Bkennedy's SAS and Rebuild Thread

[BKennedy]

Lube-Locker says they do not endorse reuse, but the vendor I purchased them through has reused his diff and transmission gaskets multiple times on his Ultra4 car without issue. davesoffroadsupply.com I get most of my off-road stuff through him because he has outstanding customer service and he will price match just about anything. I have their gaskets on the Explorer diffs and transmission, and my Silverado diff. This is the first time I have reused the diff gaskets. On the transmission I reused the gasket several months ago and no leaks. They are $20-$25 each so not too expensive. Its worth the price to not have to mess with sealant, especially if it is a trail repair.

 

[BKennedy]

Worked on my RockRanger 8.8 diff slider today. Those of us who drag the 8.8 over rocks have felt it catch on the large lip on the bottom of the housing. This should get rid of that by making a nice thick ramp for the rocks to slide off. About a year ago he sent me a USPS flat rate bag with a bunch of cut plate inside. There are some 1/4" and 3/16" thicknesses.

I bent them a little and stacked the three plates that would fit the best to fill that rock catching space on the bottom of the pumpkin.

Ended up with this

Tacked up

Welded with several passes to make flat plate rounded

Lots of grinding and got this ancient artifact looking chunk of steel

Welded it to the bottom of the diff with two passes in most places to round off the edges. My little welder that could (Lincoln WeldPack 100 HD) finally quit on me as I was finishing up the last spot. I think the trigger failed. I will take it apart later.

Edit: Must have got hot and stopped because welder is working fine now. I remember now I overheated it a few times when plating the frame for the coil over mounts and it did the same thing.

And got this..

Just kidding. I decided to cover it up with a welding blanket for a few hours because its cold and raining here today and I have never welded a diff before so I didn't want to take any chances of it cracking. I will pull the blanket off in a few hours and post some pictures. I am taking a break and decided to post my progress. I will be working on the brake caliper paint job next.

 

[Stic-o]

I don't think I've ever caught my rear diff, that I'm aware of.

 

[BKennedy]

Finished product

Painted (rocks point of view)

Hanging diff fluid bottle. Going to have to use the squeeze and curse method on the last bottle since the rear takes 2 full quarts and about 1/3 more.

I decided to wait for better weather to paint calipers.
Before I retired, I would have had this done in a weekend. Now, everything seems to take twice as long.

 

[Stic-o]

Why is your driveshaft backwards? shouldn't the slip yoke be on the transmission side?

 

[BKennedy]

I don't think I've ever caught my rear diff, that I'm aware of.

Then I guess you don't need to ask Matt to cut you out a kit for that....

Why is your driveshaft backwards? shouldn't the slip yoke be on the transmission side?

Its always been like that. The only changes I ever had done to it are its longer than OEM and has a double cardan joint at the transfer case. What you talkin' bout' Willis??

 

[josh40601]

Steve, if you have a DC joint at the transmission, the slip is on the axle side. All toyotas have this setup too.

and "cold" hahahahaha

diff slider looks good, and when i go to replace my inner axle seals, I'll definitely give that rag trick a shot. It was a pain in the arse to get mine out when I did the locker. Also, I believe Lube Locker does say they are reusable now, they just don't list how many times. I remember reading it when I ordered the replacement for the front because my dumb ass threw the old one away. I believe for the D44 they are around 14-17 bucks on amazon

 

[BKennedy]

and "cold" hahahahaha

Okay, colder than normal. I was still working on the Explorer in shorts but I had a sweater on for the first 15 or so minutes.

 

[mounty71]

Definitely going to give that lube locker gasket a try. Especially with aftermarket diff covers that have a square edged flange, it's impossible to pry those off.

Also I caught my 8.8 on a rock on the Rubicon, which lead to my front tires just spinning, which lead to a broken front axle. That slider mod is a good idea!

 

[BKennedy]

I always forget that with the pinyon angle my 8.8 takes 3.0 quarts to fill it just below the hole. I spent ten minutes squeezing the last friggin bottle of 85-140. Book says 5.3 to 5.8 pints. Need to remember to just hang all 3 quart bottles when filling the rear diff and call it good.

Got the calipers painted and put the Explorer back together. Yep, they are red, dark blood red. The paint kit is a brush on style and I am still not sure how it will hold up. Its thick paint that goes on rough but lays down flat in a few minutes. Kind of a pain to use, especially on the fronts because they are heavy and its awkward holding them in with one hand and brushing with the other. Have to wait 24 hours before reassembly. I waited at least that long and it was still soft in a few spots. The kit also says there is enough paint for 4 calipers but there is 3/4 of the can left over, and I put it on heavy. At least its better looking than rust. Would not recommend for a show car or hot rod.

@R.J., this is for your FJ buddy, sorry I can't remember his name. Cardboard and spray paint makes touching up the sliders and bumpers from the last Truckhaven trip a few minute job.

