Something w/ rabbits. 72.5 pages of BS

So seeing as spring is just around the corner, I thought I'd start a thread on the future undertaking of swapping in the Dana 60.

The axle is from a 1986 "Fawwd" F-threee "fitty", sporting some kingpins and a whole lot of rust. I took this axle apart a few months ago (except stupid me didnt remove the pinion nut before breakdown ) and had it hot tanked. I wanted it sandblasted, but the machine shop owner smirked and said "naaah yo, that junx is too big for my blasting cabinet" .. okay except he didn't really say that cauz he's old and a really cool guy. ANyways *twirls blonde hair*, this is my plaannn:

- WMS-WMS this axle is just a bit over 69" wide so I'm going to cut the passenger's side down a few inches to match 'ye ol General Motors 14-bolt axle. So this is going to require custom axle shafts and I think I'm going to go Chromos and 35-spline outers off the bat from the most awesome guys at Complete Off Road.

- Drive flange or lockouts? They are about the same in price and its a dedicated trail rig so I'm leaning towards the drive flanges. Right now, the cheapest flanges I found are the Teraflexes at $180 for a pair. If anyone knows of a better deal, please let me know !!

- High-steer arms and a double-ended hydroponics goodness ("cylinder").

- Opposite-ended panhard bar! The idea is to mount the chassis end of the panhard on the passenger's side frame rail and the axle end on the driver's side. Doing so should allow a more simple and cleaner design since the axle-mount can be mounted on top of or near the differential housing, instead of a tower on the passenger's side (like in my current D44 setup). I also plan to boost the panhard as far up as possible to increase the roll center of the front suspension. Yeah the concept is a little strange but I'm hoping it'll work and won't have any issues (no drag-link to factor into the design). But if anyone knows of any problem running this config, please chime in!

*EDIT*
- Detoit Locker for the carrier. I'm please with how the Detroit in the 14-bolt has performed so I figured I'd run the same in the front. Of course 5.13s to match the 14-bolt.


So here's the little guy, he's been in this position for the past few months just collecting dust:

 

[IZwack]

Nice meeting you Lefy -- have a safe trip back up North!

 

[cybergasm]

So now that you have the knuckles off what's going back in it place?

 

[IZwack]

So now that you have the knuckles off what's going back in it place?

Whats going back in its place? The same knuckles I knocked off. I'll clean em up a bit before putting them back on.

I didnt have to remove them but I did have to knock them loose at least to rotate them for proper caster angle. But I would rather just remove them completely and slide them back in at the right angle because hitting the knuckles sideways means I would probably start to elongate the kingpin holes on the top or bottom "ears" of each knuckle-- which is bad. Plus with them off, the axle housing is a few pounds lighter - making it easier to position during the suspension fab process.

 

[cybergasm]

ahh ok i see now i just thought you putting some different knuckles on there

 

[IZwack]

I think interco makes a sticky in 15's on thier website.

Are these tires available to the general public? If so, any idea where?

No rush though, tires are months away.

 

[Lefy]

yeah thanks IZ nice meeting you too and thanks for the bumper and that trip wasn't as bad as I expected I ended up hanging in Westminster for the afternoon. then heading home. lots of coffee was consumed

 

[sn0border88]

what meats are you thinkin about runnin?

*Cough 42" SX Cough*

 

[IZwack]

Thats a little on the big side of the spectrum but yeah that might work -- I'll see how the clearance goes once the suspension is all said and done.

 

[IZwack]

So I'm planning to yank out all the AC stuff sometime this week -- I know I can just disconnect the lines and let the refrigerant escape. But is there a more "professional" way of doing this w/o punching a hole in the ozone layer?

 

[section525]

You need something like this:

Recover it into a container, take it to NJ, then let it go.

 

[IZwack]

Well frack, that sounds very involved

 

[95exploderboy]

If you want to be proper, you could pay a shop to evac it. Thats about all u can do besides letting it run wild n free.

 

[IZwack]

Darf -- I was really hoping not to move the Explorer anymore cauz I've already started stripping it, but maybe I'll put it on the trailer one more time to get the refrigerant sucked out.

 

[section525]

I've heard that we were switched from r12 to r134 because the 134 was safe for the enviornment. False?

 

[jwrezz]

Recover it into a container, take it to NJ, then let it go.

Yeah, yeah, blame your California smog on NJ. Thanx a lot.

 

[IZwack]

I've heard that we were switched from r12 to r134 because the 134 was safe for the enviornment. False?

OOf you're right!!

Replacement refrigerants must be reviewed by EPA. Of the refrigerants that EPA has found acceptable, HFC-134a is the only refrigerant vehicle manufacturers recommend as a replacement for CFC-12. HFC-134a is ozone-safe and is used in the production of all new vehicle air conditioning systems.

http://www.epa.gov/Ozone/title6/609/consumers/tipsheet.html

 

[SuRrEaLNJ]

if you do let it go free keep in mind that it is heavier than air, capable of asphyxiating you, and can cause flash frostbyte.

 

[IZwack]

Wow thanks for the tip NJ -- I'll be sure to stay clear of the relief valve looking thing (fill port?)

 

[IZwack]

Spent a little bit with the Explorer today -- began stripping the front and some of the interior (the hydraulics and the winch stuff).

And started to label everything I disconnect.

The Plan For The Front
The plan, beside the cage doodad, is to move the engine/trans/transfer case back maybe 6". This will require tucking the engine into the firewall so the body will have to be cut and a new tunnel made. The dash will go away and I'll probably bend up some aluminum as replacement. Part of the new tunnel will be removable for transmission access so the body lift will be either removed or chopped down to 1" or whatever.

With the engine moved back, the rest of the chassis in front of the engine mount will get chopped. The front axle centerline will also move forward a few inches (maybe 3"?) which should allow the front axle to come way up into where the chassis used to be - and in front of the moved engine. This will also allow a really high and horizontal panhard bar for better roll center.

The body will probably be boat-sided with 1/4" plate for the feel-good gliding over obstacles sessions.


As for the back, well that comes later . But the overall goal is to keep the vehicle really low to minimize roll.

 

[sn0border88]

can you see how long you stub shafts are, I may have use for them.