Managed to get the front axle in.
Had our first snow in the middle of October.
Not enough to do too much damage to my plans.
New Tires are going to be 4 inches taller in addition to the lift. I bought Good Year Duratracs based on them being severe weather rated and I mostly use my 4x4 for snow and ice. They are 315/70/17's. I wanted tall and skinny. Looks like 12 inches is about as skinny as they come. I put the tires on Black Rock Yuma wheels. It was fun using our Subaru XV Crosstrek to shuttle tires up the canyon to my house. We left the back open and strapped them in. 4 wheels fit barely. I will save the 5th for when the van is running. Wish I had a picture of the wheels and tires in the back of the Subi.
Once I got the front axle in and the back lifted I needed to drive the van 45ish miles to the nearest transmission shop. The back axle had an 8 on 165 wheel pattern, and the front had 8 on 170 at this point, so I had to drive it miss matched. The transmission had to be modified for 4x4, and since they had to tear it all the way down, I had it fully rebuilt at the time. I had the shop beef it up and added a second trans cooler as well. I drive lots of steep mountain roads and wanted to give the transmission its best chance at a long life. Once the transmission was modified, my stock rear drive shaft would no longer fit so I had to have her towed to my house. Not a cheap tow but it was my best option.
Front Axle
Rear Axle finally goes in. With the sterling 10.5 I had to change the axle spring perches. I had previously cut off the old and welded on the new after figuring out what my pinion angle should be. I also welding on new shock tabs and the brake line tabs. Nice thing about the Sterling 10.5 swap is getting rear disc brakes and the rear track width now matches my front axle. Additionally this swaps the hub pattern to the correct 8 on 170 so now I can use the new wheels on the rear. I had and still have fine threads on the front studs, and course on the rear. Means I have to keep my lug nuts straight but that isn't hard. I carry a spare of each just in case.
Here she is finally sitting on all 4 proper wheels with the new custom drive shafts from Boulder Driveline. This is the first trip around the block so to speak. We don't technically have city blocks where I live but this spot is less than a mile from my house.
All this happened just in the nick of time. This is a week after I got both front and rear drivelines made.