Has anyone ever done this conversion on a DMAX, I found a website that has a kit. www.offroadunlimted.com:cool2:

Ok, that website does not work.. Not sure about that one.

The second "i" is missing in "unlimited".


Try it now: http://www.offroadunlimited.com






Gary

I saw one heading south on the Gulf Freeway here in Houston a couple of weeks back. White GMC, with a good 8 to 12 inches of lift. Solid front axle conversion stood out!

I am going to install a solid front axle in my 2005 D/A. Not sure if im going to use the ORU kit or not. From what I hear it is a very good kit and even with 10+++ inches of lift truck will ride better than stock and steer better, but most feel there products are over priced. I may have my stuff custom fabricated by a local shop. Fabritech also makes a kit for 2500HD and I have heard Full Throttle has a 4-link coil over kit but haven't been able to verify this yet. Here are a few links that might interest you:

http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/howto/19218/
http://homepage.mac.com/darketernal/SAS.html
http://www.fullthrottlesuspension.com/HUMMER%20PHOTO%20GALLARY.htm check out the white and orange H2, saw this at S.E.M.A. 2 years ago and all I can say is "BAD ASS". Thay have also done 2 Chevy trucks since with the same set up, both have made it into Four Wheeler magazine and look just as nice. Most recent (June05) Four Wheeler mag has a red one on the cover, very nice solid axle set up.
http://www.offroadunlimited.com/ See the custom trucks option in left column.
http://www.offroadunlimited.com/new/parts/straight_axle/
http://www.offroadunlimited.com/new/parts/crossover/index.html
http://www.setstr8.com/

Getting mine done the first two weeks of june by ORU. Top notch company, wont let anyone else work on the truck. waiting for Dynatrac to finish building the Dana 60 (6-8 week build time). cross over steering, ram assist and new springs and bags in the rear. Drove one already done, rides great and no more worries on breaking the front end.......AGAIN...... Cant wait.

ORU very good company and good product. I did their kit on my 97 1500 worked great got alot of compliments. Make sure you talk with them about your 4 wheel drive still working and abs if that matters to you. Their product is a little on the high side but it works with no problems, all of the engineering is already done.

Thats the reason for the axle, four wheel will work no problem. No changes other then having to lock the hubs and hit button on dash. ABS will still work also, cant beat that......thanks...

I heard if your going to do it you have to use leaves because its almost impossible to do place coils right. Pics, total cost? WHY OHH WHy DOESNT GM USE SOLID AXLES??

Dont like the coil idea, so didnt look into it. Pics avail when completed second week of June. Cost varies depending on what you add to the front end i.e. ram assist, x over steering, etc.

Why would you want a solid front axle? What's the benefit?

Height, durability and standing out in the corwd come to mind for me.

I have a Dodge with a ate up front U joint sitting out front with alot less miles than my Dmax and way less power. I know this is probably the exception though. I launched my Dmax at 2500+rpms with the N2O comming on and in 4WD, the whole front end launched from side to side for about 60-70 ft. Nothing broke. Most of you here know what HP my Dmax puts out and if this didn't kill the front end, I'm not brave enough to do it. The grass always seems greener on the other side. This is a good alternative for some though who like the hight. It will depend on how you treat your truck if it will be any more durable though. My CVs passed my test.

The main advantage of a live front axle is lifting the truck. The IFS has more ground clearance (banjo clearance), better offroad tractability, and better on road high speed handling. Think about the arc a wheel moves through when articulating on a obstacle. The IFS puts more of the tire contact patch to the dirt/road.

I have nothing against live axles. But don't represent it as superior to IFS, because it's not. It's no surprise that even though it is more expensive to put independant suspensions on cars and trucks, it is getting more and more common. Cars used to have straight axles in the front too. Seen any for sale lately?

the biggest benefit of the SFA is the suspension travel for off roading (rock crawlin, etc.) However, the diesel trucks are so heavy that off roading is a lot tuffer, esp in mud. . . trust me, I been there several times.

