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1977 SC Bronco Build

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Crawdad

Crawdad

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Was able to TIG weld the 3/4" bungs in my axle housing two weeks ago. Once welded in they sorta warped a little so I had to chase them with I tap I didn't have on hand. $7 tap on eBay did the trick as both drain plugs fit flush. So the next step is the zinc coaters along with several other bronco pieces.
 

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Crawdad

Crawdad

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Another shot of the axle housing
 

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Crush

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Hey crawdad. Why didnt you use diy4x's 6* shims. They bolt right to the ezinch and then they become a part of the leaf pack just like the ezinch. Just wondering? Great product though. Mine have been on for a year and a half and no issues. I also got his u bolts and too plates. Bery happy with them. I went back 1.5"

Here is a pic of my ezinch with his ubolts and top plate
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Crawdad

Crawdad

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Hey crawdad. Why didnt you use diy4x's 6* shims. They bolt right to the ezinch and then they become a part of the leaf pack just like the ezinch. Just wondering? Great product though. Mine have been on for a year and a half and no issues. I also got his u bolts and too plates. Bery happy with them. I went back 1.5.

I asked him if they made an ez-inch with an integrated 6* shim and he said no. He said the WH shims I had would work just fine. I do like them so much I may just go with a 1" body lift instead of the the 2" I have right now ready to go in. I modified a WH spring plate so it should work with my set up. These are the items I'm getting zinc coated, the axle housing will get powder baked on to the zinc coating in the end. It's overkill but I want it that way.
 

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Crush

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Oh ok. I just wondered because his shims have two bolts that bolt it to the ezinch. I know my ezinch/plates/ubolts look zinc coated but they arent. Lol. I painted them with a silver base and then used some craft store translucent gold my daughter had left over from some project several years ago and then top coated them with some satin high temp clear. It turned out ok but i know they arent really zinc. No one near me does it so i had to improvise. Lol
 
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Crawdad

Crawdad

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Oh ok. I just wondered because his shims have two bolts that bolt it to the ezinch. I know my ezinch/plates/ubolts look zinc coated but they arent. Lol. I painted them with a silver base and then used some craft store translucent gold my daughter had left over from some project several years ago and then top coated them with some satin high temp clear. It turned out ok but i know they arent really zinc. No one near me does it so i had to improvise. Lol

He didn't offer me anything like that or I would have bought it. Yeah my stuff was all machined steel so all I did was prime and paint with rattlecan. I'm trying my best to not go overboard with coating everything but I'm coming damn near close. The WH u-bolts and spring plates are rusting and I never had a chance to use them. I guess I got a Friday batch. I'm using Roys Metal Finishing in Greenville SC, the same people Tonka used on his parts. They are not too far away from me which saves me on shipping.
 
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Crawdad

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I was able to remove the bearings myself. Just too easy to do, don't know why I was thinking it would be hard to remove. Use a cut-off wheel down to about an 1/8" and delicately punch with a chisel. It literally just cracked itself apart. Just gotta be careful not to hit the chisel too hard bc you may go into the bearing seat itself. I finish up using fine sandpaper/ Emory cloth where the bearing sits. Sandblasted the outer part and primed and painted. May get the bearings on tomorrow. I will take the advice others gave about warming up the bearings to 200 degree.
 

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Crawdad

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Pressed on the new large bearings

I finally got the bearings pressed on. A whole lot of worry about nothing with a HF 20 ton press. I took advice from others and didn't have any problems with the bearing sliding right on. Another piece of the puzzle completed.
 

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broncoitis

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Nice job on the bearings! Amazing how helpful some of the little tips can be! Good job and great build. Keep it going!
 

Justafordguy

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You're going to need to do something with those seal surfaces, I think they will kill a seal fast the way they are. ;)
 

DirtDonk

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Yep, what fordguy said for sure.
Sorry I didn't pay attention to the last pic from before the bearings were pressed on, as it would have been a little easier to address at that time. But those are in pretty (very) rough shape I'd say.

