Fireball's '76 build thread - "Piece by Piece" - PAINTED, ASSEMBLED & ON THE ROAD!

[Fireball05]

F250 mounts and front axle ready!

Thanks for all the nice comments and compliments. It ain't perfect, but it's looking a lot better!

Today's agenda was to get the F250 front shock mounts welded in. Put together the freshly PC'ed radius arms and cups to confirm distance b/w spring and shock mount, which is 6.75":


Leveled the truck and got out the plumb bob and measuring tape to mark location for the new mount. This is probably a bit overkill, but oh well. FWIW the the F250 mount is about a quarter inch narrower than the stock mount, so the gap b/w spring tower and shock mount will be a bit wider:


The passenger side was pretty straight forward. My buddy came up with a good trick to clamp the fender back towards the spring perch, this gives you more room to get at the weld at the top of the frame from the engine bay. For the driver side we ended up removing the brake proportioning valve and loosened the fuel line to move that out of the way to do the top weld. Here's a photo of the passenger side all done. Quick note that others have mounted these higher up on the frame for increased travel, we choose this location primarily because the driver side fender well won't allow it to go any higher! But it also keeps the weld right at the lower corner of the frame which should be the strongest point.


With the mounts completed, it was time to do a little painting. It's a bird, it's a plane, nope.... it's a really complicated way to paint a dana44!


POR15 then a topcoat of satin black, it looks great! Everything should be ready to put back together finally, have a quick question. I've got the spindle bearing and seal kit, but I'm thinking I might should replace some of the other seals while I'm at it. Any thoughts on what else should be done when reassembled?

Thanks!

 

[WheelHorse]

You're really hitting her hard over there. Progress is looking good brother.

 

[surfer-b]

I've got the spindle bearing and seal kit, but I'm thinking I might should replace some of the other seals while I'm at it. Any thoughts on what else should be done when reassembled?

Really the only other seal that you would want to replace while that far in would be the axle seals, do it now and it will save you from having to remove the carrier later, plus it will be easy to get to right now with the axle out from under the Bronco.

 

[Fireball05]

Looks like there is both an inner and an outer seal on each side... would you recommend doing both now? I didn't actually pull the axle out, but b/c everything was disassembled it was loose and did likely disturb the seal.

There are so many parts on this front end it is confusing!

Inner axle seal (this goes right where the axle goes into the pumpkin, right?, can this be replaced with the gears in place?)

Outer axle seal

Outer axle slinger (I don't know what a slinger is, sounds bad though!)

 

[Crawdad]

Drooling over this thread Ben! Great work!

 

[JSmall]

Looks great Ben. Your progress motivates me to get in the garage after work every day.

 

[surfer-b]

this goes right where the axle goes into the pumpkin, right?, can this be replaced with the gears in place?)

You got it, no the carrier and ring gear will have to be removed. Just mark the caps, keep the shims in order and you will be good to go. Here is a wright up on the process, you can prob find some with more detail, this was just a quick search I pulled up.
http://www.pavementsucks.com/tech-article-3.html

 

[xcntrk]

surfer-b is spot on. It's a worthwhile investment to do it now while you got the axle housing out and outer knuckles torn apart. There's nothing like seeing diff fluid leaking out the axle tubes on an installed front-end. It's a PITA to tear the whole thing apart just to replace those seals. You're already 85% of the way there as is currently.

 

[Fireball05]

Fireball's '76 build thread - "Piece by Piece"

Thanks guys, just to confirm, I'm guessing I need all three of those parts listed above? Inner and outer seals plus the outer slinger?

Anyone care to educate me on what exactly a slinger is!

 

[JSmall]

Thanks guys, just to confirm, I'm guessing I need all three of those parts listed above? Inner and outer seals plus the outer slinger?

Anyone care to educate me on what exactly a slinger is!

This might help

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96466

 

[surfer-b]

I really don't understand the thinking behind the seal placement on the dana axles, why would they not have the seal on the outer part next to the yoke even if they did have to add another bearing. I guess I just answered my own Q, "cost", this is the only thing I can think of because it make no sense otherwise.

