TWT -- The Wrenching Thread (25 Viewers)

[joyRidaz]

Tooting my own Horn

Decided to keep the momentum going. Started to fab up a horn for my DS rear sill... Itching to install this lower quarter panel patch but have been struggling/procrastinating due to being intimidated by the rear sill job.

Last night I tried to move forward a bit by assessing the PO rear sill job that for some reason didn't address the horns, not even sure if he attached the orig ones to it since they're so mangled and crispy. The PS one looked salvageable but the DS one is a mess.

My current thinking/plan is to fab a horn for DS, cut out lower quarter, cut out old horn, hopefully salvage body mount, attach horn to existing PO homemade sill, then weld in my lower quarter and hope it all looks and functions better than the existing rust hole... Maybe one day I'll be able to attach my Orem tire carrier.

Here's the horn process. Once it stitched it together I realized its out of alignment so I have some cutting and grinding to do to get it straight... What a royal pain it was to get these pieces in alignment to weld.... Magnets helped a bit but was a real balancing act

More to come once I cut the body, will likely uncover some unanticipated challenges (body mount..?) also not sure how I can attach the horn with the sill in place... More to come

Having the wheel well top patch to use as a template was clutch! Thanks @fj40alex

 

[sleepycruiser]

I tried to get the running boards off my '97. Anyone have any tips on getting that rear top bolt out? I tried to use a 13mm wrench and can no get the angle to grave the bolt head. No room for a ratchet.

 

[JohnVee]

Flex head gear wrench?

 

[sleepycruiser]

Flex head gear wrench?

Do they make those for 6 point? I can't find any online but will keep searching.
Edit: Found one on Amazon.

I did change out the transfer case oil and I know it is a little thing but the hex plugs look a lot better...lol

 

[sleepycruiser]

I only have 1 swivel head wrench and it is a 1/2....so maybe I can get it to work. I will try it out tomorrow.

 

[JohnVee]

Shoulda jumped on the Sears gear wrench xmas deal from the TOOL thread a couple weeks before xmas! I'm wishing I had also ordered SAE when I got the Metric.

 

[CharlestonG8R]

I was overdue for changing out the glow plugs. Some seemed like they had to be the wrong size since they fought me the whole way out...

@Trollhole mentioned that I might have the wrong starter on the H diesel. He was spot on. The stock starter has a 3 bolt mounting pattern, whatever motor I have has a 2 bolt pattern. Oy vey.

 

[NCFJ]

Firewall, underbody and wheel wells mall coated with sound deadening Lizard Skin

 

[GLTHFJ60]

That's a heck of a good start @joyRidaz !! Make sure to post up finished pics


This is the pattern we ended up with. Turns out it's really difficult to put load on the pinion when the axle is out of the truck. Will check the pattern again using the brakes to load the gears after the first 500 miles. Looks to be well centered on the tooth, so I'm happy.

ARB ships the blue air line with a bulkhead fitting with their locker, but it's a weird size (5mm) essentially proprietary line because replacement or repair fittings can't be found anywhere. Fortunately semis use air for their brakes and polyethylene lines that are 1/4" and are widely available. As such, I'm running the 1/4" lines, which means that the bulkhead fitting has to be modified.

Cut it off and drill it out so that the copper slides all the way though:

Now, since I also changed where the line exits the housing, I have enough room for the bulkhead fitting inside:

Then finally my push-lock fitting goes in the outside:

Yes, the material is thick enough there that I can tap the housing for 1/4-18 (NPT) from both directions, allowing me to thread the NPT fittings in from both sides.

Tested the locker and she functions as expected. The beautiful thing about push-lock fittings is that they're easy to take apart, so I connected the line to test, then easily removed to install the axle:

Filled her with gear oil and put the cover on, then plucked the axle up with the engine crane:

Got it on the ground at the back and slid her in:

Hooked up a few things and called it a night last night. Still need to torque some stuff, bleed the brakes, mount the air compressor then finally hook up the switches:

 

[fj40z]

Awesome work Johnny

 

[mtweller]

Wow! It still amazes me that you are just now locking up Moonshine. You might not easily find any challenges now after driving open for so many years. Great work mang.

 

[Rice]

The best part about selectables is always having open-open as an option.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

The best part about selectables is always having open-open as an option.

Specifically for street driving! Completely agreed.

Thanks for the compliments everyone @fj40z and @mtweller ! We'll see how she performs.

 

[elkaholic]

Great work Johnny! Hot tip for making moving axles around for future work is to buy a hardwood furniture moving dolly from someplace like Lowes ... I figured this out when I did a D60 / D44 swap and complete suspension reconfiguration under a Heep several years ago (by myself) ...

That's a heck of a good start @joyRidaz !! Make sure to post up finished pics


This is the pattern we ended up with. Turns out it's really difficult to put load on the pinion when the axle is out of the truck. Will check the pattern again using the brakes to load the gears after the first 500 miles. Looks to be well centered on the tooth, so I'm happy.

ARB ships the blue air line with a bulkhead fitting with their locker, but it's a weird size (5mm) essentially proprietary line because replacement or repair fittings can't be found anywhere. Fortunately semis use air for their brakes and polyethylene lines that are 1/4" and are widely available. As such, I'm running the 1/4" lines, which means that the bulkhead fitting has to be modified.

