Solid axle ?'s

[riffman]

most places your tires have to be even with the fenders to be legal..and some still want to drive thiers on the street. im actually gettin ready to convert to full width, and i have stumbled upon a dana 60 front too!! so ill have dual 60's in a few months...WEEEEEEE!!!!!

 

[91xltTerd]

Here in GA that may be a law, but there a lot of other trucks and jeeps driving around that have tires that stick out and I've never heard of them getting a ticket for it. I don't know I sorta don't pay attention to laws like that around here.

 

[riffman]

hmm...well i do..i got a ticket for my sploder being too tall a while back...thats one of the reasons i quit driving it on the road....hehe...and cause i lost my license...lol...but thats besides the point!

 

[Oknut]

Here's what I think.

If you go taller, go wider at the same time. and when you've already got the dana 44 in the front and gone trough all the hard work, why have it back to stock ? just to have it legal ? well screw legal, get a trailor and show of the beautiful beast that you have spent all this time and money on.

And if it's to wide, make or build some fender flares that cover the tires. how hard can that be if you've already managed to put a dana 44/dana 60 straight axle in ?

I guess people have their own opinions about 4xing. but all I know is if you don't go big, tall and a lot of power you wont be able to hang with the with the big boys. All you'll be able to do is back yard boggin. Sorry but it's the truth.

I have nothing against explorers that are lowered, or have a 6 inch lift, I actually like em. But once you start upgrading to the point where it could be a sweet rig, go all the way and don't look back. because down the road your gonna wish you did it anyway.

 

[riffman]

preach it brotha!!

hells yea knut! i totally agree!

 

[tiessen]

Well, as important as laws, up here in BC we have lots of trails that fullwidth truck can't go. When you're climbing on rocks, low CofG is the key. If you're muddin', well that's a different story. Sorry OKNUT, your rig is fly but it wouldn't cut it on most the trails up here. Different strokes for diffin' folks.

Cheers
Dale

 

[Oknut]

If your talking about little wooded trails that ony samuri's and jeeps can go on, no I'm to wide, but any normal trail that a full width truck can fit on so can I. PLus I love muddy hill climbs.

And your right it's whatever you wanna do with your rig

 

[BislamJoe]

Absolutely - It's all about what you prefer to do! Like Oknut - his rig is absolutely awesome! But I'd rather have a TTB with 4"-6" of lift, some hella travel and 35's or 37's. That would better meet my needs for basic 'wheelin', and would let me do the stuff I like. :smoke:

 

[tiessen]

Right, you crazy prerunners like the TTB! Going fast is way cool, I'd love to go somewhere like that. Up here in BC, it's all slow, slow, slow.

 

[BislamJoe]

Crazy is right! Hopefully once I get my truck built, I'll be able to do a little rock-crawlin' too... But my focus is FAST. hehe :smoke:

 

[expobronc]

Originally posted by tiessen
Ya, I redrilled the drums...but a smarter thing to do is buy the drums from a wrecked F150 or Bronco rear end with an 8.8". The backing plate is the same (Ie: bolt right up).

are you SURE about this??? i'm talking to a guy that will give me a set of drum brakes from his 95 bronco but he says the bolt holes on the backing plate measure 3" x 2"

on my x they measure 3.5" x2" is this just a bronco thing?? would the f-150 be different?? maybe i'll try to sneak into a dealership and get some measurements tomarrow

i have no idea why the bronco would have a smaller backing plate than an explorer but....

p.s. he sent me pic and if my math isnt too rusty he's right and they are 3x2" : (

 

[tiessen]

No, I'm not sure. Check, then double check, then check again. I just eyed them up and thought, "hey, those are the same size".

Let us all know. It may be in the plans sometime.

Cheers
Dale

 

[expobronc]

well i just got home from a little flashlight and tape measure run to the local ford dealer (hear the mission impossible music playin?) and a 92 4x2 ford f-150 with an automatic and the 8.8 rear had a bolt spacing of 2 x 3.5" looks like it will work. so did the bronco use a different axle, switch sometime before 95 ( i doubt because JBG only sells one rear disc kit) or maybe the guy measured from the inside of the holes instead of the on center like i did??

well its only like $18 to ship them so what do i have to lose.... right, $18 just kidding im not THAT cheap!!!

 

[expobronc]

Originally posted by Oknut
Here's what I think.

If you go taller, go wider at the same time. and when you've already got the dana 44 in the front and gone trough all the hard work, why have it back to stock ?

> what??? just cause its same width you consider it stock again?? huh??<

just to have it legal ? well screw legal, get a trailor and show of the beautiful beast that you have spent all this time and money on.

>mine is a daily driver not a trailer queen sorry! <

And if it's to wide, make or build some fender flares that cover the tires. how hard can that be if you've already managed to put a dana 44/dana 60 straight axle in ?

>not hard but actualey more expensive than cutting them down <


I guess people have their own opinions about 4xing. but all I know is if you don't go big, tall and a lot of power you wont be able to hang with the with the big boys. All you'll be able to do is back yard boggin. Sorry but it's the truth.

>i kind of like the idea of a smaller rig, thats why im not building a full size bronco or an expy! i like the idea of being able to fit almost anywhere<

I have nothing against explorers that are lowered, or have a 6 inch lift, I actually like em. But once you start upgrading to the point where it could be a sweet rig, go all the way and don't look back. because down the road your gonna wish you did it anyway.

sorry just adding fuel to the fire

 

[Oknut]

Hey expobronc,

All I was saying is that if you go taller go wider. and if you have the upgraded axles, they can handle more power. Now this is what I don't understand. you are all worried about cost and size,. so why don't you just get a 2.5 inch lift from james duff and call it good ?

Your opinion is fine and i'm sure alot of people will like it.

And if you wanna fit in all the small places get a jeep willis..

The bottom line is your to cheap to go all the way.

BTW, I thought we were on the subject of solid axle swaps. not narrow is better.

 

[expobronc]

hes right i am too cheap

but i did get my axle 90% dissasembled today in prep to have it narrowed. i just cant find a shop in my area (let alone Iowa) that can do the work. anybody know a good shop in the twin-cities??

oknut, you know i'm just messing your rig is AWESOME but honestly just too much for my needs. mine will be a daily driver. my early bronco is gonna be my off-road beast

 

[Oknut]

Sounds good.

 

[expobronc]

okay okay okay i am at a witts end! i cant find anyplace locally that can cut this thing down to size so...

somebody earlier stated that they had cut their own. how hard it that?? does that inside end have to be machined flush? is a bandsaw enough of a straight cut for it?? how did you align the two ends? i know if those tubes are off you will never get it to handle correctly. im not worried about pulling the axle in to two pieces because honestly its half way there already.

if i cant get this done at a shop or within 100 miles and i cant do it my self than Oknut wins and i go full width all-around. the only problem is that it will look funny as hell cause im only going up 6 inches...


:fire: :fire: :fire: :mattmoon:

 

[tiessen]

Any machine shop CAN do the work. Drill out rosebud wends on pumpkin, pull the tube, cut 6", press in, weld in rosebuds again. Don't try a 4x shop, they are useless. A quality machine shop should be able to do it for about $150. Just don't tell them you're putting it under the X. Tell them it's for some farm equipment or something so they don't freak about liability. As for the axleshaft, send it to Moser, Dutchman, LeJeune Engineering, Warn.

Cheers
Dale

 

[expobronc]

all i am really worried about is lining up the two ends and making the axle houseing perfectly straight. is there some kind of easy to make jig for this? i dont know why all the machines shops around here are such ******* about this, doesnt seem like anyone wants to touch it. oh well thanks guys we will see what happens i guess