Have you ran it on the road. doesnt sound like it. The best bet on a street truck is hydro assist. Its much safer than full hydro when on the steet and i just think its a smoother flow when turning. think about it this way, how would you like if a line on your hydro steering busted while driving 70 MPH down the interstate, or taking a turn you would yave NO steering. on a hydro assist you still keep the mechanical steering, geer box and crossover setup will remain the ram will just "assist" the mechanical steering. Therefor if for some reason you loose power to the hydro assist you still have tjhe mechanical steering to help out just fine.

 

there is always the possibility of something going wrong with a set up on anything, what happens if your driving and your steering shaft snaps and you have no steering? problems are going to happen, i just feel if your running such massive tires hydro is a pretty big must.

 

yes Hydro assist... full hydro is not a must for anything. Im not rockcrawling. Im mudding the stock gearing box actually turns the tires with ease.

and If i break my Chromoly Crossover steering shaft im doing something stupid. The steering is made of chromoly tube and hiems. Its not gonna break driving down the road. Thats a garuntee. And it would take hitting something seriously hard offroad to break it there.

 

We need some more pics lol

 

Yeah, trimble's right here. Safety is the reason that pure hydro steering is probably illegal on the street in all 50 states. Can't run it in TX...

You're a LOT more likely to blow a hose or seal than you are to break one of the hard components. Heck, I stalled the engine in an old '76 'Burban w-a-y back before some of ya'll were probably even born I was doing 60mph at the time. I was still able to steer even though the power assist was gone. With hydro only it would have been a wild ride...

 

any pics yet cecil

 

Ill be going down to take a test drive soon. the truck will be done before the 13th so i probably wont post any pictures till the truck is done.

So when the truck is finished ill post the pictures up.

 

4+ months when it's all said and done dude.....

Lesson for everyone w/ any interest in doing this....make sure you have all the parts accumulated before tear down and don't expect everything to get done by schedule. Plan for the worst basically.

Hope it's all done when you get there so we can finally see you move on to the turbo diesel and appearance mods.

 

haha funny thing about it, i couldnt use my truck anyways. bent the torsion bars, cracked the torsion keys. And bent and sheared some of the suspension taps off the frame. So the truck was undriveable to begin with. Fixing the stock suspension would probably have been more expensive and costly.

Truth of the matter, on a swap like this theres NO way to have all the parts needed.

Like when i started all the big parts were there, then the leaf springs were there, then we FINALLY Got the rear springs in. alot of stuff cant be decided till you know what your lookin at.

 

Can't wait to see it all said and done. Gonna be a beast. What is the estimated total cost for the whole swap, if you don't mind me asking?

 

the estimated cost for the SAS or the diesel?

the SAS total cost is under $4,500 Right now its not much more than 4k ive still go to get the second t-case, and front d-shaft made. That will put me at or over $4,500. Now this could be done for ALOT cheaper. $4,500 is including, tires, wheels, both from axle and rear axle swap.

The front can be done for under 1,500 but i did the whole thing and included everything in the cost.

Axles and wheels: $1,500.00
Tires: $350.00
Front springs: $175.00
Rear Springs: $550.00
Rear D-shaft: $220.00
Hanger/crossmember Metal: Depends
DOM Tubing: $8-16 a foot
Chromoly Tubing: $4ish a foot

Everything varies i could have dont this for more or less. I found deals when i could and bought new when i needed too.

The diesel even though its an easy swap, im gonna be sinkin more into that than the suspension. I will be making the motor look like it BELONGS in there not like it was just stuck in there. Ill also have some pump work to do to get up to the power level i need/ want.

 

did you modify any of the crossmembers?

i was looking at my truck a little and was wondering about clearance of the differential. i know its not a clearance issue for you but what if someone did this with a smaller lift like 6-8 inches?

 

thats not bad on the price

 

Imagine on a mechanical steering system, the pitman arm seperates from the gearbox ! I have seen that happen, thankfully on a fireroad going 10-15 mph. Was still bad.

I have seen a rig, doing multiple rollovers during a nasty, nasty "oops". His front axle mounting points on everything broke. Panhard bar, link, shocks, everything. Only thing holding the front axle near the rig when all said and done, was the full hydro lines. They are TOUGH. If you break one, its user error 100% or neglect.
Full hydro is awesome man. Not sure why you have a bad taste about it. I have driven on road, off road, rocks, you name it, and I love it. It does take a bit of a learning curve. You don't steer quite the same.

For legal reasons, I understand. Thats the big issue with street/trail trucks.


And for all you blown away how long this takes.... well, I would say this build is by far, faster then "normal". This huge task takes LOTS and LOTS of time.