[tfpets]

Some of you on here have met my brother Keith on a few runs...on the March 7th snow run (when patriot went) he got sick of the IFS on his blazer and decided to go solid axle...since we had done it to my truck his wasnt going to be a problem at all and we knew a few areas that could be improved on...so I will try to tell the story with a few pics we managed to get in the frenzy of it all...

This is the axle...a d30 from an 87 YJ with 4:11 gears...also came across another s10 axle with 4:11 gears, so we did a spring over axle swap on both of them with rubicon express perches...

After getting mine done I came across some info on a guy making what he calls a raised steering bracket for the yj...Keith decided to give it a try and this is how it goes...







It also bolts in with 2 of the hub bolts on the backside like this...(after doing keiths I wanted one also, so I ditched the z-link and these 2 pics are installed on my truck)

[tfpets]

So after a couple of days of solid work and not a single picture (DOH!) it got pushed out of the garage for a couple of pictures and some perspective...

This is keiths idea for upper shock mounts...they came out great!


Then on thursday we came across some 35x12.50 mt tires in sacramento...so we took a ride down there after work and picked these up for $175...what a deal!! He had them mounted on his new cragar soft 8's the next morning!


So this is how it sits now...still have a few things to button up but it should be drivable soon (maybe tommorow night)...the brakes are fully functional and the rear driveline is finished...it will still need some exaust work to clear the front driveline and we will have to build a new crossmember to clear the front driveline but all of that is just copying mine so its no big deal...but it should be on the road really soon...anyway here is a pic of it in the garage...we need to figure out how to get it out??

[tfpets]

BTW this is what it looked like after he bought it...and then after we got the lift and tires on...(the dates on the pics are wrong)

This post has been edited by tfpets: 07 April 2008 - 09:38 PM

[tfpets]

Have a few more pics...these first few show why we needed to change transfer cases...we found that the earlier s10s had the shorter output/yolk and the newer (92 and up we think) had the bigger/longer one...



This is how you make jeep wheels (5x4.5) fit on an s10 axle...


and this is what the blazer looked like when he drove it out of the garage tonight!

[tonyb22]

dude the blazer is look bad ass :headbanger:

[rsc71]

nice work guys!

[bzmarsh]

Woosh. Lotta work in a short time. You should document it a bit more thoroughly (for publication) and send it in to one of the 4x4 mags. They're always crying over how difficult it is to swap in solid axles.

Great work!

[tfpets]

We always wish we had taken more pics at the end of things like this, but it doesnt cross my mind until its done...But after doing 2 of them now we have the method and tricks down...we might just have to do tinas blazer now!! LOL! There are still a few things to do on it but it should be on the street in a couple of days...

[tfpets]

Got a bunch of the loose ends taken care of tonight and took it for a ride...took it slow at first and everything felt great so we ended up getting it to about 65 and still drives great...no funny vibrations or noises, just smooth sailing...He may try to take it home tommorow and drive it around town...anyone who has been here knows there is nothing but Hwy 32 between here and chico so he will have to be comfortable enough with it for that!...but so far it feels better than mine ever has (mostly due to the tires) :headbanger:

[76 Patriot]

That should net a little more wheel travel :headbanger:

Are you guys planning on leaving the body lift installed? It looks really tall. How's the body roll in the turns?

[Billy D.]

Looks good
I just gave my son my 88 S-10 blazer there are a couple of things that need to be squared away on it then I will see if he want's to do a sas on it

[tfpets]

So I guess I hijacked another thread with this news so I figured I should put it where it belongs...The subject blazer of this thread is destroyed...Hit by a drunk driver that ran a red light...bent and twisted the body pretty bad and we are pretty sure the frame is pushed to the side at least an inch, maybe more...so we were going over the options to fix it or replace it and switch everything over to another blazer...got to checking craigslist and came across a very nice '92 4-door blazer with a blown motor in sacramento...talked to the kid and he was asking $800 but he had to get it out of the neighborhood soon, so we talked him down to $400 if we came and got it last night...so we did!...got it home at about 11:30 last night and work may begin today...The red blazer only had 90,000 original miles so the engine is in good shape and will drop right into the new one...anyway here are some pics of the wrecked one and I will get some of the new blazer posted up in a little while!!

