fresh meat

[fledgling666]

friend of mine has a rodeo with the 10 bolt axles and wants to do somethings to it. he's not sure if he wants to stick with IFS or SAS it. he needs to DD it sometimes, but not all the time.

i ran a few possible set-ups by him but i want to check to be sure since i don't have a LOT of experience with Isuzus. anyone have very detailed series pics of a front or dual SAS on a Rodeo?

i am hoping to use the lower leaf mounts as radius arm mounts and maybe 3-link + panhard the front. maybe just SOA the rear. thanks for any suggestions and detailed photos are very welcomed.

[fledgling666]

i'm looking for a little help, here, guys. i've seen houlster's rodeo, seen matts trooper rs, seen a bunch of sas-ed isuzus over the years, but i just want some more detailed info, and for some reason, the search over at 4x4wire doesn't help much, got a little info, but not as much as i was hoping for.

[bob large]

Well a strait axel swap both front and rear would be my choice.

A Dana 44 front and a ford 9/ 14 bolt /Dana 60, or even a 44 rear would work. I would go with a conventional 4 link with panhard front. Radius arms have there advantages in simplicity but they can create some binding issues when articulating. Not sure how big of a problem it is. I haven’t done too many searches on it.

As for the rear a standard 4 link+pan or a triangulated 4 link would work well. The triangulated 4 links takes some effort to get set up correctly.
As for using the stock leaf mounts I wouldn’t do it. You’re going to end up having to spend a lot of time trying to get them to line up and work, spacer, exc. It would be a lot simpler to make the mounts you want, cut off the spring perches and weld on the new ones. For that matter they make off the shelf link mounts so it would just be a matter of welding on the new mounts.

But anything you do is going to be a lot of fab. So if you’re up to it I would defiantly tear out the ifs and ditch that 10 bolt rear.

But all you’re questions are pretty generic. Not really Isuzu specific, so if you have more questions of different suspension setups, you might want to post them on the general 4x4 page. You would defiantly get more responses.

[Andre75]

Here is a little bit of reading material for you on the subject

http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB68&Number=647703&fpart=&PHPSESSID=

Here is a Rodeo linked F&R
http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB68&Number=869495&Forum=c15&Words=secret&Searchpage=0&Limit=200&Main=804389&Search=true&where=sub&Name=&daterange=1&newerval=1&newertype=y&olderval=&oldertype=&bodyprev=#Post869495

Good luck

[pike2350]

Check out, or contact RobG's(at least on the wire, not sure about here) site. He is the main person I have seen/heard from that not only did it mostly himself, but also kept records. www.isuzu4x.com

Here is the link (http://www.isuzu4x.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album03&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php) to his SAS buildup. It has a few pics. Not sure if you they would help, but I am sure if you contacted him he would definetly be able to give you advice from his experience. He is springs f/r however, so he won't be as helpful in the link department.....at least not from his experience on his Rodeo.

Steve

[fledgling666]

Well a strait axel swap both front and rear would be my choice.

A Dana 44 front and a ford 9/ 14 bolt /Dana 60, or even a 44 rear would work. I would go with a conventional 4 link with panhard front. Radius arms have there advantages in simplicity but they can create some binding issues when articulating. Not sure how big of a problem it is. I haven’t done too many searches on it.

As for the rear a standard 4 link+pan or a triangulated 4 link would work well. The triangulated 4 links takes some effort to get set up correctly.
As for using the stock leaf mounts I wouldn’t do it. You’re going to end up having to spend a lot of time trying to get them to line up and work, spacer, exc. It would be a lot simpler to make the mounts you want, cut off the spring perches and weld on the new ones. For that matter they make off the shelf link mounts so it would just be a matter of welding on the new mounts.

But anything you do is going to be a lot of fab. So if you’re up to it I would defiantly tear out the ifs and ditch that 10 bolt rear.

But all you’re questions are pretty generic. Not really Isuzu specific, so if you have more questions of different suspension setups, you might want to post them on the general 4x4 page. You would defiantly get more responses.

i know my questions are generic, but i was hoping for ISUZU-SPECIFIC ANSWERS. i have already done a dual 44 swap on my Sportage, but i don't know what the frame looks like under a Rodeo, this is specifically why i asked.

[fledgling666]

Here is a little bit of reading material for you on the subject

http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB68&Number=647703&fpart=&PHPSESSID=

Here is a Rodeo linked F&R
http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB68&Number=869495&Forum=c15&Words=secret&Searchpage=0&Limit=200&Main=804389&Search=true&where=sub&Name=&daterange=1&newerval=1&newertype=y&olderval=&oldertype=&bodyprev=#Post869495

Good luck


thanks, that helped a lot. i did the search over there, guess i didn't go back far enough or something.

[pike2350]

Frame is fully boxed. From all that I have heard, the Isuzu SAS is pretty similiar to a Toy SAS. The hump on the front of the frame adds an obsticle to keep the lift low whe you are going springs, but it can be worked with.

I know a guy that was in UT did it by doing what a lot of Toy guys do, which is notching a small portion of frame, weld a DOM tube into the frame(not through it) but so that about 1/2-3/4 of the tube is welded in the frame. This helped keep it low. So far this has seemed to work well for that guy.

Hopefully you find the info you need. With the dual SAS under your belt, this shouldn't be that difficult for you if you take it on.

Steve

[Bansil]

just an added note.
When you start to cut and grind parts off the frame,you'll get pissed in a hurry:mad3: Isuzu was nice enough to double and triple plate/stack pcs so when you think your done,damn.........more cutting to do.

Make sure to take a hammer to the frame behind the tc,to make sure any rust isn't thru the frame.That will add work to it.

Several folks like RobG have found the limits of the stock steering box when tapped for hydro assist.....but this is locked w/38+ swampers on a D60.

Other wise very strong box.

Good luck and post pics

Bansil

[fledgling666]

thanks for the info. so far, i think we are going with either a 3-link/panhard front and, depending on a few things, triangulated 4-link rear, but may do radius arm front for a number of reasons- stability, fewer link mounts and from what i've seen on local rigs, articulation does not seem to suffere much, depending on how the links and mounts are built. we will probably use Grand Cherokee lift coils (due to the weight of the Rodeo, which i think is close to 3800-4,000 lbs., correct?). we will just do a cross-over steering set-up at first, but may go hi-steer later. will move the front axle forward around 2". links will be between 30 and 36" long. will run as long and cheap a shock as we can fit, Procomp 36"-ers come to mind.

this is an extreme budget dual SAS build. the owner just bought a ranch, so he's low on funds and i ain't about to loan him any, i'm just helping with ideas and fab-work, oh, and research, oh, and encouragement (i think he only wanted a mild lift before i talked to him). anyway, thanks a bunch for the info, i will post pics when we get started and i will come back here for info as needed. thanks, guys.

[paulevans76]

might need to go a little farther forward with the front to avoid a bunch of trimming and hammering. what size tires are you guys looking at running?

also, for an extreme budget SAS why not go leaves? saves some time on design and bracketry fab plus no expensive links to buy.

shit you could do a one link and save money. one thing i have been mulling over is a one link with a transverse leaf to provide your spring and locate it so no panhard necessary.

[fledgling666]

no panhard? how you gonna keep the axle centered? you have to run some sort of shackle on the leaf-pack because the distance between spring eyes will increase when it compresses and decrease when it droops. if you run shackles, the axle can move 2x the length of the shackle, either left or right.

and yes, we are also discussing a leaf set-up for his budget rodeo, but now he's talking buggy, chop everything but the front clip and windsheild. so, a light set of leaf packs would be in order.

[paulevans76]

right, that is what i mean- you run a shackle on one side of the leaf pack, mount the other side to the axle with a regular ol spring hanger and it locates the axle in the same manner as a panhard.