Project Tech Snob

[EndlessMtnFab]

So what does all this lead to? Keep reading !

Balancing the two .....

Obviously .... bubble gum and cardboard tube won't hold them together. So I had Jed's Machine in WI send me one of their adapter kits. I requested they *not* weld it up so that I would be able to do a custom rotation.

The NP203 needed to be drilled & tapped to match the AX-15 bolt pattern. I had a friend with a mill & indexing table do that for me as a favor. It really can be done by hand ... but he was kind enough to do it gratis. I found I needed to shave the input bearing retainer by a few thousandths. Otherwise, the NP203 would not sit flat to the AX-15. I went to Lowe's and grabbed long set screws and used Loctite 2760 thread locker. This stuff is even stronger than the Red 271 product. Thanks to the redrilling of the bolt pattern, some of the old holes in the case are "open" and the last thing I need is to have the set screw work it's way forward and drop inside. :shiver:


I was unable to clock the NP203 any direction other than straight down. If I moved it to the right, it would interfere with the exhaust. If I moved it to the left, there would be driveshaft issues. Not to mention the tunnel was kind of narrow here and a "partial" rotation actually hung lower than a vertical case.



And *no* smart-azz comments about my 'crossmember'

 

[MoparManiac]

Oh that's a crossmember?

 

[XJSnowMan23]

this is a sweet build

 

[Shred Bro Gnar Rad]

this is awesome,.

i got some JKS stud elim if ur interested btw..

but yea this build is gonna be sick. very nice attention to detail. its what makes a vehicle stand out.

 

[EndlessMtnFab]

i got some JKS stud elim if ur interested btw..

If you don't mind ... shoot me a price. I can guarantee I will buy it (I can get them from JKS directly, obviously). But if I decide not to bother making a whole new mount --- I might consider yours.




Joe

 

[xjtrailrider]

Alright! Someone that is more anal and OCD than me!

Love the build, keep it coming along.

 

[EndlessMtnFab]

That should be.... " I can't guarantee I will buy it "



I hate how you can't edit a few hours after the fact. Oh well.




Joe

 

[hjeepxj]

Lookin' good Joe!

 

[kmrneck07]

looks like a lot of work. But I guess that why we do what we do. How long have you been welding for?

 

[EndlessMtnFab]

looks like a lot of work. But I guess that why we do what we do. How long have you been welding for?

Just started learning yesterday. :laugh:




Joe

 

[karstic]

I drilled additional holes in the main chassis stiffener to allow me to rosette/plug weld to the frame rails. This will further stiffen everything up. Take your time and skip around while welding to prevent "over-heating" the sheetmetal frame rails. At the same time ... I had some threaded bungs made to be replace the factory nutcerts (used for the transmission crossmember). I increased the bolt size to 1/2-13 in addition to the number of bolts. You can see these on the stiffener on your right.

I really like this idea.

 

[FlexdXJ]

This oughta be cool to watch! Keep it up man. This Rig is gonna be sweet!

 

[knucklehead 61]

very nice build so far, can't wait to see more fab work.

 

[EndlessMtnFab]

Being that the drivetrain is roughly in place, the next area to be worked on is the front axle. I took more pictures of this work (and subsequently posting more as well). The assumption here is the unique scope and higher tech orientation is what people want to see. :confused1


Everyone knows what a HP Dana 30 looks like. So there is no need to show one off. But how about a partially stripped Dana 30 ? Both UCA mounts are removed. Track bar & coil mounts are removed. Sway bar mounts are also gone.

The entire pile of parts was sold to a friend.

Something is brewing under the fiberglass.

Uncovered.

The simple reason for the fiberglass batte .... is to allow for cooling down. On the Spicer axles, there is really no right or wrong way to weld the centersection to the tubes. For a while, I have been using the TIG machine & nickel rod to weld the assembly up. This time, I chose the MIG and mild steel wire.


Prep work is still the same. Clean all rust, dirt, scale, etc off. Make sure you get inside the beveled area where the two meet. Clean it all again. Wipe it down with high strength cleaner (MEK & Xylene are good). Keep wiping until there are no more traces picked up. Then a final wipe with rubbing alcohol is a good idea. If you're not afraid to lick the housing, it's clean enough. :jester:


Then I use a rosebud torch & oxy/acet gas to preheat the housing and tubes. I skip around with the torch in order to evenly distribute the heat to the tubing. Heating to 450-475° is the range I shoot for. Once the housing is consistently "hot" I lay the first bead down. That would be a 1 inch strip at the "12 o'clock" position. I immediately turn the housing upside down and repeat at the "6 o'clock" position. As soon as I am done, I grab the torch and do a quick post-heat over the areas I just burned in. I also take the time to reheat the 3 & 9 positions on the tube. Then I weld them the same way. Sorry folks, there is no 69 position to work on here. :laugh2: :shhh:


One the 4 tacks were done, I chose to connect all the tacks for the appears of a continuous bead. It is not really necessary, as the 4 beads are more than sufficient to stop spinning tubes.


