Dirtgypsy goes SOA

[boots4]

Here are the pics from the first diff that got regeared at Cascade Cruisers bearing packing party.

Carriers out.

ARB carrier with 4.11 still on.

Big tools get the job done.

If that one didn't do the job, there was an even bigger one!

Removed the pinion and driving out the races.

Clint had a howl in the rear diff after the ARB install even after taking it back to who set it up a couple times to fix it. Clint just lived with it and when the pinion bearing race was wiped down it became obvious why he was getting so much noise. Looks like the bearing was pounded into the race and left ridges for the rollers to slap against when spinning thus making a loud howling sound that got louder and increased in pitch the faster he went. The crush sleeve also looked "readjusted" from the hammer marks we could see on it.

Starting the reassembly and setup procedure.

That's all I got. I ended up wheeling around the property and after a few videos I ran out of battery life.

 

[chicago]

Diffs FRIGHTEN me!
That would be a awesome skill to learn for sure!
BIG BRASS KEHONES fellas!

Chicago

 

[Dirtgypsy]

Wow--ALmost rolling. Very nice work.

Getting closer for sure. Still sorting out rear shocks and time to do it! Thanks!!

Diffs FRIGHTEN me!
That would be a awesome skill to learn for sure!
BIG BRASS KEHONES fellas!

Chicago

And brass drifts Actually diffs really were not as bad as I thought just super time consuming. About 3 hours on each one!

Got some more time yesterday on the truck. Kept getting side tracked with the nice weather but did get to a few items:

Front ARB'd and patterned (thanks duane).

Rear Full Floater freshened up and diff installed:

Rear ARB line installed and checking for parking brake fit:

Front housing in it's final spot ready for rebuild:

In case you guys are wondering how I am getting this done so fast I will let you in on a little secret. I have some help!!

That's it for now. I was hoping to have more but it is what it is. Hope to have the front axle built by wed (pending brake parts and time) as well as the best stuff wheels and tires!!!!

I do have a request from you SOA peeps. I am having problems getting my rear shocks up. The angles are good but I only have about 1-2 inches of shock shaft showing on 12" travel shocks. I am not committed to using these but after reading that the last 5 SOA all used 12" shocks I am surprised mine are no where close to working. I have seen the upper shock mounts in previous threads but am looking for some more options. Any help is appreciated!!

Clint

 

[rookie54]

Are you talking about front or rear shocks? I'm currently a 40 guy but curious on SOA 60 stuff. I did the front shock tower extension on my lift to get full travel. Rear needed none to get full 10" travel. What shocks you using and do you expect to get full 12" travel and still have no rub/bind anywhere? Any need for limiting straps/bump stop modification?

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Are you talking about front or rear shocks? I'm currently a 40 guy but curious on SOA 60 stuff. I did the front shock tower extension on my lift to get full travel. Rear needed none to get full 10" travel. What shocks you using and do you expect to get full 12" travel and still have no rub/bind anywhere? Any need for limiting straps/bump stop modification?

I can sort of answer-You do need to extend the bump stops, a lot. I used the same combo of shocks-10 inch extension on the rear and 12 in the front.

 

[Dirtgypsy]

Are you talking about front or rear shocks? I'm currently a 40 guy but curious on SOA 60 stuff. I did the front shock tower extension on my lift to get full travel. Rear needed none to get full 10" travel. What shocks you using and do you expect to get full 12" travel and still have no rub/bind anywhere? Any need for limiting straps/bump stop modification?

I am not expecting to get a full 12" of travel. I found a great deal on a set of new 5 way Rancho shocks a while back while collecting parts and bought them. They are 12" travel and I was asuming that they would do the trick especially with what others in the SOA/ Buld up threads have been running. I was also lookign at extending the bump stops to limit up travel and considering the set up did not think I would need limiting straps.

I can sort of answer-You do need to extend the bump stops, a lot. I used the same combo of shocks-10 inch extension on the rear and 12 in the front.

Just eyeballing it tonight it looks like at least 4" bump stops??? I think at this point I am going to hold off for another week to mount the shocks/ tabs to flex it out and get better measurements.

Drew on your rear shocks did you use the stock upper? Can you post a pic? Also what did you use for the lower?

Thanks for the help.

Clint

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Just eyeballing it tonight it looks like at least 4" bump stops??? I think at this point I am going to hold off for another week to mount the shocks/ tabs to flex it out and get better measurements.

Drew on your rear shocks did you use the stock upper? Can you post a pic? Also what did you use for the lower?

Thanks for the help.

