2003 AWD -- is this stock?

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mmmalmberg
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2003 AWD -- is this stock?

Post by mmmalmberg »

New AWD owner. Just bought this from another member. Tires are 235/70/R16. It looks a little higher than stock from pictures I see online, is it? I'd like to lift it another 2" maybe, for a bit of extra ground clearance, though the tire size seems fine. Thoughts appreciated!
http://www.markmalmberg.com/safariVan/

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Re: 2003 AWD -- is this stock?

Post by photo_van »

all looks stock to me except the stance; looks maybe a little lifted but hard to tell.
1998 AWD/4WD
4" lift, 31x10.50's, NP 242j/c hybrid, 4.10 gears, S10 front disconnect, rack & pinion steering, trans cooler, rock sliders, ARB fridge, house battery and 100w solar, swing out rear rack with foldout camp table, bed and passenger swivel chair
dirt bag camping rig
1981 Toyota 4x4 pu
1974 John Deere 710

Astrophysics
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Re: 2003 AWD -- is this stock?

Post by Astrophysics »

Could be riding high if both bench seats have been removed. They are heavy.
Look at the 6 front subframe mounting locations to see if 2" pucks have been installed. Overland lift kit would be a good choice if not yet lifted.
AP

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Re: 2003 AWD -- is this stock?

Post by photo_van »

Hey AP, good to see you back! One of the photos looks to be of the body mount; no puck?
1998 AWD/4WD
4" lift, 31x10.50's, NP 242j/c hybrid, 4.10 gears, S10 front disconnect, rack & pinion steering, trans cooler, rock sliders, ARB fridge, house battery and 100w solar, swing out rear rack with foldout camp table, bed and passenger swivel chair
dirt bag camping rig
1981 Toyota 4x4 pu
1974 John Deere 710

LiftedAWDAstro
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Re: 2003 AWD -- is this stock?

Post by LiftedAWDAstro »

Looks all stock to me with the exception of the 235 tires and a little torsion bar crank in the front. The 03-05 vans ride rear high from the factory.
Current rides:
2013 Toyota Tundra DC 4x4
2008 Dodge Nitro 4x4
2005 Nissan Sentra 1.8S Special Edition

Mileage spreadsheet

Vans owned:
1986 Safari 2.5L 4 speed manual - scrapped
1995 Astro 2WD conversion 4.11 posi, shift kit, DHC rock rails - sold to Skippy
1998 Astro 4x4 D44, D60, NP231, full hydraulic system with 9k# Milemarker winch and snow plow - sold to Lockdoc
2003 Astro AWD all stock - traded for a 3/4 ton truck
2005 AWD, 4.10's - sold to skippy

Topic author
mmmalmberg
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Re: 2003 AWD -- is this stock?

Post by mmmalmberg »

Yes the one photo is I believe of the body mount, based on other photos I found in other threads. No puck. And the torsion rods are at positions marked by paint strokes at both ends which implied to me they might be in original positions (or not).

If those years came a bit high from the factory, for whatever reason, that could be all it is. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing anything before ordering the Overland 2" kit and creating possible problems.

Does the Overland kit comprise an extra leaf in the back and pucks for the front?

Thanks for the responses!
-Mark

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Re: 2003 AWD -- is this stock?

Post by Astrophysics »

Mark,
The Overland kit is nice. It has the 6 hard plastic 2 inch high pucks for the front body lift. Also, in the kit are the longer bolts, great instruction sheet,
a longer bracket for the parking park bracket, new shackles for the rear leaf springs with several holes to get the proper lift.
Also, order the bumper relocation bracket to kit the nice front end look and reduce the gap that would be created by lifting he body and not the bumper.
The front bumper and spoiler are plastic skin held on by push clips etc. Underneath is the sheet metal steel front bumper.
The other thing to do on the lift is just use jig saw or hack saw to trim the lower part of the plastic fan shroud. The lift is great.

AP

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Re: 2003 AWD -- is this stock?

