The Black Pearl SAS and build

[KurtECV]

Time for a breather. It happens. If it was easy, everybody would do it. Your good.

Attack it again in a few days.

Might just use 1/4 plate instead of 3/8

 

[KurtECV]

So i got a little done this labor day. NOT what i wanted to do unfortunately.

Finally got a rock slider painted. Still need to finish the passenger side, that was on the to-do list monday, but i started painting the drivers side late and couldnt mount the drivers side to make sure they matched

And built the little bracket for the White and amber Olympus Off-Road First Responder pod lights. The outside amber lights flash in different patterns and the center is just a white beam.

The mounting bolts are just hand tight right now so they are a little crooked. Pulled the little L-brackets off and painted them.

 

[KurtECV]

And at the suggestion of Gman, late last night i decided to weld up the holes i wasted time drilling out in the 3/8 rear bumper brackets to try and salvage them... but that means i have to drill them out again

 

[KurtECV]

But on a good note, the winch did put in a little bit of work this weekend.

Got tired of mowing around that stupid stump that was rotted out really bad and just pulled it out.

 

[gmanpaint]

And at the suggestion of Gman, late last night i decided to weld up the holes i wasted time drilling out in the 3/8 rear bumper brackets to try and salvage them... but that means i have to drill them out again

Try not to burn up the bits this time! lol

Measure twice, drill once?

 

[KurtECV]

Try not to burn up the bits this time! lol

Measure twice, drill once?

MeAsUrE tWiCe, DrIlL oNcE

Lmao

 

[KurtECV]

So the explorer clutch setup is a no-go. The bearing retainer shaft is 36.XXmm (1.43") od.

But it seems that there are a lot of options for hyro clutches in the 1.375 (1 3/8).

I have a hookup at a local machine shop in town. It wouldn't take much for them to throw that bearing retainer on the lathe and machine it down 0.055 depending on the thickness of that retainer tube.

Unlike the explorer throw out bearing and slave which rides directly around the spinning input shaft, the np435 throw out bearing is self-centering and rides on the clutch fork and SLIDES forward/back (clutch released/engaged respectively) on the retaining tube (which is not spinning at anytime.) and the input shift is spinning within the retaining tube.

 

[KurtECV]

Finally got my white LEDs wired up.

Still need to find my micro switch for the Amber first responder LEDs. They are just jumped right now.

The Amber lights will run independently from the white. They have three functions sold, flashers and alternating flashing.

 

[KurtECV]

Not much work done Tonight but I got the holes welded up on the 3/8 bumper plates. Going to line them back up tomorrow and try again lol

And the new switches for the LEDs mounted. Doesn't look too bad.

 

[KurtECV]

SO it looks like the rear bumper build is now put on hold until further notice...

Last night while drilling out some holes, my corded dewalt drill finally gave out on me after years of hard use. there was smoke and sparks...

while running a step bit on my little 1.3hp bench-top drill press, somehow i bent the spindle on it, took it completely apart and checked run-out on the spindle itself and sure enough it has a wobble to it.

I think something is telling me not to build this bumper!

 

[410Fortune]

or its time for new tools!! so you CAN build the bumper

 

[KurtECV]

Yeah i am looking into getting a floor mounted drill press with a 5/8 chuck... hopefully go get that tonight if it isnt sold. Edit: annnnnd it sold lol

Just called Porter Cable about my 3/8 corded drill that went out a few weeks ago (right after i tossed the box, and most likely the receipt) and they are just going to sent me out another one.

They dont want the damaged one sent back, so i guess ill have spare parts lol

 

[KurtECV]

Finally got the Black Pearl on the trail this last weekend. Myself, Gman and my son Landon spent the weekend at Southern Missouri Off-Road Ranch (SMORR)

I had put my rig on the toy hauler to trap it down and one of the E-Trax for the front tire straps pulled out from a small section of rotted wood... TWO MINUTES before @gmanpaint showed up!
I thought i had it planned perfectly to be damn near ready to go by the time he got to my house.

