Build SAS 89 Mini--Triple cased Mashed Potato

[TeddyBoy]

Ted, that trans working ok? Just curious since I never ran it myself.

done about 4 laps through the neighborhood and haven't had it beyond 3rd gear but good so far, thx. Would be nice to get it up to 4th or even 5th but not tagged or insured so it doesn't leave the neighborhood in fear of killing a bunch of nuns in a school bus.


Tony - would love to help ya on the R&P but don't have the tools or expertise so what's it take to pry the spare knuckle outta your hands?

 

[tgreco]

Let's do it as a donation to your trip - you have better things to spend your money on. In the future I may request some tech assistance when/if I get in over my head with a repair.

When do you need it by? If you will be at John's this weekend, I can't make it but I could have it pulled for Dave to pick up.

 

[TeddyBoy]

well aint that kind of ya, this community rocks!! I am indebted to you, I'll be happy to assist w/anything ya need.

Now, just to be clear though, this is a spare you have NOT in use, correct? I do not want anything that is currently bolted to a/your truck that may take it out of commission, just wanna be sure cuz I can make what I have work if needed.

If you get the time to pull it this week I'd be very grateful, if ya' can't I understand but I am starting to get a little panicky about finishing this thing in time.

 

[tgreco]

I'm not nice enough to pull anything off my toy . It's off a spare axle I picked up that's been collecting dust in the garage for a few years. Are you only after the empty knuckle or do you need any other associated parts, shafts, bolts, etc. As far as I can tell, it's a stock '85 hub to hub axle with 4.10 gears. Also (and I'm showing my lack of knowledge here), are the driver and passenger knuckles the same? If not, let me know which you want.

I should be able to have it pulled by Friday. How do you want to arrange delivery?

 

[TeddyBoy]

Just the bare knuckle, drivers side only and btw there is a left and right. The spindles and hubs off a solid axle won't fit my rig cuz I'm running IFS spindles and hubs.

I assume Dave is coming out to Johns this weekend and if not I'll let you know asap so you don't waste your week time hours. thx

 

[4xsteve]

Quick interjection. Worst case scenario, just mildly weld the arm onto the knuckle. Put the studs in place just to keep the dirt out and replace it all at a later time.

 

[TeddyBoy]

yeah was thinking about that too. I've seen where some guys weld the steering arm to the knuckle permanently and then remove the bottom cap when the knuckle needs servicing but I don't want to do that. What I have will work but I'll have to burn the 2 studs in question in pretty good both at the bottom of the stud (inside) and at the top of the knuckle as described above.

Anyway, on to other things as I'm tired of getting my hands full of grease. Started on moving the rear shocks around and really don't have many options as far as where they go. Drivers side is pretty clear of obstacles aside from the trac bar but the passenger side is a different story, between the gas tank, brake lines and my under bed cargo box it's gets pretty tight.

I keep trying to retain as much unmolested bed space in the truck as possible for cove rides but this is a crawler and not an expo rig. I ended up cutting a 4" hole in the bed and poked the top of the shock about 3 inches above. This means I'll have to fabricate a top mount but at least it's progress.

 

[TeddyBoy]

Nuthin' like breaking in gears on a wheeling trip, been there done that.

Rear shocks relo'd finally, not done but as much as I care to do while laying on my back on a creeper. The rest of it'll wait until the lift if open.

Wheeling on new gears isn't an issue; driving down the highway with new gears is a BIG issue.

Pics or it didn't happen!

aint much to look at but I'll get a couple pics up tonight.

To Do list: update - 9/15
Rebuild front Axle
Relocate rear shocks
Relocate rear tool boxes
Relocate CO2 tank
Secure and prep spare parts - ongoing. DS, knuckle studs, knuckle, axle shaft(s), slave cylinder, steering box, much more.
Mount spare drive shaft
Install new tranny
Install new clutch
Driving lights, flashers etc.
Tags and Insurance
HAM radio car charger - thought I had this done but nope
Redo - Remount spare tire carrier - Optional
Replace drivers side rear axle seal
Castle nut and cotter pin steering linkages
Repair pass side rock light
Replace front DS bolts w Grade 8


Get new trailer tire -
​

Now, on to mounting the spare rear drive-shaft... finally found a good place to put it. It'll mounted b/w the cab and bed, plan is to fabricate a small mount that cradles the U-Joints and held in using some spare drive shaft bolts. Only taken me 8 months to figure out where to put the thing.

 

[TeddyBoy]

2 Steps forward, 1 step back! Tony supplied the replacement knuckle all nice and neat, thanks again Tony which puts me back in business.