Clint

On the rear, I used the stock upper mounts. The lower mounts I bbuilt into the perch that worked OK, here is a pic:

I still had some old OMEs when the pic was taken but have since switched to Bilsteins. I tried out the Ranchos, but don't like the feel of them that much. You'll find in the rear, 10 inch shocks will fit better than 12s-You'll want close to 16 compressed and 26 extended. Try what you have and see what works.

In the front of the 60, the 14 inch ranchos worked, but the 14 inch Bilsteins were too long. I ended up with 12 inch shocks up front which work great. Try what you have and you may find it's just fine.

Looking forward to seeing the final product.

 

[brokenparts]

not sure if this helps or not?

 

[Tapage]

what you usually use to pull the bearing racers out the 3rd member . .?

which brand did you use .. ?

 

[Dirtgypsy]

On the rear, I used the stock upper mounts. The lower mounts I bbuilt into the perch that worked OK, here is a pic:

I still had some old OMEs when the pic was taken but have since switched to Bilsteins. I tried out the Ranchos, but don't like the feel of them that much. You'll find in the rear, 10 inch shocks will fit better than 12s-You'll want close to 16 compressed and 26 extended. Try what you have and see what works.

In the front of the 60, the 14 inch ranchos worked, but the 14 inch Bilsteins were too long. I ended up with 12 inch shocks up front which work great. Try what you have and you may find it's just fine.

Looking forward to seeing the final product.

Thanks for the pics. Can you measure the distance from bottom of frame to center eye upper mount for the front shock hoops on your set up?

not sure if this helps or not?

It does help. Do you remember what size your shocks were? Do you still have them to get a measurement? I like the parking brake mount.

what you usually use to pull the bearing racers out the 3rd member . .?

which brand did you use .. ?

We just used a brass drift. We went through a bunch of shims this way but it worked out fine. I will post up any issues once it is road worthy.

Clint

 

[rookie54]

The setup from above appears to only get about 2.5" of upward travel at the shocks and impossible to droop the remaining 10" or whatever they are. How "centered" the shocks are/where rub and binding starts can dictate "ideal" shock C-C and bump stop length. Also remember the fore/aft travel of the shocks when they swing with the shackles. If they start off leaning in that direction under full flex puts a lot of strain on the hoops.?. Better to be around vertical and swing-through the flex. I'm not SOA but had good luck with ProComp MX6 for ride control and trail manners. Made the rig feel more stable on highway by quite a lot Vs the RS9000 I had! Heard same from another guy that had SOA. Being "charged" they are always trying to expand and resist that first "bit-O-dip" that flexy systems have at speed + they are 11 way adjustable . I saw you already had shocks just thought share what's been working well.

 

[brokenparts]

I'll measure them tonight for ya Clint. I remember the rear ones being shorter than my front ones though.

 

[Tapage]

We just used a brass drift. We went through a bunch of shims this way but it worked out fine. I will post up any issues once it is road worthy.

Clint

thanks .. !

and the brand of your ring and pinion ..? ( I miss it in the thread )

 

[Dirtgypsy]

The setup from above appears to only get about 2.5" of upward travel at the shocks and impossible to droop the remaining 10" or whatever they are. How "centered" the shocks are/where rub and binding starts can dictate "ideal" shock C-C and bump stop length. Also remember the fore/aft travel of the shocks when they swing with the shackles. If they start off leaning in that direction under full flex puts a lot of strain on the hoops.?. Better to be around vertical and swing-through the flex. I'm not SOA but had good luck with ProComp MX6 for ride control and trail manners. Made the rig feel more stable on highway by quite a lot Vs the RS9000 I had! Heard same from another guy that had SOA. Being "charged" they are always trying to expand and resist that first "bit-O-dip" that flexy systems have at speed + they are 11 way adjustable . I saw you already had shocks just thought share what's been working well.

The set up above was used basically to clear 39's on Zachs rig. It really was not designed to flex out. I am shooting for 6* out and 4* back to start with in the front and should have little issue but don't have a solid # yet for the rear. So going with what I have in the front and applying it to the rear is where I am way off on 12" shocks. I may end up having to buy 10" shocks to get it set up this way.

Here is another set up I am looking at but the wider and more angle the less effective shock rates become especially at speed with a heavy truck.:

The upper mounts will be just a stud without the extension.

thanks .. !

and the brand of your ring and pinion ..? ( I miss it in the thread )

soory about that. They are Superior Gear. I bought them through Kurt at Cruiseroutfitters.

 

[brokenparts]

27" extended 17" collapsed... 10 inches.

