DirtyComanche

Yeah, just spray it with a good cleaner. I wouldn't worry about putting a peice of plate in there. You can though. Personally I'd use 7018. But it's not like it matters. The weld doesn't really have to be that strong. It just has to fill the teeth well enough. 7018 fills quicker - saves time. Besides, it's actually ment to be used on high strength steels. I know guys that welded theirs with stainless rod (Uh?), and others just used 6010/6011 or 6013 (the farmer's rods). Or 7014. Oh, coat the ring and pinion with grease if you're afraid of getting splatter on them.

The ford knuckles are weak. I don't know ford's reasoning, but both their D60 and D44 knuckles suck because they made them 'lighter'. At least, I'm pretty sure all the D44 ones are the same.

You can get a crush sleeve eliminator for a D30. About $20. And you can normally put the carrier shims outside of the bearings/races if you want. It's just not 'by the book' on all axles - but trust me, it is still often done (professionally).

You can always try running it on MEK, acetone, toulene, or methyl hydrate when you go for the test! (don't...) It's amazing what people will do to try to pass. I'd assume they do the 15/25 test on a dyno? If so - get some studded tires. They won't run those on a dyno unless they're stupid. At least, in BC(where they do test), they'll let you off with only an idle test if you have them. I'm lucky, I don't have any of it.

You should have seen the pros I had do my front! *Smack* (swearing) "Well, the bearing still turns. I think it'll be alright." *Smack smack SMACK* "Man, if I used the press this would be way easier." -We go over to the press- *Whirrrrr POP* (sweaing) "Well, I think we just broke the press..." I think I'll do my own next time. :roll: Everything was eyeballed. At least we used a torque wrench a couple times. But, what do you expect for HD mechanics; especially when you're paying with beer. In reality it isn't very hard. The FSM makes it BLOODY CONFUSING! You'll want to make setup bearings (get some old bearings and file/grind out the inside) and take your time and you'll probably be alright. If they aren't, they'll grenade pretty quick.

I guess. (I built the shock mounts FOR the shocks...)

Well, no... That's where things get fun with the D44 fronts. Certain years (Uh, 86-89?) had a vacuum disconnect! It's similar to the D30 one, but is on the short side of the axle, and is cast INTO the gear housing. They are considered highly undesirable! I don't know if you can even convert them to being a one-peice shaft setup. Also, the increased size of the cast nodular iron centre section will cause issues if you have difficulty welding to it. Parts books also show some changes to the brakes, and little things. Try to remember what year axle you have if you get one - I don't recall what mine is at all.

Ya know, hydro-assist deals with all those front mini-spool problems...

FWIW, both of mine do that. That is, without any of the vacuum BS. Along with every NP231 and 242 I've delt with. They don't engage/disengage if there's any load on them. So, pavement = takes a long time. Dirt = a while. Pure ice = instant.

Oddball Q, but does that sunroof on your truck leak at all? I'd imagine that as pictured, it would leak pretty good. :brows: Sunroofs always leak. Only on new cars do they not...

But, with a 2" lift and some lower BS rims, it won't rub the LCAs. Of course, then you need longer bumpstops or you'll hammer your fenders. Or just cut the fenders... I run 31x10.5s on my DD cherokee on a 2"~ budget lift.

IDK man, i just wanna know if i CAN substitute a dakota ax15 for my ax5. second gear is starting to die real bad on it... Go onto pirate 4x4... Wait, google search pirate 4x4 by typing 'www.pirate4x4.com: 2.5L AX-5 AX-15 swap' or such and you'll find a massive thread on how they did it. Somebody (novak, AA?) now makes the bellhousing to do it without visiting the junkyard. And you should be able to used the dakota AX-15 - it will have the same style of output (spline count might vary) and stud pattern for a 6-stud aluminum NP tcase - ie; 90% of them, including jeep applications.

Those FCs are kinda neat. But I'd never wheel one... Apparently without the counterweight they are CRAZY front heavy and like to endo. And with it they're jsut heavy. The MJ looks good. I actually really like those rims.

I made the mistake of trying to help somebody (that was stuck in the bush) that I don't know... End result is I didn't have my DD for 3 days and now there's glass all over the interior :headpop: But, you should be able to trade the ranger for a MJ if you keep your head up and your eyes open.

