MyNameIsAric's 98 FULL width SAS

I will keep this first post updated with my progress so people don't have to weed through all the boring crap associated with these buildup threads.
So far I have:

Front axle:
Dana 60 35 spline kingpin high pinion from a 79 f-250/350
detroit locker
dedenbear knuckles
5.38 gears
alloy usa shafts
longfield u-joints
warn hubs (should have went with drive flanges)
high steer arms with full hydraulic steering

Steering:
2x8 double ended cylinder from surpluscenter.com
steering valve out of an old forklift
misc. hoses and fittings from surpluscenter.com

Rear axle:
Dana 60 30 spline low pinion from a 79 f-250/350 (should have went with a 14 bolt)
full spool
5.38 gears
Disk brake conversion

Tires/wheels:
16.5" hummer h1 8 bolt double beadlocks recentered with custom stazworks centers.
36x12.50 wrangler rt II 6 ply military bias tires(sucky but cheap)

Things I need still:
new rims and tires and hopefully she wont shake so bad at 60mph.


Got axles

Got a new truck so i can dismantle the explorer and tow it around when i'm done.
Welded Diff covers

Rear axle almost done

Front axle almost done

Rear axle under truck

Welding up rear driveshaft (yes, it is square)

Machined parts for the upper control arms

Made coil buckets

Made lower control links

Mocking up Front axle and welded up hydraulic ram mount.

Got myself a forklift orbital for my hydraulic steering

welded on lower control arm mounts

Dropped the front IFS

Sent it to the scrap yard

IFS gone

Front axle starting to go in.

off jackstands

Took out the A/C system and cruise control. Also removed ABS brake controller, but I ended up having to put it back in later for the speedo to work.

Mounted new/slightly larger fluid reservoir for the hydro system.

Mounted the stock power steering cooler for the hydro system

Got this mounted in the engine bay where the A/C junk used to be

Had to chop down this thing first though.

Made some tie rods out of 100% grade A beef.

Installed hydraulic ram and tie rods.

View of the filter, and you can see the high pressure hose running from the pump down to the steering valve.

This is how i connected the stock steering wheel to the steering valve. 3/8" swivel

Better view of the steering valve.

Poor planning caused track bar issues

Made a new track bar bracket

Cut off first track bar bracket

Plated for good measure

Welded on new track bar bracket. Still had minor interference so i move the axle forward another 1/2"
Also started putting on shocks.

Tacked a tone ring to the rear d60 carrier

Reinstalled tone ring sensor so i can get speedometer back

blah blah blah tidied things up and poof.... an explorer that can only go 55mph now. If you have questions, just ask or PM me.

 

[RFR2212]

As long as you give it the good 'ol college heave ho! Maybe after things settle down with the Jeep, I can head down if ya need a hand

 

[mynameisaric]

space is my biggest enemy, followed by time, but i can deal with the time issue. i'll probably hit you up for some advice when i get going though.

 

[mynameisaric]

welllllllllll... update i guess.

SO..... I have done a little work to the rear axle. just got the new perches fabbed and welded on. Once i figure out if my old brake lines will swap over(most likely not) and if my d-shaft will work on the new axle (think i researched that and they use the same size joint...) and i'll be swapping in the rear soon.

Now the front... I think I am going to get EVERYThing prepared that i can possibly prepare, and i have been talking with the guy that regeared my axles, and i'm most likely going to just have him do the swap for me. I'm losing the DIY factor, but it will get done. He has given me a rough quote, and his high end was still very reasonable.

and no post is complete without pics... so here you go.
Making the new perches at the same angle as the old ones.

Cutting the old perches

primered

welded up rear diff cover

modifying the front cover for the truss setup

Fin

 

[RFR2212]

Get any more work done to this piece of crap?

 

[mynameisaric]

yes actually.... its been sitting like this for a few weeks. had a summer class that consumed my time, and i just got back from vacation. I'm all out of excuses now... I need to put in a f-350 master cylinder since i have massive double piston calipers in front and huge single pistons in the rear. And all of my lines are corroded, so the brake system is getting an overhaul. Then she gets flipped around and i start the front.

 

[RFR2212]

Good, maybe you can finish it for Moab '10.

 

[zainyD]

Keeping or removing the body lift?

 

[mynameisaric]

Keeping or removing the body lift?

Its in there with red locktite.... so for the moment at least... it is staying.

and moab 2010 sounds like a goal. I plan to have it rolling under its own power before school starts.

master cylinder and abs module removed. also removed the 8.8 break lines. i was hoping to save the hard brake line between the master cylinder and the rear axle, but its metric on one end.....

