revmaynard Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Haha awesome! You drove right by me one your way/to from, I'm about 10 minutes away from Stone Mountain. I look forward to more of your updates! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 My Chinese E-bay radiator decided it didn't like the cold weather and started leaking (antifreeze was good to -35, according to my coolant tester). Swapped in another Chinese one this weekend: Radiator #2 must have been a copy of a copy as measured by a tape measure. I had to shim the air box to get clearance on the filler neck (still only have 0.040" or so). Also I had to take some 3/8" trans cooler line and shim the posts for the lower rad support. Radiator #1 had neither of these problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 Georgia finally has matching seats! Found a '93 4dr XJ sport and spliced the pass seat bottom with the driver's seat back. I pulled the 2 dr seat I had in Georgia and swapped the covers tonight. The flip forward seat covers and standard seat covers are surprisingly different...it was a PITA making the 4 dr covers fit. Old seat cover with tear, worn spot, cigarette burn: 4 dr XJ sport seat cover installed (yes it needs more scrubbing) Matching seats!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 We picked up about 10" of snow Wed evening and I loaded Georgia down with sandbags, a shovel, a blanket, some snacks, and a tow chain. For a 2WD truck she did pretty well on untreated roads. Here's what she looked like after we made it to work: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 Had a great score at the u-pull-it. I've been keeping an eye out for an external slave AX-15 for Georgia but these have proven quite elusive. Much to my surprise I came across one today!! The donor was an oddly optioned '94 Country with 168K on the clock. I've never seen a country with a manual trans. The T-case was junk (broken chain which poked a hole in the case) so it stayed in the yard. Of course Georgia is 2WD so my original plan was to strip the bellhousing & bearing retainer and leave the rest of the trans. I couldn't do it though as it was just too nice to abandon. Now I'm faced with the question of whether or not I should convert her to 4WD. I'll have to sleep on this one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted April 12, 2014 Author Share Posted April 12, 2014 Found a 123K mile front axle & T-case donor for my 4WD conversion :banana: A small jy outside of Charlotte was parting out a '96 XJ with a bad motor (rod knock). This AX-15, NP231 truck was straight and clean. We agreed on $400 for the front axle, driveshafts, NP231, and complete T-case linkage pulled and ready for me to pick up. As it looked on the ad: As it looked yesterday when I went to pick up the parts: Everything was waiting for me. I pulled the diff cover on the axle to check the R&P and everything looked good. The ID tag was on the axle & the fluid was clean. Hadn't been opened since it left Toledo: I field tested the T case by manually shifting through 2hi, neutral, 4HI, & 4LO. Pulled the fill/drain plug and the inside looked clean. Paid for everything and loaded it up: The shift linkage is in the cab and the 5 gal bucket has all the nuts & bolts (I asked them to save all the fasteners). I have to strip, clean, & catalog everything but it seems like it was well worth the drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted April 25, 2014 Author Share Posted April 25, 2014 Been working on the D30 prior to putting it in. The donor truck sat for a long time and spent a few weeks (maybe a month +) laying in the junkyard without wheels. As I started tearing it down the need for a rebuild became apparent. The truck hadn't been hit (straight axle) and the R&P and carrier bearings are good. The rest I can work with: This axle has been a b*&^h to tear down: Hub & bearings were so rusted in place that I pulled them apart instead of out: Finally got the hub & bearing assys out and went to the spindles: Spindle came out and took the upper ball stud with it. I had to put the spindle in the press and pop the studs free. U joints looked rough. They were so tight I tweaked the handle on the press removing them. This was after soaking them for 48 hrs: As found: Side gears & spiders looked questionable so I'm replacing them. Removing the roll pin and carrier pin is a royal PITA. Ended up adapting the axle bearing puller to do the job: Old gears didn't look that great but I saw that when I bought the axle: R&P looked great. Slight wear on the coast side but you can't even feel it: New & old side gears: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted April 25, 2014 Author Share Posted April 25, 2014 New Yukon Gear parts: New U joints: Working on the differential now. New ball joints are in. I'm making progress but still have a long way to go on this axle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knever3 Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 Nice work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 Thanks :). I'll keep plugging away at it :wrench: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted May 3, 2014 Author Share Posted May 3, 2014 Changing the side gears & spider gears on the D30 is ridiculously hard. It's obvious that the carrier was fully assembled and then dropped into the housing. I wrestled the new roll pin in but it put up one he&& of a fight. Ended up using a piece of 0.5" dia hot rolled bar stock and a sledge to drive it in: Had to hammer the new cross pin all the way in too, even after sitting in the freezer overnight. But the carrier is reassembled: New ball joints & bushings are in too: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted May 3, 2014 Author Share Posted May 3, 2014 My rebuilt axle. Loaded on the custom transporter: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronbo Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Love the transporter but what's under the tarp behind it? Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strokermjcomanche Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 I'd guess vette or Superbird or daytona Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComancheKid45 Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Great work. Refreshed parts always look amazing and sometimes you even feel bad putting them under the truck and outta plain sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 Great work. Refreshed parts always look amazing and sometimes you even feel bad putting them under the truck and outta plain sight. Thanks :) . I was quite happy with the way it came out. In a way I do feel bad hiding it under truck but I'm hoping to not disturb it for another 100K+ miles. I'd guess vette or Superbird or daytona Not a Mopar vehicle but, yes, there's a big girl under that car cover. She's my '65 Olds Delta 88 2 dr Holiday Hardtop. First year for the Delta trim package and has just under 51K original miles... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 2WD front axle is out: Waiting on new axle: Positioning new axle. That thing is one heavy SOB... Axle is in!!! :banana: Back on her own front wheels: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted May 10, 2014 Author Share Posted May 10, 2014 Got her aligned this morning. I was surprised by how far the caster was out. Prior to the axle transplant I was always at the low end of the caster spectrum. We pulled 3 shims out this morning (2 fat and one skinny). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 I'd meant to post progress on a regular basis and thought I wasn't that far behind but it turns out I'm way behind here :hmm: Anyway here's where Georgia is sitting now: Rebuilt the front driveshaft with new u-joints. that double cardan is a real PITA to work with: Also gutted the interior to put in the 4WD shift handle and replace the E-brake cable that let go: I replaced the input & output shaft seals on the AX-15 prior to installing it: Seal contact area looks good: Then I finally got her up in the air for the transplant: 2WD trans came out, new clutch went in: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 Test fit the '94 external slave AX-15 and the '96 NP231: Installed the trans: Installed the T-case, linkage, and front driveshaft: Put her back down on the ground, bottomed out the slip yoke and backed out 1" to measure center to center: Sourced a beefy aftermarket driveshaft from a Fox body Mustang GT and had it cut & balanced to my measurements. In case anyone is wondering D35, AX-15 with external slip yoke NP231 D/S is 41 15/16" center to center. Used 1350 to 1310 xover u-joints: Then got her back on the road. :banana: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 Ran into an issue where the 4wd was behaving erratically and traced it down to a bent linkage. I questioned the linkage when I got it but I was assured that everything in the 5 gal pail (nuts, bolts, handle, linkage, etc) was needed and in good condition. As I had no point of reference I installed it as-is. Turns out the little jy I sourced the T-case from bent the linkage badly. Fortunately I found another 4WD AX-15 donor and grabbed a replacement center link: We've had some nasty weather in the past few weeks so I've had ample opportunity to test the 4WD. Works great :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackBeast Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Looking great! Good job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 Thanks! I still have some odds & ends to sort through but I'm happy with how she turned out :). Converting her to 4WD allowed me to pick & choose later model parts that had the bugs worked out (non CAD large U joint axle, external slave AX-15, etc). I couldn't find exactly what I wanted so I had to build it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987Comanche Posted August 23, 2015 Author Share Posted August 23, 2015 Finally had a chance to partially strip the interior and install the replacement shift lever. This one came out of a '94 Country with the AW4 (handles are the same for auto and manual trans). The mom & pop junkyard that gave me a package deal on the front axle, transfer case, linkage, & driveshafts apparently let the t-case hang by the linkage. The bottom of the lever was subtly bent which caused the bushing to continually pop out. I pulled this handle myself and it's nice and straight. Put in a new Mopar bushing and swapped the handles. Works great! Old & "new". New one is rustier but straight: It's in! The bend isn't noticable unless you use a straight edge on it: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysteed Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 Great build thread! How difficult was the 4wd conversion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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