Chevy & GMC Vans

I was going to wait until she was complete, but ran into an issue that I need to run by you guys. The big question in a lot of our minds was/is CV joints and boots with re-indexed keys installed. First of all I drove her to get an alignment Monday and couldn't really tell that I had done any work on it. Thirty miles, some city, but mostly on the highway. Drove straight, no noise up front, very little rubbing and tires silent. Power was same and not really sure about fuel. Had it aligned no problem, mechanic said he'd seen a lot more severe angles and didn't think I'd have any real problems. I don't think the angles look to bad either, but am a weekend mechanic at best. Then we noticed grease coming from the drivers side upper boot. He tightened it, looked for tears and said to clean grease and see what happens. Possibly have to replace if it continues to leak. The boots just don't look that stressed. So am wondering what you guy's think.

Looks real good!

I'd like to see a view that shows the angle of the lower control arms and axle shaft.

Sorry, should have posted pic's under members vans and can only post three at a time. I like pic's too, worth a thousand words if you ask me. Anyhow, will post pic's of the CV joint and boot so you can see what I am talking about.

Thanks

I know some of you are curious, so I wanted to make sure you got the whole picture and by the way it's 35 3/4" from ground to top of the wheel well in rear and 35 1/4" at front actually looks a little higher in front or at least level. Rides good too, need to do something about shackle bushings in rear they squeak over bumps. More pic's

Whoops, I just took better pic's of the lower control arms, but have posted to many pic's. ??? Is their a better place for me to explain?

That shaft is at a steeper angle than I would have guessed. I'd think they will wear faster, and if they have a lot of miles on them, the CVs will probably need replacing sooner rather than later. But I've seen shafts that steep and steeper on lifted fullsize 4x4s, so it should work.

That looks Bad Ass!

What are you going to do for the front bumper and fender flare?

My only suggestion, more aggressive tires.

That looks quite a bit more angled than my stock keys @ max.



Can you take photos of your steering linkage too please? Particularly around the idler arms.

Thanks and I did stray from the original tire I wanted, but these tires don't feel any different than the stockers on the freeway and suppose to wear and handle the lift better than the BFG AT's.

As you can see I removed the running boards and cladding. So I just need to hit the junk yards and get those two little pieces off a cargo van. The bumper will just go back stock for now, just need to put the tranny cooler in first. Someday I will fab up a bumper, actually thought about adding sheet metal to the stock metal bumper just to make it look more aggressive.

Steering linkage, idler arm..hmmm. Its all about terminology, I think I got them in these pics. If not let me know and I'll take more. I need a book with descriptions of parts.

I will get two rebuilt axles, bearings, boots already packed and ready to install tomorrow. Cost $65.00 ea. with trade in's, lifetime guarantee even if its just a torn boot. They give you a complete axle. I thought that seemed pretty good. Also talked to a guy about dropping the front differential. Will see how these axles do first.

Great pics. Thanks for the updates. This is good for research.

The tie rod to knuckle joint looks awkward. I'm guessing the extra downward force on the idlers causes them to wear faster.

My wife's Liberty has more severe CV angles than that and has no problems.

I like it!

How difficult was it to remove the body panels?

It looks killer! Well done. The Z71 stickers are really the ticket. I wish GM would have sold this package.

Thanks guys. I must admit shes growing on me and my neighbors. Took a little getting used to, but I can see it now. I put the plastic back over the front bumper and was like no way! It needs a custom bumper and then a swing out tire carrier. Next on my list anyhow.

Well, I just put 40 miles on the new front half shaft I installed this weekend. It drives like a dream and I feel pretty good about the angles. The new boots are so much more flexible. Note: take the pressure off the torsion bars before removing any bolts!! I started unbolting the upper swing arm, not thinking and pang..ping @#!shot a nut and bent the other three. Whoops, had to have a buddy go and buy me new nuts and bolts. Getting the axle out was pretty tough and it came out with the little thing with the splines. Shit now what. I called three shops and my brother, no one new what to do. One guy said their was a special tool, I don't have a special tool! I thought...what would they do down in Mexico. Looking at the parts, this thing is just pressed in. I got a couple blocks of wood, small sledge and a 3/8" extension and pounded the little shaft out then did the same back into the differential. Success!! Happy days. Anyhow, it all went back nicely and I'm on the road again. Oh, it took half the day so I only did the one side will do the other next weekend.
The cladding is not a big deal. A few screws in the wheel wells and door jambs, plastic retainers at rockers(use dikes) and buy two/three plastic putty knives so you don't scratch your paint. The cladding snaps into two pieces of plastic track middle and top which are glue to body, theirs also a metal track at bottom it will pop out of. Start at a top edge and pull away from body using the putty knife to cut through glue as you go. Then cladding will pop out of center track and you remove it the same way. Hard part is getting the glue off. I got goo-off, acetone, but mostly just sort of rolled the bulk of the glue off with my fingers when they hurt I used a rubber handled screw driver with a towel over the end. Then finished it off with the cleaners. Especially in your climates that crap just traps dirt and water leading to rust.

Looks great!

I cant see in the pics but did removing the cladding and associated plastic/metal strips mentioned above leave any holes in the body from rivets or screws? If so did or do you plan on plugging them and how so? Pics of the holes would be great so I know what to expect when tackling mine in the next couple weeks..