'95 Yukon - Looking For Help

[Rex87]

(Sorry so long, skip down to the 3rd paragraph to get to the point, beginning is a little background)

Hi all, I was looking for a 2-door Yukon/Tahoe, but locally, every decent one was a bit out of my preferred price range (unemployed/between jobs now), and condition wasn't worth it. I was going to wait until next year to buy one at a higher price. But.. I came across one local that needed some work. Salvaged title, clean interior for the most part, body in good shape, aside from the ugly painted wheels and fender flares, engine runs, lifted, 37"x12.5 tires, and a poorly done solid axle swap.

I am a highly skilled auto repair tech, and have a vast amount of experience with customization, but my key area of expertise is with race car builds. Out of confidence, and at $850, of course I jumped on it. Like everything about the truck, except the poorly converted front-end end.

***OK, now to the point. I have no idea what front axle this is, how this setup should look, such as the steering setup, and leaf spring mounts, the upper shock mounts are not on the frame anymore (no shocks installed at all), shock options. Pumpkin is on the drivers side, t-case is a driver side drop. Wondering what's simpler, swapping the t-case for an appropriate one, possible to invert the current axle, or just replace the axle assembly? If swapping, which one, and will ot be a bolt-on job. Looking for any ideas, recommendations, or resources. This is my first off-road type build, just wanting to do it right, and keep it cheap. I have an experienced local welder (Colorado Springs), don't know what to buy or where to start.

Main purpose for the truck is to drive in the winter as opposed to my other car. It'll never see the interstate, will mostly stay in the city, will ocassionally run on off road trails (not any time soon), I just want it safe to drive, and have 4wd back.

I attached photos of the front end. Hoping some of you can guide me in the right direction. I don't have any useful info, the previous owner said the axle assembly came from an older Chevy, but unsure. They bought it as a project truck, needed cash, and sold it to me. When I am done with a race build I am working on now, I will put more into the Yukon, but for now, just want it safe to drive. Worse case scenario, and likely in the future anyway, the entire front end will be removed, cleaned up, and redone. For now, just need a winter truck.

I do appreciate any help you all may offer. I've learned a lot so far, but this is a new field for me lol. If your local to Colorado Springs, shoot me a PM and we can talk.

 

[ISU-152]

I woulda liked to see some shots from the outside too but those leaf springs need out imo

 

[Rex87]

Forgot to mention, I will be doing all the work other than welding. Hubs are 6 lug, and unsure what lift is on the truck, I attached a side view pic for reference.

 

[Rex87]

I woulda liked to see some shots from the outside too but those leaf springs need out imo

Pic Added, I was under the impression they should be removed as well. I am not too confident in the leaf spring mounts either, that bar they are mounted to that goes from the frame, side to side, doesn't look to trustworthy (will add better pics as soon as I can). Wondering if I should buy newer better ones, or swap from another vehicle. Shouldn't they be mounted to the frame itself?

 

[ISU-152]

Wow ok....so they put leaf springs on the front or am I seeing this wrong?

 

[Rex87]

Wow ok....so they put leaf springs on the front or am I seeing this wrong?

Nope, you are correct! Leaf springs in the front

 

[ISU-152]

With no shocks....that is absolutely ******. Wonder what the thought process was there. I hope someone else can chime in here...I'm no suspension genius

 

[ISU-152]

Maybe they truly were trying to build an isu-152 lol

 

[Rex87]

Lol yeah, I do feel they ****** it up pretty good. Now I'm attempting to unfuck it. I figure in the end, this project will cost about as much as I would have bought a "good" one for. Hoping to get this squared away in under $3k...hoping.

 

[Rex87]

With no shocks....that is absolutely ******. Wonder what the thought process was there. I hope someone else can chime in here...I'm no suspension genius

Maybe they truly were trying to build an isu-152 lol

Haha I wouldn't mind it for those days we get 12+" of snow in a couple hours.

 

[Rex87]

bump

 

[#1taho]

I have seen solid axle swaps done on these trucks before. But yours don't look right. I think you will need to do a specific search for that. What ever the plans are after that's taken care of you have a good base to start off of

 

[Rex87]

Any chance you recognize the axle assembly?

 

[drakon543]

Same idea when your swapping a solid axle on one of these or a pickup. Thats the wrong front axle for this setup. To do it right you will need a front axle with the proper side on it. Some of those steering angles looked jacked as f too.

