should i go solid axel swap?

ive been contemplating if i should go to a full solid axel on my truck or not.

96 ext cab z71

would it make it a rough ride on the highway?

i just cant decide, i will have a ton of power and i dont want to be snapping front half shafts, i plan on 35 to 36 inch tires. i wont be going thru extreme off road stuff, rock climbing or anything but i do want it to be a tough truck.

i would probably go with a moderate grip tire so its somewhat smooth on the road, nothing like a bogger or anything, i dont want to make it a strictly off road vehicle. whats your advice?

if your not doin nothin extreme and only 35s i'd say not worth the time and money unless you jus wanna say you got it. as long as you keep your CV angles pretty flat youll me fine

How much power are you talking about? and how hard do you drive?

well i plan on a 14 bolt rear with a locker if i dont do the swap. the engine will be a 408 forged with a kenne bell SC about 15 psi, heads, cam, headers,. as far as on the streets right now i drive it fairly hard i guess, i nail it from a dead stop to 100+ mph fairly often. as far as off road driving i dont plan on being hard on it. mainly just want to be able to go thru stuff without getting stuck or breaking anything.

Those years IFS are a pain in a$$ to lift with a regular lift. Soo many drop brakcets for steering and everything else. The Leaf spring conversion for the SAS is not a bad price and uses the leafs off of the 75-86 k10's. Which are cheap and easy to find. Buddy put one on his 95 and said it rides smoother now than it did before. Not to mention that there was a write up somewhere on it stating the same thing. Have to google, i forget exactly what page i saw it on. ANd if you're swapn, might as well go 8 bolts off an older ford, that way you have the driver side drop and strength.

if you not going to offroad it hard then there is no use of a solid axle. some of the fastest diesels are still running the stock ifs set up with just beefy tie rods. so you running it hard on the street does not touch what ifs is capable of. now if you were going to off road it hard with some 38's then ii would say go for it. but like i said its not worth spending 4 to 5 grand to switch to a solid axle and drive it hard on the street. save the money and buy your self some nice tie rods. Because under-load they will snap like a twig.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d5...b/IMG_0862.jpg

Geta some of these and you can through all the power you want to the front end.

Cognito Motorsports

way cheaper then a solid axle.

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Originally Posted by 6.0vortecchevy

if you not going to offroad it hard then there is no use of a solid axle. some of the fastest diesels are still running the stock ifs set up with just beefy tie rods. so you running it hard on the street does not touch what ifs is capable of. now if you were going to off road it hard with some 38's then ii would say go for it. but like i said its not worth spending 4 to 5 grand to switch to a solid axle and drive it hard on the street. save the money and buy your self some nice tie rods. Because under-load they will snap like a twig.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d5...b/IMG_0862.jpg

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is that a broken tie rod or is it just being bashful? LOL


thanks for all the great advice guys, i think that will be my best bet is 6" dick cepek lift with beefed up front end and a 14 bolt SF rear axel.

Dang 6.0 how did that happen? Your truck isn't dirty like you were playing in the mud or nothing.

i would say if you truck is gunna spend 90% of it's life with it's pedal on the floor and on pavement then don't do SFA cause obviously it's gunna be in 2wd for 90% of the time so jus do a 14 bolt up grade and your fine

looks like 6.0 was jumpin in 4low :) I've done that 2 or 10 times lol

Hahaha well I had a little truck pull. Just started to get off the brake and gave a little gas then bang, ahahahah. There weak as hell.

yep they are! my 01 z71 had 38s and i done that often. so i just got on ebay and got those heavy heavy duty aftermarket ones!

well it looks like i am gonna go all the way with it. moser 60 axels, 35 splines and detroit locker. probably run a 38" tire.

SAS and dont look back :devil:
Off-Road Direct - Lift Kit and Custom Suspension System Specialists

The cognito front end upgrades are def. the way to go. A friend has them on his truck and I noticed a world of difference. As far as SAS goes, I wouldnt waste your time if your only going 35s or 36s. It would be a tad rougher also. Solid Axle Applications just are a whole different ride to me. My dad has a 03 F-350 CCLB 4x4 and the front end parts go out all the time stock. His New F-250 is a little smoother in the front but the bounce you get from bumps is rediculous. Stick to the CVs man

i agree. if you dont wanna run 38s or bigger stick with IFS. it won't be worth your time.

well the guys at the shop i went to do the SAS's all the time and make the parts themselves. so they don't need a kit was my understanding of it. having a dana 60 in the front will eliminate a lot of issues. right now my front axles seep fluid out the seals, the front pumpkin also leaks, to replace the seals you got to cut the axles out. and Ive heard after about 2-3k miles they will be leaking again. the ifs is nice in some ways but having a supercharged 408/4l80e with 4.56 gears and 36" or 38" tires i don't want to worry about breaking anything.

they are currently building the rear axle first, i went ahead and got a detroit locker in it also. depending on how high the lift ends up being i hope to fit 38's under it. they also said it will have rear disc brakes now.