Not real motivated today but spent most of the afternoon pulling it apart and then pulling the old knuckle off (again). Had to fifth stud mod the new knuckle which took some doing but it's done. Also ended up having a bad axle seal and of course they're not available at the local parts store so ordered a few, should be in this week so I'm in a holding pattern once again.

Ugh!

 

[tgreco]

Glad it worked out. How did that chrome cover around the hub come off? I couldn't get a socket onto the hub bolts to complete the disassembly. My truck doesn't have that piece.

 

[TeddyBoy]

Glad it worked out. How did that chrome cover around the hub come off? I couldn't get a socket onto the hub bolts to complete the disassembly. My truck doesn't have that piece.

Yeah...well...ummh, I hope you weren't counting on using that again.

 

[tgreco]

I figured that was how it came off. No worries.

 

[FJCRAWLER]

I have a few spare seals could overnight you one .

 

[TeddyBoy]

Appreciate it but I think I found a spare last night buried in a tool box. The others should be here in a few days.

 

[TeddyBoy]

Had a blast at Moab but trip was not kind to the truck, still a little disheartened about it. The rollover on day 2 pretty much caused havoc the rest of the trip and honestly shook my confidence a little. Not to mention the carnage list is lengthy.

The list of repairs basically begins here but not limited to:

Body Work:

1. DONE New cab (#3) I am not happy about this but WTF am I gonna do? Winter time Cove rides mandate an enclosed cab.

Engine:

1. Don't know for sure but I'm suspecting the HG may be going/gone. It over heats way too easily, thought it was a radiator/shroud issue but the radiator was replaced and still doing it so gotta look into it.

Drive train:

1. Tranny - unfortunately it sh!t the bucket early, 1st gear was popping out badly half way through day 2 and was mostly unusable after. My dad has a saying that I often think of: "It always works in the shop!" and it did perfectly but we all know the field is very different, was just one of those unknown things and nobody's fault. Fortunately I still have my original so may be able to make 1 good one from the 2.
   
2. Need new front locker which caused more frustration than anything. In all reality this choice may bring on a lot of changes while I'm at it to include gearing, locker, axle choices etc... everything is up for grabs in this department. Easy patch vs better path, dunno yet
3. Gearing - Options are plentiful but best path is probably extreme and expensive.
   
4. Clutch needs some work, release point is way too low.

ExoCage - DONE All in all the exo did its job so very thankful for that but in the end it did not survive as a whole. From the B-Pillar forward it needs to be rebuilt and strength added. Amongst other deficiencies the lack of a brace from windshield bar down to a lower cross brace caused a lot of unnecessary failures. I don't know how yet but this will be rectified.

1. repair/rebuild exo-cage from B pillar forward. The hoop over the windshield had to be cut out and replaced due to a broken weld and it was so bent it would not go back in place.
2. Exo-cage behind the Main B Pillar hoop - this largely survived the rollover but was tweaked a little. will assess as rebuild goes.

Brakes:

1. Brakes - tired of spongy unreliable break peddle. Can be dangerous in some situations.

Overall Stance - If I could build a F1 car on 40s that'd be ideal

1. Gonna try to lower the truck +/-3 inches. Lowering the rear is easy, but the front not so much.
2. May look at stretching the wheelbase some, currently 105" and thinking 110-112 would help on climbs.

Frankly this is just the tip of the iceberg I think. After the STLCA AOP ride it may not come out of hiding until GSMTR 2016. Dunno, we'll see.

 

[AuburnFJsexy]

That mini truck in the background of the 3rd picture looks similar (a little older) to how your truck use to look. You should have traded

 

[TeddyBoy]

That mini truck in the background of the 3rd picture looks similar (a little older) to how your truck use to look. You should have traded

yeah no shiite! That's Steve's daily driver, 2nd gen on 35s. Has 0 power but was nice to have a town truck.

 

[AuburnFJsexy]

lol, I forgot Steve had that truck there...

 

[jynx]

Ted, man I feel bad. I know there's no way for me to have know that trans would dump at the worst possible time, but can't help let those thoughts creep in. Won't make up for it, but a cold one at stevarino's on me is definitely in your future.

 

[TeddyBoy]

Ted, man I feel bad. I know there's no way for me to have know that trans would dump at the worst possible time, but can't help let those thoughts creep in. Won't make up for it, but a cold one at stevarino's on me is definitely in your future.

No way bud, not your doing at all was just one of those things and no way to know. I knew there was always a chance of there being an issue so my responsibility for taking the chance.

Either way that was not the biggest concern I had out there. I had front locker issues starting from the outset and thar plagued me for days until we swapped diffs.