1998 GMC S15 jimmy 4wd build *TONS OF PICS*

[ElCaminoManT]

the leaf springs are pretty buttery after 190k miles

front is a bit stiffer with new coils

thats all for now. hopefully soon itll be out wheeling, just in time for summer....lol

 

[4x4x4doors]

Very nicely done. I've followed a few of these over at s10extremist.org but generally don't see so many of round body style.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Very nicely done!

 

[blaz]

Nice to see the step by step. Don't forget to keep checking in with feed back on the ORD kit and how the D30 holds up.

I will be putting some 33's on my IFS blazer by the end of this summer. I hope to have the E locker in sooner.

 

[chilliwak]

That is a very impressive build:Wow1: ElCamino! It seems that your fabrication and installation is not notch. The pics you posted allows us all to follow the progress and drool:drool: at the incredible flex the truck now has. I cant wait to see pics of you out in the bush with that very capable vehicle. Cheers, Chilli.

 

[ElCaminoManT]

thanks chilli but i have to give the fab credit to my brother for doing what was needed to get the kit installed and to ORD for their system. my part in the build was primarily the mechanical side of things as im an auto tech for a living. my brother has the patience to figure out how to make something work and i get my hands greasy fixing the broken stuff, lol!

the exhaust y-pipe was modified yesterday to give clearance for the front driveshaft so thatll be in shortly. tie up a few loose ends and hopefully we will be out on the trails soon! we have been chasing a persistent oil leak and pretty sure its coming from the rear main seal. thats something i get to deal with but not looking forward to as that means the transmission is coming out..oof!

 

[ElCaminoManT]

realized i havent updated this thread in a few days so....

we found a steering stabilizer solution that works with the limited room on the steering system. there was no way a stock style jeep stabilizer mounting would work so this is what we went with. rustys off road to the rescue. i know its pretty low but i think itll do fine with where we plan to take and use this truck

 

[ElCaminoManT]

4wd is now functional and works GREAT! between the low range ratio in the t-case and the 4.56 gears in the axles, 4LO should allow us to crawl thru anything we need almost at idle. the shaft is from a 1st gen ford explorer that was shortened slightly and completely rebuilt

 

[ElCaminoManT]

its a little weird to see an S10 vehicle parked next to my HD and making it look kind of small...

i do have a few more inches of wheel base than it does tho

 

[ElCaminoManT]

the jimmy finally made a short trip off road yesterday in its new rebuilt form to the top of one of the local small mountains. it has been here before when in stockish form but it did it a whole heck of a lot easier this time around. still need to sort out the sway bar situation for the front end. it is a bit exciting to drive this vehicle on the road without a sway bar quite frankly!

our plan is to start hitting mountain trails for the summer with some overnight camping depending on where we end up going. its already been agreed upon to make the trip up the Swansea-Cerro Gordo grade road to the saline valley salt tram and ghost town in november when we go to owens valley for our annual thanksgiving camping trip. cant wait to do that trek, looks like a blast!!

 

[Carson]

looks good! another way to sneak some flex outa the front end when on the trail is to remove one of the top links on the radius arms, then it will flex freely with out binding. common thing to do on the jeeps when you hit the trail.

 

[chilliwak]

ElCamino, that truck looks absolutely awesome!:Wow1: Glad to see you got the 4by4 working. Keep the pics coming at let us drool:drool:at your nice rig. Cheers, Chilli.

 

[ElCaminoManT]

few more pics from the lil trip up the 'hill'

looks like a little tiny bit of room is still needed at the rear wheel arch trim...or maybe itll self-clearance?

 

[DoMiNiC1]

Great build!

 

[chilliwak]

ElCamino, I love the sound of that, `self clearance´!:Wow1: You will have to fill us in on the details of that one with LOTS OF PICS! Cheers, Chilli.