Build Reviving my OG Daily Driver: 2003 Silverado SAS

Dan_Goodwin

Dan_Goodwin

Red Skull
Joined
Jun 25, 2020
Member Number
2170
Messages
143
Loc
Birmingham, AL
This thread will document swapping my 2003 Chevy Silverado 1500 IFS 2WD to a solid axle 4wd. If you’re looking for a throwdown rock crawler build, then lower your expectations to extreme overlander and I’ll likely meet your goal.

This was my first car. The truck got me through high school, college, 3 jobs, was the get away rig for our wedding and was my daily driver / service truck / tow rig / dirt road explorer for 16 years. To say its a special rig (to me, anyway) is an understatement. Sorry in advance for all the words in this first post entire thread – short and succinct just isn’t my writing style. For all of you that don’t like to read or generally hate a good story, I’ll include copious amounts of pictures and TLDR’s along the way.

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TLDR: My dad bought this 2003 Silverado brand new, gave it to me in 2008 and was my daily driver until October of 2024 when a lower control arm mount failed.

The truck was delivered to my parents in April of 2003 with only a few hundred miles on it. It was a well optioned LS trim package with a 5.3L, towing package, cloth bucket seats and a Bose sound system. Due to a series of fortunate events I was given the keys to this truck when I turned 16 in February of 2008 with 55k miles on the odometer with strict instructions to take care of it since it was the only one I’d ever get.

I did all the typical high school things to it – minor stereo work, 5” lift (which is still on it today) a brush guard, Flowmaster dual exhaust, etc. Over the years the exhaust was swapped for something quieter, a 9.5” 14 bolt rear axle was installed after 2 10 bolt failures, front ARB bumper from a Nissan Xterra was installed with a winch, hydroboost, Suburban twin piston rear calipers, electric fans, and a few other odds and ends. Overall, a great truck that I’d refined over the years to suit my needs but the lack of a front diff was always a limiting factor.

With 297k miles on the clock, the truck had developed what I can only describe as death wobble in Summer of 2024 which lead to a lower control arm bracket cracking and ultimately pulling off the frame (in my driveway, thankfully). What I think happened was a leaking hydroboost unit kept a control arm bushing soaked in PS fluid, causing it to disintegrate, creating the wobble and fatiguing the mount. Coincidentally I’d picked up a 2015 Silverado at the same time and was forced to put the old truck in storage on October 30th, 2024 until I could hash out a plan to fix it.

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My first truck was a 99 (late 99, GMT800) Sierra single cab short bed with the 4.8. I’ve had 6-7 GMT800s since and wish I had kept several of them.

These trucks hold a special place in my heart so look forward to your updates.
 
fl0w3n said:
My first truck was a 99 (late 99, GMT800) Sierra single cab short bed with the 4.8. I’ve had 6-7 GMT800s since and wish I had kept several of them.

These trucks hold a special place in my heart so look forward to your updates.
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wvracer821 said:
I'm here for a good cat eye SAS
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McBastard79 said:
Yup, in for this one.
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Thanks guys! This one should be fun. I'll try to keep the updates real time so I don't get behind like my Jeep build thread.
 
Inspiration for this ‘fix’ dates back to high school when I was on Full Size Chevy and GMFull Size forums. While browsing all the bolt on builds, one day I ran across Cody Bennet’s (mccustomize on the old place and Instagram) solid axle build with a Dodge Dana 44. It was a 3 link coil sprung build that kept the stock 6 lug unit bearings and brakes, inspired by a build from the old place that installed the Dodge D44 under an OBS chevy.

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I’m not looking to build a hardcore wheeling rig since I’d rather not turn this truck into a rasin from all of our tight southern trails – I'll save that for my jeep or side by side. What I want to build is more like a Rubicon or Power Wagon package with solid axles, reliable LS drivetrain and built to handle a 35” to 37” tall tire. A true jack of all trades truck that can be a daily driver, work truck or air down the tires for some mild shenanigans.

Many of the build threads I’d seen were using a link suspension with coil springs. Well, my 2wd truck already has a coil spring pockets that are big enough to accept a typical 5.5” spring (IFS spring OD is 5.8”) and the Dodge D44 accepts the GM 6 lug unit bearings which keeps the stock wheels and keeps the ABS happy. I can find brackets and tabs from one of many vendors to make just about anything fit anything. The 2wd frame also has the holes already cut for the 4wd steering box which has been utilized in the stock location on numerous other builds. I can change the tailshaft on my existing 4L60E and bolt up a manual shift NP241 to make it 4wd. See where I’m going with this?

