Builds reviving "isabel" (1 Viewer)

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finally got to spend some time in the garage again. my buddy jeepindoug came up for the day to give me a hand, which was more then much appreciated. doug's a machinist by trade and quite the fabricator so it's nice to work alongside him.
today i wanted to get the front axle bolted to the springs and the barkes done. we ran into a few frustrating snags along the way but it turned out alright.
early this week i had tried to find some u-bolt plates for the d60 front to no avail, so i bought a pair 5x6x1/2" steel plates to make my own. i had done this for whitey's fj45 a few years ago and they turned out great. just another side project to eat up more of my valuable time though.
during the week i had also discovered that the pair of studs used on the diff housing instead of a u-bolt were way too long. i tried finding the proper length to no avail. so i figure why not just use the proper die and just cut the threads further than they already were. finding a pair of dies proved interesting. seems that just about any hardware store, orchard and places like home depot carry stuff up to 1/2", but nothing bigger. u-bolts and studs are 5/8" on this application. i finally found a specialty tool store near my work and picked up both a fine (5/8x18) and a corse (5/8x11) thread pair of dies.
so the first order of business was to make the spring plates and modify the studs. doug took care of the spring plates and i tried to cut some more threads into the studs. yeah. right. like that was gonna work. as soon as the die reached the end of the existing threads, it came to a dead stop. we even took a pair of aluminum jaws for my vise and machined a 5/8" hole between the two to create more clamping force for the vise holding the stud, but it just was'nt gonna happen. so instead of wasting more time on the studs, i decided to use a pair of bolts meanwhile and then try to find a set of proper length studs next week, maybe partsmike has what i need.
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while doug was busy with the plates, i got the cruiser jacked up higher so we could get the front axle mounted. i ended up installing a set of roller tires in the rear so we coule move the truck forward. having it up higher meant that it would hit the open garage door. got that done, slid the front axle under the springs just in time for the plates to be done. a quick buzz with the grinder to smooth off the edges and some paint and they were ready to go. we cut the u-bolts down with my protaband but could'nt get a good angle on them, so they'll get cleaned up later.
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on thursday i got my long awaited caliper mounting bracketts. these were supposed to be the only bracketts available that bolt right on and still allow for proper knuckle and brake geometry. one out of two ain't bad i guess.
the bracketts are definetly beefy (3/8") but the offset for the caliper is'nt quite right. there was no way to get the loaded caliper to mount. first we tried to bend the brackett some to creat more room for the brake pad to slide in between the rotor and brackett, but he needed just over 1/8" and that was'nt gonna happen. now what?! machine down the brake pads, that's what! we ended up chucking up the two inner pads and removing just over 1/8". good thing they don't use asbestos in the pads anynore. that created enough clearance to install the calipers. and this is where we ran into the next problem. the caliper mounting bolt coul'nt be installed cause the high steer arms were right in the way. so loosen up the arms, slide the bolt thru and check everything again. that worked ok except that when we tried on one of the allied beadlock rims i'm gonna run, it rubbed slightly on the caliper. no big deal. get the gringer, smooth out the caliper, try them again and clean them up to get em ready for paint. tis part of the day got a little frustrating but it turned out ok.
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after lunch we finished up the brake installation. i had already packed the wheel bearings and installed them along with the seals in the hubs a while ago, so all we had to do was to slide them on and tighten them up. to do so, i had bought a pair of snap on spindle nut sockets on ebay last week. i got them for $1 a piece so the price was right. too bad they were neither snap on nor the correct size for a d60. :rolleyes: but for the price, who cares.
at least we got the rotors on and the axle mounted. i also got some studs for the drive flanges but they were too long. i trimmed about 1/2" off each one and now they work perfect. got the flanges installed, took a couple more pics, put away some of the tools and called it a night. more to come tomorrow.
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nope, the steering arms are great. the problem i'm having is caused by the brake caliper bracketts. i want to run 15" rims since i'll be on 37s. to do so on a d60f you either haveto grind the hell out of the stock calipers (which i did'nt have) or you can buy conversion kits which allow you to run 3/4 ton rotors and calipers. these are smaller in size and will allow a 15" rim to bolt right up. the problem with the conversion kits is the caliper brackett. the kit i bought included a flat brackett. according to the seller, that BCB (Brake Caliper Brackett) was supposed to be munted between the knuckle and spindle. this would work, but it would move the spindle 3/8" away from the knuckle, thereby not letting the outer stub axle ride where it needs to in conjunction with the spindle (bearing) and it would not allow you to install the outer snap ring (no big deal).
for proper geometry you have to run the BCB at the very end. knuckle, spindle and then the BCB. the problem is that this will move the caliper too far outboard and you won't be able to make it work with the rotor.
so JB's 4wd makes the BCB i ended up using. instead of a flat design like so many others i have since found available, his is a multi piece design that mounts in the right location yet still sets the caliper in the proper location, which is further inboard. well, his is close to the right location anyways.
the BCBs from JB were $150 and were supposed to be the answer to my problems, but i still had to modify parts and waste a bunch of time doing it, so i'm not too happy with them. but it's the nly BCB that "works" so i'm gonna keep em. can't afford to spend any more time on the front brakes.
here's a pic from the top so you can see the clearance issues. if you look closely, you can see the difference in thickness between the outboard brake pad and the inborad one, which we had to shave down.
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sunday morning and my wife won't be back till mid afternoon, so i have a few good hours to knock out some more work. i started by mounting the new PS pump. even though i'll be running a saginaw box in combination with an agr ram, i went with a stock pump. it only cost me $36 so it won't be a major setback if it does'nt have enough output for the hydro assist.
everything bolted right up, but when i went to install the serpentine pulley, i ran into trouble. i used the proper installation tool but after the pulley went on roughly half way, the threads in the pump stripped right out. something was'nt right so i ran a tap into the pump and sure as hell, there was a bunch of debris in there that had not gotten cleaned out when the unit was rebuilt. luckily there was plenty of thread depth left to finish pressing on the pulley. i guess from now on i'll have to remember to run a tap into the pump output shaft first before using the install tool.
next i got to work on my idea for the rad support. i'm running a griffin aluminum rad and there really are'nt any good mounting bracketts on it. so i devised a "cradle". i used a flat plate on top and bottom which are connected with 4 rods. these rods also double as mounts for the transmission oil cooler. the spacing worked out perfect. making the cradle took a while, and i had to add a little "bling" so it would'nt look so plain. turned out pretty well, but that's about all i got done today.
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Holy s*** that thing is a headache...


