21Robbie21 SAS

ok so last night i went and picked up a '84 wagoneer D44 Full Width or WT, Driver Drop, Non-Vac Disconnect, W/Locking Hubs, Complete, its got rust and mud, but it seems good to go. I'm going to run leaves for simplicity. I am 2wd right now and the SAS will be the first step toward 4wd. The axle is 63" wide so i think im going to run spacers in the back. I want to do this as cheap as possible. I want to run 36" Iroks or another 36/37 when im finished. Im hoping to finish in ~3 months, but im not sure how realistic that is. Bryan (BMXking) lives close to me, and if he ever finishes his he will have the PRIVELEDGE of helping me i am open to any suggestions, ideas, tips, tricks, specs, references, or anything that might help me do this project professionally, cheaply, and quickly. I just spent 200 on this axle, ordered a yakima roof basket, and a new cobra CB and antenna, so im outta cash for now, and im going to PC for spring break on April 1st so i might not take any steps these next two-three weeks. But after that im anxious!

sorry the rugs arent a good background, but its in the unfinished part of my basement and thats whats on the floor and damn this thing is heavy!

you think its dirty now? this is after i hosed and scrubbed of the initial Cm thick covering of mud

 

[JS91X]

ya james we will see how rewarding it is for you when your truck falls apart on the highway and blows up. Yeah i would of liked to have done it all myself, and you cant say i didnt try, but it just became unreasonable for me. Yes im sure plenty of people out there, just like the ones on this site can learn and build it themselves. I also dont think one of those people is you. I mean come on james, the guy i paid to come do welds, were 100's times better than yours, and when bryan put my car up on the lift two of the welds just snapped off that he had done. Im not trying to be an #######, its just i dont think your truck is going to be safe.

well im glad for ya, its awesome your truck is gonna be done, and if anything breaks its not your or my ass that gets hell about it, and it 100% going to be street safe, thats not something every truck around here is...

for the fact my truck has been driven 2 times now around my house just to test stuff out before i go spend my money on a rear driveshaft, and the things i absolutely have to have to drive it on the street again, it has been perfect and NOTHING broke..before that, after i got done welding my rear hangers on, the truck fell off the jackstands when we were putting the bed back on, landed right on the axle and nothing broke, so im not doughting my welds here..

i will not say my truck isnt safe, but there are only less than 4 things that could really F up.. and the front spring hanger (basically the most critical b/c so much stress is put there from the springs) was welded on by my uncle whos a mechanical engineer..

i do take blame for the crappy welds, but its really hard to weld a spring perch on an axle with an 85amp flux core welder just perfect, and i wanted to bring your stuff to my house and use my welder since you did not have a 220v outlet anywhere close to your truck, where i could bring mine and use it there, but i apologize(sp) for that..


BTW i called you a few weeks back right before we had to go back to school from winter break.. was the shop near UGA that will do gear installs cheap, Classic City Offroad ?? i bought my gears from them a few weeks ago for a better price than 4wheel parts sells their crap gears for !!! and they are awesome guys to work with, if you didnt know

but man i dont want to argue with you about this stuff, i know what i did wrong when welding on your truck and i can live with that, its over and done with now, and stuff happens..

 

[zainyD]

Pics???

 

[wanderer351]

) was welded on by my uncle whos a mechanical engineer..

i do take blame for the crappy welds, but its really hard to weld a spring perch on an axle with an 85amp flux core welder just perfect, and i wanted to bring your stuff to my house and use my welder since you did not have a 220v outlet anywhere close to your truck, where i could bring mine and use it there, but i apologize(sp) for that..


BTW i called you a few weeks back right before we had to go back to school from winter break.. was the shop near UGA that will do gear installs cheap, Classic City Offroad ?? i bought my gears from them a few weeks ago for a better price than 4wheel parts sells their crap gears for !!! and they are awesome guys to work with, if you didnt know

but man i dont want to argue with you about this stuff, i know what i did wrong when welding on your truck and i can live with that, its over and done with now, and stuff happens..

a mechanical engineer will screw up a weld...they think TOO much (my father in law is one..and I give him crap about it all the time)

an 85A welder will do it..if its a decent brand..and you get it CLEAN..just have to pass and clean and pass and clean and ..you get the idea..

x-infinity on the critical-ness of welds on axles...no place to scrimp...I have a nice welder at home AND at work..but if I didnt...I would PAY to have someone do them for me...heck..buddies will come over and I will weld stuff for them...I feel better about having them on the road...I KNOW the welds are good...not some gorrilla booger welds...


and to comment on the "having the right parts"...my build is using tractor links from TSC...gonna end up with chevy big TRE's....the REASON is...they are all off the shelf parts...I bust a TRE...I goto the parts store and get one..$30..I bust a link...trip to TSC...OR local barnyard/farm supply for replacement part...$25part...

its not about the custom of the heim ends...they are trick azz...its about being in the middle of NO WHERE and being able to get the parts...getting towed out to the parkinglot for the trip home..ordering the parts..and waiting on the UPS guy...just somethin to think about..

 

[bmxking5]

Okay, here's a bunch of the pics we've taken so far. These are all about 1.5 weeks old. Since then, we've installed trans & t-case, installed a set of stock Explorer springs (others were shot, one side sagged 2.5" lower than other side), 3" lift blocks in the rear, buffed/painted frame & diff covers, cut off frame horns and capped off frame, built a custom skidplate from behind grille to bottom of crossmember, cut off rear perches, put on rear shock mounts/shocks, new steering lines, tranny flush, oil change, new fuel filter, coolant flush, cleaned throttle body, built rear bumper brackets, etc etc etc. Hopefully I'll have pics of that stuff soon.

We're trying to have it finished for Robbie by the end of this weekend since he'll be home, but if it's not completed by then (still waiting on gears and some other things to come in), we'll be delivering it to him at school next week.

 

[bmxking5]

more

 

[bmxking5]

more pics

 

[bmxking5]

some more

 

[bmxking5]

even more

 

[bmxking5]

last ones

 

[Burns]

looks really good.....

 

[zainyD]

Looks much better, keep the pics coming as you get them. The truck will be much safer now with the better welds and some re-inforcement. Looking forward to seeing more progress!!!

Is he going to leave the body lift on or take it off?

 

[bmxking5]

He's leaving the body lift on.

 

[zainyD]

Any updates or new pics on this? It's been about a week since the last update.

 

[21robbie21]

well im getting a detroit truetrac in the rear and im haveing get a double cardon rear drive shaft and a cross over steering kit, therefore it will only be longer untill it is finished, and bryan will be the one to have pics...

 

[Burns]

Hey but the wait will be worth it in the end....It already looks great

 

[21robbie21]

true, but ive been waiting pratically 7 months so im ready to drive this boitch, and thanks burns, ofcourse you know your x is beautiful

 

[j602]

New fab work looks real clean. Those old welds were hella nasty. Bump stop mount on the axle is a little goofy but it'll work. Looks good.

 

['97 V8]

Nice. What kind of welder was used?

 

[bmxking5]

All the pics are at work still. We got the double cardan shaft rear driveshaft today and will be re-rewelding the rear perches tomorrow since we had it setup for SOA w/ AAL and regular driveshaft. With the SOA w/ blocks and stock leaves it droops a whole lot more, and bound up a LOT at full droop.

We cut out our old steering box setup and rebuilt brackets to make his drag link work that he had to use...so crossover is no longer needed. Gears and true-trac are both in now (would've been in last week but parts came in late). We have a lot of little things to finish up tomorrow, but it's getting extremely close to being drivable. Pics to come soon.

 

[zainyD]

Updates, Pics?????