If they're not already installed (and even if they are frankly) I would take some 400-1000 grit sandpaper or emory cloth and dress those extended machined surfaces that extend past the bearing retaining collars. That's where the seals are going to ride and they need a pretty smooth surface to work reliably.

Especially that one on the left with the obvious groove in it where the old seal worried it down.
It's kind of hard to tell all the little details from the "before" pics (all that nice new paint is distracting!), but it's much easier to see the condition of individual locations now that the bearings are installed.

If after dressing down the seal surfaces, that one still has a groove, I would go the extra step and when you install the new seal in the axle tube, don't seat it all the way. Leave it about 1/8" short of seating if you can.
Verify that this does not interfere with the seating of the bearing and axle of course, but anything you can do to assure that the seal will ride on a more unmolested spot on the shaft would be a good thing towards keeping your gear lube on the inside.

Paul
 
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Crawdad

Crawdad

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I didn't realize that's where the axle seal may sit. I took some Emory cloth to it before seating the axle bearings. Those are some good grooves that no sandpaper is going to fix. I could tig weld some filler rod a tad bit at a time then transfer to a lathe to smooth down and polish. What do you guys think about that?
 

DirtDonk

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Yeah, even a supposedly simple vehicle like an EB is still an entire world of small little details to know about and deal with. Whether it's the engine or chassis or wiring, it's the little things that you need to know ahead of time so that they don't come back to bite you.:eek:

That metal buildup and machining idea is probably the best route, but not sure they can do it with the bearings in place? Maybe so, but never had it done myself, so not sure.
A common alternative is a Redi-Sleeve or Speedi-Sleeve that fits right over the axle and (carefully!) presses on to that spot to create a new surface.
They're very thin, very smooth on the outer surface (literally a brand new polished sealing surface, and are made precisely for this type of situation.

Not sure how long they are, but I'm betting you can get a set that would fit outside the bearing area and only effect the seal surface. Plenty of members here have used them, so hopefully someone with direct axle experience will help.
My only experience with them was back in the early seventies when I was trying to save a harmonic damper. After I decided that I could not install it myself with my limited tools, and a shop would charge just enough to make the replacement part less expense and trouble, I just went ahead and bought a new damper.
So my own installation experience is obviously very limited.

Good luck. But definitely check into both methods if that groove is as deep as you say.
Remember too though, to check to see how much leeway you have in seating the new seal. If you have a 1/4" to play with, you might not need to worry about the groove.
Other than as a weak spot in the axle shaft that is.%);D

Paul
 
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Crawdad

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Man it's been freagin hot and wet down here in South Carolina! Tee Ball is over, Disney Cruise is out of the way, family vacations are done, and elementary school starts back up this Tuesday. The summer is officially over in my book. It's been awhile since I worked on my 77. Still working on the rear axle. I purchased repair sleeves for the axle shafts but I think they are too small. I modified one of the installation cups a while back before I found out that I had the incorrect size. So i m going to try it anyways since it nonreturnable. I purchased a HF 20 ton press last week so hopefully the installation will be positive. Crossing my fingers. I moved the rear axle housing underneath the frame. I still need to clean it out but for now no trash can get inside till the shafts are corrected.
 

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Crawdad

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I fab'ed up a axle stand this weekend out of a Weider weight bench set. My wife calls me Fred Sanford bc I picked this up off the side of the road. It's been chopped and narrowed to accommodate a D44. Glued on some wheels and mobile it is now. Will tackle this after the rear axle is complete.
 

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chuckyb

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Keep at it Matt and you will get it done. Good work with the roadside bench!
 

DirtDonk

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I fab'ed up a axle stand this weekend out of a Weider weight bench set.

That's a great job of repurposing there "Fred".
Looks like there's just enough left to make a brace on top for a second axle assembly!

Paul
 
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