@baldilocks. The axle shaft splines are twisting before the studs are breaking so who knows. Anything could be a weak link in a certain situation. I've seen axle shafts broke in half with good studs.
Builds Phildoh build thread (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Phildoh
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It would seem that the chromoly shaft would offer a greater degree of "cushion" in those high load situations as the shaft is more elastic. Driving skill and style are probably the two biggest factors.
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@baldilocks
I hear you on driving style. I've never broken any of those parts on 37s with 529. I drive it like the big whale it is. Guys I've seen doing the damage are going for broke and hopping them while on it. Somethings going to break!
I hear you on driving style. I've never broken any of those parts on 37s with 529. I drive it like the big whale it is. Guys I've seen doing the damage are going for broke and hopping them while on it. Somethings going to break!
- Thread starter
- #224
Mine broke on 37's with 5.29's. I'm a very cautious wheeler, especially with this big pig. It was a fluke, and nothing other than my fault not letting up on the gas when starting to slide backward. Also took the wrong line at 3am, on the Con' when I hadn't been there in a decade. Everything is a learning experience, and this on definitely didn't teach me differently. Ring and pinion were AOK, as well as the studs. The differential shop said the bearings were toast from driving 23mi with metal churning within. I wanted the bearings back to see the damage, and I can't see anything out of the norm. Keep in mind they were dealer only, $100/ea bearings and the only markings I saw were from them cutting them off. I might actually do more looking into this and if I truly don't feel satisfied with what I find (or don't find) then I'll take those bearings in and ask some questions. One would think the ring and pinion would have the same scoring that the bearings supposedly had, but the R&P were spotless. I'll dig deeper and report on what I find and what's resolved if anything.
- Thread starter
- #225
So I had made a mount on the rear tire carrier setup, which I still need to redesign to suit my needs better. Nonetheless, this holder is the Smittybilt brand sold on the shelf at many stores. It's a decent mount, and is somewhat fairly priced (a bit overpriced, the material is cheap to buy, but when adding up the time to build, it's simple to see the purchase as complete than to diy it. If I had time, was retired or very wealthy, and wasn't still recovering, then I'd have made my own. The mount has either side mounting holes, and bottom as well. I went through the floor, and put a plate on the bottom as to not cave in the sheet metal when I tightened down the bolts. I'm a stickler for rattles at hwy speed, and these were not of the hush hush variety. The ratchet strap just keeps it tight against itself (bracket, over can, to bracket) so the rattle gods can take a break. I tried putting a bend in the top clasp piece to make it hold tension, and it helped but didn't cure the noise. And, now that I have the subwoofer, it needs to be rattle free or I'm going to go crazy! I'll eventually have them out back again, but for now I like the clean look without all the junk on the rear, and one day I'll redo the tire carrier, hanger, can and jack mount, and it'll all be perfect for me. Till then, this will do!
- Thread starter
- #226
Time to stop!
If anyone in the greater Sacramento CA area needs dealer parts, ask and I will help you as I've been helped. It's a pretty good deal.
Phil
If anyone in the greater Sacramento CA area needs dealer parts, ask and I will help you as I've been helped. It's a pretty good deal.
Phil
- Thread starter
- #227
And here's one from the current doings. I had to remove the trans cooler to get the new PS cooler into place. Should have it done tomorrow, and then the front brakes. I have a really big project coming up that this forum has no help that I can find. I'll post after this one as a sneak peak to what's happening in my garage. Some fabricating about to happen. For now, here's the half naked front end
- Thread starter
- #228
Some people won't get it and that's fine. I love leaf springs, plain and simple. From ease of design, predictability of cycle, ride, they're a win win win for me. Some don't like them, and that's fine. I'm going to start with the rear end, and convert to leaf springs. Once the rear is done, I'll do the front as well. From the homework I've done, the rear will be pretty easy compared to other rigs I've done. More cutting and grinding than anything. I'll keep the thread up to date as the journey begins, and show a step by step as to how I did it and what's all needed and so on/so forth. For anyone interested, the Slee 6" kit will be up for sale and that I will detail more as it starts to happen. The kit will be complete, including radius arms. I will keep the brake lines and shocks for re-use with the new suspension setup. It will also include the upgraded rear links (lowers are solid, uppers are adjustable) and I'll even include the MAF 30mm spacers (4). I will retain the steering linkage as well as it will work with leafs, with my design. I'll need to upgrade the steering arms down the road and add hysteer or something of the sort, but that's a ways from now. Anywho, I'll keep it updated as I go. Im probably going to start the rear suspension in the next few weeks, and have it done by the end of March. Then the front the following month. I want to get the rear dialed in as much as possible. My thought is to find someone to buy the Slee kit from me, and whoever it is will save a bunch of money. A bunch. It'll be a very reasonable price for someone looking for this kit but can't afford the $3500. Stay tuned.....
What leafs will you use? Custom leaf springs are expensive but nicer than what many people cobble together from the junkyard. I had Deaver 12 pack leafs on a previous rig and they were very nice. Alcan is another leaf spring builder that has a good reputation.
I have thought about leafs myself so I am interested to see how you do the front what with the steering box outside the frame.
I have thought about leafs myself so I am interested to see how you do the front what with the steering box outside the frame.
- Thread starter
- #230
For mock-up and to get it going I'll use Chevy 63's and I'll do on a hunt at the dismantler for a perfect pair (perfect being from an early 90's z-71 4x4 that appears to be a cleaner truck that wasn't beat to death, and those are a 4+1 pack, +1 being the overload). If these work well and do what I want, I'll run them for a while, and then have custom packs made by a local shop here in Sacramento. The front will take a bit of long nights, lots of coffee and some four letter words, but it shouldn't be that hard compared to other jobs I've done in the past.
