Project Rear End

[BonesDT]

Goals:
1) Fix the parking brake
2) POR-15 as much as possible
3) Upgrade from 2-door mono-leaf springs to 4-door 4-leaf pack springs
4) Install Aussie Locker

 

[BonesDT]

I got these leaf springs from LMC Truck for $100 each. For $100 brand new, I was expecting aftermarket. These are the real deal OEM FoMoCo springs. It's not easy finding OEM leaf springs, but I would guess you would be WAY out of the $100 range. I am very impressed with LMC and the shipping was immediate.

I'm worried about the broken clip on the leaf clamp, is that going to be a problem?

 

[BonesDT]

The mono-leafs have 1 leaf plus 4 more dummy leaf spacers. The full-leafs have only 4 leafs, but have thin silver spacers in between each one. I should have measured the thickness of both.

The full-leafs also have a wedge on the top of them, which the monos don't have. This wedge would actually rotate the driveshaft pinion downward. I'm thinking about reversing it, given my lift, so I get a solid driveshaft angle. What do you think?

I was hoping not to get any extra lift out of this, but, so far, it looks like it's going to give me a considerable lift.

 

[BonesDT]

This is my first time doing any real painting, and my first time with POR-15. It's going to be a good experiment.

I bought a quart of Metal Ready and 4oz 6-pack of POR-15; 4 semi-gloss, 1 black & 1 silver. I then realized the degreaser I have is solvent-based, so I'm thinking about ordering the Marine Clean, or should I just use soap and water and brake cleaner?

This spring/shock plate along with the Warrior Shackles (powder coated my ass) and my custom body lift rear bumper brackets are great candidate for the Silver POR-15 (contains metal fillers for that bad pitting).

Everything else, except the leafs, will be getting the Semi-Gloss treatment. Entire axle, diff cover, diff bolt heads, roll bar, brackets, rear bumper, some of the frame, etc.

I guess I didn't think how small 4 ounces would be before I got these cans. They are SMALL. Does anyone have any idea how much paint (2 coats) will be needed to coat all this stuff? Maybe I should order a pint of semi-gloss.

 

[BonesDT]

After Day 1 in my mom's garage.

 

[corkey]

you could offset the lift you get with putting the stock shackles back on, i see you have aftermarket ones that are longer,,

 

[BonesDT]

After Day 2. Popped the pumpkin and pulled the axle shafts.

First of all, isn't there suppose to be a magnet on the inside of the diff cover?

I was surprised at the very small amount of factory sealant that was used. Hopefully resealing it with a good amount will fix that little leak under the diff cover.

I also have leaks everywhere else, by the plugs, where the axle tubes are pressed into the diff, and by the breather tube. I'm going to experiment with some JB Weld for the plugs and the axle tubes.

 

[BonesDT]

Found my p-brake problem! This is why I've been burning through cables for over 3 years. Nothing some Raybestos shoes and p-brake hardware kit can't fix (great stuff).

 

[BonesDT]

Axle Shafts.

1st question: I found this yellow paint-stuff on the driver's shaft, plus two little knobs. Is this bad to not be smooth?

2nd: I notice the c-clip slots have o-rings in them. But the driver's one had the o-ring beneath the c-clip, towards to outside, and the right one had the o-ring above the c-clip, towards the diff internals (or vice versa, I forget). Which way is it suppose to be? I was hammering hard on the right shaft because the brake rotor was seized onto it bad.

3rd: I just realized, are these going to rust sitting out with the oil wiped off them?

 

[BonesDT]

Alright, here's my biggest problem. The POR-15 3-step plan. So easy. Do a little dish washing with their Marine Clean, squirt on some Marine Clean, wash and dry, then paint on the POR-15, the more rust, the better.

The bad parts, the shackles and leaf/spring plates are easy. The paint just flakes right off. But what about the axle, what's an easy way to get the paint off? Is there even any paint on the actual diff?

Here's my attempt to 36-grit sandpaper the axle tube. Pretty easy, but this was the easiest smoothest surface of the axle to do. What about in all those cracks?

I got a wire wheel for my grinder, but then it said 4,000 rpm max and the grinder is 11,000 (I'm scared! I don't want to be pulling those wires out of my chest.) Plus, grinders are too strong, usually take out the metal with it. I have some wire bits for my drill, but the drill has been to weak in the past. Any ideas?

 

[BonesDT]

you could offset the lift you get with putting the stock shackles back on, i see you have aftermarket ones that are longer,,

Good point, I do still have the OEM ones. It just sucks having to subtract lift. Either that or max out the torsion bars up front. I guess it depends on exactly how much lift I get out of the new springs, and there's only one way to tell that.

 

[turboexplorer]

I've always used a wire wheel with my drill, has worked great. Even better if you have a old corded drill. They are strong, and it will do the whole job quicker and with less problems!

 

[IZwack]

1st question: I found this yellow paint-stuff on the driver's shaft, plus two little knobs. Is this bad to not be smooth?

That's odd -- sounds like someone went over this axle before. Irregularities in an axle shaft (like sharp edges, gouges, and so on) are stress concentrators. But I dont think you'll be breaking those with stock (or near-stock) tire size.

 

[BonesDT]

stock (or near-stock) tire size.

I take offense to that! Those are 33 x 12.50's Muds!

 

[BonesDT]

I finally got the rear bumper off ... and I didn't even have to use a grinder. The upper bolts on the shackles are still stuck in the upper shackle bushings.

Looks like I'm going to have to cut those bolts off, but how do I get the upper bushings out and how do I get new ones in??

I'm going to have to replace a lot of bolts. I used some heavy duty Grade 8 zinc-coated gold bolts on the bumper. Those are rusted up and unusable. The factory bumper bolts are pretty impressive. They withstand rust really well. How are these bolts made? Where can I get factory quality bolts?

 

[HahnsB2]

It's been a month, Get it done?

 

[BonesDT]

Didn't think anybody was reading this. Sorry, work has sucking up my time. Plus, it's been taking me over a month to do this.

J.B. Weld'ing leak prone spots:

 

[BonesDT]

Lopped off the fugly dangling spare tire thing. A neat trick I saw someone else on here do.

 

[BonesDT]

Prepped axle. Wire brushed, sanded, wire brushed, sanded, did I say wire brush?, scrubbed down with Marine Clean, then finally squirted with Metal Ready.

The side with more bare metal exposed is the work of my more patient girlfriend.

 

[BonesDT]

Prepped frame.

The initial goal was to paint the entire rear end frame, inside and out, including the crossmembers, but I couldn't get the body mounts off cleanly and patience was running very thin.

Again, my girlfriend's side shows textbook prep work.

The last pic is a how-to trick to removing and installing bump stops.