i have been wanting to do a solid axle swap on my 93 pickup for a long time but can't get the money yet. are there any things i could do to save money and make this swap a little more affordable. i have friend that can build some of the parts but it still might cost up around 3000 if i regear too. allpros looks good but would also be over 3000 once i buy an axle and driveshaft. i'm thinking about buying whatever my friends can't make from allpro. and they also have a good drive shaft guy too. it would be nice to find a cheap axle but i don't know if that is going to happen. gears are another fairley expensive part i'm worried about too. i want to run 35 which would not work with my stock gears and the 3.0. i also plan on using my rear springs up front and chevy springs in back. can anyone give me any tips that could save me some money. cheaper places to go or anything would help.

 

Yes, there are things that you can do, like fab the hangers, shock mounts and such yourself. You would only have to spend cash for materials.

Axles are a set cost.

You can save some cash on shocks by not going super high end.

High steer is pretty much $400 at least.

A regeared and locked diff is as low as ~$500 new, possibly less used.

You can make a square tube front shaft, but that only saves versus a long travel CV for cost.

If you have to regear then rear as well, that is going to really jack the cost.

This has been covered a couple times in the last month or so, I know that I have posted a specific price breakdown and this post adds places to shave cost.

 

Don't forget tools and equipment, I've spent many times more on that than on all the parts for my swap combined.

 

Inquire with dude that has been getting a panic attack over the course of the last few days here; he did a swap for under $900 (at least so he claims *yawns*).

 

That is true Shane. I was not prepared to add the cost of a welder, bender, notcher and that sort of thing to the cost of a swap. I think that is a friends thing that I plan to defer with beer and pizza, not really adding much cost.

 

i betcha i could do a solid swap for under 1000 bucks...i have a few friends who can donate parts like axles and diffs, since they have them laying around their yards. i can fabircate my own hangers and mounts...the only thing i'd really have to buy would be the hy-steer gear

fortunately for me, i already have a solid axle

i do have my eyes on a w56 trans that my buddy has, he'll sell it to me for $150...i'm going to get a new tranny when i go to dual cases, so i only have to get new driveshafts once...

 

Funny, the beer and pizza route was the way I went too. It really works!!!! The way to take that to the next level is to do the swap at "your" house, so that while your friend's welder and help come and go. The leftover beer and pizza stays in your fridge. As far as "cheap" I really did mine for less than $900.00. That's not counting the donor axle, springs and hanger I got on the "Freeskie". The Hy-Steer was right at half of the cost. But that's all I'm gonna say about that issue "-ever-" again. I admit that my thread was a little outtaline and I am over that now and apologize to those that were affended. Hey Shane I didn't know that you were planning a swap. Flygynstein I appreciate you not getting mad also.

 

Those rear springs did not work at all on my front. They caused it to be so low in the front that my pitman arm was bouncing on the tie rod just driving on the street. Luckily my friends "donor" truck which was sold as scrap metal about a month ago -- had 3'' Front recurves that I was trying to avoid. But they did the trick as far as steering, although my truck is stiffer up front and overall bigger than I would have liked. Let me know if it works for you though. The one's I tried were 10 yrs older than your 93 springs so they might be fine.

 

Hey man, I've got no beef with you, no worries.

On everything up to a 3rd Gen, you have to hack everything off, weld on the hanger, shoot in the shackles and you are rocking.

I am interested to see how Shane resolves the ARB issue, since that is a concern of mine.

I also put in the a plug for doing all that you can yourself so that you know. Rebuilding the axle, installing the steering, etc. There is no harm in asking for help, but paying for it is another thing.

 

Kyle, would you be willing to help me with fabbing up some parts??

 

The one word I always see associated with the sub-$1k swaps is "freebie"

Been planning since before I got my truck back in Jan '99 and has been in the works since the summer of '00. I'm real big on DIY, so I've been taking my time deciding how I want to approach it and acquiring the necessary parts & tools. The one thing I don't do is cut corners.

Here's a sneak peak, about 50% complete but enough to give you an idea

 

That hanger is really low profile and looks good. Is that so you can keep your ARB bumper?

 

Thanks. actually it's becoming part of the bumper.

Oh ya, just in case you didn't see the link in Rob's thread...
http://4-low.com/tech/sas

I should also add that the stock solid axle frames have the spring bushing bolt holes 2" below the bottom of the frame, this hanger is at 3".

 

Have you seen the pics on Allen D's site from out East?

Looks good on the bumper, I assume that is a "Shane Fab" hanger?

Freebie's are helpful, but it takes away from the project's reality. At monster garage, when they built the Bronco, they got 5k in tires, at least 5k in coilovers, probably 2k in wheels and maybe 15k or so in axles, but it was all free. Does that mean I can build a Bronco like that for 3k? Not unless I have that big voice saying freebie.

 

Yep, from scratch.

 

For the guys that have gone the DIY route (rather than just leave the truck at a workshop) did you use a MIG welder?
I imagine the 'pros' would use the same?

Also, do you have to get things engineer certified in the US?
At my end that can involve getting x-rays of the welds to ensure correct penetration (at least you know she'll hold )

Thanks.

 

Shane: you may have already looked into this, but have you thought about re-inforcing the ARBs mounts while you're at it?

It looks like you've already chopped them off, but I would be thinking about doubling the thickness of the material both on the mount, and all he way through to the outside face of the bar.

Nothing like a good side pull on one of your recovery hooks to cause a ripple in your handywork

 

I'm using mig, and thankfully no we don't have to have any modifications certified. There's laws against stupid stuff like blocks on front axles and bumper heights but that's about it.
Ya, I'm replacing a good majority of the mounting bracketry. I'm using mostly ¼" and the ARB's almost all 1/8". I know what you're saying about side pulls on the recovery points, I may add a little beef there but it'll be a lot more work to do. We'll see...

 

Sounds good...

The reason my mount has a kink is because the recovery hooks mount to part of the main bracket, instead of onto the chassis where the bracket attaches too.
That might be something else to think about.

Another kink is inside the bar itself, on one of the main support flats that run through to the front edge (with those useless eyelets).
Most likely this was from a side-on knock.


Btw, I like your web site. When I'm in the "/tech" section though, the links are trying to access "/tech/tech/bumper" so I had to manually change what was in the address bar of my browser

 

Ya, I know, haven't gotten around to fixing that yet. :pat: That page is very, very outdated.