Solid Axle Swap and 4x4 conversion of 1996 LS 2WD
Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2010 9:30 pm
About 4 years ago i bought this 1996 Astro LS 2wd at the junkyard. It had a rod knock and 168k miles, but was very well maintained and extremely clean. Originally i had planned to fix it for my mom to drive. We took the pan off and found a nasty journal on one of the rods that could actually be removed from below. resized rod, crank kit, and new timing set later it ran perfect. She drove it for a few weeks. I was driving one day and started hearing things, but tried to make it home. It quit at a light, and when i pulled it home i started digging. the bolts holding the timing gear to the cam had backed out until they tore a hole in the cover, then sheared off leaving a mess of wadded up chain. after installing a new timing set i found 0 compression on 5 cylinders, lots of bent valves. long story short, new heads installed and another rod knock from the abrupt locking up of the motor when the chain wadded up, we parked the thing. the temp tag in the back window expired in august 2007. fast forward to 2009, i bought a house, sold a few cars and wanted a project. drove the van here with no power, no registration, rod knock, and the brake line blew pulling it out of the barn at my parents house so i had no brakes. into the garage it went in september 2009, i yanked the 4.3 out and put in a vortec 5300 from a 2001 silverado. after general fitment issues caused clearance problems with things i could not afford to remedy, i left it in the garage over winter. this january i picked up a bastardized k5 blazer from what i would call a colossal redneck, whose preferred tool was obviously the sawzall, because the body was cut off aft of the doors, the doors were cut off, and the front fenders and chunks of the core support were cut off. but it supposedly ran, and i needed to slap my plow on something to do my driveway because snow blowers suck and my old plow truck gave up. got it running, and it drove so on went plow, and snap went the welded rear end. picked up 3/4 ton axles and installed just the rear.
long story short - and the first paragraph could be way longer - i plowed for 3 months with no heat, no doors, and it was miserable. i kept looking for a 73-87 pickup to put my running gear into, all the while the astro sat in the garage. then i figured - why not make a 4x4 astro? first thing i pulled the lsx driveline out.
after that the first order of business was to draw things out. i knew i had a 350/700r4/np208 combo that was tested and worked. i also knew i had an s10 2wd frame, some 1 ton chevy springs, 3.73 3/4 ton axles, and a complete 76 c30 at my disposal. after going over spring charts, i decided to use the 54" s10 rear leafs up front.
pretty simple after that. figure out where i wanted the axle and began to weld. the beginnings of the front crossmember were in place with spring hangers rather quickly.
the crossmember began life as a 3x4 .250 steel angle. eventually it became a 3x4 tube. the first cut of the engine crossmember was nowhere near enough
when i finally had van on wheels on garage floor i realized i had better get it outside before i started getting the rear up to match, or else i would be stuck inside. first order was lift the rear and get the axle in, because it was becoming a pain to work on a van that was 8" taller in front than the rear.
removed the rear axle and the center pin on the spring so all i had in the van was the main leaf on each side.
marked the front of a set of 1 ton truck springs and dissected them to make my lifted spring packs, and also going for extra capacity because i will be towing my boat up to lake erie with it.
what i ended up with was astro main leaf and #3-6 plus the overload from the 1 ton pack. the springs alone have given almost enough lift, will have to add a couple more inches either with blocks or shackles, but the final tuning of ride height will be determined by where the front ends up. van up in the air was the perfect time to get the 14 bolt in. welded on new perches and removed the massive drum brakes to get it in. my mom actually helped me position it under the van and jack it up into place - i have one of the coolest moms ever.
had some rotors delivered and pressed studs out of the drums and into them and stuck the hubs back on.
popped the engine and trans in on JTR engine mounts. pic shows the extended front frame rails and bumper brackets and beginnings of the boxing of the front crossmember, which is now plated way back on the factory frame of the van.
the last major accomplishment was melding the astro and k5 crossmembers to have a bolt in affair into all factory holes.
since the last pics i have received my rear disc brackets, new front rotors, installed lots of engine accessories. tomorrow i plan to spend some quality time working on things. going to attempt to get the old steering arm off the knuckle and get the new one on and linked to the steering box. i also have to dissect the k5 rear leaf packs to get springs to add more to the front. the weight of van without drivetrain sat things perfectly, so i need to add one or two up front to raise things back up and add the capacity to carry the weight of the van plus snow plow.
long story short - and the first paragraph could be way longer - i plowed for 3 months with no heat, no doors, and it was miserable. i kept looking for a 73-87 pickup to put my running gear into, all the while the astro sat in the garage. then i figured - why not make a 4x4 astro? first thing i pulled the lsx driveline out.
after that the first order of business was to draw things out. i knew i had a 350/700r4/np208 combo that was tested and worked. i also knew i had an s10 2wd frame, some 1 ton chevy springs, 3.73 3/4 ton axles, and a complete 76 c30 at my disposal. after going over spring charts, i decided to use the 54" s10 rear leafs up front.
pretty simple after that. figure out where i wanted the axle and began to weld. the beginnings of the front crossmember were in place with spring hangers rather quickly.
the crossmember began life as a 3x4 .250 steel angle. eventually it became a 3x4 tube. the first cut of the engine crossmember was nowhere near enough
when i finally had van on wheels on garage floor i realized i had better get it outside before i started getting the rear up to match, or else i would be stuck inside. first order was lift the rear and get the axle in, because it was becoming a pain to work on a van that was 8" taller in front than the rear.
removed the rear axle and the center pin on the spring so all i had in the van was the main leaf on each side.
marked the front of a set of 1 ton truck springs and dissected them to make my lifted spring packs, and also going for extra capacity because i will be towing my boat up to lake erie with it.
what i ended up with was astro main leaf and #3-6 plus the overload from the 1 ton pack. the springs alone have given almost enough lift, will have to add a couple more inches either with blocks or shackles, but the final tuning of ride height will be determined by where the front ends up. van up in the air was the perfect time to get the 14 bolt in. welded on new perches and removed the massive drum brakes to get it in. my mom actually helped me position it under the van and jack it up into place - i have one of the coolest moms ever.
had some rotors delivered and pressed studs out of the drums and into them and stuck the hubs back on.
popped the engine and trans in on JTR engine mounts. pic shows the extended front frame rails and bumper brackets and beginnings of the boxing of the front crossmember, which is now plated way back on the factory frame of the van.
the last major accomplishment was melding the astro and k5 crossmembers to have a bolt in affair into all factory holes.
since the last pics i have received my rear disc brackets, new front rotors, installed lots of engine accessories. tomorrow i plan to spend some quality time working on things. going to attempt to get the old steering arm off the knuckle and get the new one on and linked to the steering box. i also have to dissect the k5 rear leaf packs to get springs to add more to the front. the weight of van without drivetrain sat things perfectly, so i need to add one or two up front to raise things back up and add the capacity to carry the weight of the van plus snow plow.
Great write up. I'm looking forward to the finished project. =D>