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Spoiler alert – this picture is of my truck from a few years ago.

TLDR: Folks smarter than me figured out that a Dodge D44 accepts the GM 6 lug unit bearing. My 2wd frame has coil buckets and provisions to mount a steering box. Lets fix a Chevy with Dodge parts and a welder.

I needed a deadline for this project and was presented with the perfect shakedown opportunity – The Altima 600 at the Freedom Factory in Bradenton, FL on October 9th. Only a 610 mile drive each way from Birmingham, AL. Seems fine.

I have the axle, steering box, set of 315/70/17 tires, coil springs and pile of parts from Barnes 4WD on hand. I’ll spend Labor Day weekend at the lake and plan to bring the truck home next weekend to get this deal going.
 
pennsylvaniaboy said:
funny, i just saw an ad for this company

Tahoverlanding solid axle Conversion
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I've been loosely following his stuff for a little while and he seems to be getting this axle swap dialed in. I disagree with his execution on a few aspects of the kit he offers but he has numerous successful builds using his parts so I can't argue with that.
 
Cool, I had never thought about the 2wd coil buckets being good candidate for the swap. So the coil width is just right for the Dodge 1500 Dana 44s from the mid to late 90s? Do you plan to retube the CAD?
 
fl0w3n said:
Cool, I had never thought about the 2wd coil buckets being good candidate for the swap. So the coil width is just right for the Dodge 1500 Dana 44s from the mid to late 90s? Do you plan to retube the CAD?
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The Dodge coil OD is too large to fit in the stock coil buckets but the frame width is actually spot on. The Tahoverlanding kit installs Dodge sized coil buckets on the frame and uses the Dodge axle in stock form, which is pretty neat. I may be letting the tail wag the dog here but I really want to retain the stock Chevy coil mounts and add my own brackets to the Dodge axle to make it fit. I'm going down that path until the truck tells me otherwise.

No plans to retube the CAD currently but its not out of the question. If its a terrible idea to keep it then I'm certainly open to be told I'm an idiot and need to delete it. If nothing else I'll install a new one piece axle shaft on that side and weld the CAD cast section to the axle tubes.
 
If you decide to keep the cad you can turn the factory actuator into a redneck posi-lok or buy one of their kits. I did this years ago with just a shifter cable for a B&M shifter I had on hand, inside the actuator I used a RC truck coil spring for the return spring.
 
Made a little bit of progress this weekend. The truck is back home, washed and the driver side suspension has been removed.

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Yes, this build is taking place in my carport. The plan is to get the passenger side off by Wednesday and slide the axle under it for initial mock up by Friday. I’ll have the house to myself for a few days this week so I’m stocking up on Monsters and Dominos pizza coupons and plan to have the links mocked up by the end of the weekend.

In other news, Tire Rack had some close out deals on tires that I couldn’t pass up. I’d planned to run a set of 315/70 BFG ATs (lightly used off my buddy’s raptor) but those plans may have changed.

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Yes, that’s $1,144 for a set of 315/75/16 AND a set of 37x12.50s. This tire deal was a buy first and ask questions later so we’ll see how it shakes out. I’m now planing to build around 37s (which is kinda what I wanted to do anyway). Stay tuned, this is about to get fun!
 
It sounds like you already have a good grasp on what your going to do but if I can offer one opinion. Buy bushwacker cutouts and keep the truck as low as you would have for the 35s while fitting 37's.

Lucky SOB on that order man that's a steal. I want the Interco blem Cobalt's bad but even as blems they are still asking almost $400 per tire.
 
Cool build! Your story is similar to mine. My rig was dad’s vehicle since new, I got it later in life, been SAS’d. Took me to prom, college, wedding, daughter home from the hospital when she was born. Lots of sentimental value.

Since it’s primarily a DD style rig do you plan to have a sway bar? If not, radius arms help tighten up the front end with natural bind.
 
350TacoZilla said:
It sounds like you already have a good grasp on what your going to do but if I can offer one opinion. Buy bushwacker cutouts and keep the truck as low as you would have for the 35s while fitting 37's.