You lift guys have fun. My ride height is where I want it and with 65psi front 75 psi rear and 80psi in the air bags, I'll take every bit I can get out of IFS to help the ride.

the biggest benefit of the SFA is the suspension travel for off roading (rock crawlin, etc.) However, the diesel trucks are so heavy that off roading is a lot tuffer, esp in mud. . . trust me, I been there several times.

Currently the longest travel off-road suspensions are independents.

Most of us who are considering a solid axle are doing so for strength. I am installing a kingpin dana 60, which will all but eliminate the issues with big tires on a ball joint suspension. Those who wanna lift 10 or more inches to run 38"+++ tires this is the best way to go. I have seen swaybar links snapped while taking off from a dead stop on a non-modded LB7, also know a guy who tows alot with a non lifted ifs and had to rebuilt entire front end @ 55k miles. There are a few good ifs kits to get the ride height for these larger tires but still use oem ball joints ect which will wear very fast with that large of a tire. Plus all the cool guys @ SEMA do it so I gotta follow..

IFS guys go hit 2 feet of snow with your front end chained up and 35's on the truck and tell me how that works out for ya. I know how it has worked for me and that why the swap is happening. It's not so much to go big , it's the durability issue. The truck is only going to have 37's on it , but I will feel much more comfortable next time the front is chained up and I have to use the power thats available to me....

02chevydmax- What did you break, stock parts or the lift kit? Are you going to sell that rcd kit and front diff?

Everything is for sale.......which time..tie rods broke and cv blew up another......

I'm doing a SFA swap for many reasons. First,all but one IFS lift kit increases the track width making almost any tire and wheel combo illegal in my state(no portion of the tread sticking out past the fender)The Dana 60 front I'll be using is the same track width as the stock Dmax rear axle making is 4-5 " narrower than my Fabtech lift. Second,I can't keep my truck aligned,every time I take it offroad it gets knocked out.Third,broken and/or bent parts,I've trashed a stock tie rod,a Cognito rod end adaptor and a set of Fabetch stabilizers.Fourth,accelerated wear on balljoints and wheel bearings,on the second set of balljoints and getting ready for wheel bearings at 14,000 miles. Fifth,cost,doing the swap myself will cost about the same as what I have invested in my current Dmax lift. Sixth,ride height,I'll be able to change lift height with a simple spring and shock swap within reason.

Don't get me wrong IFS has it's place and probably works great for 90% of the other owners just not me. I'd call my use for the truck extreme compared to most of you. I want to run 37" plus tires,beat it like a rental on and offroad,tow my trailers, drag race,sled pull,and still run to the grocery store in a straight line with my wife at the wheel at the end of the day.:D

Wow, I have only heard of a couple guys blowing up cvs on HD trucks... Too much duramax power! I played a bit with mine but the problem is not enough clearance with 285s when all the other guys have 35s or bigger.
I nearly bought a used rcd off ebay that had dual fox shocks and everything for 999, but I wasn't sure he had all the parts there and he never emailed me back. Yours would be perfect with the already regeared front end. I would do a sas but I don't think it is necessary for how I use my truck...

Nar....PM me on the RCD kit if interested it will be available mid-june. Has approx 10,000 miles on it. I have never broke anything RCD related....

I don't see many Big Rigs out there bouncing around on IFS. I stand by the durability advantage.

Ever watched a big truck with 8 bag rear suspension flex over a ditch? It would make a rockcrawler jeep jealous.

get the RCD nick!

Generally IFS is very strong,and it holds up fine to what 95% of the masses do with there trucks,but for severe use,you cant beat the SFA.I seen a 3500 Dmax dually service truck explode a cv joint,in 4 low on blacktop.Granted he was hooked to another truck(Dodge 3500),but either way ,the Dodge didnt break,and he's broken 2 cv joints in 2 yrs now.Truck is bone stock,weighes about 10500 empty.The Ford/Dodge D60s arent any cheaper to run,and they dont last any longer than the IFS before they need work,however they are much heavier duty,and stronger.

