Opinions on Salem Kroger 4x4 - Page 2

carringb · 01-13-2016, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BUFFALO

My 97 e350 with Salem Kroger conversion has been reliable.
It has the short leaf springs with a 2000 f350 superduty Dana 60.

Most F-series (and all Excursions) that year got the 50 so consider yourself lucky

Dale - If you can read the stampings on the axle housing or axle tag, you might be able to determine which axle it has using this:
http://www2.dana.com/pdf/X510-2.pdf

Or you can measure the pinion nut: 1-1/8=D50, 1-5/16=D60.

D50 isn't the end of the world BTW, just kind of depends on how heavy your build will be and how hard you actually plan on taking it off-road.

Dhale · 01-14-2016, 07:16 AM

Thank you to everyone that responded. I was unfamiliar with this set up and your responses certainly helped me out. Given it's condition I'm not going to worry about the 4x4.
Thanks again,
Dave

rob_gendreau · 01-17-2016, 04:42 PM

I've got a 2004ish S-K conversion.

They were still doing leaf springs when I got mine. And yeah, they do ride rougher, I expect, than the coil springs. Maybe depend on all sorts of other factors, but generally that's the case. There are advantages and disadvantages.

I had to replace my ball joints recently, and yeah, it was a bit of a pain tracking down parts. The ABS had to be spliced, I still haven't found a track bar (but mines doing OK, maybe a one-off), and the brakes are odd. To get the same setup front and rear I have to drill out some rotors cuz I couldn't get the right size with the same bolt pattern. I contact Craig at Whitefeather up in NorCal; S-K went out of business a while ago. He got me some from a machine shop up there who used to provision them.

So, like any custom fab job, some parts might be kinda funky. I usually get a lot of work done in shops that kinda don't mind messing with stuff like that, since I can't seem to stop adding even more custom crap every time. But it's not for everyone.

I can't recall, but my van is under 8500 without huge wheels and I seem to remember I didn't need a big axle upgrade, and the van is an E250 with semi floaters anyway. Never had an issue with any of the components through 100K+ miles, except for normal wear and tear and my occasional crashing into rocks and things (some brackets, and non drivetrain stuff).

Stumpalump · 03-10-2016, 08:37 AM

Salem Kroger for me has been flawless. 2002 E350 that I bought 10 years ago. It's all F series truck parts and built with Fords spec to maintain full factory warrenty. I did have to add castor shims. I called SK when I bought it and they said all parts are 2002 F 350 parts. Solid front Dana 60 on leafs. Would recomend. At 90k I'm shopping for post mount shocks. Any suggestions?

Dhale · 03-28-2016, 01:16 PM

Thanks for all who shared their thoughts. Well, I went ahead and bought the van from Sportmobile Texas, and boy I love it so far! Here I am the proud new owner of a SPortmobile.
Here is another question though. Fuel tank capacity, I thought it had the standard Ford 35 gal gas tank for the 5.4. Every time I went to fill at about empty though it would only take 22 or so gallons. I let it go yesterday until the low fuel light came on and was still only able to fill just over 25 gallons. Does that mean I really have a 10 gal reserve? Or do I need to go really, really slow with the fill to get it topped off? Or (hopefully not) did the SK build have to cut the tank down to something less then 35 gals for some reason.
Another question I hope you may be able to help with.
thanks,
Dave

BUFFALO · 03-28-2016, 01:28 PM

Cut down fuel tank to make the transfer case fit I think. Mine is the same way. Not exactly sure how big it is. I can get 300 miles on a tank generally with the v10. Approximately 11.5 mpg on average. So somewhere around 26 gallons maybe.

rob_gendreau · 03-28-2016, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BUFFALO

Cut down fuel tank to make the transfer case fit I think. Mine is the same way. Not exactly sure how big it is. I can get 300 miles on a tank generally with the v10. Approximately 11.5 mpg on average. So somewhere around 26 gallons maybe.

That's about what I figure mine is. Also cut down.

Dhale · 03-28-2016, 01:39 PM

I was hoping you weren`t going to say that. Exploring other threads there were lots of comments about not filling all the way, or, having lots of extra capacity after the fuel light came on. Is there any, simple way, to check the tank to determine it`s capacity?
if not I guess I`m going to have to add a couple of Jerry cans for back-up in the desert, 300 mile range isn`t that good.

mikracer · 03-28-2016, 02:40 PM

Before my tank was modified for 4x4, the light would come on and I would have about 6 gallons left in the tank. I haven't run any tests to see how many gallons my tank was decreased by, but it seems that most vendors will cut off about 5-6 gallons worth of capacity.

rob_gendreau · 03-29-2016, 09:34 AM

I had my van before and after the conversion, and lost that tank capacity. I dunno what the exact size is now, but in over a decade of gadding about only once did I regret having the smaller tank. And even then the extra 10 gallons would not have really helped much. I dunno where you live but it's pretty hard to find places here in the west without a gas station in 200 miles, or even less than that assuming higher consumption four wheeling. Maybe going out to Saline Valley and doing a few longish day trips perhaps.