Bkennedy's SAS and Rebuild Thread

As some of you know, I am working on building a parts list for a shortened Dana 44, long radius arm with coil overs SAS. 5:13 gears to match my rear axle and an ARB, maybe an electric locker. I have a pretty good list so far. At the same time, I am going to swap out the rear drum brakes for discs off of a 99 Explorer.

Please note: The plan is to keep this project as simple as possible with mostly off the shelf parts. I am not a fabricator, just a decent welder with a what I would consider the minimum required tools (chop saw, cut off wheels, air tools, welder, etc.), who likes doing his own work. Your opinions are welcome, but what I really need is technical advice. I have been thinking about this for several years and now have the time and cash to make it happen. Please keep on topic with your advice and don't go off on a side track about how you would do it as a four-link, or caged arms, or leave the axle full-width because that is not what I want. I want a simple-ish set up that works.

 

[410Fortune]

We have gates that do lead to private property.....tons of signs.......still we get idiots wandering around back here! One of them got his little tiny car a mile up our road (we have been using snow tracks to get in and out) he got stuck then he walked back 1/2 mile and started up our neighbors bulldozer! Drove it 1/2 mile to his car and tried to get it unstuck!!! When the dozer would not re start (out of diesel) he was screwed.... we had to go around him with an atv and call the cops....
I wish we had gates as good as the forest service does!
This ass hat just went right up our road, we had left the gate open for a couple of hours.
You just cannot keep people out
My neighbor always says "Locks are to keep honest people honest"....and he is right anyone else will just go around, blow the lock, or sheesh even just hike in!
Dang crackheads

 

[BKennedy]

Those FS gates are pretty sturdy. The first two had 1/2" diameter chain links and big new padlocks that my FS key wouldn't fit. Guess I need to get another one from one of the guys who is still working patrol. The white gate's lock was inside the left side pipe with a smallish hole to get a hand into to unlock. I bet that gate cost 20K.

I have a question: Since I welded on the rear axle, should I change the recently changed Lucas 85W-140 fluid? I know fluid is in the tubes on the 8.8. Could I have cooked enough of the fluid to cause any issues?

 

[Kirby N.]

I would say no. And also I want a key like you have.

 

[BKennedy]

About a month and a half ago I bought parts to rebuild the rear bumper tire and gas can carrier swivels. New pins and new trailer spindle with weld in hubs. I was planning on waiting until this desert season was over until I tore the bumper apart, but COVID-19 and our illustrious governor has closed the desert. So, here comes the COVID bumper rebuild.
Here is what the bumper has basically looked like for about ten years. Its made from a 7x7", 1/4" wall square beam that was plasma cut along the back to match the OEM bumper.

The pivots use trailer spindles, but with bronze bushings instead of bearings. They have always been either too tight, or too loose. I also am going to do some mods to the bumper itself because I never liked the sides and the bumper itself is not wide enough to protect the body. The vertical line in the last picture is the outside edge of the frame. It fills the inside of the bumper. The other line is where I plan on cutting the side to give it a better departure angle at least on the sides. Also planning on cutting the outside corner off and replating to smooth out the edge.
Bumper off, that thing is heavy.

The metal supply place I usually go to is closed for the duration, so it will be rebuilt with metal I have at home. I have this piece of 2x4", 3/16" wall tube that I am going to use for the new sides. Yes, you are correct, it is not long enough for both sides but I have parts of a plan. I also have a bunch of 3/16" and 1/4" plate, a cutting torch, and a ton of cut-off wheels. This is also what I taught myself to weld on so there is a bunch of stuff I need to clean up. I wish I had a plasma cutter, but more to come.

 

[Stic-o]

Useing what you got for metal is the name of the game right now. I'm experiencing the same. May have to go raid Zukman's metal pile at some point.

 

[buford1972]

About a month and a half ago I bought parts to rebuild the rear bumper tire and gas can carrier swivels. New pins and new trailer spindle with weld in hubs. I was planning on waiting until this desert season was over until I tore the bumper apart, but COVID-19 and our illustrious governor has closed the desert. So, here comes the COVID bumper rebuild.
Here is what the bumper has basically looked like for about ten years. Its made from a 7x7", 1/4" wall square beam that was plasma cut along the back to match the OEM bumper.
View attachment 314738
View attachment 314739
View attachment 314740
View attachment 314741
The pivots use trailer spindles, but with bronze bushings instead of bearings. They have always been either too tight, or too loose. I also am going to do some mods to the bumper itself because I never liked the sides and the bumper itself is not wide enough to protect the body. The vertical line in the last picture is the outside edge of the frame. It fills the inside of the bumper. The other line is where I plan on cutting the side to give it a better departure angle at least on the sides. Also planning on cutting the outside corner off and replating to smooth out the edge.
Bumper off, that thing is heavy.
View attachment 314742