This post has been edited by tfpets: 10 May 2008 - 06:43 AM

[toyoder]

that sucks man Do you guys plan on doing anything differant this time ?

[tfpets]

Nope not really...it might get done MUCH faster this time though...this will be #3 so we are getting good at it!! Why? Any suggestions?

Oh and Ive had a request for more pics...so if anyone wants to come do that they are welcome!!

This post has been edited by tfpets: 10 May 2008 - 07:01 AM

[tfpets]

Things are moving along a little slow for my liking but we are gaining a little momentum...Managed to start work on it on sunday and got the front crossmember built and attached...(lots of pics coming soon!) and last night after work we dissasembled the entire front IFS, removed the front diff and removed all of the steering...we HOPE to have the original front crossmember cut out, the rear hanger pads built and installed and the front axle out of the red blazer tonight...and then maybe have the d30 under the new blazer tommorow night...hopefully by friday we will have the SAS finished (brakes, shocks, steering) and be able to concentrate on switching engines on saturday...I will try to keep the camera handy and get lots of pics...MAYBE, HOPEFULLY, we can go on a shake down run at some point over memorial weekend!!

[radardog]

tfpets, on May 13 2008, 12:09 PM, said:

Things are moving along a little slow for my liking but we are gaining a little momentum...Managed to start work on it on sunday and got the front crossmember built and attached...(lots of pics coming soon!) and last night after work we dissasembled the entire front IFS, removed the front diff and removed all of the steering...we HOPE to have the original front crossmember cut out, the rear hanger pads built and installed and the front axle out of the red blazer tonight...and then maybe have the d30 under the new blazer tommorow night...hopefully by friday we will have the SAS finished (brakes, shocks, steering) and be able to concentrate on switching engines on saturday...I will try to keep the camera handy and get lots of pics...MAYBE, HOPEFULLY, we can go on a shake down run at some point over memorial weekend!!

i am no expert, but you guys may want to swap the engine before you lift it... may make things a little easier ya know??

[toyoder]

tfpets, on May 10 2008, 07:59 AM, said:

Nope not really...it might get done MUCH faster this time though...this will be #3 so we are getting good at it!! Why? Any suggestions?

Oh and Ive had a request for more pics...so if anyone wants to come do that they are welcome!!

no suggestions it looked good the first time you did it on yours and even better the second so i was just wondering what the third time will look like were is the pics :-

[tfpets]

radardog, on May 13 2008, 05:43 PM, said:

i am no expert, but you guys may want to swap the engine before you lift it... may make things a little easier ya know??

In theory you are correct...in reality, after it is lifted there is no more IFS in the way, no more front diff in the way, and access to the bottom of the engine is amazing...dealing with a little more height is much easier!...We managed to get everything done that was planned last night...no more original front crossmember, no more d30 under the red blazer and the rear hanger pads are done...so tonight we hang the springs and maybe get the axle under it...I dont want to rush this part because the placement of the springs is crucial, but if they line up and center up easy, it could be a roller tonight!...the pics will be coming as soon as I get a chance, but we work on cars all day and then come home and work on cars, usually until about 10 p.m...

[tfpets]

So after a quick night tonight it is now a roller!! Actually a driver even (e-brake only!)...We decided to call it a night early so we can get ready for the long weekend ahead!...Plan on pulling the engine from the new one tommorow night, pulling the engine from the red one EARLY saturday morning, and have the rest of saturday to install it in the new one...then no telling what will happen on sunday!!...Anyway here are the pictures up to this point...

The new victim!!

Work on day 1 Sunday:

[tfpets]

Day 2 Monday:
(original front crossmember)

(a pile of IFS)


Day 3 Tuesday: