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.

 

[Maniak]

R12 is getting pretty hard to find, all though ebay still has a ton...lol!

R134a starts going away next year I think, for r1234yf

??? Does that mean I should pick up another few cases of the stuff? I think I'm still paying $5/can and I'm down to my last case. Or does r1234yf work as well as r-134a better than how r134 works in a r12 system?

~Mark

 

[BKennedy]

I think he was joking....

 

[Maniak]

I think he was joking....

nope.. r1234 (twelve thirty four) is real.. and is coming.. I had to look it up.. but I didn't dig into how well it really works.

One of the pages I found but haven't finished reading yet...

http://www.aa1car.com/library/hfo-1234yf.htm

I did find this though..

There are no plans to eliminate the production of R-134a because it will still be needed to service older vehicles with R-134a A/CV systems. Retrofitting R-134a systems to R-1234yf seems unlikely because of the difference in cost and cooling performance.

R-134a should only be used in R-134a systems, and should NOT be used to top off a R-1234yf system. Likewise, R-1234yf should NOT be used in an older R-134a or R-12 A/C system due to material compatibility and lubrication issues.

R-1234yf A/C systems have their own unique service fittings (which are different from R-12 and R-134 fittings) to discourage accidental cross-contamination

Some older pages (2011 etc) I saw were saying 2017 they would stop making r-134 in new cars in 2017 but manufacturers were fighting it..

~Mark

 

[BKennedy]

Well, alrightythen....
At least they will continue to produce R-134a

 

[Stic-o]

I think he was joking....

I can't be funny all of the time

 

[BKennedy]

Visor road test showed they do not seem to reflect light or vibrate so as to be annoying. Good to go.

 

[Stic-o]

Visor road test showed they do not seem to reflect light or vibrate so as to be annoying. Good to go.

 

[Rick]

I'm officially a copycat

 

[BKennedy]

Cool.

Fits nicely between the cage padding.

 

[FR-425]

Wait, Pumpkin fits in the air conditioned garage!?

with air in the tires!?

 

[Rick]

Wait, Pumpkin fits in the air conditioned garage!?

with air in the tires!?

Yes and yes 1/2" to spare:exporange

 

[BKennedy]

Did some adjustment of the steering toe today. After double checking, it was dead even. I wanted it to be 1/8-1/4" toe-in. After tape measure alignment was good (1/8" in), I went through the process of keeping the heims straight while tightening the jam nut.

FR-425 gave me an idea when he suggested using washers as spacers. I did not want to stack washers under the heims, tighten the nut, then take them back off to remove the washers. So, I wedged washers into the gap front and back, tightened the jam nut and they did not move. Worked great.

 

[Kirby N.]

I used to slide a crescent wrench in so I could grab the flats on the heims and tighten them.

Do you have camber probs? Mine is cambered like this \ / and it seems pretty equal on both sides. It's not a bent axle because they would be bent the opposite. My explorer had it a bit too. I wondered if I had the spindles swapped to the wrong aides but all the part numbers are the same. There is these spacers that go under the spindle. I am considering using them. I have read it is common when using Chevy outers but mine aren't Chevy outers so I don't know.

 

[BKennedy]

I used to slide a crescent wrench in so I could grab the flats on the heims and tighten them.

Do you have camber probs? Mine is cambered like this \ / and it seems pretty equal on both sides. It's not a bent axle because they would be bent the opposite. My explorer had it a bit too. I wondered if I had the spindles swapped to the wrong aides but all the part numbers are the same. There is these spacers that go under the spindle. I am considering using them. I have read it is common when using Chevy outers but mine aren't Chevy outers so I don't know.

I don't think you could get the spindles swapped without noticing. My camber is straight on the passenger side, and less than .25* out on the top of the driver side. The alignment guy said he could correct with a off-set upper ball joint sleeve, but he also said it wouldn't matter. I was only worried about tire wear and they are wearing fine.

When I had the axle narrowed, the place that did the work said it was bent slightly and they straightened it in a press. I never asked them which way it was bent. They noticed because it would not line up in the jig they use to weld up shortened axles.

Had a 8.8 bend like you are describing on a patrol vehicle after a very fun pursuit. It was from bottoming out the suspension. Or maybe it was from going through that big concrete dip at 90..? Good times, good times...

 

[BKennedy]

Dana 44 question:

How often do you check / grease the wheel bearings? I have pulled the hubs off twice since the SAS to check the bearings and to see if the grease has been contaminated from a water crossing. Both times, everything looked great so I added a several more squirts of grease between the bearings and put them back together. I think having the Wild Horses bushings in place of the needle bearings helps keep dirt and water out.

I had so many problems with the D35 bearings that it has made me a little paranoid. Seems like the D44 has a much better bearing set up; set farther apart to help distribute the load, bigger outer bearings (same inner bearings).

I think I am going to go to servicing them if I notice a problem, or whenever I change the differential fluids, which is about every other year (10,000 miles at the most).

 

[Sævar Örn]

i check mine after each offroad event... i have the big bearing d44 hd with 8 lug

but then again i have 46 inch tires which weigh 220lbs each so balancing is difficult

 

[RockRanger]

I checked them every broken shaft or hub. That seemed to be about once a year. Now with alloy shafts I might have to change my routine.

 

[Stic-o]

I think it was these, and they have gone down in price. Would make good stick on rock lights too..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2PCS-Xenon-...ash=item3a901225f8:g:xr4AAOSwuTxWAKfD&vxp=mtr

Second link is for six lights
http://www.ebay.com/itm/6x-White-Ca...ash=item3f4ee00670:g:UwgAAOSwHnFVim8H&vxp=mtr

Got some of these off Amazon for $6 or so. Plus they we're on Prime

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00C1YI2XA/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[BKennedy]

This is not due to my build, but its related so I am posting.
Wear Safety Glasses!!!!
I am building some gate hinges because I did not like anything locally. I was using a 4.5" angle grinder with a cut off disk. I was running low, so I used my last resort box of Harbor Freight cut off wheels. One exploded, and a piece hit me right in the safety glasses. The piece then took a chunk of skin off my nose, and forehead. I felt a forceful impact, and then my face was wet with red stuff dripping on the concrete. I thought I was in serious trouble after seeing a few pictures of cut off wheels imbedded in peoples faces, but my safety glasses saved the day. They have a bunch of gouges in them, but did their job. I washed my face off, a couple of big band aids, and back to work.

Update on the AC saga. I finally got it charged about three weeks ago. Took it to the dealership my brother works at. Went for a day ride out in the back country and it blew cold air when asked. A few days later, no work any more. Opened the hood and saw a puddle of green AC oil under the compressor, on top of the power steering bracket. The compressor was leaking out of the middle of the body, where it is seamed together. I sent it back under warranty about ten days ago and am waiting on a replacement. The ebay vendor was a little bit hard to get ahold of when I needed to return the compressor, until I sent a third message stating the next message was going to my credit card company, pay pal and ebay. I am giving him until Friday, and if I don't see a new replacement compressor on my porch, I will start making noise. He knows I used an American Express card through pay pal on ebay, so I will get a refund, one way or another. When this is resolved, I am going to send him a

 

[Rick]

Dang glad the safety glasses did their job!

I hope the compressor shows up so you don't have to go through the trouble of nailing him.