[tfpets]

Well as you may recall I was talking about the grand cherokee recently but that whole thing turned into a guy that really didnt want to sell...so in my neverending quest to find a deal on craigslist I ran across this a couple of days ago...



It is a '92 s10 pickup (of course) with a 4.3l and a 5-speed. The guy says it has electric bucket seats from a bravada and the engine has 2500 miles on it...but best of all if you have noticed it has a SFA swap...he tells me it has an 8.8" ford rear end and a dana 30 front...and after talking to him for a couple of days we have decided on a price of $1200...at this point he claims it only needs a front driveline, which he will give me one from a cherokee that needs to be cut down a couple inches...he says he is selling it because he got into tuner cars and has no intrest in finishing this...he wants the money for his honda or something like that...so hopefully all goes well and it will be in my driveway tonight!!

[bzmarsh]

tfpets, on Sep 26 2007, 10:25 AM, said:

Well as you may recall I was talking about the grand cherokee recently but that whole thing turned into a guy that really didnt want to sell...so in my neverending quest to find a deal on craigslist I ran across this a couple of days ago...

Excellent start, sounds like a good deal! Appears to need a bit of lowering...and trimming...

[toyoder]

looks like a good deal

[76 Patriot]

Cool! Now you have truck with little donut tuner mitsubishi tires too! I'm surprised BZ didn't comment on this. LOL

Excellent deal. What are the plans for mods?

[tfpets]

Well I just got back from the bank and took out a line of credit to put this together and fix my 2000 dodge...I would imagine it will go pretty quick as far as wheels, tires, locker(s), plus whatever cheese I have to work out of it...I am going to have to decide if Im going to run 33's or 35's...I dont want to get to carried away with the d30...I will have to see what the steering setup is like and upgrade accordingly...I will also have to deal with the front vaccum system for engage/disengage...I would imagine i will get some manual hubs eventually but we will see...I dont know a whole lot about the jeep stuff so im sure there will be a learning curve...for the moment I would like to get it ready for snow season!!

[MOTOGIZZI]

SWEEET!!! its not a ranger but i guess ill have to come wheeling with you anyway!!! good luck and lets go have some fun!!!!!

so on the tires i wouldn't go much larger than 33 if you wan't to drive it much, the d30 wheel bearings have to be checked/possable packed every 3000mi or so if you go to a 35 tire. check the stearing box he may have upgraded to the yota box if so they are awsome! well if you have anymore questions let me know i have alot of info on the ford stuff ie everything from the frame down!! oh and upgrade your hubs soon depending on the year/ modle(ford) of a d30 they are ####! well let me know and happy wheeling!

This post has been edited by MOTOGIZZI: 26 September 2007 - 06:21 PM

[toyoder]

tfpets, on Sep 26 2007, 02:33 PM, said:

Well I just got back from the bank and took out a line of credit to put this together and fix my 2000 dodge...I would imagine it will go pretty quick as far as wheels, tires, locker(s), plus whatever cheese I have to work out of it...I am going to have to decide if Im going to run 33's or 35's...I dont want to get to carried away with the d30...I will have to see what the steering setup is like and upgrade accordingly...I will also have to deal with the front vaccum system for engage/disengage...I would imagine i will get some manual hubs eventually but we will see...I dont know a whole lot about the jeep stuff so im sure there will be a learning curve...for the moment I would like to get it ready for snow season!!

SWEET WE NEED SOME BETTER PICS NOW :-

[bzmarsh]

76 Patriot, on Sep 26 2007, 12:51 PM, said:

Cool! Now you have truck with little donut tuner mitsubishi tires too! I'm surprised BZ didn't comment on this. LOL

Awright awright...let it go... :P

[tfpets]

well after getting it home last night and having a better look at it this morning it certainly has a lot to be done still...It runs and drives as is but the steering setup is a joke...looking into the subject I have vaguely come to the conclusion that the stock jeep steering is a bolt in for an s10 with a jeep drop pitman arm...I dont know if anyone on here has anything that might be of help but I will be looking for the rod from the pitman arm to the tie rod (not sure what the term for that is)...I hope that will solve a lot of the problem.

[toyoder]

tfpets, on Sep 27 2007, 03:23 PM, said:

well after getting it home last night and having a better look at it this morning it certainly has a lot to be done still...It runs and drives as is but the steering setup is a joke...looking into the subject I have vaguely come to the conclusion that the stock jeep steering is a bolt in for an s10 with a jeep drop pitman arm...I dont know if anyone on here has anything that might be of help but I will be looking for the rod from the pitman arm to the tie rod (not sure what the term for that is)...I hope that will solve a lot of the problem.

drag link?

