Help with 1 ton axle choice for fzj80 build (1 Viewer)

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Nice build Dustin! Got your note from Ester.

I really like the hospital bed lift too. HCMC tried billing Anthem $27,500 for my over night stay last month, maybe I was suppose to keep the bed. I'll check into it. ;)

BTW, where do you live so I can steal.....I mean borrow that plasma cutter? :hhmm:
 
Dustin.....I'm missing several rolls of .035 MIG wire. You wouldn't know where they might be would you???
Probably burried under axles, motors, tools, etc. if your shop was organized youd recognize all the good stuff thats gone missing...

I was looking at your rig again... Your front bumper is too nice to cut up much. Can you move the bumber forward a couple of inches instead??? With those fourty-something tires your approach angle will still be good. You might also gain some airflow for your intercooler and/or hide a winch inside the bumper.
with these tires Id have to move it forward a half foot. plus the winch

D, you are going to NEED those retainers. If you plan on running big shocks 14" + those spring WILL fall out (still on J's, and 4" coils?). I am running 6" coils and had my springs fall out on several occasions while on the Rubicon and flexing the rig. it was more of an issue for me in the rear of the truck though. Looking forward to the final and another 80 on 40+ tires.
I built some screw in reatiners like mace suggested. need to post the pic. fortunatly the upper bump stops are so long the springs will stay put if the bottom is retained

Nice build Dustin! Got your note from Ester.

I really like the hospital bed lift too. HCMC tried billing Anthem $27,500 for my over night stay last month, maybe I was suppose to keep the bed. I'll check into it. ;)
BTW, where do you live so I can steal.....I mean borrow that plasma cutter? :hhmm:

dont ask doc. just have someone in a white coat push it out with you on it. please come use the plasma. you can borrow a hack saw
 
Probably burried under axles, motors, tools, etc. if your shop was organized youd recognize all the good stuff thats gone missing...



Dusty, thanks for the tip! I looked under two Ford 9" axles, a 289 engine, a 302 engine, a Ford top loader 4-speed, two 351 engines, 5 transfer cases, a Chev LS6 454 engine, another 454, the 69 Camaro, a few more transmissions, the 66 Mustang, several boxes of misc parts and tools, your Mom's old furniture, a whole rack of orphaned 80 series parts and a "HEEP" that I'd forgot I had but didn't find the wire.
PS: Later I found the mig wire in a box marked "mig wire". Sorry!:whoops:
 
dad needs to set up his front arb. (if it can be found) if not he wont be able to follow anymore

got some more done. figuring out the front springs
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need help
started on the front track bar. room is getting tight. is the track bar too short in relation to the drag link? should the track bar be longer so as to be closer to the length of the drag link?

also note that their is an angle between the trackbar and the draglink going to the highsteer arm. It would be helpfull if I could bring the tre on the high steer arm lower. it would give the axle more uptravel without hitting the drag link. I wish the draglink was as low as the trackbar.

I called balistic to see if they would make me a high steer arm that has the tre going in from the bottom but they wont. that would be ideal. it would give the drag link a little more room for uptravel. another option would be to drill out the high steer arm and run a heim from the bottom of the arm. another option would be to run an ofset tre. I have seen them but dont know where to get them and I dont know a part number. does anyone
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Any chance you could ream a new taper from the bottom of the arm you have??? :hhmm: Install from the bottom and clamp loosly so you don't mess up anything & see how it looks. Call me if you think it would work.

there is room between the 2 holes on the highsteer to ream a new hole from the bottom. could also drill out the hole and run a heim from the bottom but the tre's stay so tight I'd rather use them.