Going to napa tomorow to get a master cylinder. going to check out the f-350 masters and see if they have the same bolt pattern and such. I'm learning about breaks as i go along, so bear with me people.

edit: also pulled the rear driveshaft again. ordering 2.5" receiver tubing tonight to make a new driveshaft. The stock explorer shaft mates up perfect, but it is wayyyyy to short (no slip left). So it is held in the driveway with the truck in 4x4 and the front shaft holiding in park, and some 4x4 tire chalks.

 

[mynameisaric]

Half the rear driveshaft fabbed up.would have showed pics of the machining and such, but my phone was connected to the radio. So all you get is the after. I have 3 more of these to make so maybe i'll get some step by step shots then. pretty simple though. hardest part was chucking square tube in a 6 jaw chuck since we don't have a 4 jaw at work.....

 

[mynameisaric]

rear brakes are bled (super spongy though). turned the truck around so i can start the front. the back just needs the driveshaft completed and shocks.

Waiting on driveshaft tubing to come in and brackets from ballistic fab. probably buying the things i need for full hydro tonight. Reading IZwacks threads were really helpful.

plan:
stock power steering with blocked bypass(using external bypass), undecided on the orbital as of now, going to try and mount it in place of the steering box though. some kind of cooler and external reservoir/filter(hopefully i can find one with two inlets so i have somewhere to route the bypass.


I forgot to fill the rear diff with oil before i drove it around the block..... i went slow the entire time and didnt realize i forgot to fill the diff till half way around the block.... it should be ok right?

 

['97 V8]

you should be ok if there was residual oil in there. By the way, grab your self a jegs proportioning valve so you can adjust brake bias. With out the abs being your valve, most of the power goes to the rear and gets scary fast. Spongy brakes solution is to bleed them again until all the air is out, also you can turn the rod on the brake booster out some more to get more pedal pressure..that is what i had to do on my truck and now i can lock all 4 tires.

 

[mynameisaric]

thanks! i will do that. i was going to ask send you a pm and see what yo u did because i remember you posting somewhere about the same issue

 

[mynameisaric]

97 v8:
is this what you got?
http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/63020/10002/-1


Machining some square tube adapters. I should have tried to get video of the tap feeding through. That was the best part. left hand 1-14 threads... like butter.

Finished product

1-14 RH studs welded onto bushings, next to 1-14 LH stud welded on by ballistic(couldnt find 1-14 LH threaders...)

 

['97 V8]

yup, thats the one...they have gone up in price though, but is still the cheapest.

 

[mynameisaric]

welded the coil spring perches/lower control arm mounts to the front axle, pulled as much of the front suspension as i could without immobilizing it completely, and started the upper control arms. The lower control arms and frame coil buckets are next on the list. may start cutting out the IFS this weekend, if not, then next weekend for sure.

upgrade? i think so.

upper control arm. had ALOT of left over 1.5" sq stock to use up.

I'll post mroe pictures of the front axle when the cylinder mount and UCA truss are buttoned up.

classes start the 24th, so it HAS to be sitting on the front axle by then.

 

[mynameisaric]

coil bucket

completed and painted uca

 

[mynameisaric]

well i'm not sure what to do about a track bar. Not sure on the material more than anything. i have 2x2 .25 thick sq. tube left, but that seems too bulky to squeeze in there. and i also have 1.5x1.5 solid square stock left, but that seems to heavy and i'm not sure how much stress a track bar receives. my other problem is that i can only source a 7/8-14 RH tap for the heims i bought. Can't find a 7/8-14 LH. So i may just suck it up and drop some money on some pay-per-foot DOM and tube inserts.....

Anyway. started the LCA's. Still have to do some plating to box them in at the offset.

 

[RFR2212]

Yikes! Why are you making them like this? I'd have cut both ends a few degrees and angle it. I hope you're going to plate it, then plate it about 2 more times....

 

[IZwack]

Yeah if you messed up on the angle and dont want to cut the tubes off of the joints, just buy new ones. 90 or whatever dollars on new joints is a small price to pay instead of having an LCA break in the middle of the trail or *gasp* on the road.

 

[mynameisaric]

i dont kniow if you've seen the red truck, but there are no concerns about the "on road. " it will be plated well. i need a 1.5" offset on each arm for the frame mounts to match up with the axle mounts. it won't break. i'm in an inebriated state of mind. but i dont think they will break when i'm done with them. they may bend, but only under the conditions that 2x2 .25 wall would bend anyway.