ROTW: Fiona

[CruisinFJ60]

1.) nother shot of my welds on passenger perch
2.) driver side perch
3.) passenger perch, i went over this one twice cause the first time i wasnt paying much attention and the weld went up and down so i hit it again to make sure i got it all and i got it all and also succeeded in making it look like s*** (IMOP anyhow) its plenty strong but none the less could look soooo much better. I was also using .035 Flux Core wire in my Hobart Handler 187 mig welder that is powered by 220V

 

[CruisinFJ60]

I also welded the inside of the perches as best i could get at to help insure there was plenty holding it all in place.

1.) got the axle bolted to the springs. i still need to do something about the inner passenger u bolt. think ima weld a bracket to the perch and housing so i can run some normal bolts kinda like the ruff stuff mount does.
2.) as if the 33'a didnt already look itty bitty...
3.) good comparison of the lift difference the SO made

I dont have any pics but i flipped the spring pin center bolt so that the threads were facing up and not down into the spring perch.

 

[CruisinFJ60]

1.) shot from the front
2.) i think it looks pretty sexy...
3.) she is tall for sure. but i dont really think it is excessive, and with some trimming some 39.5's should look quite sexy under her once i can afford em.

and thats all the pics for today and as far as i got, started loosing light and it started to get pretty chilly, and by that i mean 38*F LOL.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Damn, that's some good progress. You deserve a couple s

 

[CruisinFJ60]

thanks man i appreciate it!

once i do the cut and turn i plan on knocking all the old crap off of the axles and finish grinding down the crap from where the sway bar mount was and the steering stops then paint em black and give em a freshed up look and not so much a covered in a half inch of oil and dirt look.

 

[CruisinFJ60]

got a little bit done today but not as much as i wanted.

I did the cut and turn on the driver side it was below freezing till nearly 12:45 today so i was quite un motivated to get out there and do anything for a while.

I wasnt sure how deep to cut into the housing and had remembered some thing about seeing more flake or something... needless to say i never once saw any of that and i went through the housing in one spot. it was at that time i hit the knuckle with a hammer (3 lb sledge) and got a flashlight to better see what i was doing, i then noticed this itty bitty little line insinde of the axle looked likes it was about 1/4" deep so i cut just a little past the line all around the housing and a couple of good smacks to make sure it was all busted loose and i was good.

i stuck mu long pry bar in there and started goin till i felt like i was in a good spot. i was thinking about 5-6* would be a good number.

once it was all said and done i was at right at 6* now i think it will likely be a little less as i did it with the axle attached to the leafs and dont know how level it was. Im pretty sure it was reasonably close to level so im not to worried.

 

[CruisinFJ60]

why is the mar tack useful? well if your lazy and in a hurry all you have to do is pull a few bolts and in under 3 minutes you are to this.

everything all in 1 big assy. now putting it back together isnt as easy as coming apart but its also not hard, more of just kinda awkward.

 

[CruisinFJ60]

and just what i ended up with after the cut and turn. after i verified it i welded it back together then once welded i checked it again to verify it didnt change any.

thats really all for today, my gear box seal kit is supposed to be here tomorrow i got it from autozone for 25 bux no shipping charges since i ordered it at the store, did have to pre pay tho.

so after i finish the front i will do the rear, once rear is completed i will pull the gear box out and drill and tap it for my ram assist i will be adding.

 

[kling-on]

Lookin good... I'll trade newer stock shackle for you lift shackles

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Me rikey the mar-tack mod. I need to do that.

 

[CruisinFJ60]

Lookin good... I'll trade newer stock shackle for you lift shackles

are they just the stock length or barely over? i want shorter shackles but want longer than stock. or maybe i just need to move the perches to give me a better angle... thats probably the best idea.

 

[CruisinFJ60]

ok well today i finished up the front of the spring over, I got the passenger side cut and turned and burned back together, brake lines pit back on and bled, and steering linkage on there (just finger tight so i could move the truck). I still need to grind all the extra crap where the brackets where on the housing down a little (or not who knows), so something about the diff side passenger u bolt (i will likely fab something to use some bolts like the ruff stuff kit), and i need to put the steering stops back on or fab my own before i do any sort of wheeling. but all in all its mostly done up front.

also in pictures 1 & 2 you can see more of my springs fatigue i have the vehicle weight on them in the pics and you can see the spring leafs are not riding together.

1.) This is my pinion angle at ride height with how it is currently set up. Its aimed a little on the low'ish side to allow me enough room for play if i change springs and or shackles ect. there is zero bind.
2.) nother
3.) caster just a hair over 6* the driver side was right at 6* so the slight difference should compensate for the crown of the road, usually (from my experience on most vehicles) as long as caster is less than 1/2* difference or cross then it will not usually result in any pull. but just cause i could i gave the passenger side just a hair more as it will pull to the low side of caster or the positive side of camber, and contrary to most peoples beliefs and of being mis informed toe will not cause a pull.

 

[CruisinFJ60]

1.) I cut a small line in the housing so it would be easy to see how far i turned the knuckle.
2.) if you look you can see the housing and inner sleeve separation
3.) nother angle

 

[CruisinFJ60]

1.) last one, i wanted to make sure i had a good angle so it could be seen
2.) I tried to catch the house on fire... i mar tacked the passenger side inner axle i cleaned off the shaft with brake clean and a rag... well i told myself "hey move the rag before welding"... apparently i forgot... it lit up soon as i tossed a spark fell under my airhose and power line for the welder. i then pulled it back and out so it could burn its self out a little, then once it died down a little i pulled the rag with my foot and stomped it out.
3.) smoldering remains of rag and my stand still on fire.

 

[CruisinFJ60]

1.) turned some of the grease on he birf a little black
2.) then i pulled dumbass move #2... welding with no gloves, little hot peice found its way into my pinky, it didnt feel to good.
3.) the tacks on the axle not yet ground down even with splines.

 

[CruisinFJ60]

1.) other 2 tacks on axle
2.) axle burned back together
3.) and re checked caster angle to make sure it didnt change.

 

[CruisinFJ60]

1.) better close up of caster angle
2.) back side of passenger knuckle welded up
3.) steering linkage in place

 

[CruisinFJ60]

1.) Joel had asked if the steering linkage was large enough to fit a 60 as trail gear had told him no... I set linkage visually close, then unscrewed one of the ends out to find there was about an inch and a half of thread contact still inside the tie rod.
2.) here is one of the drag link and tie rod, i also did the same on the drag link and it has about an inch of contact inside.
3.) i used a flash here...

 

[CruisinFJ60]

1.) yesterday i ordered my gearbox seal kit, here is a picture for those interested.
2.) part number 8770 and cost of $25.99 it was not local (box has fed ex label on it) and i was not charged any shipping as i ordered it in store.
3.) back side of package with part numbers.

 

[CruisinFJ60]

the problem i am having is when i ordered the kit i apparently ordered the flat pitman arm VS. the dropped arm like i was wanting, TG said they would swap em for me if i shipped it back but that was a year ago and i have not done it yet. need to contact them and see if they are still willing to do this or not.

now the bigger problem is the 60 series factory pitman arm has a larger bore than the drag link end does on the TG kit so much so that the nut will bottom out before the end is even snug at all.

If i can get TG to swap my pitman arms they will match and problem solved, If I cannot i need to find a solution.
so any ideas on how to make the 60 arm fit the end i have now? im pulling a total blank on this and would rather not have to try and track down a TRE with the same thread pitch as the one used by TG and then also having it match the pitman.