I still believe that a 60 can be built at a reasonable cost

axle = $400
35 spline outers = $150
Drive slugs = $120

Steering = stock (soon to be replaced = $250)
Detroit = $500
Gears = $250 (with set up kit)


= $1670 into my front with the hysteer..


(I am a cheap bitch so my labor is not worth anything :flipoff2: )
 
Mace said:
I still believe that a 60 can be built at a reasonable cost
= $1670 into my front with the hysteer..
(I am a cheap bitch so my labor is not worth anything :flipoff2: )
Click to expand...

You gave less than half the going rate for the starter axle.............most around here bring 1k.....and you are just a bitch.
:D :flipoff2:
 
f*** D60 run knuckle, bracket, spindle

C/D run knuckle, spindle bracket as mentioned above.

Difference is F*** D60 have about 1" rear stickout from the mounting flange on the spindles. DO not use d50 spindles, they work in a pinch, but do not have enough stickout nor seal the stubs.

You need to run the snap ring, if they axle is allowed to move it changes the geometery when turning, will cause u joint and spline wear, possibly breakage.

Front brake issues, HOLY COW! sounds like less time to build your own in the begining rather then play with "correct brackets" lmao. 1/8 " shave, wow that is dedication. :)

Sounds like your brackets are to tall, to not allow caliper clearence, do you have one not mounted? ( for measuring)

mod the sag pump and she will work great.

$$$ per axle build will vary, and those numbers are doable.
 
give me more details on "mod the sag pump".
 
guess i'm gonna try to screw up my PS pump tonite. :grinpimp:
 
guess i'm gonna have to take next week off so i can get this hooptie done for rubithon. :cool:
 
see you thurs. morn . early , we might be right behind ya . like 30 ft. ha , ha , ha .......
 
tiny update. fwiw, i finally figured out the correct belt length for this setup. should be 101.5" long which translates to a goodyear gatorback belt # 4061015 and/or 6pk2580.
application: 350 or 305 tbi without smog pump with york compressor utilizing kilby (www.onboradair.com) mount.
 
orangefj45 said:
tiny update. fwiw, i finally figured out the correct belt length for this setup. should be 101.5" long which translates to a goodyear gatorback belt # 4061015 and/or 6pk2580.
application: 350 or 305 tbi without smog pump with york compressor utilizing kilby (www.onboradair.com) mount.
Click to expand...

Let me check at the shop but I think I have a sweet euro belt that size, we need to get some fatherland in there somewhere..... :flipoff2:
 
there'll be plenty of fatherland in the driver seat, and even more if topoader aka big6lug is rolling with me as copilot. :D
 
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