Currently the longest travel off-road suspensions are independents.
For off road racing.

For general off road-rock crawling a solid front axle will be tougher. Pluss in the end you get better ground clearence (everything moves not just part of it) and you also get leverage to help plant your tires,

Are you guys using semi floater front axles? Can leaf sprung SFA's Flex like coil SFA's?

Are you guys using semi floater front axles? Can leaf sprung SFA's Flex like coil SFA's?

Is there such a thing? I thought all 4x4 front solid axles are full floaters because of the steering knuckles don't allow semi floaters.

GM's IFS is very well designed. Besides the toothpick tie rods, overall the design has proven itself over the years. It is a better way of controlling tire contact through the entire suspension articulation. You do have better control at speed.

In stock vehicles.... the solid axles are better for offroad commercial use. Most heavy offroad users buy Ford Superduties for this reason.

You could argue IFS is used in professional offroad racing but they simply do not design stock pickups with that type of IFS. GM trucks use beefed up car style IFS.

Also remember all 4x4 half ton vehicles of all makes use IFS. They hold up well in those applications.

It's what you want personally and what you use the truck for that matters. I just assume buy a truck that already has what I want from the factory.

guys, go to www.offroad-tech.com for your answers on this topic

This is my SAS'd rig.... Its only about 50% done right now!!!!

I won't be able to get the suspension flex maxed until i get the New 52" sprigns up front and get the rear shackle angles corrected!!!

Kingpin D60 Front, Corporate 14-bolt w/ Disc in Rear....

Anyway...


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/BigWillieStyle_21/HPIM0793.jpg

Nice 1500 man that is sick

Here is another side shot... I expect about 6" more inches of downtravel with 52" sprigns up frotn easy and about 2" more stuff on the opposite side... Wheelbase will also be extended another 1", its 1.5" out frotn and rear now....

SORRY PICS. are huge for some Reason!!!!

If anyone has Straight axle Conversion ???'s I would be ahppy to help out!!! I ahve had a hand in 3 now!!!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/BigWillieStyle_21/HPIM0798.jpg

nice truck man!

I heard if your going to do it you have to use leaves because its almost impossible to do place coils right. Pics, total cost? WHY OHH WHy DOESNT GM USE SOLID AXLES??

Check out this link if your still wondering about only having leaf springs as an option, FTS has done with leafs and with king coilovers. Coilovers will ride much better but at a price. Coilover shocks alone are about 600.00 each and have to 4-link the axle which means custom fabrication($$$$) unless FTS has a kit to do it which I am checking into. I am debating putting 10" springs in the rear and coilovers in front, have rode in a similar set up and truck ride quality was better than a car but still alot more $$$ than leaf's all around.

http://www.fullthrottlesuspension.com/PROJECTS%20PHOTO%20GALLARY.htm

Generally IFS is very strong,and it holds up fine to what 95% of the masses do with there trucks.
Fact!

If you have larger tires and any lift the IFS is not as strong as a 60! If you have problems aligning your front or tie rod issues the 60 is the front end you want. The swap is not cheap though. You can replace alot of tie rod ends and cvs for the cost of a sas that is done right. You could sink $2-4K doing a sas depending on if you do the work yourself. The ORU kit is just that a kit that bolts on less the front end, steering, driveshaft, and springs. Replacing parts on a front 60 are pennies compared to the ifs also, hub assemble $300- wheel bearings for a 60 $30 (and you most likely wont ever have to do wheelbearings on a 60). My other toy is a rock crawler specifically designed for the abuse and wouldnt ever think of running an ifs set up but I would never think of running my tow rig over the Rubicon either.

Both set-ups have a + and a -. If I have too much trouble with my ifs I will do the sas myself.