MiNi Beast Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 You could use bumpers to create subframe, what I did front and rear and then welded crossmember as well(don't recommend that, you have good crossmember setup) plating behind cab would help I gather, but keep in mined with the unibody setup we also have a uniframe setup in the back, which in itself flexes out to a certain degree. Which is not a bad thing, but a couple additions to tie the two rails together would help with twisting overall, hence a cage be more ideal. I wanna say there is a cage kit available currently as someone just bought one and I can't think of his name, bought it was had for $1k. Which isn't bad for a bolt in setup, a thought. I look for it as I was interested in it myself and ill post it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dyasko Posted November 9, 2021 Author Share Posted November 9, 2021 I've been slammed with work for the last couple months. I finally had time last week to get the new axle swapped in. I had the gears all done in June, and everything else was mostly done by July so it's just been sitting in the garage for months. Goodbye Dana 30. The tie rod looks tiny compared to the new stuff... Fitted into place The goal was to stretch 1.5" forward to get larger tires centered in the wheel well. Ran into problems right away with track bar mount location. I would also have problems with the drag link interfering with the tie rod at full compression. Ended up only stretching about 3/4", but still had issues with the track bar and the truss. Decided to redo the track bar mount. Plated the underside with 3/16" to better distribute the force Repurposed the bottom half of my RE bracket, but trimmed about 3/4" off the top of it for less of a drop. Used a yardstick to get it lined up decently. I wanted to reuse the RE track bar, knowing I'd just need to cut it down about 5 inches and redo the bushing on the end for the wider 2" bracket on the TNT truss. Made new bushing out of 2"x0.25" wall DOM and some bushings I had lying around. It was a little interesting getting this to a tight slip fit using only a portaband and hand files. It became obvious that the bends in the RE track bar just weren't going to work for me. Luckily I had 30" of 1.5" tube leftover from the Ruffstuff steering kit I used. It didn't need as much bend as the RE since the axle side mount is higher than stock. Just a enough to keep it from hitting the pumpkin and oil pan at full compression. Crappy picture but it got it to clear the pan and pumpkin perfectly with just a little room to spare for bump stop compression. Made some nifty spring retainers to fit under the pucks I'm bad at remembering to take pictures but here's everything done and in place after the first couple test drives. Steering is solid. I was able to get the track bar and drag link with 0.5 deg of each other and no bump steer. Most importantly though no weird noises or stuff falling off in the first 30 mi! Made sure to drive like I'm breaking in new gears, but it doesn't really seem like it'd matter much on front gears. I locked the hubs so it'd spin at least...I think I need to go wheel to really break em in right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dyasko Posted November 9, 2021 Author Share Posted November 9, 2021 Was up in big bear last month. Plan was get up there late, camp and run John Bull and holcomb creek the next day. Decided to take gold mountain on the way out and snapped a main leaf on the last 100 yards of gold mountain. Talk about the last place I thought I'd have a problem! It broke right where the stock clamp bolt ran across. There is a indent in this spot front and back on my other springs and even on the junkyard pack I bought after this. It had obviously cracked prior to this trip since there was rust about halfway through it when I inspected it the next day. Luckily because of how it wedged itself into the frame, we were able to limp it to a flat spot and camp the night. Got it somewhat decent with a ratchet strap, hi-lift and bottle jack and drove out the next day. Now I'm glad I pay the extra $40 for AAA 300 mile towing.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 9, 2021 Share Posted November 9, 2021 wow! you might be the first person I've ever seen have a failure at that point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dyasko Posted November 10, 2021 Author Share Posted November 10, 2021 23 hours ago, Pete M said: wow! you might be the first person I've ever seen have a failure at that point. Lucky me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dyasko Posted November 10, 2021 Author Share Posted November 10, 2021 My battle with the ARB in the 8.8 continues… Spun the seal housing again and broke the copper line. Thought for sure I finally had a enough carrier preload when I set this up last November. Not sure if I try to slam it in even tighter or what? 14 bolts have a “seal housing bracket” that bolts to the cap and prevents it from spinning, wonder if I could make one for this application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 what is it you mean by "spun the housing"? it sounds bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dyasko Posted November 10, 2021 Author Share Posted November 10, 2021 2 hours ago, Pete M said: what is it you mean by "spun the housing"? it sounds bad. The seal housing is the part that the copper line is attached to and it’s supposed to be static. There are 2 o rings on the inside journal and the carrier rotates independently. If it does spin, the copper line moves with it and contacts the ring gear which is what happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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