So, My fiance has a 95 Rodeo that she and I have some big plans for. Over the past few months we have been compiling parts and getting a second vehicle going to facilitate a large scale project.
It all started when I found rust on the rad support. I found a new one on fleabay (and CHEAP!), and ordered it.
Then I found rotted control arm bushings.
Then I found worn CV axles.
Then I found a leaking front axle.
At first I thought "Let's get a lift and do some maintenance", like a sane person. Then I looked one up and realized "DAMN!"
Then I found a Jeep 44 front, complete hub to hub with suspension and steering, for 100 bucks.
And then it was on.
I've currently got hangers, perches, U bolts, and assorted bracketry. The axle was old, it'll need some things rebuilt. It was a bit wide, I've got it cut down right now to be a good WMS width. Will have to buy the shorter axle shafts it'll need soon.
After this, we found a second rodeo for parts. And then an idea came to my mind. Since we can't have the rodeo down for a long period of time, lets mount the solid axle in the donor rodeo, get everything dialed in, tack welded strong enough to test, and then fit it all into the main rodeo. That way if s*** goes south, our main vehicle is not down for ages while we figure it out.
Once this was purchased, things slowed down greatly as we waited to find the right backup vehicle. A few weeks progressed, and a friend said he was moving. we bought a pair of 07 Honda Civics for 1200CAD. Both with low mileage. one needs a timing belt, one needs a bumper and fender. With one up and running, we're focusing on the rodeo again. Next week I'll hopefully order brake lines and a set of parts for a steering setup. that'll handle the exterior mounting of the axle, and I'll move to rebuilding what needs done inside.
During all this, I stumbled across what might be a real treat of a deal. There are a couple of Isuzu 4bd1T engines for sale near me, in NPR street sweeper units. 1200 for the engine, or 2,000 for the unit (or whatever you want off of it). They've been parked for some time (3-4 years), so I have asked a friend to go over there in a couple of weeks, put some fuel and oil to them, and see if they start. If they pucker and fire, I'll pick one up, along with the transmission, cooling system, electronics, mounts, hell the gauge cluster if I can. Whatever I need to make it run in the rodeo. It'll slow down the SAS pretty severely, but ditching the 6vd1 lump has always been a back burner kind of goal for me. I looked at a 4jb1t, but they're too damn rare and too damn pricey for a 110hp engine.
The 4bd1T has dimensions that are close to a 4jb1t from what I have found, and make far better power while still returning good fuel economy. the 6vd1 is lucky to get 18mpg down the highway on 31" tires and takes effin premium. Getting 26mpg on diesel would drop our fuel bill literally 65%, which would be a nice tertiary benefit.
The overall goal here is a solid axle swapped 4bd1T rodeo on 37s with 4.88 gears, a G360/NV4500, and whatever T case I can fit. Hopefully a pax drop 205 so that it mates directly to the 360/4500.
Once I have all the parts I can think of for the swaps, I'll start with the rad support, and go to the axle, and then the engine. I've done a driveline and axle swap before, and fell victim to "oh I need that before I can continue", and things took far too long. Now I'd rather wait to have things set up and waiting to go in.
So yeah, that's me and my plan! So far this site has provided a ton of help while I've lurked and looked and read over plenty of material here. Thought I'd post and get the inevitable feedback of "have you thought of X?"
It all started when I found rust on the rad support. I found a new one on fleabay (and CHEAP!), and ordered it.
Then I found rotted control arm bushings.
Then I found worn CV axles.
Then I found a leaking front axle.
At first I thought "Let's get a lift and do some maintenance", like a sane person. Then I looked one up and realized "DAMN!"
Then I found a Jeep 44 front, complete hub to hub with suspension and steering, for 100 bucks.
And then it was on.
I've currently got hangers, perches, U bolts, and assorted bracketry. The axle was old, it'll need some things rebuilt. It was a bit wide, I've got it cut down right now to be a good WMS width. Will have to buy the shorter axle shafts it'll need soon.
After this, we found a second rodeo for parts. And then an idea came to my mind. Since we can't have the rodeo down for a long period of time, lets mount the solid axle in the donor rodeo, get everything dialed in, tack welded strong enough to test, and then fit it all into the main rodeo. That way if s*** goes south, our main vehicle is not down for ages while we figure it out.
Once this was purchased, things slowed down greatly as we waited to find the right backup vehicle. A few weeks progressed, and a friend said he was moving. we bought a pair of 07 Honda Civics for 1200CAD. Both with low mileage. one needs a timing belt, one needs a bumper and fender. With one up and running, we're focusing on the rodeo again. Next week I'll hopefully order brake lines and a set of parts for a steering setup. that'll handle the exterior mounting of the axle, and I'll move to rebuilding what needs done inside.
During all this, I stumbled across what might be a real treat of a deal. There are a couple of Isuzu 4bd1T engines for sale near me, in NPR street sweeper units. 1200 for the engine, or 2,000 for the unit (or whatever you want off of it). They've been parked for some time (3-4 years), so I have asked a friend to go over there in a couple of weeks, put some fuel and oil to them, and see if they start. If they pucker and fire, I'll pick one up, along with the transmission, cooling system, electronics, mounts, hell the gauge cluster if I can. Whatever I need to make it run in the rodeo. It'll slow down the SAS pretty severely, but ditching the 6vd1 lump has always been a back burner kind of goal for me. I looked at a 4jb1t, but they're too damn rare and too damn pricey for a 110hp engine.
The 4bd1T has dimensions that are close to a 4jb1t from what I have found, and make far better power while still returning good fuel economy. the 6vd1 is lucky to get 18mpg down the highway on 31" tires and takes effin premium. Getting 26mpg on diesel would drop our fuel bill literally 65%, which would be a nice tertiary benefit.
The overall goal here is a solid axle swapped 4bd1T rodeo on 37s with 4.88 gears, a G360/NV4500, and whatever T case I can fit. Hopefully a pax drop 205 so that it mates directly to the 360/4500.
Once I have all the parts I can think of for the swaps, I'll start with the rad support, and go to the axle, and then the engine. I've done a driveline and axle swap before, and fell victim to "oh I need that before I can continue", and things took far too long. Now I'd rather wait to have things set up and waiting to go in.
So yeah, that's me and my plan! So far this site has provided a ton of help while I've lurked and looked and read over plenty of material here. Thought I'd post and get the inevitable feedback of "have you thought of X?"
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