reviving "isabel"

[orangefj45]

thinking back i guess it is an earlier axle. i got it from a buddy who used to have a military wrecking yard years ago. this axle came out of a military dodge ambulance, must have been somewhere in the 70s.
i just went out to the garage to find the front shafts and take a pic but i have no idea where they are. guess i better find em soon cause i got the front housing back last night.
the th400 shaft is from a late model with a np241 behind it, so it's the 7" version.

[cruzrfan]

Originally Posted by orangefj45

don't blow my "budget" for this build.

man I didn't think you were allowed to use words like and budget and build in the sentence.

Keep up the work the Great cruiser build off 2005 is still on. hit some ruff spots lately but think we are back on track

[orangefj45]

righton phil! tell me you're coming up for the coastal get-together!?

[orangefj45]

well, i got very little done this weekend. went to the coastal-get-together saturday and sunday was one of those lazy days. tried to force myself to spned some productive time in the garage but my heart just was'nt in it. i did start designing and fabbing the core support for the rad, but no pics worth posting yet. also did a little more prelim work for the upcoming d60 front assembly, but ran into some trouble.
decisions, decisions,......http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...75#post3908975

[orangefj45]

just to clarify my d60 front dilemma:
i have a dodge d60 front which utilizes 30 spline outer axle stubs. these are about the only weak point of that axle. normally, it's fairly easy to upgrade a d60 front to 35 spline outers. all you have to do is buy a pair of outer stubs and new selectable hubs or drive flanges, and you're in business.
on this particular style dodge d60 however, more work is needed to complete the 35 spline conversion. the hub section of my spindle is not internally splined, so there is nowhere for a hub to lock into. this means having to replace the hub with a gm couterpart in order to be able to run selectable hubs. i could run drive flanges but since i'm trying to keep this verys streetable, i do not think this would be a wise idea. the front driveshaft would always be turning, even at freeway speeds, and the front locker would'nt exactly help the handling caracteristics either.
so do i spend the extra $800 to do the upgrade or do i try to save a couple of bucks so i have some money left for my next project, the cruggy?!

keep in mind that i do not beat the crap out of my rigs anymore and one of my best friends, whitey, runs a big block powered fj45 with the 30 spline outers and no problems so far. been thru rubicon with it more than once. and i'm only running 37s and an auto to boot.

[dustin]

run it like it is for now and when you get the money later- throw it at it. my .02.. This is a sprint, not a marathon.

-Dustin

[HI^C]

WOW $800 ? you buying everything brand new direct from dana?

Any dodge or chevy bearing hubs will fit ( internal spline) the early dodge has a different looking rotor but I am pretty sure it is the same as the later ones. DONE

OR like i said before do you want me to check on 35 spline driveflanges and 35 spline lockouts for that early dodge hubs?

flanges and just unbolt them when your done wheelin, simple little cap to keep dirt out. CAKE

30 spline outers, 4 days of wheelin in moab, on the 5th just got up a obstacle was on top moving around to avoid a tree, on a flat rock with just a little rock to go over, while on top of this little rock the stub blew! no power, no pinched tire, no gearing, no turning, nothing it just popped.

[orangefj45]

$350 for a pair of chevy hubs
$210 for the warn selectable hubs
$200 for the 35 spline stubs
plus tax and shipping

i think i'm gonna try the 30 spline stuff first since i already have everything but the selectable hubs. and i have a set of spare 30 spline outer stubs.

[HI^C]

No need to pay retail or outragous prices, doh i forgot your in CA pay alot for everything.

Hubs brand new are $350 range, used? I can source these if you need.
$200 is about retail for 35 warns, look around about $160 is the best i seen
$200 for 4340 stubs is about right, but geniune spicers are $100 range,

I would much rather break a $30 u joint or a $50 stub then those damn inners or thirds.

SH i didnt tell you this, but buy a whole axle, swap outers, sell on ebay " Strongest hubs " somewhere in the title these people eat that up, it will pay for the axle, plus add some upgrade $$$ in your wallet. dodge or chevy, ford = different

Something else i just thought about, you mentioned custom inners? well i think a guy here did a Ford 60 inner and it was short, and he did not have to buy custom shafts. Worth looking into? He was close to what you have, if i remeber correctly.

[orangefj45]

wow, that's some good info. i'll definelty have to look into the OE inner shaft lengths and see if i can get away with using that instead of a custom shaft.

got a source for the drive flanges?

[orangefj45]

finally some progress. i've taken the last couple of weeks off from the project; went to the coastal-get-together, a bachelor party in vegas and had to take care of some other stuff in my life. but now i'm coming back on track!
the long side inner front axle is in L.A. at summers bros right now to be shortened and resplined. i'm picking up the rest of the misc d60 front hardware including the outer 35 spline stubs tomorrow from a local supplier. i found a set of stock dodge 30 spline drive flanges for a reasonable price. as soon as i get them, they will be shipped to L.A. to be resplined to 35 spline. still looking for s spare set just in case although i did find somebody who's working on a few sets from scratch. should be a better design than the resplined 30s.
i got the hubs partially assembled to make sure everything would fit. so far, so good.
my wife's gonna be gone all weekend so it's wrenching time! plan to get most of the front end stuff ready for final assembly, build the radiator mount, finish putting together the rear axle, start putting fluids where they belong, install the front springs, put in the 55 rear springs,..........ha, that outta eat up both days. and i gotta go to mudrak's first thing saturday morning for a quick parts run. my front bumper is there waiting for me.

