Cut & Turn Project

[lifeguard379]

R.J. has his made that way. i wanted to build mine that way but didnt think my welder was up to it.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=206455

dont expect any fab form me anytime soon. life's busy with school ad other projects i need to work on.

 

[Maniak]

I remember RJ's pic.. I just can't get my head around "Where" they cut to do that as his pics have the plate already on it.

~Mark

 

[sirhk100]

those lower bj pics are how my old baja concepts beams were done by Rich Minga. He also cut them up near the pivots to add the length/width.

 

[Shen2187]

Thank You 410Fortune! The way you did yours is EXACTLY how I'm going to do mine, same jig setup and everything. People keep pushing the balljoint relocation method on me, and I don't want to do that.

I know it can get expensive but i'm not really going for crazy-insane long travel anyway. I just like the TTB it's solid and reliable. I was going to bracket lift originally but I found out that what I have is the Trailmaster kit, so i would get a nice hole in the diff like the first pic in the thread.

There is a possibility of a D44 TTB swap in the future... I also discovered that the D50 TTB is *almost* the same width as the D35 TTB and would probably swap in relatively easily... That would be insane though lol...

Anyway, Thanks again!

 

[410Fortune]

You are welcome, this can be done in a weekend with little $$$, the axleshaft is the expensive part
of course new ball joimnts, radius arms, brakes, bearings, etc its still a $$ project

dana 50 TTB = blah
leaf sprung TTB? WTF ford? LOL

I guess nobody had invisioned CV axles at that time

 

[Anime]

And is Anime and a couple others suggesting that by moving the lower BJ this makes it so that people aren't running 4wd? And are you also saying that camburg and autofab's kits are not meant to run 4wd?

Anime, if you kick out the lower BJ why do you think the diff needs re-indexed? Just curious...

I just want to clarify some things I'm reading here.

I can only remember seeing 4WD beams used on a intentional 2wd truck once btw... I've seen countless beam ends used but only one entire beam.

I'm just stating that by doing a cut and turn anywhere between the pumpkin and ball joint mounts, without accounting for anything else, you just wind up with either a turned pumpkin, or a hell of alot of negative camber, in addition to whatever "lift" the setup gives by forcing the pivot higher.

A "proper" cut and turn needs to either happen just between the pumpkin and pivot if you don't want to mess with the ball joints/spring seat or anything else (ala Zimmerman). If you mess with the other stuff, you'd better plan on turning the pumpkin, adding material inbetween like 410Fortune mentions, or doing a combo of cuts and material addition in several locations to get the lift without a drastic change in a single part of the beam.

If you kick out the lower ball joint enough, you usually have to re-index the diff since the drivers side halfshaft hole will now be angled downwards, and the passenger side will be pointing upwards.

This can be minor depending on the lift and what else is done to the beam, and if a cut and turn on the pivot side accounts for it, but I'd say in general, I prefer the diffs being level for getting both the max droop and stuff travel out of them at the joints.

 

[CopyKat]

I guess if your just going for looks then going with a drop bracket kit will be your best bet.

Sorry i keep getting mixed up with poser cut and turn and performance cut and turn.:roll: But what do I know? I'm just some idiot that knows nothing of this TTB stuff you guys speak of.

Good luck with your project.

 

[Shen2187]

I guess if your just going for looks then going with a drop bracket kit will be your best bet.

Sorry i keep getting mixed up with poser cut and turn and performance cut and turn.:roll: But what do I know? I'm just some idiot that knows nothing of this TTB stuff you guys speak of.

Good luck with your project.

Did'nt know 12-14" of travel was being a "poser", I'm just not going for 20+ since I don't have the $$$ for it.

 

[CopyKat]

Did'nt know 12-14" of travel was being a "poser", I'm just not going for 20+ since I don't have the $$$ for it.

Don't need lots of money for it. Just need to know what parts to use.

I'm pushing 15-16" with stock (not cut and turn) beams and 4" drop brackets.

That is about pushing it with stock RBV width. Once you start going wider you can hit 20" no problem.

 

[lifeguard379]

The only reason i had to turn the pumpkin as because of where i did the cut. if all you move is the lower ball joint, there will be no need to turn the diff.
and that way we used the stock shafts.

just to help if you would like i can get some pics of it on the con? we are going in October.


post 1,001

 

[Shen2187]

Congrats! Yeah pics would be useful for anyone who may be looking to do this.

 

[Dannyboy]

I don't have any experience fabricating any of these said beams, but I do have the autofab setup on my truck. No aftermarket shafts, no clocked differential and definitely not a poser truck so if I were to replicate I'd probably try to do it as close to what I currently have as possible. In all honesty, the Zimmerman truck set the mark for the cut between the pivot and pumpkin but I've only seen a few pictures of that truck off roading, I've done every type of wheeling with not one issue from my front end.

 

[black91EB]

I don't have any experience fabricating any of these said beams, but I do have the autofab setup on my truck. No aftermarket shafts, no clocked differential and definitely not a poser truck so if I were to replicate I'd probably try to do it as close to what I currently have as possible. In all honesty, the Zimmerman truck set the mark for the cut between the pivot and pumpkin but I've only seen a few pictures of that truck off roading, I've done every type of wheeling with not one issue from my front end.

I've always liked how your truck looks. I sure was confused the first time I saw it, I thought, wait, second gen with TTB? Anyway, could you maybe get pics of the ball joint area to give us an idea how the pros do it?

 

[lifeguard379]

I remember RJ's pic.. I just can't get my head around "Where" they cut to do that as his pics have the plate already on it.

~Mark

i believe it is where the small line is and it just gets moved out.

 

[Dannyboy]

I've always liked how your truck looks. I sure was confused the first time I saw it, I thought, wait, second gen with TTB? Anyway, could you maybe get pics of the ball joint area to give us an idea how the pros do it?

Thanks, yeah, it's a bit confusing when you see guys with the new front clips. I usually look at the door handles on desert trucks to try to guess what year it is.

Closest photo I think I have is this. (you can also see where I trimmed the passenger side beam for shaft clearance)

 

[black91EB]

I definitely like the clean look that has, as opposed to the zimmerman-type mod. Looks like there is more diff clearance too. Does that run stock shafts without any issues?

 

[lifeguard379]

updates?

 

[Shen2187]

I've got the plating, and the Jig set up. Just waiting on a welder. My buddy is moving, so I have to wait for that. My other buddy doesn't have the room at his place either. Not with all the projects he's got going on over there.

I'm using 3/16" to fill in the gaps, and using 5/16" to plate over and reinforce. Should be pretty strong when I'm done.

 

[91ROKKRAWLER]

pics

 

[Shen2187]

Bad news, well not too bad but annoying.. My jig got taken to the scrap yard lol.