RADO's Off Road Rig- Build Thread

[Triathlete]

Progressing nicely! And like Jo...watching closely and taking notes

[ZEUS]

That would be pretty awesome to go the custom route. Bartmans4 & I were recently talking about how the AR5 manual tranny is used in the H3/Colorado. I wonder if that means there are some easy alternatives that route... possibly the H3 Alpha 4:1 t-case?

The H3 4:1 is a no go... it is a slip-yoke style case with no means to remove the slip-yoke section from the back half of the case. I was hopeful it would work for my Blazer too...

I have some advice for you... don't put your hands on the bottom side of the axle when you are trying to position it. It really hurts & can deform your hand if it falls. And don't weld while shirtless... And don't lie down after heavy grinding until you have cleaned out your eyebrows... sharp shards of tiny metal can fall into your eyeball... that also hurts really bad.

I am excited to see YOUR variation of an SAS! Lots of updated, please!!!

[VXorado]

The H3 4:1 is a no go... it is a slip-yoke style case with no means to remove the slip-yoke section from the back half of the case. I was hopeful it would work for my Blazer too...

I have some advice for you... don't put your hands on the bottom side of the axle when you are trying to position it. It really hurts & can deform your hand if it falls. And don't weld while shirtless... And don't lie down after heavy grinding until you have cleaned out your eyebrows... sharp shards of tiny metal can fall into your eyeball... that also hurts really bad.

I am excited to see YOUR variation of an SAS! Lots of updated, please!!!

Too bad about the H3 t-case. That's a waste of the 4:1 gears.

Ha, good safety advice!!! It's amazing how much that D44 weighs and I've been moving it around while sporting flip flops. Just a matter of time until I mash a toe.

[VXorado]

I got the axle under the VX today to get an idea of clearances and bracket locations. I almost immediately ran into a problem...

This axle I picked up a while back came with high steer and 1.5 DOM tube steering links. I figured the high steer was a nice addition that wouldn't be a problem to use. I've seen other SAS Trooper builds use the high steer but for whatever reason, it's not going to work for this build.

Steering link on frame rail.




Now look at the height! With high steer hitting the frame rail, this would be full compression (on bumpstops). It would need a ride height at least 4" higher than the pic.



Obviously, I won't be able to use the high steer if I want to keep the VX low. Also, I took a comparison pic of the tire in original place vs. 3" forward. I like the looks of the tire pushed forward.

[JoFotoz]

Maybe flip the steering upside down..
..and if required 'bow' the link to clear pumpkin?

Just a quick..'I'm about to eat dinner'..thought!

And YEA!..fwd 3 inches looks good..and will give a better entry

Probably worth the 0.02 cents!

Jo

[Triathlete]

Notch and plate the frame?
In my mind I was thinking 5-6 inches forward for the axle.

[Triathlete]

Is it just the photo angle or the axle is not sitting at the right rotation. The knuckles/c's are rotated back. If rotated forward (rear of pumpkin angled up a bit) the steering arm will rotate down an inch or two (still not enough but a start). And as Jo said, flip the link to the bottom of the arms...there's another inch.

[orion]

OR...... Just not use the high steer. Looks to me like the "stock" steering location will work fine.

[VXorado]

Maybe flip the steering upside down..
..and if required 'bow' the link to clear pumpkin?

Just a quick..'I'm about to eat dinner'..thought!

And YEA!..fwd 3 inches looks good..and will give a better entry

Probably worth the 0.02 cents!

Jo

Flipping the tie rods would work, but the top of the high steer is tapered and only fits the tie rods from top-down.

Notch and plate the frame?
In my mind I was thinking 5-6 inches forward for the axle.

I could notch the frame but that would a be a big cutout and still might not get me to the desired ride height. I'd like to be 4-5" lower at full compression. --- if possible

I'll probably play with the axle tire location more but will probably end up around 3-4" inches forward. If I go more, the tire will be pushed out of the wheel well too much for my liking. I'll take another pic with the axle pushed further forward for comparison.

Is it just the photo angle or the axle is not sitting at the right rotation. The knuckles/c's are rotated back. If rotated forward (rear of pumpkin angled up a bit) the steering arm will rotate down an inch or two (still not enough but a start). And as Jo said, flip the link to the bottom of the arms...there's another inch.

I need a magnetic protractor to set the caster angle which should be around +5 degrees. I played around with a more negative caster angle and it does give me a little bit more clearance on the steering linkage.

OR...... Just not use the high steer. Looks to me like the "stock" steering location will work fine.

You're right, I was just baffled by ride height requirement to run high steer considering other Isuzu builds I've seen. I may have to build new steering links to correct length for the stock mounts (which sucks!), otherwise it shouldn't be a problem.


Thanks for the feedback guys... got me thinking! I'll move the steering linkage down to the stock mount later today and see how it looks. More pics to follow...

[Triathlete]

Custom tube frame

[nfpgasmask]

Just catching up on this thread. Big nads is right! I just could never take something like this on! Props to you for doing it, Rado!

Now, not to be a dick, but... I know you get longer wheel base, blah blah blah, but moving that front wheel forward, this is EXACTLY what I think makes SASes look bad. Again, this is just my opinion, but if I were you, I would keep the wheel centered under the wheel well as much as possible without distorting the look of the VX too much. (You be quiet, Billy!)

I have yet to see a quality Isuzu SAS that doesn't end up looking ill proportioned, awkward and weird. But again, just my opinion! I have high hopes for this build!

Bart

[VXorado]

Just catching up on this thread. Big nads is right! I just could never take something like this on! Props to you for doing it, Rado!

Now, not to be a dick, but... I know you get longer wheel base, blah blah blah, but moving that front wheel forward, this is EXACTLY what I think makes SASes look bad. Again, this is just my opinion, but if I were you, I would keep the wheel centered under the wheel well as much as possible without distorting the look of the VX too much. (You be quiet, Billy!)

I have yet to see a quality Isuzu SAS that doesn't end up looking ill proportioned, awkward and weird. But again, just my opinion! I have high hopes for this build!

Bart

Thanks Bart and I agree about the odd look when the axle is moved up significantly. I need to move the axle forward a bit (like in the pic above) to fit the future 37s.

This pic is for Billy... axle pushed forward 5"! (just for reference)

[VXorado]

Also...

I moved the steering linkage down to the stock mount.



Full compression. Ride height will be +5"

[Triathlete]

Thanks for that pic...looks like a lot of trimming will be needed

[VXorado]

Phase 5 ....in progress

Well, it seems every SAS thread has a downtime for updates... and now I know why. Things have been going well but there's alot of time put into measuring, adjusting, measuring again, fabricating, measuring a 3rd time, re-fabricating, on & on & on. So we're moving forward and I finally have some updated pics to share.

Control Arm Setup
I went with TnT Customs XJ long arm setup. This setup uses a "radius arm" style configuration that eliminates 2 out 4 of control arm frame mounts. The setup is fully adjustable for caster angle & axle position.







Frame Brackets
I purchased a set of control arm frame brackets from Ballistic Fab. The frame bracket needed to be positioned at the trans crossmember, which is dropped about 2" from the frame. I chose to remove part of the crossmember mount to fit my bracket and allow more surface to weld. To make things easier, the stock crossmember can still be used.





Axle under VX



Next up is steering. I wanted to replace my steering box because of gear slop at max adjustment and got lucky finding a nice box the junkyard. No leaks, fairly tight and room for adjustment. After steering... trackbar, brake lines, coilover towers & test drive.