 

[rookie54]

Let me know if I'm getting long in the tooth here... I'm just thinking "out loud" and think your build is really fun to watch. I'm gonna have to meet up with your crew soon for some local action. Things I considered and might work for you too; How far can I flex up and back in the rear with 35's before rub( assuming body trimmed?) and how far can it really droop. I like the idea of max travel up and not limiting it if I don't have to. The more balanced the travel is the better you body angles will stay on the trail. Super flexy rigs that only travel down lean SO much on even modest off camber stuff. Shocks that are too long won't allow the up travel and it may never if even possible droop that far so a bit of a waste. I like cruiserdrew's lower mount the best so far; low as you can go without hanging down in no-mans-land and super simple and full travel with stock upper mounts and 10" shocks. From what I can see the only way to get more flex than that if possible is to extend longer shocks up into the rear cargo area(also to keep them close to vertical as possible.) Easy to do but probably not what your looking for or needed. I'm guessing that even with a light trailer the rear shocks are gonna be pretty crucial. Hope you won't need any air bags to keep the headlights from confusing landing aircraft

 

[boots4]

Here is another set up I am looking at but the wider and more angle the less effective shock rates become especially at speed with a heavy truck.:

The upper mounts will be just a stud without the extension.

The lower mounts could be dropped further and the upper mounts can be made to extend up into the cavity above that shock. I've done both of those and fit a 12" shock in the rear at a good angle without cutting into the floor. I'd wait to set up shocks until the rig is on the ground on its wheels. I used a ratchet strap to hold the shock in at a certain length by looping it around the shock eyes (I choose 4" compression with 8" extension) and played with placing it. I was able to flex it and see what happens to the spot I wanted to mount the shock and then I made mounts. My limiting factor was my tires so I set up the shock and bumpstops to keep the rubber off the metal. You will have more room to play with since you are running 35s so someone elses numbers may not work the best for your setup.

My thoughts for the rear, I'd aim for close to 0* for the forward/back tilt and the inward tilt may be a compromise of what you can fit to get the compression you want depending on the mounts you come up with.

 

[Dirtgypsy]

27" extended 17" collapsed... 10 inches.

Thanks for the measurment. I may be calling you on these!

Let me know if I'm getting long in the tooth here... I'm just thinking "out loud" and think your build is really fun to watch. I'm gonna have to meet up with your crew soon for some local action. Things I considered and might work for you too; How far can I flex up and back in the rear with 35's before rub( assuming body trimmed?) and how far can it really droop. I like the idea of max travel up and not limiting it if I don't have to. The more balanced the travel is the better you body angles will stay on the trail. Super flexy rigs that only travel down lean SO much on even modest off camber stuff. Shocks that are too long won't allow the up travel and it may never if even possible droop that far so a bit of a waste. I like cruiserdrew's lower mount the best so far; low as you can go without hanging down in no-mans-land and super simple and full travel with stock upper mounts and 10" shocks. From what I can see the only way to get more flex than that if possible is to extend longer shocks up into the rear cargo area(also to keep them close to vertical as possible.) Easy to do but probably not what your looking for or needed. I'm guessing that even with a light trailer the rear shocks are gonna be pretty crucial. Hope you won't need any air bags to keep the headlights from confusing landing aircraft

I don't think I will need airbags . I do prefer to keep the shocks as vertical as possible so it may be another brand 10" shocks. Don't worry about being too long winded it is helpful.

The lower mounts could be dropped further and the upper mounts can be made to extend up into the cavity above that shock. I've done both of those and fit a 12" shock in the rear at a good angle without cutting into the floor. I'd wait to set up shocks until the rig is on the ground on its wheels. I used a ratchet strap to hold the shock in at a certain length by looping it around the shock eyes (I choose 4" compression with 8" extension) and played with placing it. I was able to flex it and see what happens to the spot I wanted to mount the shock and then I made mounts. My limiting factor was my tires so I set up the shock and bumpstops to keep the rubber off the metal. You will have more room to play with since you are running 35s so someone elses numbers may not work the best for your setup.

My thoughts for the rear, I'd aim for close to 0* for the forward/back tilt and the inward tilt may be a compromise of what you can fit to get the compression you want depending on the mounts you come up with.

Thanks for the input boots it is always appreciated. I opened up a can of worms a bit early asking questions about shocks and angles etc but thought I was closer than I thought to getting them mounted.

I will work on rebuilding the front axle tomorrow and hopefully have it on the wheels then.

especially now that these arrived today:

I will wire wheel them, slap some paint on them, and hopefully have them aired up tonight!

Feeling a bit like this:

Clnt

 

[chicago]

Those are SEXY!?

Chicago

 

[CaliCruiser]

I wish I could add something to the rear shock discussion, but I am in the process of cutting mine off and redoing them. Good progress dude!

Dylan