Lucky SOB on that order man that's a steal. I want the Interco blem Cobalt's bad but even as blems they are still asking almost $400 per tire.
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I'll listen to any suggestions since there are folks with far more experience on here than me. I'd rather not cut sheet metal but that's certainly an option. 37s are a far cry from the 255/70/16s that came on this truck....

Fingers crossed the tires actually ship!

06h3 said:
Cool build! Your story is similar to mine. My rig was dad’s vehicle since new, I got it later in life, been SAS’d. Took me to prom, college, wedding, daughter home from the hospital when she was born. Lots of sentimental value.

Since it’s primarily a DD style rig do you plan to have a sway bar? If not, radius arms help tighten up the front end with natural bind.
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Man, I'm humbled you're following along. I've watched your H3 build (including the UA appearance) for a while now.

Yes, I'm planning to run a sway bar with the 3 link. But. I'm also trying to keep this thing as stock as possible queue monster garage intro so if the 3 link is going to cause issues, a radius arm setup is plan B. The only change I'd have to make is add an upper link mount on the passenger side of the axle. I came really close to going radius arms from the start but wanted the challenge of setting up a 3 link.
 
For me a street or light trail truck radius arms are the easy button and can ride nice with a long arm. But I have never owned a 3 link truck, only 4 link (well 5 if you count the panhard) or radius arm. I understand not wanting to cut metal but for me the flares give better coverage, allow truck to sit lower and fit the bigger tires. Buddy had them on a 1\2t suburban and cleared 36's stock height but they were also a narrow 9.50 or 10.50 been years so fuzzy on that.

EDIT actually right after typing that I remember they were 9.00-16 because he had them on the stock wheels with a spacer and he got a deal on military michelin XL's. leaving the previous reply alone though :lmao:
 
Cool, a sway bar will take care of any sway issues on road. A guy who has a similar truck to your's is dmanbluesfreak. Idk what sway bar setup he has but I know he has one.
 
You might get away with a early 2nd gen ram one. They are narrower if I remember correctly then angle out to line up with axle mounts. They changed it and went to a wider bar that was straighter shot to the axle links later on I think....hopefully I don't have that backwards.
 
I made some pretty good progress on the truck this weekend. Knowing all the stuff I had to move around I borrowed a Dingo from work to serve as my forklift. This makes me want to buy one of the Chinese knockoff mini skid steers – this thing is a time (and back) saver.

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I did a lot of research on how to set up a 3 link and the information was consistent that if you follow the below rules, you’ll have a good end result for the average user:
  • Link separation at the axle needs to be a minimum of 25” of the tire diameter.
  • Link length needs to be a minimum of 2x the wheel travel.
  • For the best on-road handling, the upper link needs to be 70% of the lower’s length.
  • Triangulate the lower links as much as possible to reduce stress on the track bar mount.
  • The upper link needs to be flat-ish at ride height.
I’m not building a 4400 car here, so I set out to build around these guidelines with a 37” tire as the basis for the link separation. Yes, I know the link calculator exists and plan to play around with that before I finalize everything.

The upper link is 1.75” .120” wall DOM tube with 1.25” Enduro joints at both ends, lowers are 2” .25” wall DOM with weld on Enduros at one end and adjustable on the other. After laying everything out and tacking the brackets on the axle I had this:

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I don’t love how much I had to cut out of the truss, but once I get done tying everything back together I’ll be happy with it.

I let the upper frame side mount locate itself as far back as possible and cut links from there.

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The first issue I ran into was that I cut the lower links too short and they ended up being about 85% of the lower length. Don’t ask me how I goofed that up because I still don’t know. Not the end of the world as I can shorten the upper and move the mount forward to make it right.

The second issue was the axle side upper mount interfering with...everything, especially the factory motor mount.

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After laying under the truck for at least 30 mins one night thinking through options I could either add a crossmember to run the link straight back or clearance the mount and see how it shook out.

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This left me with about 2.5” of uptravel before the link was into the side of the oil pan (the truck is being mocked up at ride height). I’m shooting for 4” up and at least that much down. After some more staring I realized that I can move the joint back and down on the truss to get all the clearance needed. Something like this:

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I’ll tie that mount into the truss and add all the triangles to it this weekend.

Progress feels good.
 
