To SAS or not to SAS that, my fellow Broncoers is the question. Aight, here's the deal, I have a 1995 Bronco XLT 5.8L that i love to death. It is in great shape i mean great. The paint is immaculate and the under carriage is great. And to all of you who say TTB doesnt drive straight take mine for a ride, like an arrow. But to the point, I plan on lifting 4 or six inches (thats another story) and i will use it for some trail use, but ive heard that lifting the TTB is not such a good idea, keep in mind this is a daily driver and i dont have a whole lotta money to do upkeep (im 16 :banghead ) but if the sas will save parts and last longer it might be worth it. NOTE: I am not by any means a hard core off roader so im not too worried bout off road performance, i just want enough to get me thru the trails. Any input would be awesome thanx for nething!!

Quite honestly, I'd go ahead and lift it....and IF it breaks, then you can do a SAS :thumbup

Depending on what kinda trails you're doing in GA, that TTB will take more abuse than you're giving it credit for....


EDIT: Come to the next Dixie Chapter trail ride and we'll determine whether you need a SAS or not ;)

i'm gonna have a 4" kit for sale really soon. cheap. never been abused.

gearhead how much, what brand, whats ur location im REALLY INTRESTED!! Also wheres the next trail ride, we should go to rich mountain sometime its not too hard 4 someone like me but hard enough.. thanx tons guys

To clear the engine cross member you will need around 8" of lift for the axle swap. Thats twice of what you had in mind.

Originally posted by Ogeechee 4x4
Quite honestly, I'd go ahead and lift it....and IF it breaks, then you can do a SAS :thumbup

Depending on what kinda trails you're doing in GA, that TTB will take more abuse than you're giving it credit for....


EDIT: Come to the next Dixie Chapter trail ride and we'll determine whether you need a SAS or not ;)

:stupid This is exactly the kind of thing we discussed at camp on Fri. night. Go ahead with the lift, your arrow TTB is gonna suffer somewhat (I know!) but still better to just go with the lift like John said and then do a swap when the need for something new comes up. GearHeads kit would be a great budget lift for you...he's not asking much and you could take a day trip from any where in Ga. to go pick it up. I don't think it has hardly any "driven" time on it..right Allen?

Originally posted by EvilBronc
To clear the engine cross member you will need around 8" of lift for the axle swap. Thats twice of what you had in mind.




huh? Thats not true. Unless you are talking about zero xmember mods.

Yeah, we abused some TTB this weekend, but I have to agree with Ogeechee and Blaze, and not just 'cuz they're from the Dixie Chapter, if ain't broke, why screw with it? You're just spending money you don't need to..Unless you want to be able to go around telling people you have SAS, which in that case, rock on and get it done..But the TTB will take a beating.

Originally posted by plug ugly
huh? Thats not true. Unless you are talking about zero xmember mods.

Plug, what do you mean by zero xmember mods??

In a post not too long ago, plug ugly talked about trimming his crossmember so that the pumpkin wouldn't come in contact with it...

If you do this, you won't need as much lift

I agree with everyone! If you are on a budget the SAS IMO is out unless you already have the majority of the parts. Which I am assuming you don't. Buy GearHead's lift and enjoy it for now.

By the Dixie Chapter peps! When is dat next meet? I hated missing the first one! Got the $$$ to install warn hubs and a few other mods....

Originally posted by Ogeechee 4x4
In a post not too long ago, plug ugly talked about trimming his crossmember so that the pumpkin wouldn't come in contact with it...

If you do this, you won't need as much lift

Okay, I see now that makes sense.

Originally posted by jermil01
Plug, what do you mean by zero xmember mods??

He means leaving the crossmember uncut and factory

And yes, thats what I ment, Plug...

if your just going to do moderate wheeling the ttb is fine, I wheeled lots of places with my lifted ttb and it did just fine.

agreed, you can wheel the ttb. That has been proven time and again. BUT, if you do lots of rock crawling, you are bound to bend tie rods. If you are locked in the front, you are bound to break a front driveline, which depending on where, can be a major pita to replace. If you whel a lot, your camber will always be off causing poor wear on tires.

Youdefinately can wheel the ttb, I never broke a front shaft, but always was open with it. I did however bend tie rods everytime I went wheeling and flexed out the front. just be doing a lot of three wheeling, I would bend tie rods.

The decision should be based solely on the type of wheeling you do, or will do. the sas isnt that expensive, s many parts are re-usable from ttb stuff.

for the original poster, I would reco staying with ttb, locking the rear and staying open in front.

If i lock the rear, ive heard if u still have ttb that it is very unpredictable on the road. I will be doing some moderate wheeling but nothing crazy or not a whole lot of rocks. But neways, i was thinking bout putting a trac-lock style diff in it cause i dont know if i want to loose any turning radius with the lockers, any input?? thanx for all the help guys...How bout that lift how much and where? is it the rough country u have on ur brono thanx

I had no issues on the street with rear locker, just need to get used to it. dont get a trac lock....basically your buying an expensive open diff, limited slips are not worth buying IMO.

Well, I've got a different take.......... I've never understood the mentality of "if I can make it hold together I'll keep it." That attitude ONLY addresses the strength issue, it says nothing for performance.

Except for desert stuff a solid axle will out-perform TTB *everytime*. Period. Even on the street it drives better and tracks better. On the trail you won't lift tires as often, your rig will be more stable, you'll be less tippy and won't mess your drawers nearly so often.

On obstacles where TTB rigs will require a rear locker you're likely to make it open/open.

Again, consider two factors: strength and performance.

IMHO a solid axle is superior in EVERY aspect, so if you're smart enough to think ahead and ask the question (like RedClay is), I can't see why the choice wouldn't be obvious. Yes, budget can be an issue but a D44 swap is not as expensive as you might think.

I'll preach it over and over. I couldn't believe the increase in performance with my SAS (albeit D60 and leaves), it far exceeded my expectations and took me several 'wheeling trips to learn what it could do.

Go ahead and lift it with the TTB,
You'll break it sooner or later. Then look at the cost involved
in the long run. Get some experience on the trails and see how the TTB suits you. You never know, every driver is different. You might not be disapointed and stay with it when it breaks. I am on the fence right now because I've seen them both break pretty hard and pretty soft. Mostly Driver errors in all cases.
I believe you have a stock TracLock limited slip in the rear like I do and that should be good enough for what your gonna use your rig for.
Keep in mind their could be hiddin cost with a lift.
Alignment cost me $300 by the time it was done right.
The again I went up 6" and needed new bushings and
Balljoints on both sides.
Check out the price of a SAS before you do anything though
I found out the week I lifted my rig that SAS could have saved me that extra $300 (Thanks Nameless)
As my buddies Odie said, "People are just afraid of thinkin about a mod that big"
Yes it might be harder to do at first, but think of the experience.

Have fun and good luck brotha