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Ricks Bronco: 1and 1/2

why not build your own 9" housing? You have the tools and skills, and that way you could make whatever configuration or links or whatever you wanted, and you could build it as strong as you like. I'm planning on doing that for my front when I get around to doing an SAS.

I have given that some thought. Might just do that one day. :D

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Might as well go from the upper engine build to the SAS. Nice way to spend opening day of Spring.

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It's going to be ruff getting all this under the truck with out about 6" of lift. That engine cross member is going to give me a fit, but I've got some ideas...I hope.

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So glad to get that drop bracket out of there. The axle is just slid under temporary to get an idea where I need to mount and make some brackets. I have some made but may change.

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I'm going to push the axle forward also.
that large bracket will be cut once I get the exact height for the track bar.
 



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Good point, I'll replace all of the nuts. I don't have true rollers, only roller tips. Might have to go that route also. But I did take a punch and smack on three sides of the one nut. But that's just a band aid fix.
 






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That engine cross member that the engine bolts to, is just a pain in the ars. Look at all that wasted space above the cross member. No need to be that low.
That welded piece in the valley is just temporary.
Don't want to have to go to a suspension lift to address the problem. I don't want to get nose bleed from to high suspension after all the work I did to keep a low COG. And besides that just side steps the problem.
But I don't want conflict with the high steer link going from side to side or the track bar hitting up under the cross member either. :rolleyes:
Not to mention it's just an unsightly thing and always in the way of tightening oil pan bolts and getting to other things like my remote oil filter adapter.
Don't mind that welded brace that lays in the valley, that was plan A which I quickly went to plan B which is way :cool:

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Holy Sh#t, there I said it for you.
So enter my beloved sawzall. Nothing new here.
Now I did do some thinking on this and just did not have at it. First I put a floor jack under engine just to see how much it would give, if any.
There is only about an 1/8" holding it on. Look at the left and you can see the wavy cut where it is about to separate. :rolleyes:
Actually it's cut straight through, it's just the way the metal is stamped out that gives it that look.
The flange that you see sticking out on far left is where the problem with the high steer link was. And the trac bar wants to hit up in between the side pieces. Or might hit it on a bad bounce.


At this point there is no turning back to put back the D35. It just has to get done. Plus Spring Turkey season starts soon, and I need the truck when I go bouncing through the woods. And a lot of it is off camber rides and don't need the truck way up in the air due to additional suspension lifts, other then what I can do with the coilovers.

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Now all kinds of room. Lookie there, a missing oil pan bolt. And I noticed a few were backed out. Starting to like this set-up already.
The engine mounts are actually right next to the back side that still has the flange and mounted up high.
Trouble is at this point it's structurally sound as a wet noodle. Nothing that can't be even made better then what is was.

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Now here is where all this hacking and slashing is leading to.
This is my hybrid DOM tubing/factory stamped cross member. Now this is just the start.
There is plenty of room between the tubing and back half for the trac bar to articulate and now no front flange to interfere with the high steer tie rod. And there is about 3/4" inches of air space above the tubing to bottom of pan.
I've read on other sites that sometimes the pumpkin can actually hit the crossmember also. No need to worry about that either.
I do have solid motor mounts also.
Plus why block the view of all those links :p:
Those holes in the back part is where one of the arms of the D35 attached to the cast mounting piece. Which was way to close to the bottom of my oil pan.

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Right side with a lot of fabbing up to do.
The tubing is where the stamped metal would have turned down.
This will be like a monocoque construction when done.
You can see where the motor mount is bolted through. It's almost directly above the back flange.
Also along the top horizontal cut, I'll reinforce that with an angle piece. then again all cuts will have an angle and finished apperance.

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Left side with a notch cut out of the tubing to catch on top of frame. That is just to help in holding up untill all welded up.
There again is the missing oil pan bolt and the other bolts that are loose.
No wonder I had an oil leak. Now it's a piece of cake to get to.
Again I'll use the King of all welding rods...7018. Especially since this is more like structural welding.
Going to tie in the stamped metal to the .250" wall tubing with .250" steel plate.
Also getting to where the track bar mounts will a whole lot easier also. In fact it might even be mounted on the DOM tubing. Just need to check on angles.

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Here is one .250" plate being welded to the tubing. I traced around one of the humps where that wavy cut was made. All those cuts along the top will be tied into tubing by welding. Then some intermediate bracing also. But not as to conflict with any links.
Now I really don't think there is one area on this truck that has not been reworked to some extent.

