yeah cut it out and pitch it. i didnt even go as far as to make another crossmember as he showed, i figured the one up front for the new leaf springs was good enough. good idea on making that a bolt on encase you ever have to drop the pan.

these trucks are so much more user friendly without all that cluster of a suspension set up there

 

for sure!

the inside bolt of the crossmember ties the motor mount in as well to take up the space the front dif brackets were in.

 

Keeping the cross member all depends on steering setup and how far forward you mount the axle IMO...

I kept mine in, but im using the stock steering box with cross over steering and my axle is pretty close to the stock location.

 

Thanks for the input everyone. My axle is going back as close as i can get it to stock. I know i cant afford a high steer kit/ crossover so unless i can make one pretty cheap. It seems as though im going to need to cut the crossmember.
Also my factory steering box is toast so going with an astrovan box will kill 2 birds with one stone. Now i have to figure out where and how the hell to mount my sway bar. lol
Thanks again guys

 

I have the high steer on mine and it is very much so worth it. I removed my crossmember and made a less fancy bracket like Diatias.
You can locate the axle in the stock location But stretching always looked good to me if its not excessive. The only way I think the stock sway bar could work is either relocating it and making custom endlinks and mounting points or making frame extensions to mount the sway bar.
I had to get a Curries Antirock sway bar because of my set up.

 

If you keep the axle in the stock location you can get away keeping the crossmember, but it will limit your tire size to about 32" because of tire clearance issues, but that can depend on lift height and how much trimming you do.

the stock sway bar wont fit, its too wide unless you are running a full size axle. an 05-10 mustang sway bar works.

 

How far forward is perfect? IDC about the cross member at this point I just want it to look right and not a hack job... Also I was planning on using the wagoneer axles sway bar @ the stock location but I'll just fab something up.

 

i dont even run a sway bar but my truck is trailered, never sees the street unless its just up the street and back real quick. if you run stiff enough front springs you wont even have to worry about it. all my k5 blazers, suburbans and pick ups ive owned i never ran one up front you dont even know its gone

 

Here is my setup... i kept the cross member and used the factory mounts for a sway bar. Im running a WJ bar in the picture, but i swapped it for a modified 06 mustang bar to gain more turning radius. My truck fits 33's without rubbing...

 

there are too many variables to have a perfect location. tire size, wheel offset, suspension travel all play a part in where you should locate it. Mine is 4" forward and it is just about perfect for 35s with high offset wheels, if i used a stock offset wheel i could have made it work with ~2" forward.