Cut it off and drill it out so that the copper slides all the way though:

Now, since I also changed where the line exits the housing, I have enough room for the bulkhead fitting inside:

Then finally my push-lock fitting goes in the outside:

Yes, the material is thick enough there that I can tap the housing for 1/4-18 (NPT) from both directions, allowing me to thread the NPT fittings in from both sides.

Tested the locker and she functions as expected. The beautiful thing about push-lock fittings is that they're easy to take apart, so I connected the line to test, then easily removed to install the axle:

Filled her with gear oil and put the cover on, then plucked the axle up with the engine crane:

Got it on the ground at the back and slid her in:

Hooked up a few things and called it a night last night. Still need to torque some stuff, bleed the brakes, mount the air compressor then finally hook up the switches:

 

[NCFJ]

buy a hardwood furniture moving dolly from someplace like Lowes ... I figured this out when I did a D60 / D44 swap and complete suspension reconfiguration under a Heep several years ago (by myself) ...

Right on the mark Sam, I have a half dozen of them in the shop, all full currently. Great for moving trans/T case as well. I use them in tandem often. Northern Tool is where I picked them up, a couple at a time.

 

[JohnVee]

Great work Johnny! Hot tip for making moving axles around for future work is to buy a hardwood furniture moving dolly from someplace like Lowes ... I figured this out when I did a D60 / D44 swap and complete suspension reconfiguration under a Heep several years ago (by myself) ...

I have dozens of these at work, both large and small. Bought them all at Harbor Freight. Sale prices are half of the Lowe's/NT prices. The only thing I'd suggest at HF is putting them on the ground with some weight to make sure the wheels roll smoothly. Some are better than others.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Great work Johnny! Hot tip for making moving axles around for future work is to buy a hardwood furniture moving dolly from someplace like Lowes ... I figured this out when I did a D60 / D44 swap and complete suspension reconfiguration under a Heep several years ago (by myself) ...

Good tip, but that doesn't work if you can't get the axle under the springs while it's still on the dolly.

I have a few of these but on Moonshine, with how much droop my rear springs have (and lack of a lift) it's easier to slide the axles along the floor.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Picked a spot and mounted the air compressor. Turns out the compressor has 1/8" NPT fittings and I ordered all 1/4" Need to run to lowes to buy a few fittings to fix it.

Picked the following spot for my pneumatic locker switches. This keeps them out of the way but are still very accessible by me even when I'm strapped into my seat. Very happy about this position:

Bulkhead fitting through the floor:

Hose to rear is the only one installed so far:

Where the bulkhead fitting comes through the floor:

Bought little air line clips to hold the air line and then it's zip-tied to the e-brake cables with some slack:

Finally, you can see where the air line connects to the top of the housing.

Took her for a test drive after doing everything else on the list and had an oscillating scraping noise that made me nervous for a minute, but it was just a disk brake shield that was rubbing the rotor. Easy fix



Done for now!

 

[lt1fire]

I was overdue for changing out the glow plugs. Some seemed like they had to be the wrong size since they fought me the whole way out...

View attachment 1375923


View attachment 1375924

Doubt that they were the wrong size, just old and swollen. Good that they weren't swollen too much or you could have broken a tip off inside of there.

Picked a spot and mounted the air compressor. Turns out the compressor has 1/8" NPT fittings and I ordered all 1/4" Need to run to lowes to buy a few fittings to fix it.

Picked the following spot for my pneumatic locker switches. This keeps them out of the way but are still very accessible by me even when I'm strapped into my seat. Very happy about this position:

Bulkhead fitting through the floor:

Hose to rear is the only one installed so far:

Where the bulkhead fitting comes through the floor:

Bought little air line clips to hold the air line and then it's zip-tied to the e-brake cables with some slack:

Finally, you can see where the air line connects to the top of the housing.

Took her for a test drive after doing everything else on the list and had an oscillating scraping noise that made me nervous for a minute, but it was just a disk brake shield that was rubbing the rotor. Easy fix



Done for now!

Well "Damn Sam" that is awesome work, makes me want to 13 bolt mine except for the little fact that I can't weld..... D'oh!!!

Didn't see it but what did you use to shave/turn down the gears for the shave?

One day I gotta learn to set up gears but getting it wrong scares the hell out of me. But since 14BFF are cheap and plentiful I may try to regear mine if I get it wrong it will be a good and relatively "cheap" learning experience.

Bet you are glad to be locked again after a few years being unlocked.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Well "Damn Sam" that is awesome work, makes me want to 13 bolt mine except for the little fact that I can't weld..... D'oh!!!

Didn't see it but what did you use to shave/turn down the gears for the shave?

One day I gotta learn to set up gears but getting it wrong scares the hell out of me. But since 14BFF are cheap and plentiful I may try to regear mine if I get it wrong it will be a good and relatively "cheap" learning experience.

Bet you are glad to be locked again after a few years being unlocked.

Thanks!! Don't be scared of setting up a diff, it just takes patience. There are plenty of guides showing how to do it correctly

The This 13 bolt shave does not require machining the ring gear, just cutting off the bottom. If you find a drum brake 14 bolt not the newer ribbed disk brake 14 bolt, you can do the "13 bolt" mod without welding, just a sawzall.