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Some casualties of this mod. Not to mention, I,m about brain drained after the last couple of weeks.

After the engine cross membe is done, I'll fire it up with someone in the truck with foot on brake and torque it up. I'll watch from the bottom and check to see how it's handling all the torque. Then brace if necessary.
Might add also that over the years there has been a substantial amount of cutting on this truck, including front and rear axles and suspension mods. Not to mention the chopped top. But I have always kept safety number one. To this date not one thing that I have done has came loose or in someway hurt some one. The chopped top has never sagged a fraction of an inch. It drives down the highway as if it just came off the show room floor, but with a few hundred more pones under the hood.
Any knowledge of what I did came from decades of fooling with Detroit iron and many years on the job training in metal work.
 






Your thread really frustrates me. You know why? Cause I look at my email on my phone, but can't see the pictures, so I have to be impatient till I get to a computer. :( It's looking good though, if I had had the time, I woulda done something very similar to that on my brother's '80 f150 we did an SAS on, as it is we just trimmed the flanges down.

I can't wait to see how this turns out. Should be amazing.
 






Your thread really frustrates me. You know why? Cause I look at my email on my phone, but can't see the pictures, so I have to be impatient till I get to a computer. :( It's looking good though, if I had had the time, I woulda done something very similar to that on my brother's '80 f150 we did an SAS on, as it is we just trimmed the flanges down.

I can't wait to see how this turns out. Should be amazing.

Frustrates, you. You should have been with me two nights ago when I had the D44 under it and that cross member seemed to be in the way of everything. Sure I could have slid the axle up about 6", but this is for street and I need to pass inspection. Or added 6 more inches to the coilover connections, but that's not going to happen.
But just like it's happened a thousand times on this build when all seems so bad, just walk away, get a good nights sleep and Whamo, next morning flash bulbs are going off above my head. Then what was so bad and dreadful, is now a fun thing to tackle.
With that said. If in fact this bracket does work.............wouldn't it be nice to come up with a complete DOM tubed cross member with steel plates that is removable from underneath via stainless steel 1/2" bolts. Now the motor mounts might stay on the stock Ford mounting part of the cross member and the new tubed cross member attach to it.
But just imagine how nice it would be to be able to get to the oil pan and pull off.
How about when it's time to change connecting rod bearings. just drop pan.
Or you need to pull engine out.
Just remove the cross member and radiator support...put dolly under engine and slid out...no engine crane needed ;)

I really do need to order more tubing anyway...reason, the tubing you see was, as in used to be my Trac link :D But I needed that problem fixed more then I needed the trac bar at this point in time.
 






Again I'll use the King of all welding rods...7018. Especially since this is more like structural welding.
Going to tie in the stamped metal to the .250" wall tubing with .250" steel plate.


Your not going to arc weld that??? I mean, that doesn't sound safe, especially to drive on the street! ;)

Just kidding. I would imagine your new crossmember design is going to be much much stronger than the original.
 






Your not going to arc weld that??? I mean, that doesn't sound safe, especially to drive on the street! ;)

Just kidding. I would imagine your new cross member design is going to be much much stronger than the original.

Now that's funny right there. I think I know to what your referring to.
I best just keep my mouth shut. Then again you might want to gather the women and children with in a 3 mile radius of where I'm at on the highway ;)

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this was the passenger side yesterday.

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And here it is today tied into the original portion of the front part of the engine cross member. The DOM tubing kinda blends into the heavy sheet metal of the original cross member.

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Then did some triangulation also. That buggard up part just to the right of the bolt is where I beat the livin sh#t out of part of the original flange that was sticking out. I just beat it down onto the tubing and welded it. There is another bracket on the other side of that frame that is tied into the very end of the tubing and then that is welded to the inside edge. Just can't see it.
The overhead welds were done with 7014 which I can weld better then 7018 in that position. Just hold the rod directly vertical and move a little quick. Make dead sure you have your collar buttoned. Don't need to ask. why :rolleyes:
The 7014 does not penetrate as far as the 7018, but on this light stuff it does just fine.