 

[Diamondwulf]

That front axle is most likely a late 70's to mid-late 80's Chevrolet Corporate 10 bolt axle that was used in 1/2 ton trucks and suburbans. The reason I say this is the top plate for the leaf spring mounts on the axle have threaded holes for the sway bar to bolt to directly. If you search google for images of Corporate 10 bolt front axles you will find that this is one. Another note is the high mount cross over steering on the passenger side knuckle. designed the same as dana 44 axles which is what chevy based the 10 bolt on.

 

[Rex87]

Same idea when your swapping a solid axle on one of these or a pickup. Thats the wrong front axle for this setup. To do it right you will need a front axle with the proper side on it. Some of those steering angles looked jacked as f too.

Gotcha.

That front axle is most likely a late 70's to mid-late 80's Chevrolet Corporate 10 bolt axle that was used in 1/2 ton trucks and suburbans. The reason I say this is the top plate for the leaf spring mounts on the axle have threaded holes for the sway bar to bolt to directly. If you search google for images of Corporate 10 bolt front axles you will find that this is one. Another note is the high mount cross over steering on the passenger side knuckle. designed the same as dana 44 axles which is what chevy based the 10 bolt on.

Great, thanks! I really appreciate it. I will look it up and compare. I'd like to keep the axle that is currently on it, but I want 4wd. Looking on ORU's site and speaking with them, it appears it is possible with a passenger side drop by replacing the t-case with a, "205" (passenger side drop) but not that common because of parts, availability, and the ease of just using a driver's side drop axle assembly.

If I was doing this from scratch, yes, I agree, a different axle assembly would be better option. But, it's already on the truck. Have you any experience with making this setup work? I'd like to keep it of I can, and swap the t-case (if theres a direct bolt-on option or mostly bolt-on), and put money into correcting the steering, shocks, and leaf springs. But if there's no way, or thats a stupid and much difficult way, I'Il stop wasting time trying to make this work and just start from scratch. The axle assembly looks like it's installed just fine, the...everything else...looks pretty jacked up though.

 

[Rex87]

UPDATE...Firstly, thanks guys for your input. I really do appreciate it, it helped me to find a starting point and get this project underway. After a ton of research, finding out what this rig needed, and no time to do any of the work myself, I decided to search locally and I found a great off-road shop, with great knowledge/guidance, and the right price.

I had to fix a few wiring issues that were preventing the alternator from functioning, throw a new battery in it, fix a couple cooling leaks, and replace the front brake line that runs from the ABS unit to the passenger side. Then, I was able to limp it down to the shop here and let them work their magic.

...I'll never drive a vehicle in that condition again, surprised the entire front-end didn't fall out.

No shackles, horrible welds on the...everything...literally everything. In addition to stripped bolts/nuts/studs, wrong parts, missing parts. I don't know what the last owner was trying to do, but it should be a sin. Anyways, after the guys at the shop analyzed the blasphemous work that had been horribly attempted, had some good laughs, and questioned how I even drove it there and made it, they gave it all a good look over and suggested a plan of attack.

The team at D & C Extreme here in Colorado Springs were happy to take on this project and get 'er done!!!

To sum it all up, the truck ended up getting a new solid axle swap mounting kit, they fixed all of the minor/major issues relating to proper fitment of the axle assembly and steering angles, custom-mounted all leaf spring supports, fabbed and installed shackles, verified proper gear ratios so I can get a passenger-side drop t-case and keep the axle it has (241C from the 87-89 GM trucks), they repaired the shock hoops and installed a set of Rancho 9000XL shocks.

....still under $2k for repairs!! Only spent $850 for the truck...now I see why lol. It's all good though, I was expecting much more.

Deciding to roll with it without 4wd for now. I just picked it up this evening and drove it for the first time without ******** bricks lol. The ride quality exceeded my expectations significantly, and the love for this rig has now began. It was going to be a winter beater for me, but now I'm really excited to push it further. When I am "done" with my primary project (The GT-R in my profile pic), I'll prioritize the truck and eventually turn it into a dream...a good dream, not the nightmare I started with.

It's dark out and I've got a busy week ahead of me, should have photos up next week of everything installed now. Just need that t-case in (Found for $250 locally with shifter, linkage, and driveshaft), and the drive-train will be all set for my current needs. Also, if anyone is local or near the Colorado Springs area and is trying to get rid of anything, let me know. I am looking for a complete exhaust, light-bar, cowl induction-styled hood, front bumper (OEM or non), and various interior parts (Dash bezel, carpet, small misc. trim pieces).