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Old 11-17-2016, 08:45 AM   #21
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I recommend going the direction of the sterling.
Your van is only going to get heavier, and as far as resale value, I think people expect it.
Chris recommends the 05-07 and has a kit as I'm sure you know.
4x4 van conversion parts

I plan to do this eventually, maybe this winter.

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Old 11-17-2016, 09:15 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian94ht View Post
I recommend going the direction of the sterling.
Your van is only going to get heavier, and as far as resale value, I think people expect it.
Chris recommends the 05-07 and has a kit as I'm sure you know.
4x4 van conversion parts

I plan to do this eventually, maybe this winter.
Sure you can buy the bar bones Sterling for $3k plus shipping but you gain exactly what?

~no locker
~extra load capacity (6500 vs 9750 GAWR)
~slightly wider WMS-WMS. No need for spacers
~stronger ring and pinion and 1.5" diam 35 spline axle shafts

For $500 you can find a used D60 FF that's pretty much plug and play. You can add 35 spline shafts for ~$300 and you end up with an axle nearly as strong. On the other hand if you haven't sourced an axle, need to regear and/or add a locker and your front is already 1x170mm bolt pattern than by all means I agree. But to state that folks expect a Sterling, especially if your not towing, is a bit of an exaggeration.

I would argue the cat's meow is the D70. It has a higher GAWR at 10,000 lb. When I looked into the Sterling for my application it was going to almost double the cost. I'm quite happy with the D60. It all depends on what you're going to do with your van
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Old 11-17-2016, 09:39 AM   #23
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^^^ I cant afford to buy new, pockets just aint that deep. ive seen them locally for as cheap as 500 bucks with less than 100k miles. I do plan on towing a car here and there and obviously my rig is gonna be heavy once I build out the interior. plus my front hub issues. I do not want to have to do machine work every time I need new hubs up front. I just want off the shelf parts in case the issue happens away from my lifelines. so this is a fix numerous issues and spend some money this time round and have it be not near as painful next time round.

I can sell the ff d60 I have and put that towards the sterling. plus I might find someone interested in the lsd sf d60. never know. seems to be a big lack of options on our local cl. that might benefit me. who knows??

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian94ht View Post
I recommend going the direction of the sterling.
Your van is only going to get heavier, and as far as resale value, I think people expect it.
Chris recommends the 05-07 and has a kit as I'm sure you know.
4x4 van conversion parts

I plan to do this eventually, maybe this winter.
^^^ yours doesn't have a full floater?? I thought the passengers did?

and ya looking for a sterling now. thanks for posting up years to look for man...ill go check that link too. just need to figure out where to find one locally and exactly which one. I don't wanna do the dance Tyson is doing right now

speaking of mr backcountry, if all goes as planned, were installing his front axle tomorrow!

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Originally Posted by saline View Post
I found 2 E series FF D60 axles at my local salvage yard here in Grand Junction. I'd recommend poking around some of your local yards there.
The one I got was was a simple swap. The calipers and everything swap right over. No need to even bleed the brakes etc.
was hoping that was the case, but I think its time for fresh fluids anyway.

our pick and pull yards generally don't have the newer vehicles, but I was surprised to see some 05 vehicles last Saturday when I paid a visit.

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Originally Posted by expeditionnw View Post
Correct, the superduty axle has a different perch width than the van. But thays a simple task to overcome.
do you have any idea how far off the f-series perches are from working with the location of the e-series springs? 1/2" 2-3"??
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Old 11-17-2016, 10:50 AM   #24
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do you have any idea how far off the f-series perches are from working with the location of the e-series springs? 1/2" 2-3"??
Exactly one welder + one grinder difference. Seriously though, it's a 1 hour job to move the perches if the axle is already up on stands.

In my area it was easier to find a SRW sterling than a disc brake d60 ff (my buddy must have got the only local one for $150 with 4.10's and lsd, and put it under his CJ8.) so if I were in your shoes, I'd keep looking for the sterling. I was considering the sterling swap myself and even found one for ~$400 5 minutes from my house... but I had the opposite issue and wanted to keep the 8x6.5 pattern so I ultimately just kept my drum break FF and threw money at it. I didn't catch, what gears are you currently running, and are you planning to stay with that ratio?
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Old 11-17-2016, 11:03 AM   #25
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lol, ya, isnt that whats needed for most all mods with any project??

and yes, I am planning on continuing my search for a sterling. sounds like the best overall fit for our heavy pig and plans to have a reliable towing option along with leaving the front hubs 8x170.

ive currently got 4.10's and no real plans to change at this point.
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Old 11-17-2016, 11:36 AM   #26
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Sorry I didn't reply back to your questions to me, but it looks like everybody else did a fine job

I think Chris sells a spring-perch/shock-mount kit for the Sterlings, so you don't have to buy a pre-prepped axle.

I run across axles all the time just browing craigslist parts. Be sure to search "axle" and also "axel" because it gets posted with the bad spelling more often than not is seems. But bigger wrecking yards are full of them too.
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Old 11-17-2016, 12:03 PM   #27
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Who said anything about buying a $3000 axle?
The link I gave was to the conversions page which shows the sterling conversion kit with or without parking brake cables.
There is plenty of these axles available locally for what looks like $280 and up even with lockers.
Can't get the car-part.com link to post,

So what do you figure? $600? Plus time? $800 with brakes and bearings? Providing you don't have to do anything with the diff.
You can add it up anyway you want.

Also, my comment in regards to "expecting" to see a Sterling on the rear have to do with a few for sale ads I had seen where people asked, "does this have a Sterling conversion in the rear or wheel adapters?"

No Shea, mine doesn't have an FF rear. I do have wheel spacer/adapters in the rear. I "expect" to see a Sterling in the rear of mine someday. Likely just before it needs a brake job or other maintenance/repairs.
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Old 11-18-2016, 12:08 AM   #28
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There are E series D70's out there. Chris (UJoint) hooked me up with one and I put it in my last SMB. They are usually on box vans or cutaways.
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Old 11-18-2016, 08:59 AM   #29
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^^^ pardon my ignorance, but whats the draw to the d70 and why would I want it over the sterling?

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Originally Posted by Brian94ht View Post
No Shea, mine doesn't have an FF rear. I do have wheel spacer/adapters in the rear. I "expect" to see a Sterling in the rear of mine someday. Likely just before it needs a brake job or other maintenance/repairs.
I had seen that exact add on car-parts. had high miles, but whichever one I find will get new seals, check bearing etc anyway.

this link for the ujoint stuff looks like a good enough deal to save the time of having them fabbed up. might do his ss brake lines at the same time if they will worky on the quiggy.

can anyone answer my questions regarding the 08+ calipers?? ...can the 08+ calipers bolt onto my 00-04 spindles or do they need modified to work? whats the difference between those and the ones I have? substantially larger pads? more pistons??
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Old 11-18-2016, 09:56 AM   #30
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can anyone answer my questions regarding the 08+ calipers?? ...can the 08+ calipers bolt onto my 00-04 spindles or do they need modified to work? whats the difference between those and the ones I have? substantially larger pads? more pistons??
I don't know if the 2008+ calipers will fit on older knuckles but the main reason to use them would be with bigger rotors .........since they are a bit low-profile...you can upsize the rotor for a given wheel size.

don't know what diameter your rotors are but the 2008+ calipers are designed for 13.5" dia rotors (RE: their curvature)

They are two piston....

I just did a four wheel brake job yesterday...should have snapped a few pics.....I have the old front pads laying here if you want a picture......not sure the pad size will be that different.
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