Post by Astrophysics »

Mark,
Here are some photos of the front bumper relocation and my installation of a separate power steering fluid cooler in front of radiator to replace the OEM Chevy coiled length of steel tubing that is tucked behind the front bumper.
When I had the front bumper off for the 2 inch lift, and the bumper relocation bracket, I discovered that I could just jig saw cut a rectangular opening in the steel sheet metal bumper, and in the plastic bumper skin. This allowed installation of a junk yard S10 Blazer front tow hook. Finished off the hole in the skin with a nice Peterson Lighting gasket that came with a standard old truck tail light assembly. The Peterson lights were about $10 each and I just used the rubber gasket.

Also, shown is the Aux transmission cooler in front of the right passenger side of the radiator.

AP
Attachments
photo rubber gasket Peterson lighting to cover hole in bumper.JPG
photo recover hook in bumper Astro.JPG

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Re: 2003 AWD -- is this stock?

Post by Astrophysics »

front bumper and view of aux tranny cooler on passenger side and aux power steering cooler and the driver side.
the OEM coiled steel coolant line behind the bumper was removed.

AP
Attachments
photo Astro front recovery hook in bumper.JPG
photo.JPG

Topic author
mmmalmberg
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Re: 2003 AWD -- is this stock?

Post by mmmalmberg »

Good information, nice ideas. I wondered what that loop of tubing was, looked a bit exposed too when I saw it under there. Thanks for all the pics! Nice that you took advantage of the moment to install tow hooks. I plan to take advantage of the moment by adding receiving tubes for vertical supports for a roof rack that will extend out to above the front bumper. My hang glider is almost 20' long folded in half!

Does the bumper lift kit raise the bumper itself or just the plastic cover?
Thanks Astrophysics!
-Mark

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Re: 2003 AWD -- is this stock?

Post by Astrophysics »

Yes, the relocation bracket raises the metal sheet metal bumper. One original piece of old metal bumper bracket did not seem to fit when the relocation bracket lifted the bumper. This probably weakens the bumper attachment just a bit . The plastic bumper guard then attaches back on the metal bumper with the push clips.
I wish there was a beefier front bumper available from Warn or ARB, but it would need custom brackets.

AP

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Re: 2003 AWD -- is this stock?

Post by mmmalmberg »

I've seen some nice custom tubular bumpers, have thought about that as well. I'm going to be attaching vertical rack supports to the front bumper, so I would either be welding to the bumper or somehow attaching to the frame. More likely the bumper.

I've another question about lifting. If my goal is to pick up ground clearance, a body lift alone won't really give it to me will it? Does a body lift just give clearance for bigger tires? Which, thinking about it, must be the ultimate way to get an increase in clearance to all things below deck. Or, along with forcing the suspension further down with increased spring force, which I would think has limits in terms of handling.

I'm not too keen on bigger tires, I'm already close to 29" and I think the loss of torque at the wheels from any larger tires would be an issue, one thing leading to another like a different rear end etc. I really want to keep it simple, and might just stay where I am if it takes bigger tires to actually gain clearance.

What's the story with air helper springs - worth looking at? I remember my dad put them on one of our station wagons so we could really load it down for vacations. It was fun inflating them and watching the car go up. Or does anyone do anything with inverse low-rider type hydraulics?

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Re: 2003 AWD -- is this stock?

Post by Astrophysics »

My 2003 AWD does have Monroe air shocks in the rear and the schraeder valve is just tie wrapped by inside of rear bumper. They do allow me to lift rear with big load.
I also used to have Air Lift add on air booster springs on my old full size G20 van.

AP

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Re: 2003 AWD -- is this stock?

Post by Astrophysics »

Yes, tall tires are heavy and reduce gas mileage.
The 3.42 axle ratio does not like tall tires. I hope to install 2 speed Transfer case for low range. I got an NP233 from 1998 S10 Blazer. T case is cheaper and easier than changing axles.

AP

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Re: 2003 AWD -- is this stock?

Post by mmmalmberg »

Wow, getting a low range would be awesome. Straying further from my original topic... If I had my 'druthers I would have had a stick shift. The reason is, I'll be going up and down fire roads on mountains, and it's too easy for me to imagine having the engine die and losing power steering, power brakes and engine braking all at the same time. Is there any reasonable way to get an automatic transmission to lock into a gear so you could have engine braking regardless of whether it was running or not? I think I've heard of something like that - it would sure feel better driving on some of those roads, to know you'd at least have engine braking. Having a low range would be the icing on the cake in that case...
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