I also installed a new Synergy lower track bar bushing. I could not locate just the lower track bar mount and mine has a heim at the top mount so if anyone needs a spare upper track bar bushing for a 73-79 F-100 or F-150, or 78-79 Bronco, let me know.

 

[RockRanger]

Looks good Brian.
I have been running the plates on the bottom of my 8.8 the last 4 years or so. I have liked it. It helps slide over rocks that you would otherwise get hooked on. I will still hang a diff up every once in a while but not as much as before.

 

[FR-425]

Bust out the letter punches and mark the diff cover "3Qt."

 

[Stic-o]

I was actually looking at the Navajo rear axle, and @R.J. had the bottom plated. Similar to yours, but I think it's 1 big piece. Also has some parts hollow so air can vent through it I believe.

 

[gmanpaint]

Just noticed your 7 pin trailer connector on the bumper. Has it ever been hit wheeling?

I am installing one soon, and was thinking a drop off a shelf would take it out, and was thinking of cutting and recessing it. Rather not do all that, if it doesn't have to be.

 

[kmack]

My little welder that could (Lincoln WeldPack 100 HD) finally quit on me as I was finishing up the last spot.
Edit: Must have got hot and stopped because welder is working fine now. I remember now I overheated it a few times when plating the frame for the coil over mounts and it did the same thing.

My little HF MIG welder I bought 18 years ago used to do the same thing if you tried to weld constantly for too long. It would hit the top-end of the duty cycle and then quit until the transformer cooled down.

My fix was to add a cooling fan from an older stand-up style desktop computer. I tried to wire it up so the fan would only run when the main switch was turned on, but it ended up running as soon as you plug the welder in. Not a bad thing, really. I turn my welder off when I'm done and it continues to cool down until I unplug it.

In the last 18 years, I have never had that little welder shut off on me again because it got hot! I'll run out of wire before it ever hits the top-end of the duty cycle again!

Awesome build, btw! Very well thought out and looks great!

 

[BKennedy]

Just noticed your 7 pin trailer connector on the bumper. Has it ever been hit wheeling?

I am installing one soon, and was thinking a drop off a shelf would take it out, and was thinking of cutting and recessing it. Rather not do all that, if it doesn't have to be.

That 7 pin connector has been mounted to the bumper face for at least 15 years. Its never been hit wheeling, and when I am out on a trail in a tight spot and I need to reverse, I will on occasion back up until I make contact with whatever is behind me (rocks, embankments, other vehicles, etc). I think the spare tire protects it from straight impacts, and its high enough up the bumper face that it doesn't get hit while sliding off shelfs, rocks, whatever. Its also only sticking out about 1/2" from the bumper face. The bumper contacts the ground regularly while on the trail.

My little HF MIG welder I bought 18 years ago used to do the same thing if you tried to weld constantly for too long. It would hit the top-end of the duty cycle and then quit until the transformer cooled down.

My fix was to add a cooling fan from an older stand-up style desktop computer. I tried to wire it up so the fan would only run when the main switch was turned on, but it ended up running as soon as you plug the welder in. Not a bad thing, really. I turn my welder off when I'm done and it continues to cool down until I unplug it.

In the last 18 years, I have never had that little welder shut off on me again because it got hot! I'll run out of wire before it ever hits the top-end of the duty cycle again!

Awesome build, btw! Very well thought out and looks great!

Thanks for the info. It rarely overheats, and its only when I am welding for a long time at the max settings.

 

[gmanpaint]

Other vehicles! Haha!

Thanks for that, I feel better about mounting it to the bumper face now.

 

[R.J.]

I was actually looking at the Navajo rear axle, and @R.J. had the bottom plated. Similar to yours, but I think it's 1 big piece. Also has some parts hollow so air can vent through it I believe.

That was the previous guy. I bought the axle like that.

 

[BKennedy]

Bust out the letter punches and mark the diff cover "3Qt."

Now that would have been a great idea if I hadn't put it all back together already. I need to write up a year/make/model the parts came from, and fluid capacity sheet anyways. The Explorer has so many different drivetrain parts from different vehicles its hard to keep track.

Took it for a drive around town running errands, and nothing is leaking. I didn't find a rock to drive up on to test the top of the axle seals, but I will save that for the next off-road trip.

While I was working on the 8.8 skid, I thought about there not being a gap for air. Then, I thought about all the weight that little spot has to handle if the rear wheels come off the ground. Stacking the plates spreads out the load throughout the bottom of the diff. The cast steel to plate steel welds do not have to absorb the load, just hold the plates in place.

Whenever I have reached under to feel the diff its never been more than warm so I don't think heat dissipation will be an issue.

 

[BKennedy]

I was thinking about my dreamer list for the Explorer and I am almost out of stuff to dream about. All I could think to add are some mostly very expensive stuff, I decided to start a new thread..
Santa's List for Offroad Projects??