Stupid question, why would one want to swap to leaf springs?
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
- Thread starter
- #233
No question is a stupid question, because it takes effort to ask, and since you asked, I'll gladly tell. First and foremost, I personally like the ride of leaf springs far more than coils. I have been in a few different situations (one with my LC) when the suspension was at the perfect position to "unwind" as I call it and the coils released the tension they had and almost tipped my rig over. I also am fond of the easier conditions to customize a leaf pack and find the ride height and spring rate I want to achieve. It's all really a personal preference, and when it comes to off-road vehicles, we all have the likes and dislikes we choose, and the person on either side of us could be a completely different opinion. Just like how some people love Jeep's, others Toyota's. I've only seen one 80' (online) running leaf springs, and it's a different approach, but tried and true suspension. I am in no way discounting the quality and engineering that Slee's products provide, I just want to go to down a different path, and possible open some doors for folks that can't afford a $3500 lift kit on their 5k rig. Mock-up will be fairly easy for the rear, and the front won't be quite so bad as I was out doing some measurements tonight and it's actually a fairly simple route to go for someone who has some decent fabrication skills. I am going to document it all as mentioned above, and keep a ticket going on what I spend, where, and why I went the way I did.
Cheers!
P
- Thread starter
- #234
Parts are supposed to be delivered tomorrow, but I won't get to teardown for a week or two. I'm still driving my other car as the LC is still torn apart, which should be back together today, maybe tomorrow. I want to put a few days on the new PS pump, cooler and plumbing to make sure it's all OK before tearing into the rear suspension swap. I also need the rig running to go hit some dismantler's and get some springs. I'm getting more excited as this builds up, been wanting an 80' on leafs ever since I bought it, and I should have do e this in the first place, but went the way I did. I'm stoked there are inquiries on the kit, and I'll keep everyone posted as it all unfolds.
P
P
- Thread starter
- #235
Been so busy I've barely made it out to the garage this week, leg has been bugging me a bunch this week and swollen like a bloated corpse, so today I got a couple hours in and got farther along with the PS pump R&R, and upgraded cooler.
Here's the cooler mounted up, Hayden 516 model, fits pretty good. Never have liked these mounts they include, but, they work.
I'll have to watch the coolant temp to see if it gets warmer than before, but I think it should be OK. 105° days might need to be watched a little closer!
When I put the last pump in, I removed the old one and removed the gear, nut and woodruff key to reuse on the new pump. The gear had some wear marks that didn't look like a problem, and the wear surface wasn't damaged or anything so I went ahead with installation. The nut didn't go on as easy as wanted to because a thread was banged up, so that was addressed and it was touched and reinstalled. There was always a whine, and bleeding the system multiple times didn't change it so I figured I got a sub-par pump. Well, as mentioned, now I'm replacing it again. This time around, bought a new gear and nut as well, so this OEM pump should in theory work just fine. Tried the rag trick and ripped the rag apart! I was hesitant to use them, but was very careful, and the rubber vice jaws worked fine. The required 54ft/lbs was seeming like a overly tight spec, but I double checked it and saw it a second time in print, so that's where it's at. Here's rag, jaws, and finished, newly torqued pump gear/pump.
Here's the cooler mounted up, Hayden 516 model, fits pretty good. Never have liked these mounts they include, but, they work.
I'll have to watch the coolant temp to see if it gets warmer than before, but I think it should be OK. 105° days might need to be watched a little closer!
When I put the last pump in, I removed the old one and removed the gear, nut and woodruff key to reuse on the new pump. The gear had some wear marks that didn't look like a problem, and the wear surface wasn't damaged or anything so I went ahead with installation. The nut didn't go on as easy as wanted to because a thread was banged up, so that was addressed and it was touched and reinstalled. There was always a whine, and bleeding the system multiple times didn't change it so I figured I got a sub-par pump. Well, as mentioned, now I'm replacing it again. This time around, bought a new gear and nut as well, so this OEM pump should in theory work just fine. Tried the rag trick and ripped the rag apart! I was hesitant to use them, but was very careful, and the rubber vice jaws worked fine. The required 54ft/lbs was seeming like a overly tight spec, but I double checked it and saw it a second time in print, so that's where it's at. Here's rag, jaws, and finished, newly torqued pump gear/pump.
- Thread starter
- #236
Got a box today as well... Thanks UPS for the great handling!
And the contents.
So I'll start this next week hopefully. Fingers crossed to knock it out in a few nights work, but if my current situation with my leg keeps up, might take a week or so.
And the contents.
So I'll start this next week hopefully. Fingers crossed to knock it out in a few nights work, but if my current situation with my leg keeps up, might take a week or so.
FJBroBri
SILVER Star
Looking forward to your next update!!
BlueCruiser84
SILVER Star
I think @maxamillion2345 has rear leaves?
I think the issue with leaves up front will be the steering link behind the axle? Maybe you've already taken care of that?
Maybe consider a 14-bolt or D60 out back in light of recent issues...
I think the issue with leaves up front will be the steering link behind the axle? Maybe you've already taken care of that?
Maybe consider a 14-bolt or D60 out back in light of recent issues...
maxamillion2345
Franken-80
3/4 ton chevy 63s with 14" smooth bodies and a 14 bolt. Dunno if the 14 bolt has enough of an offset diff to clear gas tank and driveline, but I think probably. I no longer have stock tcase or gas tank so I can't say.
Works good for me. Rides decent. Flexes well. Took a few tries to find the right pack with all the weight I have. I think a beefed up 1/2 ton 63 pack would be fine for most but the 3/4 tons are working better for me.
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14 bolt, Dana 60/70 can all be reconfigured and stuffed with custom shafts to fit any build. I payed $600 to have a HP D60 reconfigured a few years ago. It's only money.