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Have a few more ideas and then that will be it on this mod. for awhile. Like frame around the back part of the flange that's sticking out with welded 1"x1" angle and then cut off what's below. No need for all that hanging down there. Plus all cuts will be trimed in angle to further reinforce it.
Dont want to get too carried away untill the axle is under there. Then If any more braces are needed, I'll know where to place them as not to interfer with axle.
No matter how tuff it is to get this axle under there, it just became a whole lot easier.
And the main thing is that I should be able to get more benefits from the axle since there won't be any (I hope) conflict with the cross member.
Oh ya, one other thing. It was pure pleasure to be able to lay down under this truck and be able to get to all the oil pan bolts. They all were loose. Darn solid motor mounts.
 






Another way to address the back side that is hanging down. Is just cut the thing off and fab up another tube or heavy angle. There will never be another D35 in this truck and does not have to be that low for one of the arms to hook to. Plus it's just plain nasty looking. Then run another tube on each side that interlocks with the front and back tubes that run from frame to frame. This would give it a really custom look.
But that will be done later, if in fact I do even get to that part.
 






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Now this pic was taken a few days ago. But you can see how the trac bar would have to go low under the engine cross member to clear and then have one of those goofy bends in it to get it back up to the or near the frame.
And the center section is very close, not mentioning that the high steer arms were extremely close or would have even hit the flange of the cross member.
If it was to take a bad bounce, look out. Ouch.
But it easy to visualize how much room there is now with none of that hanging down.
Of course I'll have a pic of it under there soon.

It ought to look good coming down the highway with a linked front solid axle and not be jacked up so high.
 






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Now that is a whole lot better looking and more funtional then the pic in the previous post.

I'll post up later this evening on what 's happening. That is not the actual track bar but the drag link. Track bar was used to fab up the new cross member. I need to order some more anyway. I've always have need for more tubing.
There is just so much room now. I'm still not done with that cross member. It just bugs the crap out of me the way it still hangs down in the back. Not that it's in the way but just lame looking.

The track bar now can be raised up higher at the connection on left. At first it had to be that low to clear the cross member.
There wont be much angle from the drag link coming from Pitman arm to High steer arm. So now I can match the angle with the track bar. Once the proper angle is found I'll cut the bracket off. I still can cut some off now.
I'm thinking that I will need to raise it up about an inch or so. This means one more hole.
The links are going good. Need to go out and start working on welding the connecting brackets onto the frame.
 












I know this one won't work as this isn't a full size GM, but here's an aftermarket crossmember that achieves what you're trying to do. Maybe give you some ideas.

http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/enginecrossmember.htm

Were both in the same ball game on this one. That is exactly what I invisioned in my mind. It's a done deal now.

And only $189, that's cheap for all the labor involved not mentioning the price of the tubing.
 






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Getting ready to install the lower link bracket.

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Since this is a parallel 4 link, I guess I should make sure they're exactly parallel.
The links are set so that they start at the back connection and then point out a few degrees. So this means that the top link will set further out on the frame then the bottom one at point of connection. Also what compounds the problem is that the frame starts to turn inward near the front.
That's why the top bracket sets further out.
The configuration is the exact angle that I got out of my plywood working model that gave the best articulation.
Plus the rear connection are installed so the bolts are a perfect 90 degrees to the plane of the arm. This will help in the shear strength department.

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Reinforcing the top link due to the way it sets a little outside of frame.

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All links have right and left hand threads for ease of adjustment.
Now I need to go to steel yard and get some more flat plate. I'll also stop by the machine shop and see about them drilling and tapping my pass. side knuckle.


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No big deal if I want to go to radius arm suspension either. Just remove link from top bracket. And drop straight down. But I would remove joints and add the custom bushings that you see where it connects to long link including changing all the axle joints to bushings. Again this was all dictated by my wooden model :)
But I like the idea of four connection points better.
 






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Now I'm finishing the driver side link mounts.
A little trick I use is when fabricating is to stick about a .020 feeler guage between the inside flange and the joint. Clamp the sides tight and weld away. These side pieces have a tendency to move while applying heat.
This way I don't have to do a little on this side and then some on the other side and find out that it still moves and the joint has to be forced into the bracket. I've done the left side and now going to do right side flange. After it's all welded just pull hard and feeler guage comes out and it's no longer a pain to slid joint into bracket.

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This day ranks right up there with the best days I've had during the few years of building this truck.
All four link brackets are in and even have the 4 links temporally hooked-up,
All the links were measured off the rear axle and all are with-in a frog hair that was split in the middle and shaved on both sides close. And that my friend is close.
The bottom two links were done first and then the two tops. The two tops are parallel with the bottom link. I made these so there directly over top of each other. Did not have much choice here. Even if they weren't just as long as they both come off the front axle at the exact degree.
And remember all fabrication and welding on axel for this linked axles was done while the D35 was still in there. It it weren't for that 2 dollar plywood model it would have been might difficult to get all the bracket and geometry right.