Dan_Goodwin said:
This makes me want to buy one of the Chinese knockoff mini skid steers – this thing is a time (and back) saver.
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You reach a point in your life where this is so true. I'm older than my supervisor at the Shop and he's constantly coming up with complex, time-consuming, back-breaking ways of doing things. I'm quiet for a moment and then explain how we're going to do it in half the steps or less without having to worry about killing ourselves in the process. His reaction is always along the lines of agreeing with me and asking how I always seem to figure these things out? I tell him I'm old, tired, and everything hurts - that's my motivation for finding a way to not take so much time and add damage to our bodies.
 
Hate to say it but if it's not all welded up, just grab some new material and make the lowers the right length. You'll fight the rest of it if those aren't right
 
PAToyota said:
You reach a point in your life where this is so true. I'm older than my supervisor at the Shop and he's constantly coming up with complex, time-consuming, back-breaking ways of doing things. I'm quiet for a moment and then explain how we're going to do it in half the steps or less without having to worry about killing ourselves in the process. His reaction is always along the lines of agreeing with me and asking how I always seem to figure these things out? I tell him I'm old, tired, and everything hurts - that's my motivation for finding a way to not take so much time and add damage to our bodies.
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I'm only 33 but hear too many older guys saying things that equate to start taking care of yourself now and not wish you did later.
KacksterK5 said:
Hate to say it but if it's not all welded up, just grab some new material and make the lowers the right length. You'll fight the rest of it if those aren't right
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The way it is now, the lowers are 33.5" long (bolt to bolt) and the uppers are 25.125". I'm shooting for 8-10" of travel, which still keeps me within the 2x of wheel travel vs link length so I think I'm still alright there.

I didn't get anything accomplished over the weekend to write home about. The upper link has been shortened (but not final welded) and mount moved, new upper link mount tabs were cut and tacked into place and the steering rack was removed. I did get 2 of the new tires mounted and installed on the truck at what should be close to ride height:

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Well, my lack of posting is a reflection of how much time I've had to work on the truck (none) lately. To bring this up to current day:

I've done a lot of research on 2wd vs 4wd frames and, best I can tell, the frames are identical but there are a few brackets and crossmembers that are different. Case in point:

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The steering box holes are in the outside frame rail of my 2wd, partially hidden behind the LCA / steering rack crossmember.

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I ordered some 1" x .5" wall DOM stock to use for the inserts, drilled the holes to .5625 and tacked a stock 4wd steering box in its place. I've had this box kicking around for legitimately 10 years waiting on this project. :lmao:. It took a solid day to get the crossmember cut out, frame rails cleaned off and the box tacked in but felt like a huge milestone.

Needless to say, the truck did not make it to the Altima 600 at the Freedom Factory but I had to take my 2015 Silverado anyway
since I had to haul a car, 15kw generator and 3 buddies with me.

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I can't say enough good things about the venue and staff at FF. I highly recommend a visit if you get the opportunity. We rented campers and stayed on the property Friday and Saturday night and had a ball. Both cars finished the race and drove back on the trailer the next morning.

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I spent my next free weekend getting rid of a parts truck that has a spare drivetrain for my TJ and axle parts needed for this project. Anyone need a 5" lift for a second gen Ram 1500?

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I hope to have an update with some actual progress soon.
 
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Got the passenger side shock tacked in and the driver side is within 30 mins of going on. Frankly, I don’t love the placement on the link (rather have it on the axle) but this is what I had to compromise with. The shocks are a Fox IPF shock off a Gladiator Rubicon with 8” of travel and the towers were a project for my TJ that I haven’t gotten to yet. I used a strap to pull the shock with 4” of shaft showing, set it in place and tacked the tabs in. The truck is sitting at ride height so this should give me 4” up and 4” down travel (probably a little more with the motion ratio of the location on the link. Bump stops and limit straps will be used as needed.
 
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Track bar and driver side shock are tacked in place. Initial cycling of the suspension is really promising with only a touch of bump steer when it nears full droop. Still have a lot of checking to do before this is all burned in for good, but I’m pleased with this so far.

The shaft on the steering box is an attempt to kill 2 birds with 1 stone - I need to replace a crossmember that was cut out and also want to brace the steering box. I ordered a 94-99 Ram 2500 steering box brace from the jungle website and am going to cut it up to work with my application.

Goal is to have the truck driving by the end of this year.
 
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