If you are just gonna get a 6" lift, you will not be able to fit 38s under there. They might fit if you get a 3" body lift. I am not sure about your truck but mine will have problems with 37s with that set up. Def go w/ the swap since you already got everything to do it. I would recommend trying it out to its full potential :devil: You will be surprised what it can do.

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Originally Posted by cjriojas

If you are just gonna get a 6" lift, you will not be able to fit 38s under there. They might fit if you get a 3" body lift. I am not sure about your truck but mine will have problems with 37s with that set up. Def go w/ the swap since you already got everything to do it. I would recommend trying it out to its full potential :devil: You will be surprised what it can do.

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it may end up being about 8" of lift with the swap. ill fit the biggest tires under there i can.

PICS!!!????? Man that thing is sounding sweet. How long before you'll be riding on the SAS and lift?

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Originally Posted by jsprevat

PICS!!!????? Man that thing is sounding sweet. How long before you'll be riding on the SAS and lift?

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well allen is building the lower half of the 408 so he can swap it out and just use the top half i have now on it.

the shop here locally just ordered the rear axle parts to start that. i am hoping to have it all done by like march/april.

ill take pics of it as the build is happening and post them.

6.0 block went to the machine shop yesterday to get bored to a 408 :)

rear axle came in, dana 60, 35 splines, wilwood dual piston calipers, 4.56 gears, detroit locker. :melissa:

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Originally Posted by 567234ta

ive been contemplating if i should go to a full solid axel on my truck or not.

96 ext cab z71

would it make it a rough ride on the highway?

i just cant decide, i will have a ton of power and i dont want to be snapping front half shafts, i plan on 35 to 36 inch tires. i wont be going thru extreme off road stuff, rock climbing or anything but i do want it to be a tough truck.

i would probably go with a moderate grip tire so its somewhat smooth on the road, nothing like a bogger or anything, i dont want to make it a strictly off road vehicle. whats your advice?

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Well the thing to consider is, do you break alot of IFS parts now? If you said yes to that, then hell yeah go with SFA. Just be sure to do alot of research on what its going to involve.

I just finished my SAS on my 92, so far i love it! It rides like a SFA truck. But all in all it rides better than it did when it was Rancho lift and fully cranked Tbars. From start to finish the swap cost me ~ 8500 bucks. But I did go all out. I rebulit everything myself, I built/ fabed/ Assembled everything. I have A 78 Ford HP Kingpin Axle up front and a 87 D70 in the rear. Both geared with 4.56 and locked with Detroit lockers. I ran alcan spring all the way around, along with blisten 7100. All thats left is a new motor, the TBI 350 has HAD it!


Here is a poser shot of the truck
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...71/92flex9.jpg

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Originally Posted by RnuovZ71

Well the thing to consider is, do you break alot of IFS parts now? If you said yes to that, then hell yeah go with SFA. Just be sure to do alot of research on what its going to involve.

I just finished my SAS on my 92, so far i love it! It rides like a SFA truck. But all in all it rides better than it did when it was Rancho lift and fully cranked Tbars. From start to finish the swap cost me ~ 8500 bucks. But I did go all out. I rebulit everything myself, I built/ fabed/ Assembled everything. I have A 78 Ford HP Kingpin Axle up front and a 87 D70 in the rear. Both geared with 4.56 and locked with Detroit lockers. I ran alcan spring all the way around, along with blisten 7100. All thats left is a new motor, the TBI 350 has HAD it!


Here is a poser shot of the truck
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...71/92flex9.jpg

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man thats awesome, what size tires are those?
i havent really broken anything on my truck, but it is all factory suspension and tires right now.

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Originally Posted by 567234ta

man thats awesome, what size tires are those?
i havent really broken anything on my truck, but it is all factory suspension and tires right now.

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that's good you haven't broken anything yet. I had to SAS my rig. But the tires are 37x13.5.