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Old 01-14-2008, 04:51 PM   #11
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Alta,

Didn't have any problem getting the spacers on. I see I'm already a day behind so assume you got it figured out.

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Old 01-14-2008, 05:20 PM   #12
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regarding the spacers you installed on the rear axle. I just got a pr of the same ones from Fred at wheeladapter.com and they seem awfully tight. Did you need to grease the axle or use a hammer/mallet to pound them on or did they just slide right on?
They should slide on, snug but they go one.

Did you previously have non-standard wheel on the vehicle? If so, you may have a little rust build up on the hub. Factory wheels fit tightly on the hub (hub-centric on the van) and aftermarket wheels usually have a larger center hole and allow rust/paint/debris to accumulate. The only thing I would suggest is to try and clean the hub with a wire brush. If that doesn't solve the problem, look for dings that may raise the surface slightly. If you find a ding or bump, knock it down with a file. I guess you could also check the inside of the adaptor for a similar ding or dent with a similar solution.

Fred's adaptors are well made and I would be surprised to find an error great enough to make a very tight fit.

I have a pair of Fred's adaptors on the back of my van to fit the late model F-Series wheels to the van axles.

Mike
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Old 01-14-2008, 06:34 PM   #13
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yeah, I got it all dialed in. Fred called me first thing this morning and all it took was just a little bit of sanding on the end of the axle to remove a little bit of rust and they went on.

His spacers are machined out of steel and the hubcentric design looks very well done too. Should get a chance to take out the van in the next day or two and see the difference in ride quality.

Huge thumbs up for Fred's CS and the quality was off the hook. I had previously gotten my hands on a set of the aluminum SuperSteer spacers which is the new Correcttrack mfg - they didn't fit the Full Floating axle at all and there is no comparision in the overall quality.

Go ahead and look up Fred at wheeladapter.com if you need any spacers for your van - FYI they ran 315 shipped and they arrived 2 days later!!

-d
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Old 01-15-2008, 09:12 AM   #14
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Don't expect the ride or handling to change. From an engineering standpoint, the track width doesn't do much until you start to lift the inside wheel, it's much harder to do that with the wider track. The spring loading is the same with the wider track.

There are a couple of benefits, the front and rear tracks are nearly the same - the rears will follow in the front track in snow - and the van looks much better with the wider rear track. And you can change the bolt pattern to fit different wheels.

Mike
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Old 01-15-2008, 09:40 AM   #15
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I know the spacers really won't change things too much except on the tight twisty canyon roads around here, what I meant was that I am curious how it is know going to ride w/ the new airbags I had installed along w/ the spacers. Should take a bit of monkeying around w/ the air pressure I'm guessing...

-d
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Old 02-13-2008, 04:40 PM   #16
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Great blog. I'm trying to decide which used SMB to look for. I'm not a complete mope when it comes to fab'n, so like many I assume, I've been wondering about doing a conversion myself, paying the $12k to have it done, of just buying one with 4x4 already. Spoke with Quadvan regarding converting a 2wd to 4wd. They use F-350 parts but I see you used F-250 parts (unless I read that wrong). Was it an availability issue or some other reason you went with F-250 goodies? Do you have a step-by-step of the fab process? I never diary any work I do while in the process because I'm too busy doing the work to grab a camera and snap off a picture, but thought I'd ask anyway. Great conversion, by the way.
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Old 02-13-2008, 05:18 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by deminimis
Great blog. I'm trying to decide which used SMB to look for. I'm not a complete mope when it comes to fab'n, so like many I assume, I've been wondering about doing a conversion myself, paying the $12k to have it done, of just buying one with 4x4 already. Spoke with Quadvan regarding converting a 2wd to 4wd. They use F-350 parts but I see you used F-250 parts (unless I read that wrong). Was it an availability issue or some other reason you went with F-250 goodies? Do you have a step-by-step of the fab process? I never diary any work I do while in the process because I'm too busy doing the work to grab a camera and snap off a picture, but thought I'd ask anyway. Great conversion, by the way.
As it turns out F350 and F250 are the same parts. At least for the ones needed to convert. They are both superduty. Sorry, no step by step. Most of the hands on was done by a shop. My job was parts and information.

There are a few reasons I did the conversion myself, or maybe I should say had it done locally. It was cheaper to do it locally. I was able to be much more involved in the process. I didn't have to take my van 1000+ miles away for two months.

tom
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Old 02-13-2008, 05:33 PM   #18
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Good to know. Thanks. I'll probably push the easy button and get mine in 4x4 form from the start. If not, then I suspect I'll go Quadvan as only 100 miles away. However, with a welder, and a nice big shop (with a good stereo and beer fridge) at home, I wonder if I shouldn't just risk it myself. Would make a good excuse to go out and buy a nice Syncrowave.
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Old 02-13-2008, 09:20 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by deminimis
Good to know. Thanks. I'll probably push the easy button and get mine in 4x4 form from the start. If not, then I suspect I'll go Quadvan as only 100 miles away. However, with a welder, and a nice big shop (with a good stereo and beer fridge) at home, I wonder if I shouldn't just risk it myself. Would make a good excuse to go out and buy a nice Syncrowave.
I really felt I had a good connection/communication with Eddie at Quadvan when I talked to him. If it weren't for a killer deal on a used SMB 4x4, I probably would have gone with Quadvan.


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