im looking for a parts list for a cheep solid axle conversio

wolfman1722 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 2:08 am

im looking for a parts list of what i need to start looking for for a budget solid axel conversion

Inc · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 2:21 am

Look at OHV KJ's SFA thread in this SFA section. Not really a parts list though. JJ, Wally, and Troy al have a parts list but they are big budget ones. They are also in this section.

wolfman1722 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 2:44 am

thats my problem all the lists i read are all high budget i want to start looking at the local junk yards for axles and misc. parts ive got 1500 bucks and i plan on doing most of the work my self im looking for 10 inches of lift so i was thinking custom coils in the front and rear but i dont know which ones to go with all sorts of unanswered queations floating in my head

Inc · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 4:00 am

Well, to be honest $1500 is far short of a realistic solid axle swap on a KJ. There is a ton that goes into doing it right. It can't really be done for that cost, even if you weld all the parts together and custom cut the mounts needed and make the long arms, and on and on and on. It is a serious project and not a bolt in deal. I don't mean to come off as a jerk or anything, but I have been looking and looking and looking at how to go about doing my SFA KJ and it is going to cost a lot. Period. So if I were you, I'd use that $1500 as a starting point towards collect all the stuff you need and build it slowly. That is what I am doing and pretty much most everyone else building theirs. There is so much that goes into a project like this that there are bound to be questions.

Ask away.

Fulltimer · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 5:51 am

I don't know anything about doing the swap other than reading on here. If you have a place to store all the parts your best bet is to buy the parts as the $$$ allows until you have everything. Read EVERYTHING in the SFA thread and ask questions. Inc was right about the cost.

Terry

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 9:31 am

Not to discourage you but like Inc and Fulltimer said it's not cheap to SFA a KJ,even the one budget SFA on this board wasn't so budget since it had to be redone to work right.Your at least looking at $6000 min if you do all the work and fabbing yourself,it adds up real fast.Just remember you need to do it safe also,safe isn't cheap sometimes.

wolfman1722 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 11:09 am

I'm not looking to do it out the door for 1500 its just the starting amount for the project. I was thinking for the rear using jba 8 inch springs, the drop bracket for the y-link custom shock mounts and jba rear long arms then I've got a friend that can make custom brake lines. I was thinking of a d30hp in the front with a high steer setup. Not sure but I was thinking about using the jba long arms in the front but I wanted to talk to them first cause I want to use johnny joints werever possible. Looking at the local you pull it junkyard for a totaled rubi to donate its transfercase. Its a start but I'm hopeing to have it done by fall

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 8:32 pm

wolfman1722 wrote:

I'm not looking to do it out the door for 1500 its just the starting amount for the project. I was thinking for the rear using jba 8 inch springs, the drop bracket for the y-link custom shock mounts and jba rear long arms then I've got a friend that can make custom brake lines. I was thinking of a d30hp in the front with a high steer setup. Not sure but I was thinking about using the jba long arms in the front but I wanted to talk to them first cause I want to use johnny joints werever possible. Looking at the local you pull it junkyard for a totaled rubi to donate its transfercase. Its a start but I'm hopeing to have it done by fall

Do not use the tri-link extension for a SFA.You will just break it anyways and be left stranded.You will need to do custom rear upper long arms(triangulated or use a trackbar also),but using the OEM upper tri-link and that extension will be a waste of time and money.

wolfman1722 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 8:52 pm

I'm not looking to do it out the door for 1500 its just the starting amount for the project. I was thinking for the rear using jba 8 inch springs, the drop bracket for the y-link custom shock mounts and jba rear long arms then I've got a friend that can make custom brake lines. I was thinking of a d30hp in the front with a high steer setup. Not sure but I was thinking about using the jba long arms in the front but I wanted to talk to them first cause I want to use johnny joints werever possible. Looking at the local you pull it junkyard for a totaled rubi to donate its transfercase. Its a start but I'm hopeing to have it done by fall

Inc · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 10:12 pm

wolfman1722 wrote:

I'm not looking to do it out the door for 1500 its just the starting amount for the project. I was thinking for the rear using jba 8 inch springs, the drop bracket for the y-link custom shock mounts and jba rear long arms then I've got a friend that can make custom brake lines. I was thinking of a d30hp in the front with a high steer setup. Not sure but I was thinking about using the jba long arms in the front but I wanted to talk to them first cause I want to use johnny joints werever possible. Looking at the local you pull it junkyard for a totaled rubi to donate its transfercase. Its a start but I'm hopeing to have it done by fall

Get in contact with ohv kj and see what happened to his rear end when he used that drop bracket on his SFA KJ. Are you gonna run bigger tires? If so you'll want gears. Probably gonna want lockers installed while you have it opened up. Even used and abused Rubi t-cases aren't that cheap. Long arms, good ones aren't at all cheap either. Then there is all the mounting locations and brackets needed on axles and on the jeep which have to be fabbed or made to work off an existing design. I fully encourage you to go for it with the project, the more SFAs the better, but there is a ton of details that are necessary to do it right and those details can jack the cost up quite a bit.

