Well its sprung under its own weight now. waiting on tires to get here.
Trail Blazer III
Wow, this is pretty impressive. How much travel did you end up getting out of this?
They are 10" Fox 2.5 so should have just under 4 3/4 inches up for sure. Will have to wait till the driveshaft is in to see if I get all o the other 5 1/4 inches down.
Ball joints , Hub bearings, grease everything and some paint today.
Also sat it down on the front. Brake lines are next.
Also sat it down on the front. Brake lines are next.
Downpipe re-clocked . waiting on some wrap to protect that link from heat.
Also re-purposed some nascar handmedowns for a metal power steering reservoir.
Also re-purposed some nascar handmedowns for a metal power steering reservoir.
Enthusiast III
What a sweet build!!! Would love to SAS and diesel swap my Jimmy one day.... an LS swap would probably be easier though!
Advocate I
Wow... all I can say is wow! TDi, SAS 4-door Dakota, awesome. Really looking forward to seeing how it all works. Any plans to tow with it? I wonder if a TDi would push my WJ around well with my ~2800lbs trailer?
-TJ
-TJ
Ive done many different swaps including LS stuff. LS is simple to do and relatively cheap especially in a chevy. Lots of smiles per gallon. Most of the money is in the fuel system. A TDI is a totally different animal done for different goals but can be done for not too much more. But with all the info out there on TDi swaps the difficulty factor has been reduced greatly.
I put just about 100k miles on the swap before I put it down last year for the SAS. Truck is already heavy but it tows a 19ft sea ray. Wont win any races for sure but its a work horse. a sub 3000lbs trailer is no problem.
Advocate I
Awesome, thanks for the reply. What kind of speeds can you hold on ~6% grades? How are ECT and EGT temps climbing w/ the boat?
Thanks,
TJ
I tow in 4th its 1:1 with 4:56 gears. Flat its gonna be in the 1200egt range. On a grade its gonna kiss 1400 by the top of a 1/4 mile if you maintain 55mph. A nwer turbo or compounds would help greatly. I just drop a gear and slow down as with a boat that heavy you dont want to go that fast anyway. This setup is not built to tow constantly above 5000lbs and its the max towfor this truck but I wouldent bat an eye at something under 3000lbs. Keep in mind this truck is about 4700 lbs and I probably added 150 with this SAS. I will weigh it when Its done. O and coolant temps never go above 201. I have over-sized coolers on everything.
Well I drove it down the road today for the first time since last year. I think it might sit higher than I was thinking but first its time to do the rear. Ill start on that tomorrow.
Cut the bumper to clear the tires.
An 05 dakota rear going in. (5x5 matches the front dana44) Emer brake cable is gonna be fun its a little different. Will also need to swap my gears over. Will need a block to level it most likely. This rear is temporary till I build a for 9in for it.
An 05 dakota rear going in. (5x5 matches the front dana44) Emer brake cable is gonna be fun its a little different. Will also need to swap my gears over. Will need a block to level it most likely. This rear is temporary till I build a for 9in for it.
So the 2005 rear is in and here is what stock hight looks like.
But after a shackle flip and and other tricks ,if needed, I will be able to raise the rear 6 inches. The front will come down a half inch I am shooting for. Its gonna sit higher than I wanted but Its not terrible. Definitely will need to get those slider/steps installed sooner.
But after a shackle flip and and other tricks ,if needed, I will be able to raise the rear 6 inches. The front will come down a half inch I am shooting for. Its gonna sit higher than I wanted but Its not terrible. Definitely will need to get those slider/steps installed sooner.
This is the coolest dakota ever! I want to do this to mine, just gotta learn to weld first! Keep making that thing awesome!
8 degree wedges finally came in and installed parking brake cables. Extended the brake hose mount. Just need to bleed brakes extend sway bar links add shocks and it should be drive-able enough to work out the kinks.
Shocks are in and stock sway bar is gonna work jus need to extend the end links an inch and will work fine.
So I drove it today to bed in the brakes and just a road worthy shake down.
And here is full droop on the driver side. You caint tell but tire is off ground. I was adusting the ride hight here.
Tomorrow if I get a chance to work on it Ill go dump the the couple hundred pounds of scrap metal in the bed and then I can work on alignment and the front inner fenders, bump stops and I guess at that point its ready to be a daily again.
So I drove it today to bed in the brakes and just a road worthy shake down.
And here is full droop on the driver side. You caint tell but tire is off ground. I was adusting the ride hight here.
Tomorrow if I get a chance to work on it Ill go dump the the couple hundred pounds of scrap metal in the bed and then I can work on alignment and the front inner fenders, bump stops and I guess at that point its ready to be a daily again.
I am saving up for a mig welder, and a small diesel, i'm thinking a cummins r2.8 4cyl. The truck looks great btw, excited to see how it preforms as a daily and what not.