Yeah, other than you're at least partially wrong. Pipe is measured by the ID - sorta. It's based on a system that has been around for 90 years or something, and they varied the wall size over time as metalgury improved - resulting in an ID being close to the said size of the pipe. That is, providing you're talking about steel pipe. Brass, aluminum, plastics, etc are all different. And as to of pipe NOT being a structural steel - you're again at least partially wrong. There's many different types of steel pipe; most are rated on all the same points as the more commonly accepted (by the 4x4ing comunity) tubing. Probably the most common steel pipe you will see is ASTM A53 'A' or 'B' pipe - which is rated as being about 80% as strong as HREW tubing on every point. (The B type is stronger than the A) THIS PIPE IS USED IN STRUCTURAL APPLICATIONS EVERY DAY. Think buildings. I'm not advocating the use of pipe (that's up to you) but I don't like to see the standard "pipe is for poop" or "it's not structural" BS spewed all the time.

Yeah... They're about 18ga. Umm, personally, I'd skip the front leafs. It has a lot of headaches. Go look at my thread - it shows about half of the stuff I wound up building to make it work. Not to mention all the money I have in my steering now... Oh, and the tires rub because the axle is only 61.5" wide and the springs are on a 32" centre. You can't really inboard the springs any farther - so if you want to run a big tire you need a really low BS rim. A 35x12.5 on a 15x8 with 3.5" BS did not clear to full steering. A 37x12.5 on a 15x8 with 3.5" BS didn't clear either (oh - the suprise!). But given that I've done it once, I know I could do it again and have it work 10X better.

That floor... Wow.

6" of lift and you need LOTS of $#!& for the front end. Like, long arms... For a start.

How many people here have run a front spool? They don't drive bad. It's a little odd. But I had my crash course in driving with a front spool on an icy road with a dusting of snow. I'm still here... It just tends to cause a front wheel skid if you crank the steering to hard. You also can get the front tires to scream on dry pavement... But it drives FINE on dry pavement (other than the noise) and on a dirt road/trail it's never a problem. Other than the heavy steering. But I made a run with just regular ol' power steering. Yes, my arms hated me and I had to do some creative wiggling in places. If I had a better scrub radius it wouldn't be as bad. Although, I'd still never recommend it without hydro-assist. Anyways, the difference between a full carrier locker and a lunchbox locker is that a full carrier replaces your carrier and the lunchbox goes in the carrier. You have to set the clearances right on a lunchbox, or they'll be REALLY harsh/won't lock - even then sometimes people can't get them to stop ratcheting badly. On the other hand, some people have zero issues with them and find they work fine on the street and off road. A lunchbox locker is considerably weaker than a full carrier locker, and IMHO no where near as good. FWIW, an bad lunchbox locker will potentially cause failures because the locking action is so harsh and tends to shockload parts rather badly. With 36s or 37s on a D44 with stock shafts/joints I would probably count on there being a failure sooner rather than later. Not that a spool would be a help... And on the subject of upgraded axleshafts, there's really very little to know. For a D44 they're all pretty much the same - other than superior rolls their splines which is slightly better. Mostly it's a cost difference (yukons!). You'll want upgraded u-joints too (CTM, OX, Superior, and there's a few other brands). Which is better? Hell if I know - they're all stronger than the outers or hubs on a D44 - so it is kinda moot. Personally I have Yukons and superior joints.

The box4rocks is cheaper and better made than the madrooster unit... If anyone cares.

The titan stroker he speaks of using is a 4.0 stroked out to about 4.6L using an AMC258 crank, and some other stuff. As another little opinon - I'd never buy a 4.0 stroker. Maybe build one. But I doubt it. Not worth it, IMHO.

Ever seen, umm, what's the show it's on speed channel. Hmm. Fawk. Somethin-or-other customs or something... Anyways, they do 'work' on vehicles, as in blingin' rims, audio/interior, and highly expensive and decorative bolt on parts. But, they spary-paint the plastic interior peices. Using plastic spray paint. It @#$%s up sometimes, but normally looks decent. I'd be pretty pissed if I was paying some goons $100/hour (or more) to spraypaint some plastic though. But, the short answer is you can and it can look decent. Don't go too wild on the colours.

Or just don't use 4wd... I ran around with 3.07 front and 4.10 rear for a while.

Pfffffffffffffffft. I LOVE my front spool! But I have hydro-assist. Oh, and I hated it when I didn't! And I have a LSD in the rear and keep talking about welding it. Just never get around to it. It sucks compared to a spool - even though it's a very stiff LS.

Nope.