SAFARI SUSPENSION IT'S A WHAT?

[Texjbird]

YESTERDAY I CALLED THE GMC DEALERSHIP WHERE MY VAN WAS PURCHASED IN 1998.

I LEFT THE VIN # BECAUSE I'VE GONE CROSSED EYED LOOKING AT ASTRO AND SAFARI CONVERSIONS ON YOU TUBE.

THERES BEEN  INFO THAT OLDER SAFARI VANS WERE BUILT WITH THE SAME FRAME AS GMC PICKUPS.

I'VE SEEN LIFTED AND LOWERED ASTROS AND SAFARIS. 
 SEEN COMMENTS THAT TRUCK FRAMES ARE GOOD AND UNIBODY FRAMES ARE NOT SO GOOD.

ACCORDING TO THE DEALERSHIP  MY VAN HAS A UNIBODY FRAME WITH REAR LEAF SPRINGS AND COIL FRONT SPRINGS.

SO WHAT EXACTLY IS A UNIBODY FRAME?

WITHIN A MONTH OR 2 AFTER GETTING MY VAN I HAD A CLASS lll HITCH AND 4in HELPER SPRINGS INSTALLED.  IT WAS SEEN VERY QUICKLY THAT IT SAGGED SO MUCH THAT LON LIFTED IT 2in RIGHT THEN.

IT STILL BOTTOMS OUT HERE IN TOWN.  SO WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK THE NEXT STEP SHOULD BE IN GETTING THIS THING RAISED A LITTLE AND SUSPENSION ENOUGH FRONT AND REAR THAT WHEN IT'S LOADED AND/OR TOWING MY ALINER I'M NOT DRAGGING BOTTOM WHEN GOING THROUGH LOW SPOTS LIKE FROM THE STREET INTO SOME PARKING LOTS.  OR ON ROUGHER ROADS?

I'M ON A BUDGET CUZ LIKE MADEA SAID IN A MOVIE.  
"OH NO!   I'M NOT ON A FIXED INCOME.  I HAVE SOCIAL SECURITY!  I'M ON A BROKE INCOME!"

JEWELL ANN

[Blacktank]

in old cars and trucks you had a frame and then a body that bolted on the frame,a unibody the frame is molded into the floor sheet metal




the frame and the body are made from one piece of sheet metal,they dont come apart,they are one

[Gr8ful]

Think of an old VW built on a pan. we used to kift the body off & but 14" out then bend pipe for a roll cage.

[TrainChaser]

Can repairs be made to unibody vehicles that have been in accidents?

A drunk ran a red and hit the rear corner of my niece's car, and she said it couldn't be repaired because it was all one piece.  Would that be a unibody?

[MN C Van]

If it's sagging without load, have the leaf springs 're-arched.' If it's sagging with load, have leafs added to the springs.
A spring shop will do this, and in my experience it's very reasonable.

Full frame vs. unibody is an academic discussion- it has zero bearing on performance or durability of passenger type/LT vehicles.

As Black shared, a unibody is just as the word suggests, the frame and body are combined. Strong and light.
A separate frame is used when the chassis will have various conversions; so a truck (or van nose) might have a flatbed, camper, cargo box, or special utility box.
You can't do that with a unibody, because it wouldn't be a unibody.

In short, unless there's massive rust or overloading, neither a frame nor a unibody is going to fail under normal use.
But, some idiot can break anything:


Pictures of Broken Full Frames

The quarter panel on most vehicles is near impossible to replace. This would hold true for a '58 full frame Buick, as a 2019 unibody Buick

[Texjbird]

I was supposed to be at Road Mart yesterday at 7am.  So I arrived promptly at 8:30am.  All the racks were full and we were on our way to the vet.  I had called the day before so one of the guys came out and eyeballed the Safari underneath.  He sez it's not a unibody.  The dealership said unibody going by the VIN #.  So now I'm looking for my "UP" cuz that's where I put the Safari tittle.  I want to check the VIN on it.  So as not to lose it I put it Up.  I think Queenie keeps moving my Up  when I'm not looking     I used the VIN from my insurance card when I called the dealership.

The front shocks are leaking and the left front brakes are squealing.  I don't especially want to however I may have to charge the repairs.  So that means either Firestone who has failed to kiss me each time I've had a vehicle in there or Roadmart who has been great to deal with.  If I had the cash it would go straight to  L and K Custom Exhaust where the first repair they did on my Ranger was $490 less than the highest estimate I had received and $165 less than the lowest.

This week I've been learning about body lifts with out needing to add a lot of mechanical other things.  Good thing I like to learn about a wide variety of stuff.

Jewell Ann

[weigh2ez]

A unibody is made up of a LOT OF PIECES of sheet metal welded together to appear as 1 piece.  To answer the question whether a unibody can be repaired, the answer is yes.  However, the cost to fix a unibody often exceeds the value of the vehicle and they will be totaled.  I've rebuilt many unibody cars over the years.  I have also known people who have pieced frames together to repair a vehicle with a full frame.

[weigh2ez]

any progress on the Safari?

[minddroool]

YESTERDAY I CALLED THE GMC DEALERSHIP WHERE MY VAN WAS PURCHASED IN 1998.

I LEFT THE VIN # BECAUSE I'VE GONE CROSSED EYED LOOKING AT ASTRO AND SAFARI CONVERSIONS ON YOU TUBE.

THERES BEEN  INFO THAT OLDER SAFARI VANS WERE BUILT WITH THE SAME FRAME AS GMC PICKUPS.

I'VE SEEN LIFTED AND LOWERED ASTROS AND SAFARIS. 
 SEEN COMMENTS THAT TRUCK FRAMES ARE GOOD AND UNIBODY FRAMES ARE NOT SO GOOD.

ACCORDING TO THE DEALERSHIP  MY VAN HAS A UNIBODY FRAME WITH REAR LEAF SPRINGS AND COIL FRONT SPRINGS.

SO WHAT EXACTLY IS A UNIBODY FRAME?

WITHIN A MONTH OR 2 AFTER GETTING MY VAN I HAD A CLASS lll HITCH AND 4in HELPER SPRINGS INSTALLED.  IT WAS SEEN VERY QUICKLY THAT IT SAGGED SO MUCH THAT LON LIFTED IT 2in RIGHT THEN.

IT STILL BOTTOMS OUT HERE IN TOWN.  SO WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK THE NEXT STEP SHOULD BE IN GETTING THIS THING RAISED A LITTLE AND SUSPENSION ENOUGH FRONT AND REAR THAT WHEN IT'S LOADED AND/OR TOWING MY ALINER I'M NOT DRAGGING BOTTOM WHEN GOING THROUGH LOW SPOTS LIKE FROM THE STREET INTO SOME PARKING LOTS.  OR ON ROUGHER ROADS?

I'M ON A BUDGET CUZ LIKE MADEA SAID IN A MOVIE.  
"OH NO!   I'M NOT ON A FIXED INCOME.  I HAVE SOCIAL SECURITY!  I'M ON A BROKE INCOME!"

JEWELL ANN

Oooooo no. Is it due to weight?

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[minddroool]

I haven't owned a van....yet... so I have zero direct experience driving one. I had a class c motorhome once, an old Ford....

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