i think the how-to on the suspension maxx key lift has a picture of what you need

 

I remember her name was bebe I believe. They used a 2500 axle I believe and shafts. This should be interesting.

 

Hmmm so you would still be IFS? I am confused

 

So much work to maintain ifs. The diff isnt even the weak link, its the front driveshaft

 

This is the thread here.....

H3 Long Travel Build - Pirate4x4.Com : 4x4 and Off-Road Forum

 

Now I remember reading thru that thread. Very neat project.

 

Dude! I think you cut the wrong side unless your changing transfer cases. Should have cut off the passenger side. Our differential is on the passenger side. You will need a Arb locker with 33 spline side gears. You have to fab up new upper and lower control arms. Those knuckles use a different upper ball joint. I was going to do this myself at one point but a SAS seems easier since you have to go all custom anyway.

 

This is going in a 2wd z71. So i don't have any existing 4wd stuff to go off of. The drivers side actually has more room and will fit the diff better and since I'm starting with a 2wd the drive shaft won't be a weak link.

i shouldn't have to have new spider gears. i am going to try to get axle shafts made that will fit the stock carrier and have the 2500 cv shaft bolt pattern.

And i noticed the ball joint being different. I plan on making some new uppers with a uniball to fix this and give me a little extra travel.

 

You should coil over that and run a divorced tcase.

 

In this event "why not just sas" is the perfect question. However, being that the tubes are already cut its irrelevant. Gonna need new ucas, hubs, custom cvs, tcase, both driveshafts, never mind all the fab work to make it all fit. Ill be $2k into both my axles locked, geared, and installed. Youll be near that with a semi custom stock ish ifs. Kudos on the ambition and skill needed to pull off this odd but cool project.

 

Actually I'm going to try to keep as much stock as I can.
And i knew the sas question would come up and the main thing is down time. i can swap most of the ifs parts in a weekend and still be able to drive the truck with just the diff hanging under it.
Price wise I'm gonna be about the same eventually I think. But that's because i'm starting with a 2wd. Either way the drive shafts, transfer case and fab work would have to be done.

Axle was free though. Probably be a couple hundred in it though with the stub shafts. The knuckles for the h3 cost me 100 bucks shipped and the only thing i really should need made will be the upper a arms and the stub shafts for the diff. I'm waiting to find some 2500 cv shafts cheap. But using those will keep most wear out parts stock so if anything breaks its not a week down time waiting on replacements.

Was considering coilovers but want to keep it relatively easy right now. will get some tubular a arms with a uniball made and will go ahead and make sure they have room for coilovers so I can fo it down the road from now. And I'm hoping to put the np241 from 1/2 ton in it. They are drivers drop and bolt up to the 4l60e.

 

I think it will be a tight fit but it will work in there. You can see in the last two pics how close it is to the oil pan. I will be grinding these couple ribs down to give me some clearance there. That should let me move it up an inch or so more. The yoke looks close to the a arm but there is plenty or room for it to spin. I will be solid mounting it so it shouldn't move around any down there.

 

OK, I was worried for a second. A leaf sprung SAS would be a pretty quick turn around time if everything was already collected. What are you going to do to disengage the front differential? H3 are awd Soviet doesn't matter. But you will lose some fuel economy and gain more we war and tear as your driveshaft will be moving all the time.

 

A np241 is a part time case like the stock colorado one just drivers side drop.

Anyone have pics of how high in the frame the diff sits? I would like to get an idea of how much difference in ground clearance there will be from this to a stock 4wd.

 

On our stock 4x4 front differential there is a collar that disengages the driver side CV axle from the pumpkin so the spider gears and spin. Our driveshaft does not spin unless that collar gets engaged(there is a electric actuator). Your driveshaft will always spin so there will be more drag. On a h3 they don't have that collar they are always engaged. Just something to keep in mind.

I think only about 1/2-1" lower than the front cross member viewed from the front. Will double check when I get home.

 

Oh ok yeah it will be dragging all the time. I won't be able to disengage the front diff.

 

you could make a similar system since you are already making a custom intermediate shaft.
some newer dana 44's had a system built in. 90's dodge front axles also could source the shafts and have the outer portion adapted to what you need. no one likes those axle so you could probably pick one up cheap. when i wanted to do this swap i was going to do that or find a way to use lockout hubs like isuzu and toyota use to have on their ifs.

 

I see this project getting expensive fast.Good luck.

 

Why does every one see this getting any more expensive than the solid axle swaps everyone else is doing. I'm actually replacing less parts than a sas would and retaining a lot of the stock components.

 

It's not going to work. Trust me already tried two different diffs. The thread you are referring to was by reaper an h3 owner who did something similar. What the thread did not show was that the passenger side shaft was custom and really really short to allow the pinion and housing to clear the oil pan. 2500 shafts are too long to do this and it is not a good idea to make the cv that short as it increases the angle seen by the cv and increases axle plunge.

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

I understand the stub shaft that goes into the diff will have to be custom made. And it will probably be only a few inches long. why would the 2500 cv shafts not work? The way I plan on using the 2500 half shafts they should be able to stay the stock length.

 

you might be better off using a chevy 3/4 ton/1 ton ifs front diff. already driver side. it is setup for the cv's you will be using. that would kill the need for any custom shafts and you could disengage the drive shaft. that would be by far the cheapest and easiest to fab up.
just throwing out ideas. it's a high pinion also so if you drop the diff down the driveshaft will still tuck nicely.

 

That is what I wanted to use when i started but that diff will be too big. The high pinion will make me have to mount the diff even lower than this one.

 

What spline count are our hubs and what spline count is the 2500 cvs?

Imo a leaf sprung sas will be around $2000 and soa the rear and youll sit clean 6 in lift all around for what some pay for a 4-5" lift. Your 4x4 capability will be significantly increased and you could get locking hubs and have the entire front drivetrain stagnate.

 

2500 are 33 spline. ours are 27 I believe. That is why i have ordered h3 knuckles. the h3 unit bearing is 33 spline like the 2500's are. And really not looking to lift it much more than a few inches. would much rather trim the fenders and keep it low on 33-35ish tires