View attachment 314743
The metal supply place I usually go to is closed for the duration, so it will be rebuilt with metal I have at home. I have this piece of 2x4", 3/16" wall tube that I am going to use for the new sides. Yes, you are correct, it is not long enough for both sides but I have parts of a plan. I also have a bunch of 3/16" and 1/4" plate, a cutting torch, and a ton of cut-off wheels. This is also what I taught myself to weld on so there is a bunch of stuff I need to clean up. I wish I had a plasma cutter, but more to come.
View attachment 314744

If you'd like I'd love to make the trip from Arizona and take the old bumper off your hands. I think it would look just fine on my 91 and since I'm not working this week I'll have plenty of time.

 

[410Fortune]

the truck looks relieved! That sucker looks heavy makes my back hurt watching this thread....

 

[BKennedy]

If you'd like I'd love to make the trip from Arizona and take the old bumper off your hands. I think it would look just fine on my 91 and since I'm not working this week I'll have plenty of time.

I'm not replacing it, I'm rebuilding it. I like it, it just needs a redo after all these years. Its nice on the trail to be able to back up until the bumper contacts whatever is behind me with no worries of damage. Several years ago, I was rear-ended by a S-10 at a stop light. S-10 appeared to be totaled as it contacted the bottom of that bumper about half way up the grill and went in about a foot. Put a tiny little scratch in the bumper.

the truck looks relieved! That sucker looks heavy makes my back hurt watching this thread....

I think its about 100 pounds, even with the tire and gas can carriers removed. I am hoping to shave about 20 pounds off of it, but it will probably end up heavier.

 

[BKennedy]

Got a little work done on the bumper today, mostly deconstruction.
Cut off the old bumper sides with my trusty reciprocating saw and a Diablo thick metal blade. Worked great.

The old hinge mounts had been repaired a few times, and were a mess.

I burned them out with my cutting torch.

I found a few pieces of DOM tube that the weld in side of the new spindles will fit into with a little help from a BFH. The OD of the tube fits in the old holes in the top of the bumper. Should allow me to make a very strong mount.
Then I cut that piece of 2x4 tube lengthwise and turned it into the new sides. I am still playing around with this idea, but it should work. Cutting them the way I did turned them into L angle with a lip on the bottom. They should make nice, angled bumper sides.

That's it for now.

Edit: I just figured out I need some more metal to finish this off, or get real good at cutting plate with a angle grinder. To make it much easier I will need 4' of 1" wide flat bar, 3/16" thick. And, 4' of 1.5" flat bar, 1/8" thick. Industrial Metal Supply is doing curb side pickup on phone orders. They have pre-cut 2' lengths of what I need, which is just about the length I need as well. I will call them tomorrow to see if they will do a small order.

 

[BKennedy]

I lucked out because Industrial Metal took a very small, $15 order for me and I got the metal I need to finish this off. I dug up a bunch of scrap pieces to do all the little angled pieces I will need.

I spent a few hours on it today and its starting to take shape. It would be a lot easier if I didn't make a bunch of angles to deal with. It would also be a lot easier if the Explorer was even side to side and up and down. Its been though a lot and it shows up when trying to make angles match both sides. Everything is tweaked just a little. I figured out its easier to make the body fit the bumper than the bumper fit the body. I had to push and pull sheet metal to get it to line up. Its almost there.

I really like the rear view with the angled sides.

I'm going to cut it at an angle from the bottom of the bumper mount to the bottom of the new sides. Then plate it all in to make it strong and pretty. I figure I can do all the rest of the bumper part of the fabrication and get that done while its off the truck. Then remount to fab up the side supports to the frame and the swivels for the gas and tire carriers. Tack those all in place, then remove one more time to finish weld and paint. I'm trying to plan it out in advance to do as few install / uninstalls as possible.

 

[Rick]

Looks like you are making good progress

Very nice that the metal distributor is doing curbside pickup.

 

[BKennedy]

Looks like you are making good progress

Very nice that the metal distributor is doing curbside pickup.

It was cool of them. I was instructed to park in the lot and wait. There was worker in the lot with a face mask and a radio. He asked me my name, then called it in on the radio. He was also operating the fork lift bringing out large-ish orders for the three or four flat beds in the lot. Some other guy walked out with my 4 sticks of flat bar.