[Onkover]

Quote

I don't know a whole lot about the jeep stuff so I'm sure there will be a learning curve...

I got your ahead of the curve right here!! 8|

D30... treads in my territory. I have proved that if you polish a turd long enough it will at least get you through the con. Running the 36's on the D30 is real hard on it. Stick with 33's for now. Does the front end have the vacuum junk? If so then it is a quick fix that gives you another knob to pull inside the cab. These guys have been making these for quite some time and have to say... cost more then I expected. The system can be had at THIS site for a bit cheaper then from the manufacture. I don't have one a vac system in my axle...92. That axle is between the years of 84-91, if indeed out of an XJ. OR

If you get yourself a whole passenger side shaft then just bolt a cover over the whole in the axle tube and you have eliminated the vacuum junk. I think I have one laying around??? not sure :-

Bearings. With 33's you shouldn't be to bad if the axle is set properly. They are a unit bearing hub that will take a big beating on 31's but starts to stress after 33's. The axle shafts are what most people worry about with the D30. The shafts the selfs are small and the u-joint.. forget it. Costly route is what I did to feel better about the axle shafts... I replaced them with Cromo's. Cheaper then that would be to just beef up with stocker shafts. Most D30's came with a Spicer 260x -1.06"wide cap. The other option is a 297x - 1.187" Cap. Sure you have to find the shafts in a junk yard but that should be from 95 and up... think :>

As for the drag link... just last week I took 2 0f them to the dump. Thing is they pit the ball joint at the knuckle on the drag link itself. Ball joint goes and the drag link is done. At Quadratec there is 2 part numbers. 56118.11 is 84-90 at $40. this is the one I think you need. The other # is 56118.12 for $65. this one is for years 91-01.

I would shoot in the dark and think you have 3.55 gears.

Anyhoo enough for now about that.

I can already see a exo on that truck!! :rules:

[tfpets]

Wow thats alot of info!! I was told that the d30 and the ford 8.8 have 3.73 gears but I have yet to check it...it does have the vaccum system on it but im not sure how it works...as of now it seems like I cant get the passenger side to disengage...the vaccum pod has 3 vaccum fittings on it so I dont know how it works?...but as of now NO PICTURES!! this thing is so emberassing I never even took pictures before I ripped it apart...I got the axle and leaf springs out last night and found out the front perches were welded in WAY off center...im not talking 1/4 inch or something...it was about 1 1/2 inches off center to the drivers side...so this morning I ground everything off, and starting all over again...also ended up at the junkyard looking for some springs that will work with the way it was put together...ended up with some jeep cherokee rear leaves...I dont know how they will do for flex or holding the front but the main leaf is exactly what I need so I can build the pack from there if neccesary...but anyway I got the new front perches fabbed up and welded up, and tommorow the idea is to get the rear perches fabbed and hopefuly put together enough to hold its own weight so I can figure out the shackle angle...so maybe I will be comfortable with posting some pics after that...while I was at the junkyard I did notice that the yj steering setup will be much more suited to my aplication...the best I can tell it has cherokee steering(sort of) in it right now...I would have collected some parts except all of the ones that were out there were wrecked and twisted...but I have a better idea what I need now...Ill see how it goes tommorow and write a new journal entry then...LOL

[MOTOGIZZI]

sooo how are things looking?

[tfpets]