Well after we replaced that section of wood, we decided to to grease the joints on gmans rig, and found busted passenger CV boots so i decided to bring his rig to my dealership and swap the shafts due to having a lift and tons of tools available.. Well i wasnt thinking about the no outside work at the shop without a repair Order at my dealer, and just got my butt chewed for it from the boss. MY FAULT! I was only thinking about getting on the road, and every minute counted at the time.

Finally gassed up and on the road at sunset (we were planning on leaving at 1400), snapped a pic of gman outrunning me with the 5.0. Got the camp setup in the dark and at first light after camp details and breakfast we made our way to the RTI ramp (approx 30*)

52 inches i think is pretty respectable for all the "thats good enough" work thats been done to the rig.

We are pretty sure that my shocks are now the limiting factor with the new heep 241 PPI coils on the front. We sat at the RTI ramp for a bit checking things out and making metal notes on where to permanently mount steel and rubber brake lines, figuring out limit straps and all that minor detail stuff.

My navigator trying to make heads and tails of where we were at!

We headed to some level 2 and 3 trails for the day of wheeling.

Figured that would be a good shot for gman to put in his scrapbook

And after a damn good day of wheeling with family and friends. He is down for the count! It was on the cool side saturday night so i wrapped him put and he slept in the rig for about an hour.

But as i figured, he promptly woke up when i mentioned Smores

Thanks to @gmanpaint and everyone on the forum for the guidance and motivation to get this swap done!

but are they ever REALLY done??

 

[gmanpaint]

Good time for sure! Landon cracked me up constantly! Kids a hoot.

Man I'm looking old. (crap..... I am old)

The Black Pearl did very well out there. It will take a few trips after changing / adding parts to fine tune it, and like you say... It never ends.

I have to return the notion, and thank you for all the help over the last 2 years ironing out all the electrical problems on my rig. I wouldn't have made it out there last weekend, if you didn't help with the repairs. We said we would make a trip this year, and we pushed hard at it to make it happen. Cut a bit close, but hey, that's how we roll around here.

 

[KurtECV]

I may throw the rig back on the hauler as an RTI ramp and take some measurements before turning the suspension, to have a constant to gauge improvements. Without waiting to go to an off road park with an actual RTI ramp.

 

[KurtECV]

Back at it monday night, with the direction of gman.
Removed the front shocks, extended and compressed the front suspension to measure for new, longer shocks.

I did not snap a picture of it at full droop cause my forklift jack (you can see in under the radius arm cross member in the picture) leaks down at a steady rate.

That is about full compression, i have about a finger and a half width before the top of the Diff hits the engine cross member.

compressed i am sitting at 18.00 inches OC
extended i am sitting at 27.50 inches OC

so a 28+ extended, 17 compressed shock should do well i believe.

 

[KurtECV]

Rancho RS9000XL Shock Absorber - P/N: RS999028

I am thinking these are going to work.

Opinions?

 

[gmanpaint]

Those are pretty close to your posted measures.

Those shocks work well until you dent one. I ran them for years, and liked them for the most part. They can only be installed with the shafts up, and best not to use the boots. They trap silt and ruin the shafts/seals. Best thing I liked about them is they are a larger 3" can (dual gas/oil charge), and can tune the front to the rear by adjusting them.

Buy an extra set of adjustment knobs while you can if you get them. They tend to fly off when hit. lol

 

[KurtECV]

Those are pretty close to your posted measures.

Those shocks work well until you dent one. I ran them for years, and liked them for the most part. They can only be installed with the shafts up, and best not to use the boots. They trap silt and ruin the shafts/seals. Best thing I liked about them is they are a larger 3" can (dual gas/oil charge), and can tune the front to the rear by adjusting them.

Buy an extra set of adjustment knobs while you can if you get them. They tend to fly off when hit. lol

Yeah i am still interested in those MS2020 shocks by James Duff, made by eibach (sp?)

They use DOM for the shock body, no measurements besides travel listed on DuffTuff.com. I emailed their tech guy yesterday but he was out of the office.

 

[gmanpaint]

So I guess Duff just uses the static measure you provide, to figure the collapsed & extended rates for you? We already know you want a 10" travel at the minimum, but they do offer 12" & 15" too.

I would talk to them on the phone and ask about the shock rates before purchasing. They do sound pretty nice to me. Made in the USA baby!