Narrowing a 9"

[Yeller]

I put them on all the race stuff. Summit has them but I believe under a different brand, I usually ge them from trail gear or spider trax. Makes inspections cake or in a race environment dumping in oil at a hi rate of speed from a gallon jug

 

[Boss Hugg]

Well I completely forgot to order a filler cap setup. So yesterday I attempted to drill and tap the case for a 3/4 plug... I had a 7/16 pilot hole drilled thru and once the outside of the 7/8 bit started cutting, I realized 3/4 was too big. After a little research and asking around, I finally crawled under my bronco and learned that the case gets a 1/2 plug. So this morning I went and got dads 1/2 npt tap and a drill bit. DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IT TO RUN A 1/2 NPT TAP INTO CAST IRON??? I've got it deep enough that a fitting will barely catch a thread. I'm starting to think the website I got the 11/16 drill size from is fibbing to me... or this 11/16 bit is actually a 5/8...

Pic for drooling over:

Later im gonna get the steam pressure washer ahold of the housing and start some assembly...because we all know it takes 3 days to put a 9" axle assembly together.

Well, at least it seems to take 12 times longer to get anything done at my place. Hopefully I can have it put together this afternoon.


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[Boss Hugg]

Here's the setup I'm going to. 3/8 drive wasn't good enough.

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[DirtDonk]

Go slow-n-easy there. Hate to see the next segment discussing how to remove a broken off pipe tap!

Good luck. Or good work. Looking pretty good it is.

Paul

 

[Boss Hugg]

Lol. That's what I was thinking Paul! I was replacing a head gasket on a lawn mower engine for an elderly lady when I was 16. One of the holes had been stripped so I help-coiled it. The tab at the bottom didn't break off Very well. When I chased the threads with a tap (BY HAND) the tap dig in and wouldn't come out. That's where I got to watch ol' dad use the cutting tour go to blow a hard steel tap out of an aluminum hole... learn led a lot about mekanikin that day....

So.. I went so far into this case that it started turning the gears... guess that's all I'm gonna get... I'll be able to get two and a half or three threads in. Ought to do the job with a little teflon.


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[Boss Hugg]

Spring perch/mount plates drilled for future 2" offset.

I'm deciding whether to clean up my shop (really trying to figure out where to mover the big stuff to) or just swap the housings outside on the gravel...


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[sprdv1]

Glad you are keeping constructive on your sat afternoon

 

[Boss Hugg]

Glad you are keeping constructive on your sat afternoon

It's difficult. I step outside in dry clothes and it's like someone dumps the water cooler over my head. It's not like I've done anything to deserve it... I don't understand it...

My wife has been working on school work related unnecessary stuff and requires others to oversee the childern... so I've getting a few minutes here and there.

Now. The question. How much weld do I need to attach these u bolt eliminator brackets to the housing? I'm thinking one short weld ~1" long at each tab/spacer/thingy which you can see in the pic below. But I don't want to put enough heat into the housing to bend the tubes...

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[sykanr0ng]

The factory perches are welded all the way front to back.
Do you want something with more leverage to be less strongly attached?

Stitch weld it, keeping the welds short will help keep the heat local.

 

[Rustytruck]

They need to be really welded in place. I've seen 2 rigs on the trail rip the spring mounts off the tube and rotate the rear housing in the u-bolts. Makes for a really bad day. In your case a weld failure you don't have u bolts to retain th axle in case of failure. These welds need to be the best in your life.

 

[Boss Hugg]

Good points, guys. So, as with starting the end pieces, short welds and let each one cool before moving on.


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[Rustytruck]

Use good tacks on the ends. If it was mine I would weld center top on all 4 spots. And then stitch your way down. Alternate side to side, front and back on both mounts at the same time. Progress shouldn't be too bad. Don't force cooling with wet rags or anything. When done make sure you weld all around the ends into the back side of the mounts. You don' t want to end with a stress riser at the most important point.

 

[Yeller]

Personally I would fit them to fit closer, better weld less heat. I've never had a housing warp when the parts fit good and you not filling with welding wire forcing in more heat. If possible on stock housings I just weld everything and recheck for straightness after completion and straighten as needed. On heavy aftermarket housings it's really not necessary.

 

[Boss Hugg]

Personally I would fit them to fit closer, better weld less heat. I've never had a housing warp when the parts fit good and you not filling with welding wire forcing in more heat.

These are made to fit 3-1/4 tube and 3-1/2 tube. Just grind the notches off to go to the bigger. Lots of cutting to make them fit without the gap. I think I'll be good using heavy tacks and taking my time.

If possible on stock housings I just weld everything and recheck for straightness after completion and straighten as needed. On heavy aftermarket housings it's really not necessary.

Using these means putting them on the springs loosely, jacking the housing up under them, making sure they are seated right, then welding. I don't really want to be in and out 19 times with it, if you know what I'm saying.



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[Yeller]

These are made to fit 3-1/4 tube and 3-1/2 tube. Just grind the notches off to go to the bigger. Lots of cutting to make them fit without the gap. I think I'll be good using heavy tacks and taking my time.




Using these means putting them on the springs loosely, jacking the housing up under them, making sure they are seated right, then welding. I don't really want to be in and out 19 times with it, if you know what I'm saying.



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Oh yeah I fully understand that. I can promise you'll have a straighter axle then entry into that came out of the factory. Their tolerances were horendous in those days.

 

[Boss Hugg]

Well.... so it begins...

I have about 1-1/2 hrs of daylight left. Don't think it's gonna drive again this week.


Step one: jack the back end up and place jack stands so they'll lay over to the front when you let the truck down on them.

Step two: pull wheels. Made easy with a fancy new tool (10th anniversary present.). Not sure what they call these fancy contraptions, but, man, do they do the do!

Step three: clean threads on U bolts. Then oil them so they'll actually come off. (Again, made easy with fancy new contraption.)

Steps 4-85.6: don't forget to take pics. And drink lots of water. (85 was the high today. MUCH BETTER THAN THE TYPICAL 105.)

Step 87: get fancy new hardware and pieces bolted in place snugly and jack new housing up under it....twice. Don't forget to put the top side on the top side.

Step 88: tack weld said stuff up.
And don't forget to position and tack shock mounts so you don't have to drag welder back out of the shop again.

And now back to work...


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[Boss Hugg]

Step 0.5: don't forget to weld up the vent hole since it's going to get covered up with perch hardware.

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[Boss Hugg]

Worked late into the night...

After welding the bracketry on, there was significant warpage one one end of the housing, I spent some time getting it straightened back out.

Slid the housing back under the bronco and bolted it up tight. I had to drill and tap a hole for the vent line/brake line T. Installed the third member and brake backing plates. Slid the axles in to seal the ends of the housing and called it quits at 9:45. Had to get up at 3:45 this morning to make the 3 hr drive to work.

Pic for droolage:

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[Boss Hugg]

Welp. Gotter done. New wheel cylinders and shoes. Plenty of oil . Heading out in a few for ice cream. We'll see how 5.13s act with a locker behind an auto OD.

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[Boss Hugg]

2600 @ 70mph. Not bad.


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