That brings us back to the fiberglass. The cast steel centersection (it is *not* cast iron) cools at a different rate than mild steel. Obviously, the centersection is hot as heck from pre/post heating and the welding itself. Fiberglass has excellent insulating properties and doesn't burn easily. So I grab an old batte and wrap it around the housing. It keeps the "cooler" air off the metal and slows the rate of cooling down. By doing so, the chance of cracking the weld due to dis-similar metals is greatly reduced (assuming you did all other things right). The idea is to keep both metals cooling at the same rate of speed.


To give you an idea ... the tubes were still warm 2.5 hours after I welded them up. Talk about nice & slow.

 

[EndlessMtnFab]

NOTICE .... PLEASE READ.



I have received much flack/negative feedback (on other boards) regarding my axle choice. Most times, I would agree with the logic/argument being presented to me.



The reason I have chosen to keep the D30 is because of the cost of the parts. The axle was already regeared years ago, so I left it alone. The ARB was purchased secondhand for a price so low --- I might be shot if I told you how much I payed. And most other parts were donated from friends or were spare parts from other housings. We can't put a value on the time ... so let's just ignore that one. :laugh3:



I don't dispute that the R&P is going to be a potential weak point (reverse spiral or otherwise). Nor do I argue that the 27 spline axles could be stronger. My plan is to take this D30 to it's maximum reasonable limit and see just how long it lasts. I guess we can call it "Project Almost Ultimate 30" :looser:



There is a nice HP44 sitting outside that will be prepped for when/if I need it.



Critiques and questions are still very welcome. I don't mind if your comments are less than glowing ... just realize this was thought out before hand and I figured " what the heck "



The next few posts will give more detail on the D30 build .... Enjoy

 

[redneckboarder]

yay, ive been looking around for temps to preheat my 60/14 to to weld the tubes and this is the 3rd time ive seen 400ish degrees to thats what im shooting for

i love having a crapload of temp sticks laying around

 

[EndlessMtnFab]

Now, we have a change of parts coming up. These are the inner yokes / inner knuckles from a CJ D30. I wanted true hubs with lockouts and this was a super easy way to do it. Someone was kind enough to donate dead CJ housing and I proceeded to use what I needed.

Cut the extra tube off ..... ground tube flush with the forging .... and then weld a bead on the inside of whatever tube is left. As the weld cools, it will shrink and pull the tubing away from the yoke. When it cools ... press it out. And be ready for a *pop* that will scare the sh!t out of you.

Here is the remainder of the tube after it has been pressed out.

And a good comparison shot

Please folks ... do yourself a favor and keep these things on the ground until you need them. I left one on the table while I was cutting the other yoke. The vibration made it skip across and land on my pinky toe. There is no smiley suitable to convey my feelings/thoughts/pain.


Although this one might come close. :rattle:

 

[EndlessMtnFab]

Why the CJ 30 ?



Simple. Any D44 knuckle will bolt right up. Leaves me an almost infinite choice of knuckles & brakes to choose from. Also leaves me a choice of axleshafts / lockout styles to pick. And of course, the inner yoke fits my existing tubing.


In addition, I will gain stronger bearings (spaced further apart) and the ability to freewheel if I break a joint or shaft. And it's just my opinion that the older style balljoints are stronger than the ones supplied on our Jeeps. I also feel the axle shafts are stronger. They are no longer carrying the weight of the vehicle. Thanks to the spindle of the traditional setup, the only thing the axle shaft has to do ... is transfer torque.



The only downside would be custom inner shafts. If that's the worst I have to deal with .... so be it.



Joe

 

[EndlessMtnFab]

Next up .... I had to remove the old inner yokes (knuckles, C's, whatever you want to call them).




There are so many ways to do this .. it's not even funny. I chose to cut a notch through the material .. so I could see how far the weld penetrated. Then I cut behind the weld and down to the tube surface. To give myself some working room ... i cut off the extra "legs" that were in the way. Bill Ansell (BillaVista on Pirate) did something like this years ago. The logic made sense and I followed suit.

Once you get it cut up .. you can simply pound off what's left of the yoke. Clean up the tubes of any welds left over.

Ever wonder what a naked Dana 30 looks like ?

Puny little son-of-gun

 

[EndlessMtnFab]

This isn't Joe's Bagel Shop ! :chef:

Bake the yokes to get them nice and hot. The heat helps the hole expand so you have a *little* more room to position the yoke. Move quick ... because once it starts cooling, it feels like you are dealing with an interference fit. :gag:



In my case ... I already knew roughly where the yokes needed to sit. However, I left them unwelded so I can get final caster numbers *after* the rest of the truck is finished (so to speak). More heat and a big hammer will be required here when the time comes.

This is a "famous" maker truss that I have found to be an almost completely undesirable. The truss was sent to me with mis-matched UCA mounts, incorrect UCA width, a crooked & bent track bar mount, and did not sit square on the tubes. And I had to re-do some of their welds. Basically, enough time went into it -- that I call it my own. :doh: