So... I finally got the back ordered pieces for my axle last week and have been working hard ever since. I ran into a little snag last week when I ran out of gas (for the welder) so I had to wait till this weekend to finish the work (damn real job.. lol).

Last we left off I had just added the skid plate and fill plug.
(nevermind the arrow..lol)



Since then I have added a breather. Since the stock one would be covered up I took it off and filled it in. The new one went on the back with a weld on bung and aluminum -8 AN fitting.

Breather Hole


Bung


AN Fitting


Breather




Stock Breather Hole Filled



Now the fun begins. The upper link mounts.

Crown Piece Mockup


Tab's Mockup


Tab's Tacked




Tab's Welded




Crown Welded




Trim Mockup




Trim Welded


Top Tacked


Top Welded






Limit Strap Tabs




And We Are Done!




It is sitting right now with a coat of POR-15 drying. It just needs to go to Currie to be straightened then I can get the breaks on and finish assembling it.

What do you think?

 

Did the heat from all the welding warp the housing? The tubes? What all needs to get straightened? How do they even do that?

That looks really good! What goodies are going inside it?

 

looks like it weighs about 900 lbs now, but could fight 30 elephants blindfolded. So you win!

 

The axle tubes warp from the heat. I preloaded it before welding the truss, but I don't fully trust just that.

What they do is cut the ends off, run a strightning rod (basicly a 'true' solid rod) through the center then weld the ends back on.

Plan is 4.56's and a detroit.. but I haven't gotten that stuff yet so who knows.

 

DAM* thats one hell of an axle!!


looks great man, if it didnt weigh so much i would have u fab me one haha

 

holy crap man, that looks awesome. why did you go 4 link instead of 3? what lower links are you going to run?

i need to call you sometime this week, what are you doing for presidents?

also... i might want your leafs when you are all done with em

 

very nice Jason.

Looks great. Alot of work into that. Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

not to affend anyone else and if I do I am sorry.

That is the most impressive "mod" I have seen anyone post on any forum I have ever been on. Just my .02

 

lots of welding man..

now lemme ask you a question it might be dumb but im new to this link stuff..

how do you know the angles of the link bars comin off the axle..

 

damn thats awsome... those welds are amazing

 

Lots of measuring and experimenting with link lengths, mounting locations, etc. etc. You can find a 4-link calculator that will help you to estimate your squat, anti-squat, articulation, droop, etc. once your input your intended lengths, seperation, and link design. It can get really complicated really quickly.

Jason, could you describe this preload you're talking about? Could you mock up some sort of jig to attach the axle to while welding to keep it from warping? I'm imagining a metal frame that attaches to the pumpkin and bolts in at the brake flanges to keep everything straight while you're welding.

 

The only reason I went 4 instead of three was simplicity. Though looking back now it probably wouldn't have been much more difficlut.. lol.. That and going with Giant I just had Geoff put the uppers together for me so I wouldn't have to. With as much as I'm working and how little time I'm going to have to do this I didn't want to mess with it.

Lowers are Giant WIY.. those are next on the list to be built, just need to procure a TIG.

Presidents. Dove Springs.

I'll let you know when I get ready to pull the springs.

This thing is probably somewhere between 70 and 100lbs now, its just heavy and awkward enough now where it is difficult to carry by my self, but not impossible. With all the guts in it it should be around 200lbs.

Think more low tech. I just had the axle on saw horses with the third member opening down, attached a chain to each end through the axle flange bolt holes. Then I placed a hydrolic bottle jack inside the housing sitting on the chain and applied presure until it pulled the ends down 1/4". Welded it up a realeased. Welding on a truss like this warps the housing ~1/4" so bending it the other way first counteracts the force of the heat. But I still don't fully trust it so off to Currie it goes!

Thanks guys!

 

damn those are some beee-a-utifull welds! nice work.

 

Cool! How much does it cost to get an axle straightened like that? i can't imagine it would be cheap...

 

Dang Jason that looks good!

 

$50bucks. It takes all of like 10 minutes to do it. Set the axle on the jig, cut the ends off, run the rod through, reweld ends, done.

 

Wow that's alot of work and it looks good!

 

atta boy man!

So you chose MIG over TIG b/c of avaliability? right on.

yeah, i'd hit that.