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I just had to do it, I couldn't help myself. I kicked the jack stand out from underneath :p:. Since there is no center section in or axles, it was so easy to move this axle around. It moves around like a wet noodle.
Before I made the top link, I played around with different lengths to come up with one that kept the pionion angle about the same. Again the model is what I used. You could actually feel it binding on way or the other while it cycled thru. Can't do that with a computer. I guess I'm Ole School
Check out the caster and pinion angle compared to the second pic. It hardly changes.
It would have gone lower, but hit floor. Now I know the drag and trac bar are not hooked-up, but still.
I really think some longer travel shocks are in order.
I'll have to have another drive shaft made up because this axle is pushed forward also.
I'm thinking that the way a 4 link keeps the pinion angle the same that it should be u-joint friendly? You guys with a 4 link can chime in on this point.


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A front view. I think that lame looking drooped engine bracket will be changed tomorrow, if I have any thing to do with it.

I really believe that once I get the drag link hook-upped, that I will need to raise the left hand side of the track bar and maybe lower the right hand side to keep the same shallow angle of the drag link.
And the more level the less the trac bar wants to pull the axle over.
I know by changing the rear track bar that it made a tremendous difference in the rear wanting to push the truck sideways. That's another reason I don't want a real high suspension lift.

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Of coarse I would have not been able to achieve this flex without cutting the engine brace, especially with no suspension lift.
Can't wait to hit the trails and also pull the pin on the wristed rear radius amr suspension.

Now I can concentrate on finishing up the axle itself and getting the knuckle drilled and taped.

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Hmm, think I need to post this on craig list or the for sale thread on this site.
Those arms served me well for over 3 years. And tracked as straight as an arrow. The part that hooks to frame uses the same bushing as an Ex. In fact I modified an X rear arm hook-up.
Oh ya, one other thing, set up for coilovers.
 






Going to work on the engine cross member this morning.
 






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Working on that lame looking engine cross member.
Again as I said about one of my other mods, this is not For the faint hearted to cut through your engne cross member.
I made some scratches were my preliminary cuts will be made.
I must have also marked the front brake line, cause it was cut also :(
I had no idea when I started this SAS that something that effects maintenance and the way the SAS performs would transpire like the modifications of the existing cross member.
This modification to the engine brace was worth it if I was not putting in a solid axle.
It's just a breeze to get to the pan. For right now it won't be removable, but I have plans that will incorporate removable brackets so I can actually pull pan off while engine is still in truck. Yoo Ra.

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Got to admit, that's just plain not right.
What I also did was to remove that 4x4 wooden post to see how much if any the engine moved downward with just the front installed . Absolutely none.
But still for fabbing up purposes I want all welds to be done as if the engine was out of there. That means no weight on cross member.
Also one day I'll yank those motor mounts and make up a set of all steel mounts. I think all I have to do is to jack up the engine about an inch and remove them.
May even relocate engine about 1/2" towards pass. side for more header clearance around front universal joint.

By no stretch of the imagination is it done.
 






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Putting the finishing touches on the engine cross member.
Were you see the old cross member that goes across the 1.5" x 1.5"x .250" angle, it has been cut so that it is flush with the top of the angle including the part that you see that is perpendicular that sticks out over.
Then I need to cut off those wings that stick out below.

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Pulling in back side for welding

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Here is the back side I'm talking about.
Since I have no other build to look at for this, the secret was not to cut too much the first time. Easy to cut off, harder to add on.

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I added the little intermediate tubing. The top of the tube is welded to the original top piece that I cut off, again just cut enough and then cut less then that. Then trim for fit. Time consuming, but a year from now I'll never remember the time spent anyway.
Now the engine mounts sets directly above the boxed in area.
Now I have the room I want under the oil pan for proper assembly of the 4 link. Not to mention it is even more structurally sound.
If there was some way to fasten a chain fall to this. You could easily pull the whole truck up in the air.

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Hey, wasn't there a huge cross member there and drop brackets?
 






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Before


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After
 






Dang, you work fast. :p:

Looks good.
 



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Dang, you work fast. :p:

Looks good.

It's amazing how much time you can spend in the garage when the In-laws are up from Texas :salute:
 






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