Project Baby Runner/Mini Crawler: R.J.'s Navajo Build

this thread is going to be just a thread posting any mods or work being done on the Navajo. I'll also make a registry which would kinda like a summery of whats in the vehicle and i already have a thread started about the work im doing to the front beams/axle. http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206455

well here's whats up with it right now, its in mexico at McNeiloff-road to have a roll cage put in it

here's just some randome shots of the shop.

Chad McNeils shop

Perry and Jason's shop

this is a shot from the front gate around the buildings. on the right it is Chad McNeil's shop (McNeil Off-road) and towards the left is the building where Perry McNeil (McNeil Racing/Perrys fab n fiber) and Jason McNeil (Fiberwerx) shops are.

some sort of buggy

some trucks

a cool bumper

a sport trac

pictures suck, but here's some explorers

king pin, equal length.

a ranger

i forget how massive desert cars are till i see them. all the shocks, springs, tubing, reinforcing etc. is huge.

 

[mounty71]

huh?

I think he means take the axle from the white explorer for sale. But then what goes into the explorer?

9" would be cool, this just made me realize the benefit of a 9" with 3rd member. I always kinda wondered why the 9" was so popular over say a dana 60 or other "big" axle. But then you gotta set up new gears and get a new locker...

 

[Tbars4]

...Either he can replace one or the other axles later, as he finds what he needs while keeping the navajo running...

...Or he could just go right now down the street and by a 9" from Currie...

...My first idea was quick, cheap, and practicle...:

 

[IZwack]

looks like the navajo's going on vacation for a while. i need a new rear end. the diff is breaking away from the axle tubes if i take it out again i'll probably spin the whole diff. so i don't plan to have this guy out on any trips soon. money and school are not liking me right now.


so, does anyone have an 8.8 for sale? or maybe a 9"?

Have you welded the tubes to the center section ?

 

[R.J.]

Have you welded the tubes to the center section ?

thats what needs to be done

 

[R.J.]

took some pics

doubler and t-case

shifters

rear axle

 

[Kirby N.]

Just weld it up dude. That is a common 8.8 issue. Has it spun yet? You should be able to tell by looking at the plugs. My brother spun on in his Jeep. We got a cheepy housing, welded the tubes and made a big old over the axle truss. Then wheeled the crap out of it! No need to have it welded. Use a stick welder turned way up and go slow. We went too fast and His looked like a taco when we got done!! Kinda smiling! He has a Full Float kit though and it didn't leak so he ran it. I guess you are suppossed to weld an inch and let it cool to the touch. They say to do it whil you are working on something else and just be patient. Have you ever looked at Tnt customs? They have a sick 8.8 truss. Developed for the jeepers, but hey we can benefit from that!

Here is thier website. You would have to call them and ask them about it. They list a truss for $150. I know I saw an 8.8 one they were developing though.
http://www.tntcustoms.com/treks_home.asp

 

[R.J.]

thanks Kirby! i just don't want to warp the axle/housing

 

[R.J.]

Use a stick welder turned way up and go slow

why a stick welder? can't use a mig?

 

[Kirby N.]

oops. I just say that because my mig is a worthless 110 unit. I use my 220 buzz box for anything that needs any amount of strength/ penetration. A nice 220 mig would do the job too- better! (I wish I had one!)

 

[R.J.]

talked to currie a few days ago. welding it won't help

he said there needs to be a little bit of play in the tubes, so if i weld the center to the tubes the stress will have to go somewhere and probably crack the diff housing. he said the only thing you can do with a 8.8 is truss it top and bottum.

looks like its time to renew my eliteness

 

[410Fortune]

plenty of 8.8 people weld the center section to keep the tubes from spinning, works great for most! Currie often thinks overkill, I mean you cant run a 35 on a dana 35 ttb according to the charts either.....but we all do it!

 

[Burns]

I think Rick welded his center section because he has spun a diff.

Not sure tho but welding it would be what i would do also

 

[Kirby N.]

plenty of 8.8 people weld the center section to keep the tubes from spinning, works great for most! Currie often thinks overkill, I mean you cant run a 35 on a dana 35 ttb according to the charts either.....but we all do it!

x2- take currie's opinion with a grain of salt. They would love to sell you a custom axle replacement and it is in thier best interest to tell you yours can't be fixed and you need to buy another one. (preferably one of thiers!)


I welded mine, too. I read an article in petersons where tnt customs in cheyenne built an 8.8 for a ZJ and welded the tubes, then they insulated it and let it cool slowly because the cast center cools at a different rate then the tubes causing the welds to crack as it cools. I just watched mine and did another pass if it cracked when it cooled. Ricks spun a housing and he had fst straighten it and weld the tubes together. There is a writeup about it on here somewhere. I remember reading it.

 

[RockRanger]

Weld it up. Whats the worse that can happen it spins again. and you are back to the same point you are right now.

 

[R.J.]

if it was just a spin because of over powering it, i could weld it. like if it was an 8.8 in a mustang and spun. but since its breaking from beating on it to hard, welding will only temperally fix it, until it brakes somewhere else

currie loves overkill (in their trucks its probably necessary) but they do know their stuff and even if they are just trying to sell their products to me, they didn't mention they're parts at all and didn't try and sell me anything. they just said if your gonne beat on it, truss it as much as i can.

they also said i would have to take the gears and such out when welding, that true?

 

[R.J.]

whatever we end up doing, it's gonna be quite a project. mixed with the other projects collecting in the garage (doubler, manual t-case, tranny rebuild, etc)

things are a bit busy to work on the nav right now. christmas coming up, finals coming up, still need to sell the 4door explorer, and then next semester starting soon and payng for that. not to mention i also want to spend some time/work/money on my other hobbies; my first true love bikes, and oh course i need to invest in some "tuner" stuff for the GTI

so, although the navajo is ALWAYS in the garage being worked on, it's going to stay in the garage for a long time with another "phase" of the navajo life

maybe i'll get this thing back on its feet by the summer, or end of summer

 

[R.J.]

upgrade?.... kinda

been lazy, time to work again!

finally replacing the rear axle. staying with my type of style, that is, modifying stock type axles and making them wider. hopefuly this won't get too intensive.

swapping in an 03 f-150 8.8
about 3-4 inches wider each side and 13" disk brakes. axle tubes are already welded to the center and some plating is wleded on the underside for skid plates.

 

[cybergasm]

so um what rims are ya planning to run with this new axle?

nice to see back around here again

 

[R.J.]

thanks cyber!

i gotta run some 16"s. not sure if im gonna stay with the 5x135 bolt pattern or get them drilled to 5x5.5. the front will get adapters

 

[carlover]

welcome back rj. you gonna have this bad boy back on its feet soon??