Devious Customs in Ontario, California, has come up with a simple crossmember that will bring the scrubline of your truck up almost an inch from stock.
Whenever you lay your truck out on airbags, there's a whole lot to think about underneath. While dragging is cool to see, a lot of things can be damaged when you lay out the truck and happen to be rolling. Anything hanging below the scrubline of the framerail is subject to decapitation and almost certain destruction. Likewise, whatever hangs below is going to be a prime suspect for snagging items such as manhole covers and road reflectors, which could ruin your truck's frame or destroy the transmission's tailshaft in a heartbeat.
Tucking everything is the best way to ensure that your super-low truck will live to fight another day and drag through another cruise night. Devious Customs in Ontario, California, has come up with a simple crossmember that will bring the scrubline of your truck up almost an inch from stock. Follow along as we swap out the stock crossmember with a 100 percent bolt-in piece that will allow your truck to sit lower and drag harder than ever before. For more information, contact Devious Customs using the information listed in the source box.
BEFORE
AFTER
1. & 2. First, you have to...
1. & 2. First, you have to see just how much the stock crossmember hangs below the framerails. Once we're done, the transmission crossmember will sit above the framerails, safely away from dragging damage.
3. To begin the installation,...
3. To begin the installation, support the transmission with a jack and remove the hardware that secures the transmission mount to the transmission crossmember.
4. Moving to the passenger...
4. Moving to the passenger side, remove the four bolts that hold the right side of the crossmember to the framerail side.
5. Remove the exhaust-hanger...
5. Remove the exhaust-hanger rubber from the left-side mount.
6. Remove the hardware that...
6. Remove the hardware that secures the exhaust to the transmission crossmember. The mount on the left side won't be reused, but the right side of the exhaust mount will bolt onto the new crossmember.
7. Remove the three nuts that...
7. Remove the three nuts that keep the driver side of the transmission crossmember in place.
8. With everything removed,...
8. With everything removed, the transmission crossmember can easily be taken off the truck.
9. & 10. Side-by-side comparison...
9. & 10. Side-by-side comparison photos of the stock transmission crossmember and the new Devious crossmember show that the new unit is both thinner and shorter than the stamped OEM part. It will still support the transmission just as well as stock, without the headaches of drastically lowered S-10s.
11. The crossmember comes...
11. The crossmember comes with an Energy Suspension polyurethane transmission mount. Be sure to use the factory bolts that came out of the stock transmission mount, as the thread pitch is different.
12. & 13. Remove the stock...
12. & 13. Remove the stock transmission mount and replace it with the new Energy Suspension mount.
14. Begin the installation...
14. Begin the installation of the new Devious transmission crossmember by bolting the crossmember to the new transmission mount using the supplied spacer between the mount and the crossmember.
15. On the passenger side,...
15. On the passenger side, the new Devious crossmember bolts up to two of the factory bolt holes in the framerail using the hardware provided.
16. & 17. Using the hardware...
16. & 17. Using the hardware provided, bolt the right-side exhaust mount to the crossmember and tighten.
18. On the driver side of...
18. On the driver side of the truck, the crossmember is installed using the two holes in the bottom of the framerail. Capscrews are provided with the kit.
19. & 20. To further drag-proof...
19. & 20. To further drag-proof your ride, you can drill out the holes in the framerail to recess the capscrews to a point inside that can't be dragged through.
21. Now go through the whole...
21. Now go through the whole crossmember assembly again. Beginning at the transmission mount, tighten all the hardware to ensure that everything is ready to go.
22. Our specimen truck had...
22. Our specimen truck had electrical wiring routed across the crossmember. Once we buttoned the wire bundle back up, the job was complete.