IFS rebuild

[Petek]

So, i bought my 2000 eddie bauer explorer a few months back for $2500, it has 215000kms on it, and is in fairly good shape minimal rust, and the interior is very clean. its also fully loaded. 5.0 awd, and toe package. LOVE IT. however the front end is fairly worn out, so i decided i would do the HD ifs upgrade.
Bought : HD lower control arms w/ hd balljoints
HD upper control arms w hd balljoints
HD inner and outer tie rods.
HD stabilizer end links
upon tear down ive come to realize my wheel bearings and front struts are toast, and will also be replaced (order parts tomorrow)

broken stab link

.


thats as far as i got today, as i had to run back and forth to my buddies house to help him with his skyline build. Also, the d/s front control arm bolt is bent ?? will need to be torched out unfortunatly, will have to order new bolts aswell.

 

[rabbit91]

nice, why not just SAS

 

[Petek]

nice, why not just SAS

if it wasnt my wifes DD, i probably would have. im in this almost $2000, right now. i could have built a decent d44 for that.

 

[rabbit91]

Ahh understandable

 

[Petek]

Progress!. got both sides completely stripped down. ordered 4 Front lca bolts from fords. I also blasted the one bolt hole with a torch and blew most of it away lol, will fix tomorow. designed a tight tolerance washer from 11g steel, just need to cut it out with the waterjet, and ill weld er in.
oooops

everything you need for suspension works. torch, zip cut, bfg, and a little helper

all stripped down (torch owns all)

 

[Petek]

designed

programmed

cutting

finished

ghetto setup mmm driveway welding

welded in

also got the passenger side adjustable uca ready. new bushings and ball joint half.

at this point everything is getting replaced (bolts included) to replace everything except the nuckles , and cv shafts. everything is napa NCP premium hd parts.

 

[DieselHilux]

So these are beefier then MOOG replacement balljoints???

 

[Petek]

So these are beefier then MOOG replacement balljoints???

Im not entirely sure, they are the best napa can get, and i only deal with napa cause i get substantial discount.

 

[Petek]

Completed!.

this took way longer than it should have, but its finally done. took it for a quick drive on a half done tape measure allignment and everything seemed okay, except for it shudders when steering at times. i read this could be fixed by simply jacking it up and steering lock to lock a couple times??. if anyone has an answer im all ears. going for an alignment tomorow. I can finally stop babying this thing and maybe even do some stock wheeling! . time to start the next project

 

[rabbit91]

Perdy!

I haven't done it, but I have read others that do the steering lockup.

 

[Petek]

Perdy!

I haven't done it, but I have read others that do the steering lockup.

?? ooo care to elaborate?

 

[rabbit91]

I think you start the truck, crank to one side, turn the truck off and leave it there for awhile. I don't know how long but I would guess an hour should do it. Then repeat on the otherside.

 

[Hunter32]

the shuttering is caused by air in the power steering lines [or something like that]. If you just drive it, it should go away within acouple hours of uses. Just make sure the car is running whenever youre turning the wheels. Turning the wheel when the car is not on is what causes the shaking.

P.S. - Maybe its just the pictures, but you might want to loosen up those sway bar link bushings. If they're overtightened they will wear out much much faster than if they were properly torqued. When properly torqued, they should just barely be being squeezed. If you still have the box, it has the proper directions on it.

Good job though! That's alot of work!

 

[Petek]

Thanks for the replies. The shuttering went away pretty quick, shes aligned, and MAN WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! drive GREAT~!. And hunter32, i torqued the end links to 34ft-lbs.

 

[colintrax]

Just wondering, why use gas outside? Just use flux core or stick and then there's no need to worry about wind damaging the weld.

 

[Petek]

Just wondering, why use gas outside? Just use flux core or stick and then there's no need to worry about wind damaging the weld.

fluxcore wasnt needed. Gas will get a better weld everytime (given theres no issues with gas blowing away). gas = better penetration, cleaner weld, more control. fluxcore is alright, but in 6 years of fabrication, ive used it maybe 5 times.