[HI^C]

resplined inner? so none neckdown shaft?

MAN i was just going to email you on the 35 spline stub shafts, I am putting together a few packages.

I got one of my guys seeing if the other guy is making more drive or lockouts again.

I know a super cheap and easy way to build the 35 spline driveflanges, if i had more time.

3/8 plate and 3/16 spacer? look like the these can vary so much.
double check that you are centered and allow full caliper floating with those brackets!!!!! Dont ask why.

Sky arms. make sure if you heim that your bolts do not rotate in the arm. noticed a great deal of wear in a set. TRE should be fine.

[orangefj45]

i'm gonna use TREs on the skys. especially since this will be driven on the street a lot.

i found the 35 spline outer stubs for $62.50 each.

my shafts were non-neck down; the axle is from a 75 from what i was able to figure out. i'll post a pic of the resplined long and stock short inner when i get them back.

[HI^C]

local price i guess that isnt to bad. I should have talked to you a bit sooner.

Did you double check on those OE inner shaft lengths?? just curious i started looking for that info and cannot find it. I would like to have that stuff for reference.

interesting none neckdowns.

[orangefj45]

i found a couple of different length long inners, but nothing close to what i needed. i'll try to dig for some info for you.

[cruzrfan]

Ok Georg you had no wife for the weekend so what did you get done???

Is it driveable yet

Mine either

[orangefj45]

went to gary's (mudrak) first thing saturday morning and ended up hanging out until about 3.30pm. it was gary's 45th birthday!!!!!
picked up my bumper from him (thanks again peesalot ) and a couple of other small parts and finally made it home around 5pm.
i had moved the d60 housing outside the night before to get ready to strip all the old paint, grease and dirt off. that took a good 4 hours between saturday night and sunday morning, but it's purdy now. gave it a couple of coats of paint and spent some time cleaning up the garage and moving a few things out of my way.
i soon discovered that i did not have all the parts to put the 60 together so i decided to work on the t-case insatll instead. i will be going with the stock gm cast adapter afterall. i grabbed one, chucked it up in the mill and slotted the one hole so i could use it with the atlas. only took a couple of minutes and worked out pretty well. after a quick test fir i bead blasted the adapter and painted it as well.
while that was drying, i got all my hardware and the trans jack ready for what i hope to be the final atlas install. i had to cut part of the tub (reinforcement rib) off so i could tuck the t-case as high as possible. that took more work than expected and i ended up having to use a cut-off wheel for most of it. what a mess.
next i bolted the adapter to the tans and then mated the atlas up to it. all that went without a hitch and pretty much killed the day.
ironpig70 stopped by for a few hours and gave me a hand with a few things. thanks again travis!!!!!!

[orangefj45]

tonite i spent some time on the short inner axle shaft. the old u-joint did'nt wanna budge after almost 30 years of corrosion so i ended up heating it up with a torch and then banging it out. one cap still had good grease in it, theother 3 were bone dry and pretty chewed up.
i also installed the new u-joint in the 35 spline outer but did'nt have time to put the inner on as well; gotta blast the rust and crap off first. i love how beefy this stuff is and how well it goes together.
i finally found a set of hub flanges on the pirate board and they showed up today. gotta send em off tomorrow to be resplined for the 35 outers. pretty good day for a monday.

[Radd Cruisers]

Nice job on the pics and write up....

Not side track, but were do you get those hammers I see in your pics?

[orangefj45]

snap on. i bought a lot of tools when i worked at a boat/fab shop. you can also get em at harbor freight and many other tool places.

[orangefj45]

man, it feels good to come home from a tough day at work just to find some more "christmas presents" on your door step. got two of them today. one was my pimpin alternator from premier power welders, the other was my york accessory kit from kilby's (www.onboardair.com).
after unpacking and checking out both goodies, i just had to install the alternator and lay out the serpentine belt to see how it would look. the only thing missing at the front of the engine are the modified york pulley (my buddy jeepindoug is machining down the 2 groove pulley so it'll work with the serpentine belt) and i still have to get a new PS pump; don't wanna take a chance on the old one, it was leaking ever so slightly already.
then i put the other front outer u-joint in the stub shaft, cleaned up and called it a night.

[cruzrfan]

Which alternator did you get 175 or the 190
I guess you don't need me to go out Kilby anymore sorry haven't made that way in while
Project looking good

[orangefj45]

thanks phil!!!

i ended up going with the 175 cause i did'nt want to have to deal with the larger case. i have had the welder for a while but have'nt had it on a rig in about 5 years so i figured this would be the perfect platform for it. self-sufficiency is hopefully gonna be the name of my game.

[cruzrfan]

I went with the 175 too not only the case but the price differnce ouch

[orangefj45]

i could have gone with either cause they owed me an alternator and a favor, but figured the 175 should be ample for my application and i really did'nt want to have to modify/change the bracketry on the engine. too much other stuff to finish.

[orangefj45]

well i'll be damned if santa did'nt show up again today! got my long inner front shaft back from etting narrowed at summer bros in L.A. had to unwrap it right away and gaze at it for a while. i'm so stoked to put the front axle together.
here's a pic of the stock short side and shortened long side:

[orangefj45]

here's one to show the difference between a cruiser coarse birf, a 30 spline d60 stub and the 35 spline d60 stub, all resting on the inner long 35 spline shaft. hmmmm, beefy!