 

[Fireball05]

Fireball's '76 build thread - "Piece by Piece"

J - thanks for the link. Took the axles out and got everything disassembled, there were slingers on it now so don't see a strong reason why not to put them back on. Plus new ones came with the kit that I got from Napa.

Took a peek at the link that Surfer sent above, I think replacing the inner seals is a bit above my ability level. I'm pretty good with a can of satin black and a downright wizard at the wire wheel, but Removing the ring gear and old seals and finding a way to get the new ones in there might be a bit more than I should take on.

Will call around tomorrow to see if I can't find anyone local who wants to take a stab at it, or see if I'm feeling lucky and maybe just leave them as is. The axle shafts are dry as a bone, so the seals were working just fine before I decided to monkey around with everything!

 

[BronCowie]

Three cheers for this detail Ben!!! Cool factor 10 and the look that was intended for this grill

 

[Blue Bastard]

Fireball's '76 build thread - "Piece by Piece"

I agree. I dig the look of the early lights much better!


Blue

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

 

[Scoop]

Ben, finally had the time to look at your build thread. You are doing some very nice work! I enjoyed chatting with you on the Saturday street cruise during the SC. See you next year - maybe you can give me a ride then! ;D

 

[Fireball05]

Ben, finally had the time to look at your build thread. You are doing some very nice work! I enjoyed chatting with you on the Saturday street cruise during the SC. See you next year - maybe you can give me a ride then! ;D

Gary - sorry buddy, that's at least 20 minutes of your life you'll never get back! Thanks again for the ride, that was a nice little cruise.

"Maybe next year!" Most often-heard phrase at Super Cel 2013

Three cheers for this detail Ben!!! Cool factor 10 and the look that was intended for this grill

Remember 4 or 5 months ago when you talked me through installing those door trim panels? Pretty good timing, huh? At the rate I'm going, I'll actually be ready to install them in say, another 4 or 5 months!

 

[Fireball05]

more Dana44 work!

Not to be outdone by my buddy JSmall (see pretty photos here) I spent more time cleaning up the front end parts. He did cheat a bit by buying new parts, but I figure my labor is a bit cheaper than new stuff, and what I had was in good working shape anyway

Everyone wire wheels their axle shafts, right?

All this work is making $2,600 look like a deal!

New inner and outer seals (including slinger!) and pinion seal going in on Wednesday. Debating replacing the ball joints as well...

 

[Fireball05]

Raptor liner fenders and front end

One more quick little update before heading off to some Mother's Day festivities.

Turned the garage into a mini paint booth yesterday and sprayed Raptor Liner on the inside of the fenders and outside of the front clip. Core support and outer fender skirts.





Thanks to Allenfahey for helping me spray the interior a few months back, I was able to tackle this with no problems. These parts are easier to spray....with more curves and no large flat surfaces, even a knucklehead like me can spray this and have it come out looking good. Used the U-Pol gun that came with the kit and set the regulator to 45psi.

They say that if you've seen one photo of a raptor lined inner fender, you've seen a thousand. If you scroll down a bit, you'll see two more ;D





One quick note on the raptor liner... your skin requires absolutely no prep to have the liner stick perfectly to it! So my hands and forearms have a nice smattering of black on them today.

 

[Stutsmo]

Ben, Seriously excellent attention to detail. You are managing the ”While I’m at its” with the best of them. Plus your sense of humor about them is Just downright funny. Keep at it and I’ll keep checking in….. Jeff

 

[JSmall]

Not to be outdone by my buddy JSmall (see pretty photos here) I spent more time cleaning up the front end parts. He did cheat a bit by buying new parts, but I figure my labor is a bit cheaper than new stuff, and what I had was in good working shape anyway

Everyone wire wheels their axle shafts, right?

All this work is making $2,600 look like a deal!

New inner and outer seals (including slinger!) and pinion seal going in on Wednesday. Debating replacing the ball joints as well...

Ha ha Ben, I wish I didn't have to buy new parts. You are kicking ass! I want to pull my axle out to clean and paint it so it looks like yours I've held off because I want to drive it so bad. I fight the "while I'm at it" thoughts ever time I walk into the garage. Like you... I lose a lot.

Keep it up. Looks killer