1 ton axle swap finally done (almost)

Finally got done with the axle swap on my 87 suburban, dana 60 in the front and 14bolt for the rear. Here are some pictures

List of stuff done: Crossover steering system, rebuilt front and rear axles, 4.10 gearing, humvee tires, etc.

Kinda hard to tell, but what do you have going for the tierod - looks like you've got a spacer under the right side steering arm.

Josh

Yeah its the factory steering arm with a spacer, i just haven't removed it yet.

What tranny you got with this setup? I'm planning on doing this swap on my M1009 but wasn't sure about the 4.56 gears cause I do alot of highway driving.

TH400, this setup should put me at about 2250-2290 rpms at 60 mph with the 4.10 gears. Kind of the same as having a stock truck with 3.54 gearing. The 4.56 gearing with my setup would put me at 2500+ rpms, which is fine too but i wanted to lower my cruising rpms alittle. Also with the 4.10 I can go back to the 33 inch tires if I choose.

I think the 4.56 and a 700r4 would be ideal, but i want the dependability of the th400. The cost to build a monster 700r4 is alot and still doesn't guarantee a trouble free tranny.

Thanks, keep us posted on how you like the results. I hope to switch mine out next year and want all the info I can get.

Its expensive and adds weight, but knowing that I won't break the dana 60 when I need to use the 4x4 makes it worth it.

So far so good, had the shakes at 50 mph and above. I replaced the driveline u-joints and moved the rear axle forward 1 inch. The 14 bolt ff pinion is about 1/2 shorter then my 14 bolt sf. That took care of my shakes. The only other problem is it feels like the gov lock is locking up randomly. I had it lock up going around a tight corner, and you could hear the tire chirping.

So far so good guys. I am having a problem with the rear drivers drum sticking randomly. I'm going to try and back off the adjuster and see if that is the cause.

How much lift are you running to clear the humvee tires? Swap looks nice.

welpro222 said:

So far so good guys. I am having a problem with the rear drivers drum sticking randomly. I'm going to try and back off the adjuster and see if that is the cause.

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Did you back off the adjuster, and did this help? Also, do you think that was causing the gov-lock to kick on?

I'm looking for a cheap suburban to swap all the parts of my 1028 into. Did you use a 3/4 ton or 1/2 ton suburban frame? Did you have to change spring perches on the 14 bolt?

I'm going to be putting a detroit locker in it soon, so i'll find out if its the gov-lock catching.

I'm looking for a cheap suburban to swap all the parts of my 1028 into. Did you use a 3/4 ton or 1/2 ton suburban frame? Did you have to change spring perches on the 14 bolt?

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I used a 3/4 suburban, luckly someone already changed the perches on the 1-ton 14 bolt to fit a 1/2-3/4 frame. Either the 1/2 or 3/4 setup will be fine, but I wanted the 3/4 ton rear springs, and I believe the 3/4 ton frame is thicker.

The benefit with the 1/2 ton is having the 700r4 (4th gear), even thou the 400 is a very strong tranny.