Looking at designing a kit one that can be installed by the average guy, in his driveway without needing a ton of custom parts and welding. I'm debating a leaf spring kit or a 4 link design. Something that would make the kit reasonable in cost. provide plenty of articulation and suspension travel and use a common axle sourced from most salvage yards or craigslist list. I was leaning towards a second gen axle or a 3gen 2500/3500 axle. Because then it stays mopar, and keeps factory parts for ease of maintenance. Lets hear your thoughts. IFS is nice on the street but a solid axle is king on the trail. Once the first kit is built I could crank out 10-15 kits a week, so production is nit an issue and if the cost is similar to say a 6inch lift for a half ton, it should do well. Again let's hear your ideas, I'm up for any of them.
Ram 1500 SFA conversion kit.
06trxhemi
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Im a 2wd guy that is in love with his truck, never want to sell it. So this would be beautiful idea for a guy like me.
Another idea I have I sent you a PM hope to hear back positive info from ya!!
Another idea I have I sent you a PM hope to hear back positive info from ya!!
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2,679 Posts
I took the easy way out when I got the SAS on my 1500.
I just ordered a 4x4 MegaCab 1500.
I just ordered a 4x4 MegaCab 1500.
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313 Posts
I wish I would've done this.
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3,064 Posts
Guy I know did a SFA on his 1500, set up looks really good. Its a 90 somethin front axle from an f150. He used coil overs and a bunch of custom brackets that got welded to the frame. Truck sits on 40s, but he never got a front driveshaft made and never swapped to the correct gears in the front. Rear end is a 3.92 and the front is a 3.73 i think
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I vaguely remember seeing photos, maybe here somewhere, of a guy who did that to his Ram.
Here's a quick Google search for Ram 1500 SAS. A cursory look seems to be a pretty thorough step by step. Looks like it was also posted over on Pirate.
http://www.pavementsucks.com/board/thread-2003-Ram-1500-SAS
Here's a quick Google search for Ram 1500 SAS. A cursory look seems to be a pretty thorough step by step. Looks like it was also posted over on Pirate.
http://www.pavementsucks.com/board/thread-2003-Ram-1500-SAS
Op says about leaf's or a 4link. Why not a 3link with a Panhard? Easier to package and make fit without being tall.
I have done SAS's but not on Ram's. Good luck getting this done, most dont realize how much work it can be. Material cost and joints alone for a good link setup will be pricy and the little shit like brake lines can add up fast.
I have done SAS's but not on Ram's. Good luck getting this done, most dont realize how much work it can be. Material cost and joints alone for a good link setup will be pricy and the little shit like brake lines can add up fast.
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Materials are not an issue. I'm looking to design a kit that uses factory parts that can be sourced with parts from a salvage yard. 3link is a possibility, I honestly have not looked under my truck yet. Really all that needs to be removed, replaced, but a complete axle swap is really notthat bad. Andcan be done for not much more than a IFS suspension lift. Link bars can be done with standard bushings, or heim's and therefor the cost can be kept down or over the top. Building the brackets and links can be done cheap. The raw materials can be had for cheap. I'm guessing I could get 2-3 sets of brackets built out of a single 4X8 sheet of 1/4 in plate. And a sheet of plate can be had for ~$180 the big issue for most of it is the fab time to build them. But having CNC capability that fab time can be cut down to a few hours instead of a week or more. Once I complete the swap on my truck, (hopefully by the end of winter) I'll be able to give a full breakdown of the parts cost. I will then be able to easily duplicate my build for anyone intrested. As wells have a source for all the needed salvage yard parts.
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748 Posts
I don't know much about sfa swaps, but I will say this, don't make this cheap! Give it coil overs and heim joints. Also I like your idea about making it with oem parts and what not, so my question is this. Is your goal to make a kit identical to say a 2500 set up? A SFA swap kit would be great, but a SFA swap kit thats upgradable with all the stuff out there for 2500s would be awesome!
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What all are you planning on having for "not much more than a IFS suspension lift"? If you put pencil to paper on the total cost of actual parts (not the brackets that you cut out on your table) then they total greater than an IFS lift without including an axle. Now if you are talking about offering the brackets and plans/instructions for a little more than a ifs lift then I see where you are comming from.
Also, you mentioned using heims for your link bars, on something driven down the highway that is a no-no. They wear out to fast and will squeak and just be annoying within a couple of weeks. Your best bang for the buck would be to use regular poly bushings on one end and a johnny joint/super pivot of some sort at the other.
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9,272 Posts
In the 90s ford used a twin traction beam front end. It was a hybrid between a full on IFS and a solid axle. I can see a f250 or 350 axle being used, but why would someone go through the work to make an IFS truck a TTB truck. Besides, ttb was not that great of an idea, def not much better then IFS and def worse then SFA
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Shenanigans. Quality heims are not an issue. My entire front suspension as well as the steering is built with QA1 heims and they are as tight as the day they went in.
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Go check over on www.fullsizebronco.com . They have a section in there forums that specifically addresses SAS's and has alot of different threads from guy who've done it. Read through a few of those and it will give you an idea of what's involved in doing one. There are a lot of different front axles used in these swaps. Some use Chevy, Dodge, Ford 250/350's. Most always go with the leaf spring instead of the coil over. No matter where you go, there will be a lot of fab work involved.
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213 Posts
I got quite a few buddies down here with SAS swaps in there GM's.
I don't really know anyone that has done one in any dodge's
heres my buddies truck.
2004 Sierra 2500, 6.0L, Blackbear tuned, K&N cold air and exhaust work otherwise stock.
has a chev Dana 60 swap w/ eaton locker, stock 3/4 ton rear end W/ eaton locker, Dual hoop kits, Bilstein 5150's i believe, 5:13's, and 40" boggers.
Ford Dana 60's seem to be the most popular down here for swaps....hes the only one with a chev D 60 swap down here.
![Image]()
![Image]()
He was just at trucks gone wild with it....works AMAZING!
I don't really know anyone that has done one in any dodge's
heres my buddies truck.
2004 Sierra 2500, 6.0L, Blackbear tuned, K&N cold air and exhaust work otherwise stock.
has a chev Dana 60 swap w/ eaton locker, stock 3/4 ton rear end W/ eaton locker, Dual hoop kits, Bilstein 5150's i believe, 5:13's, and 40" boggers.
Ford Dana 60's seem to be the most popular down here for swaps....hes the only one with a chev D 60 swap down here.
He was just at trucks gone wild with it....works AMAZING!
I always liked this one 2wd with leaf springs, of course you would have to do a few things different if you already had a 4x4
http://***************/forum/3rd-ge...rd-gen-ram-general-discussion/272408-06-dodge-1500-sas-project-little-goat.html
edit: so I guess other dodge forums don't exist, so you can't link to there sites.....whatever, anyway lets try this
![Image]()
![Image]()
![Image]()
http://***************/forum/3rd-ge...rd-gen-ram-general-discussion/272408-06-dodge-1500-sas-project-little-goat.html
edit: so I guess other dodge forums don't exist, so you can't link to there sites.....whatever, anyway lets try this
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Yeah that 2wd is my trucks wet dream.
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Wow pm me the link to that site. I wanna look at it. But it's a little scary to have a truck sitting on cinder blocks. I would not climb under it. A leaf spring conversion would be easy. I just fear the liability. So there will be testing done on all fabricated parts to the point of failure, conducted by a lab that proofs things like this. It's a bit expensive, but knowing the parts are strong enough offers a piece of mind. To myself as well as the end user. My aluminum upper and lower control arms will be tested as well. I'll send a stock set in as well as the fabricated pieces to see how they compare. And results will be posted.
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