Well this is certainly a learning experience...at this point we got the front and rear perches built and installed...they came out great...this is definetly a job that will wear out the best of tape measures!!...I was doing some research and couldnt get an exact answer as to what shackle angles would work good for what im after...I read some saying about 30* at ride height and some as far as 45* at ride height...well I set it up to about 45* and it just looks to steep in my opinion so I backed it off to about 38-40 at ride height...this will be determined in the end by what I get out of my spring packs...of course the stock xj rear springs are not strong enough alone but I have some full size chevy springs that I am going to borrow a leaf from and try to get closer...at this point Im thinking (hoping) the chevy leaf and a short add-a-leaf will get it right...but tonight was full of ups and downs but fortunately ended on an up...I got all of the components to hook up the steering...First I got a 92 yj 4" drop pitman arm and a stock drag link setup and guess what?!!It wont work...the drag link is hitting the spring (DUH!)...at this point in the front end of this thing you can think of it like a really tall YJ spring over axle swap...so I got on the internet and explored my options...First thing I came across was a Dana 30 high steer knuckle that runs $289 plus shipping which isnt bad until you read the disclaimer that it will require the use a longer drag link and tie rod...well that ups the price a whole lot getting custom peices like that...so at that point I was kinda bummed and wondering what I got myself into, until I came across something else... http://www.goestores.com/image.aspx?storen...;ItemID=9960394 ...that is EXACTLY what I need...it may not be the ideal solution like a high steer but at this point it is about getting it on the road (or off) and seeing how it is going to do...they do have an online order form for it but I am going to wait for morning and give them a call so I can get a feel for the company and ask them how long it will take to ship etc...but there is plenty of other work to do while I wait for that...I noticed in the rear the previous owner welded the new perches on and did an ok job but obviously realized later that there is such a thing as pinion angle!...so to fix it he put in some angled shims...I guess thats alright but why not do it right to begin with...so I am going to cut it back apart and do it right...and then I have to build a new crossmember for the transfercase/tranny mount...on the S-10's the original one runs right in front of the t-case and will not allow for any angle on the driveline (since it doesnt need any with the stock IFS)...so to fix it I have to put the new one behind it...well thats enough for tonight...hopefully in the next couple days and especially the weekend I will have more to report!!

[76 Patriot]

tfpets, on Oct 1 2007, 10:31 PM, said:

...until I came across something else... http://www.goestores.com/image.aspx?storen...;ItemID=9960394 ...that is EXACTLY what I need...

I am running a Z drag link on mine right now, until I get my high-steer done. I have another one I will give you if it will work for ya. You'll need to put new ends on it and maybe even shorten it, but it's yours if you want to experiment before you buy.

Let me know.

Oh yeah, one more thing. On setting up the rear pinion angle; I kind of had the same problem when I did mine. As recommended, I set the pinion pointing at the transmission output shaft. What I didn't realize until later is this is recommended in addition to using a CV style or double-cardan drive shaft. I had to put shims in mine as well to add downward angle in an attempt to alleviate the vibration. It helped, but it's not ideal. Just a thought.

This post has been edited by 76 Patriot: 01 October 2007 - 10:27 PM

[tfpets]

76 Patriot, on Oct 1 2007, 11:09 PM, said:

I am running a Z drag link on mine right now, until I get my high-steer done. I have another one I will give you if it will work for ya. You'll need to put new ends on it and maybe even shorten it, but it's yours if you want to experiment before you buy.

Let me know.

Oh yeah, one more thing. On setting up the rear pinion angle; I kind of had the same problem when I did mine. As recommended, I set the pinion pointing at the transmission output shaft. What I didn't realize until later is this is recommended in addition to using a CV style or double-cardan drive shaft. I had to put shims in mine as well to add downward angle in an attempt to alleviate the vibration. It helped, but it's not ideal. Just a thought.

This isnt at that steep of an angle to need a cv or double whatsahoozie...the problem it has now is they welded the perches on for the pinion to point straight ahead and it needed to point up a little bit...thats where the shims came in...it is still a little shallow with the shims right now, so I will need to go a little beyond that even, but it already works well...so how much of a drop is the link you are running?? I have measured mine and it will need every bit of the 6" drop...but according to my measurements this one will be perfect! thanks for the offer though!! If you lived in chico and I could grab it real quick I would use it for mock up but redding is a long drive!!!

[76 Patriot]

The one I'm running is about an 8" drop. I'm not sure about the other.

I have a delivery truck going to Oroville tomorrow. I can have the driver drop it off for you.

You might still have my cell #, give me a call by 8:30 a.m. or PM me and it's a done deal.

[tfpets]

Actually it turns out we will be in redding this afternoon/evening!! I still have your number on my cell so I can give you a call...let me know if this works for you!!

[76 Patriot]

tfpets, on Oct 3 2007, 06:57 AM, said:

Actually it turns out we will be in redding this afternoon/evening!! I still have your number on my cell so I can give you a call...let me know if this works for you!!

Either way is ok with me. I'm at work 'til 5:00 and I'll take it to work with me. I work about 2 blocks from I-5. Work # is 221-8132.

[tfpets]

76 Patriot, on Oct 3 2007, 07:03 AM, said:

Either way is ok with me. I'm at work 'til 5:00 and I'll take it to work with me. I work about 2 blocks from I-5. Work # is 221-8132.

Thank you Patriot for the drag link...it is WAY to long but just holding it up there I know it will work...