Four Wheeler – September 2019

TECHLINE

COMPILED BY ALI MANSOUR [email protected] PHOTOS: ALI MANSOUR

76 SEPTEMBER 2019 FOUR WHEELER fourwheeler.com

WHERE TO WRITE

H

ave a 4x4 tech question you want answered in Techline? Drop an email to [email protected]

or message us through our Facebook page at facebook.com/fourwheelermag. All letters become the

property of Four Wheeler, and we reserve the right to edit them for length, accuracy, and clarity. Due to the

volume of mail, electronic and otherwise, we cannot respond to every reader, but we do read everything.

CV axle world, so the company could most likely

build you something. You’d likely be looking at

fabricated steering knuckles as well to accom-

modate the hub situation that you are chasing.

Speaking of steering, that’s one thing that you’ll

have to really address as well.

That generation is known for rapidly wearing

out the idler arm and destroying tire rods off-

road. Depending on your tire size, you’d likely

need to run some sort of hydraulic assist, which

has been done. Adding coilovers into the mix will

complicate this a bit as you will need new up-

per and lower control arms. While you state you

don’t want a longer arm set, you’ll need them for

clearance and travel.

Sure, this is all “doable,” but we’re not sure

we could recommend dropping that kind of coin

unless you’re really chasing a go-fast application.

Given there are a handful of companies that of-

fer solid-axle conversions, we think you should at

the very least consider swapping in a high-pinion

Dana 60 front axle or Dana 44, depending on

your tire goals. Offroad Design (offroaddesign.

com) makes a very budget-friendly solid-axle

conversion kit, and it would likely be cheaper

and easier than your custom IFS setup.

We love that generation’s GM Suburban just

as much as you. We think you’re absolutely on

track if you want to build a custom IFS assem-

bly, but we’re just not sure the time and invest-

ment will be worth it.

STOPPING STOP-START

Q

I am the proud new owner of a ’19 Jeep

Wrangler JL. This is my first new Jeep in

about 20 years. It’s also one of the nicest ve-

hicles that I’ve ever owned. My question for you

is about the auto stop-start feature. I just can’t

seem to get used to it. Is there a way (without

putting any type of programmer on the Jeep)

that I can disable it automatically so I don’t

have to press the button every time I get be-

hind the wheel? I’m not interested in voiding my

warranty, just looking for a way to simplify this.

HENRY BENSON

VIA EMAIL

A

We understand the frustration with the

auto stop-start. However, it isn’t a terrible

feature considering the fact that it will increase

your fuel economy a little. While modules

such as the ones offered from Z Automotive

(zautomotive.com) will allow you to defeat this

feature, you can also do it without a programmer

of any sort. An easy (though not perfect) way to

accomplish this is by disconnecting one of the

hood position sensors. You can find these by

popping the hood and locating the two standing

pin sensors positioned on the driver side of the

Jeep, just behind the grille at the top. You’re go-

ing to want to unplug the one that is the closest

to the driver-side fender.

This is going to cause a couple things to

happen. You’ll notice the first thing when you

ULTIMATE IFS SUBURBAN

Q

I recently remember reading in Four

Wheeler, or your sister magazine (don’t

hold me to it, I don’t trust my memory 100 per-

cent), that the editor was looking for ideas for a

new project. Well, I have an idea that has been

floating around in my head for a long time. I

own a ’92^3 ⁄ 4 -ton four-wheel-drive Suburban.

Although that era had some issues, I really like

the look of these trucks and think they have a

lot of potential. I think the factory IFS sucks,

but I’m also not dead set against it. I’ve had

this truck for a long time and will probably be

driving it until I die. Call me crazy, but I’d like to

keep the IFS and have some changes in mind

that I think would be fun to do.

In my eyes, the two main issues with the

setup are the unit bearings and the axle dis-

connect, which I hate. I miss good ol’ locking

hubs and think the new standard of a two-

piece axle that can’t be disengaged and is non-

serviceable sucks. I’ve seen that phase one of

my idea is already offered by Dynatrac in its

Free-Spin kit, but only for newer trucks. I think

it would be fairly simple to adapt an off-the-

shelf 4WD spindle to the stock IFS knuckle.

Of course, that would require a custom

CV axle with the proper outer stub shaft, but

after some problem solving, should be doable.

Also, I would need to replace the two-piece

passenger-side inner axle with a custom one-

piece axle, eliminating the axle disconnect. This

brings me to the second phase of my idea. The

weak link in the chain, aka, the cast-aluminum

axlehousing.

Instead of replacing the two-piece axle in

the stock axlehousing, why not just replace the

entire unit? I was wondering if it would be pos-

sible/feasible (anything is possible!) to replace

the stock differential with maybe a built-up

Ford 9-inch housing. Or maybe even a Dana

44 with the left side lopped-off and shortened

as much as possible. A Dana 60 would be

even better if there were room for it.

The third phase of my idea would be to

eliminate the torsion bars and adapt some

coilover shocks. I know that ideally, with an IFS

suspension, it would be preferred to have lon-

ger A-arms, but that would be a completely dif-

ferent project. Tons of money, engineering and

fabrication. More than what I need or want. I’d

just like to adapt it using the stock A-arms.

You still see tons of ’87 to ’99 trucks on the

road and I’m amazed at how little is available

for them. Even if there were such parts avail-

able for them, I guess the poor slobs that drive

them, like me, couldn’t afford them anyway.

But, doing it myself at home, scrounging parts

and doing all the fabrication (except for the

axles, which wouldn’t be cheap!) sounds like a

pretty cool project.

So, what do you think? Have you ever seen

anyone do anything along those lines with

these trucks?

AL MICCIO

VIA EMAIL

A

Well, it sounds like you’ve got a pretty good

idea of the challenges of crafting a reliable

IFS setup for that generation’s Suburban. If you

want to look at the most robust examples of a

nearly indestructible IFS, take a look at a 4400

Ultra4 car. These cars often use fabricated hous-

ings for the centersections with massive dropout

third members.

In terms of packaging, the Dana 44 would

likely fit the best, but it might not be the

strength you need depending on use and tire

size. RCV Performance (rcvperformance.com)

is definitely a common name and leader in the