I need to get one of those offset tre's and try it out. I dont know how much they offset. it may not be enough. I'd rather drill out the tapered hole with a 3/4" bit and run a heim than deal with the hassle of drilling a new hole. I immagine I can drill out the highsteer arm without even taking it off
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What's stopping you from raising the axle end of the track bar? Oil pan clearance? Are these pics taken at ride height? If so, I'd say the difference in length will create negligible bump steer driving down the road because both bars are so flat in relation to the ground. Remember you want them as parrallel and equal in length as possible(if you can easily make the trackbar longer, you might consider it, but I don't think what you have will be bad). You also want them level if possible. Generally if they're both level to the ground you can get away with a shorter track bar.
 
What's stopping you from raising the axle end of the track bar? Oil pan clearance? Are these pics taken at ride height? .

this is projected ride height. I want the tre lower because the draglink only has about 3.5" before it hits the frame on the pass side. too close. Plus all the geometry crap a mentioned. got to get the tre lower
 
Retain the upper ends of those springs.

You can also put a bend in the PH bar to get the clearance you need if it is too close to the diff cover.

Get NW fab to just send you a blank arm ot one with a 1/2" hole drilled in it. Then just ream it yourself (in a drill press). Drilling it out on the car leaves nothing but a headache, broken drill bits and a crooked hole. If you do run a heim. You want the hole reamed out anyway instead of drilled out. Tight steering is a good thing.
 
Retain the upper ends of those springs.

You can also put a bend in the PH bar to get the clearance you need if it is too close to the diff cover.

Get NW fab to just send you a blank arm ot one with a 1/2" hole drilled in it. Then just ream it yourself (in a drill press). Drilling it out on the car leaves nothing but a headache, broken drill bits and a crooked hole. If you do run a heim. You want the hole reamed out anyway instead of drilled out. Tight steering is a good thing.

If I limit strap the axle so the top of the spring only unseats about 4" would that be enough or is there any benefit to actually securing the upper spring?


True points on not hacking the arms. probably not a place to be taking shortcuts. Today i ordered the dogleg TRE from napa and it will be here by tom evening. if the dogleg tre doesn't bring the draglink low enough to easily clear the frame when the pass side is stuffed I will use a highsteer arm machined from the bottom.

Another question
is a high strength 3/4" shank heim (5/8" bolt hole) strong enough for the axle side of the track bar? for the frame side of the track bar I will use the factory rubber bushing. I could use the factory rubber bushings on both sides if I want but I will need to make a new bar connecting the track bar ends in either case
 
If I limit strap the axle so the top of the spring only unseats about 4" would that be enough or is there any benefit to actually securing the upper spring?


True points on not hacking the arms. probably not a place to be taking shortcuts. Today i ordered the dogleg TRE from napa and it will be here by tom evening. if the dogleg tre doesn't bring the draglink low enough to easily clear the frame when the pass side is stuffed I will use a highsteer arm machined from the bottom.

Another question
is a high strength 3/4" shank heim (5/8" bolt hole) strong enough for the axle side of the track bar? for the frame side of the track bar I will use the factory rubber bushing. I could use the factory rubber bushings on both sides if I want but I will need to make a new bar connecting the track bar ends in either case

I have never liked the handling of a rig with uncaptured coils. They are so much more predictable when both ends are attached..

yes, that heim will be more than adequate.
 
Retain the upper ends of those springs.

You can also put a bend in the PH bar to get the clearance you need if it is too close to the diff cover.

Get NW fab to just send you a blank arm ot one with a 1/2" hole drilled in it. Then just ream it yourself (in a drill press). Drilling it out on the car leaves nothing but a headache, broken drill bits and a crooked hole. If you do run a heim. You want the hole reamed out anyway instead of drilled out. Tight steering is a good thing.

:hhmm: What issues would arise from welding up the existing hole, redrill and taper ream from the bottom? Is the arm heat treated? Exotic alloy?
 
:hhmm: What issues would arise from welding up the existing hole, redrill and taper ream from the bottom? Is the arm heat treated? Exotic alloy?

Nothing really, as long as the hole was welded completly and drilled then reamed.

However, have you ever tried to drill out weld filler?

:bang:
 

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