 

[BKennedy]

Rear bumper is mostly tacked together except for the most important parts, the tire and gas can carriers. I was going to finish weld the bumper, then do the swing-outs until I made my first cut through the bumper body. As soon as I cut through, it shifted slightly. Decided to get it mostly solid tacked then mount and see how the tire and gas can mounts line up. Easier to cut a tack weld than a finish weld. Plating in the corners of the sides was kind of fun. I spent a good amount of the time I had today figuring out the best way. I really like how its turning out.
That piece of tube sticking out is where the hinges are going.

I never liked the sharp corners on the bumper before. The new sides add about 2" of width and the way I plated it into the bumper softens the corner.

 

[BKennedy]

More progress today. I think I have it all sorted out. I might try to move the hubs down a little. I can only move them down about 3/8", but it would look cleaner. The way I have the spindles sleeved, it would not be that hard to redo that part. Everything it tacked in place for now. I will mount it to the Explorer tomorrow for final fitment, then finish weld and start grinding.
Every one of these type of hinges that I have seen fail has been at the weld. By sleeving it, the only welds on the spindles themselves will be plug welds, which will keep them in place without putting all the stress in one spot. After I make sure everything is lined up and finish welded, I am going to add gussets to both sides of the sleeve.

I can remove the spindle, finish weld the top of the sleeve to the top of the bumper, then grind it flat. It will allow me to move the hub/spindle down some. I still need to decide if I want to go to that trouble, but I probably will. Main reason I am leaning towards it is it wasn't difficult to line everything up. It was fairly easy since I was modifying existing mounts.

The only things I still need to add are the ends, and the flat bar on top and bottom of the new sides, gussets on the hubs, and plate off the sides where they meet the old sides.

Edit: I just realized I need to move the hubs anyway because I messed up the alignment of the carriers. There is a 3/4" landing for both carrier ends to come together and bolt down. I used a 3/4" spacer to align the hub ends of the carriers without taking into consideration the tab on the bottom of the gas can side that holds them together when bolted down. They are 3/16" lower on the hub ends.

 

[410Fortune]

Looks good! I cant help but to think that heavy tire swing would love a gusset right here:

or better yet any way to pull this off?

 

[Kirby N.]

Looks good. I agree with 410- a little more support wouldn't hurt.

 

[BKennedy]

I already have cardboard versions of gussets for both sides. I never thought of running the square tube support all the way down to the hub. That's a great idea. Next time I am building a swing out tire carrier, I will do that.
I mounted the bumper, and the tire and gas can carriers to check fit. Everything fits great. Also figured out where to mount the pull pins to lock the bumper in place when its open. I cut out the spot welds holding the hubs in place, cleaned them up and set the carriers aside. I added top and bottoms to both sides and finish welded most of the bumper today, minus one side that still needs the end boxed. It was a lot of welding. I should be able to remount the hubs and finish weld the carriers tomorrow. Not sure when I will spend a few days grinding all the welds smooth, might give my neighbors a break. After that, it needs to go on the Explorer one more time to fab up the side supports, then back off for paint.

I also ordered some flush mount back up lights, and new LED license plate lights. The flush mount back up lights are 4x2". I didn't go with the 5x3.5" most people get because I would have had to relocate the license plate and the license plate lights for them to fit.

 

[410Fortune]

sweeeeet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[BKennedy]

I started to grind down some of the welds so I could see what it is going to look like, then kept going for awhile. Then, FedEx delivered the flush mount back up lights and I got sidetracked. Mounting one side being as careful to take as little metal away as possible took way too long. I also threaded the holes in the bumper instead of using nuts on the inside. Doing that means I have to get the holes lined up nearly perfectly. I am not going to get to the tire and gas can carriers today, maybe tomorrow.
I think its going to look very nice when finished

Back up light hole

Light installed for mock up. The lines of the bumper are unique and functional.

This picture of the backside shows how little room there is on this side. The other side doesn't have the license plate and license plate lights. On the plus side, that is probably about the strongest point on a very sturdy bumper so I am not worried about the holes. There is still just enough room to gusset the spindle sleeves. I ordered a spare set of the lights so if these fail I will not end up with empty holes in the bumper.

Back to work. I am doing all the initial grinding with 40 and 60 grit flap discs. Will use 120 to finish smooth it a little more for paint.

 

[410Fortune]

dang! we need to get you a plasma torch
Looks really nice so far!! I like the flush mount led's