SAS / SFA , What is involved?

SomeCrew · Post by **SomeCrew** » Sun Mar 27, 2005 2:27 pm

I really would not mine doing SAS as a project, but that sounds really expensive and time comsuming...

Split topic-HJ

coffeedrnkr · Post by **coffeedrnkr** » Sun Mar 27, 2005 2:37 pm

SomeCrew wrote: but that sounds really expensive and time comsuming...

time consuming........... YES very, I spent a month of almost every free minute I had working on it. even when I wasn't working on it I was researching and ordering parts.

Expensive..........Well yes and no. It depends a lot on wether you do it yourself or not. If you have a shop do it, it will be hella expensive. do it yourself and you could probably get it done for 2g fully working and with a front driveshaft but not including wheels and tires.

SomeCrew · Post by **SomeCrew** » Sun Mar 27, 2005 2:40 pm

Alright, well HJ will probably make a new thread out of this, but I will ask here anywho. What all is involved in a SAS swap? Like parts, work, etc...

AZS10Crew · Post by **AZS10Crew** » Sun Mar 27, 2005 3:37 pm

SomeCrew wrote:Alright, well HJ will probably make a new thread out of this, but I will ask here anywho. What all is involved in a SAS swap? Like parts, work, etc...

New front axle, leaf springs or coilovers depending on which you want, longer driveshaft, dropped steering arm, new shackle mounts welded to the frame (if you do leaf springs), probably re-gear the rear axle or replace it alltogether, extended brake lines. That's just for startters...I'm probably missing a lot of details.

Rusty · Post by **Rusty** » Sun Mar 27, 2005 4:29 pm

AZS10Crew wrote:
SomeCrew wrote:Alright, well HJ will probably make a new thread out of this, but I will ask here anywho. What all is involved in a SAS swap? Like parts, work, etc...

New front axle, leaf springs or coilovers depending on which you want, longer driveshaft, dropped steering arm, new shackle mounts welded to the frame (if you do leaf springs), probably re-gear the rear axle or replace it alltogether, extended brake lines. That's just for startters...I'm probably missing a lot of details.

OK, DJ, I figure I owe you this little "Speach". One more cost nobody ever talks about: If you screw it up, it can cost your entire truck (and possibly your life if it's unsafe)! No kidding. I've been reading a lot over on S10Extremist.org about doing SAS (or some call it SFA). That's a good place to go to learn about the swap because there are a bunch of them that have done it, and lots of pictures, but (if you hunt the archives) you will also read the horror stories of the guys who tried it and ruined their trucks. One of the changes involves cutting ALL the stock brackets off the front and possibly cutting and moving cross members depending on axle clearance so it's irreversible. If you don't like the way the finished truck drives/behaves afterwards, and it WON'T drive like stock, then too bad. You're stuck with it. Like I said, there are a lot of good success stories over there as well. I thought about doing the swap on my Blazer (wife won't let me touch the crew) but changed my mind after I weighed all the pros and cons and realized my Blazer would spend 98% of the time on the street, so drivability and handling become the deciding factors. I decided to leave it mostly stock but might eventually do a 5-6" suspension lift.

Not trying to scare you out of the idea. If you really want to do SAS then go for it, but make SURE it's what you want. That's basically what they told me on S10extremist.org when I started asking about it. They also told me to read everything I could find about doing the swap before I go near the truck with a tool. It sounded like good advice to me so I figure I'd pass along the wisdom!

coffeedrnkr · Post by **coffeedrnkr** » Sun Mar 27, 2005 5:57 pm

We have had this discussion A LOT on zr2.com

This entire thread is about the pros and cons of the solid axle swap and also a list of the people who have done it.

http://forum.zr2.com/ubb/noncgi/ultimat ... forum;f=60

I dont read extreme very often but here is another site that has A LOT of info on the SAS and everything else.

Here is the home page, they have a lot of pictures of solid axle trucks.
http://s104x4.com

Here is the forum
http://s104x4.com/phpbb

SomeCrew · Post by **SomeCrew** » Sun Mar 27, 2005 7:55 pm

Thanks for the info guys!

Its just something that interests me, maybe a project one day down the road when there is nothing else to do with my truck and I am feeling adventurous!

quickbiker · Post by **quickbiker** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 5:09 pm

I like this setup: http://www.angelfire.com/wv2/tech/steering.html

Rusty · Post by **Rusty** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 5:22 pm

quickbiker wrote:I like this setup: http://www.angelfire.com/wv2/tech/steering.html

Now THAT is some serious flex!

Bad_Ass_S10 · Post by **Bad_Ass_S10** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 11:29 pm

I have the same steering setup on my truck but done from the passenger side Steering arm ( acts more like an Idler arm ) instead of putting all the stress on the steering box, but its a good set up

a2b · Post by **a2b** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 2:18 am

if you have shop and tools and fabrication skills and another car to drive, then go for it.

yes, you cant go back to stock, but you can ruin your truck. you can always fix it if you dont do it right the first time. its just steel.