The way I am doing it is laying out a list/plan for all the things I need and what they cost new and then seeing if I can get them slightly used. The final cost for me will be the labor of the custom parts. So if I were you I'd sit down and decide what kind of build it will be, pick the parts you want to use and then go search for deals on new or used stuff. Hope this helps and there is a ton of knowledge in here so don't be afraid to ask and read through the threads in the SFA section.

ohv_kj · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 10:43 pm

if you were going to do 10 inches...i would full width axles and DO NOT USE THE JBA TRI LINK BRACKET...take it from me.... just save some money and do long arms front and rear...i would choose a dana 44 front and a dana 60 rear...you need to fix your steering...box in your frame for the extra weight of the axles and tires...need a bigger brake booster...and i would be running 38s probly...good luck

wolfman1722 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 11:21 pm

I was actualy thinkink of making my own bracket for the y-link as a temporary fix till I can get a custom four link rear I was also pondering using coilovers in the rear as well my friend build a cj7 on 44 with. A custom coilovers all round so I might try to replicate his rear setup and then I would get the adjustible coilovers so I could adjust once I build my front and rear stingers and tube fenders

wolfman1722 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 11:24 pm

What's a good doner for the fullsize front dana44 and rear dana 60 axles?

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 11:24 pm

ohv_kj wrote:

if you were going to do 10 inches...i would full width axles and DO NOT USE THE JBA TRI LINK BRACKET...take it from me.... just save some money and do long arms front and rear...i would choose a dana 44 front and a dana 60 rear...you need to fix your steering...box in your frame for the extra weight of the axles and tires...need a bigger brake booster...and i would be running 38s probly...good luck

Yeah and that's not to budget minded there :wink:

.

Oh and you do not need to add a bigger brake booster,besides you'd never get a bigger one in the engine bay.If you need more braking power and have a extra $1800 around call Vanco brakes and get a HydroBoost system,that's my plan if I think I need more brakes when mines done.

Inc · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 11:29 pm

tjkj2002 wrote:

Oh and you do not need to add a bigger brake booster,besides you'd never get a bigger one in the engine bay.If you need more braking power and have a extra $1800 around call Vanco brakes and get a HydroBoost system,that's my plan if I think I need more brakes when mines done.

You are running new front and rear discs though right? Those should be fine for your 35s I would think. Never hurts to go overkill though, as if you didn't know that, mister rock jock 60. :lol:

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 11:37 pm

Inc wrote:

tjkj2002 wrote:

Oh and you do not need to add a bigger brake booster,besides you'd never get a bigger one in the engine bay.If you need more braking power and have a extra $1800 around call Vanco brakes and get a HydroBoost system,that's my plan if I think I need more brakes when mines done.

You are running new front and rear discs though right? Those should be fine for your 35s I would think. Never hurts to go overkill though, as if you didn't know that, mister rock jock 60. :lol:

Yeah we will see how the brakes feel after I'm done.I will have to remove a o-ring in my proportioning valve to get more fluid volume to the rear brakes since I'm switching from rear drums to 4 piston rear caliper disc brakes.

If anyone is interested in the Vanco Hydroboost set-up all we need is the bolt pattern of the OEM brake booster to start.All you need is 14.5" from the firewall of free room to install one(I have 15"

),a new P/S pump will have to be modified by Vanco also which can get very expensive though.

wolfman1722 · **Posted:** Sun Dec 28, 2008 12:15 am

I think I'm just going to do this build on a budget not all out I want to see how cost efficient I can build it myself and if I have to upgrade later I will its a neverendind project and I'm ok with that I'm thinking I could build a beefer ylink drop braket and and make it longer so it would work with 8 to ten inches of lift

tommudd · **Posted:** Sun Dec 28, 2008 12:54 am

The Y link will be a huge weak point for sure, would not even want to try and do it as it will fail, when is the question, maybe at 65 MPH on the highway. :shock:

Trying to build cheap is OK to a point, but safety comes into play. tried to tell my buddy that and after rolling his 4WD van at 50 MPH the next build was done right :wink:

Enough has been said and done on here of the pros and cons , cheap is not the best way to go when you are dealing with suspension parts

wolfman1722 · **Posted:** Sun Dec 28, 2008 1:17 am

I've got an idea in my brain all I need to do is draw out the plans one question is where does it normaly fail at th link itself or were it conects to the axle or where it conects to the bars?

ohv_kj · **Posted:** Sun Dec 28, 2008 2:47 pm

budget can still happend...it involves buying used parts and such...an old f250 have 44 front and 60 rear...you can always find them seperate, here in NC we have a forum called nc4x4.com i can find that setup used cheap you just need to check alot...also 14 bolt or 9 inch rear could work...as far as the y- link...you could build your own to make it beafy but the joints i think w ill go bad...i still have mine i believe i will give it to you if you pay shipping...i think the time and effort can be put into uper arms and i would be much eaisier...coil overs in the rear would be fine...it is cheaper to go w/ coil and shock setup...only did the front because of room...if you were to go full width's i would use coils and shock...what tranny do you have? you haven't mentiond anything about gearing either...me and the other guys are here to help, just ask and heed our warnings...

im looking for a parts list for a cheep solid axle conversio

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