You do all the hard stuff on the housing and dont do the gears?

can and have, even bought the pinion depth gauges and such ... but excuses and complaining.

local shop is $300, should i just do it myself? i have the stock bearings to make set-up bearings from still. 9" are so much less fuss, and i did still have EMS Offroad, who i bought all the axle guts from, build the 3rd and ship it. but he was cheaper

didn't do a whole lot over the weekend, but did get some detail things together

-new master cylinder
-changed engine oil
-fill the ax-15 (was like a qt low :james:)
-d300 is still over-full n clean, so let it leak!
-cleaned up both frozen drive shaft slip yokes, for the shake down i'll just splice in tube to make them longer. also pulled the 1310 shaft off the shelf from the TJ before i went 1350, it's like brand new. it's maybe 1" to long, so i'll keep the smaller old shaft for a spare.
-front 40s are mounted on the wheels
-installed the traction bar
-installed UTV rear view mirror that clamps to the cage

and cleaned the shop, that always feels good.

the mirror should be good

https://www.kolpin.com/utv-rear-side-mirror

https://i.imgur.com/7nq3WQb.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/rTPz1fY.jpg

also took this pic to send the in-laws who got me the painting ladder for x-mas. Colin suggested i ask for it. anyone who doesn't have one needs one yesterday, anyone who has one, why didn't you tell me sooner!?! also like the worst picture ever.

https://i.imgur.com/OBdBMfS.jpg

Slick ladder, I like that! I used a cut down tree stump :lol:

KOH sweatshirt :thumbsup:

D60 dropped off this morning with the new guts to be installed! hoping to get it by end of day Friday, but he couldn't promise that.

well ... "early next week" turned into same day!

picked up the axle this morning at 7am when i dropped the wife off for work. with truck down, and the summer only tires on the vette low, she didn't want to drive it in this all-day monsoon. i didn't figure i was going to have an easy time getting the d60 into the back of the TJ.

BOOM!! Still lots to do, but that much closer.

https://i.imgur.com/5WbaEOZ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/hblYVfg.jpg

:rock:

Sick dude! I need to get back into another crawler.

i need the rear axle parts to show up ...
-rear 3rd member so i can modify the drive shaft.
-rear axle shafts in with the 3rd so i can run the axle and "turn" the brake rotors down with a grinder. dodge d60 rotors are the same as a 3/4ton chevy, except larger dia. i'll grind these for a trail rig vs buying new.
-brake turned down so i can install the calipers, so that i can bleed the brakes.

i'm also waiting to know the rear DS length before i make the front. i'm hoping i can split the difference and still use the same shaft front and rear.

before all that,i still have stuff to do:
-finish welding and install the steering
-run air lines and switches

and other crap ...

small rant ... why on earth does ARB, and now Yukon (i assume to follow ARB) use 5mm air line for lockers!?!?! you can't get a damn 5mm PTC fitting with an NPT thread, only BSPT. is this really just to make you buy their entire system "cuz it's easier"? it's stupid. not to mention they have you tap the housing for 1/4" NPT for the bulkhead fitting. is that fitting really a custom pc and NPT on one side and BSPT on the other, or are they asking us to just ram the fitting home. ugh.

on that note however, 5mm line, if properly cut/prepped, will go into and seal really nicely to a 3/16 PTC connector. it's just hard to get the line out later.

still moving fwd, still waiting on rear axle guts. front brakes are connected in. steering is welded and painted, just waiting on install tonight. air switches are mounted and plumbed with the exhaust just an 18" run under the seat to keep mud out. front axle is fully assembled, locker function from switch confirmed, just needs fluid now that the RTV is cured.

i really need a 90* fitting at the axle though, will order that with all the trail spare/repair parts.

i really like these mechanical shuttle valves so far, keeps the system super simple.

https://i.imgur.com/qJo3fS9.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/uy2HUWb.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/gryNIQS.jpg

My only experience with arb lockers wasnt the best. My moms TJ and my old TJ both had them in the rear dana 44s and they were always leaking. :dunno:

I take it you didnt have to mess with the steering to much with pushing the front axle foward?

so the steering is together as of moments ago ... but not the final solution. i'm convinced that i'll go to the 4500 style steering before too long. so, with that in mind, i set up the drag link for 3 turns lock-to-lock on the stock d60 steering stops. i'll open that up some once i have the ram and chromoly shafts, so a little room left to go further later.

drag link should be high enough that the lower tie rod never gets into it, even without bump stops. but now i have to worry about the lower rod, and later the lower ram. it's at least above the axle CL. i also like how flat the drag link came out, should be nice on street if i ever drive it. i also feel like a later project would be to weld a double shear plate to the pitman, easy enough i think. could build a double shear set up onto the high steer arm too really, and might weld a nut to the knuckle for the 5 bolt hole. little stuff that's getting skipped til i NEED it, or need a project.

https://i.imgur.com/vbmEu5R.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/IR1i5Fx.jpg

Ive gone down a rabbit hole this morning. Do you use an alignment bar when setting up your rear axle? I just scrolled through your first page and might have missed it.

Nice updates!

ARB answer, yes...they do that so you buy their overpriced BS! Found out several years ago the hard way...back when I had my black TJ, super pissed about that. I ended up buying spares that I still have in a bag somewhere in my garage heep today :lol:

Those switches are nice...use them on my JK, they were installed by the PO and I like them. I use CO2 for my lockers, a small Powertank setup, super slick.

I need a new heim up front eventually...still ok to drive, but there is just a slight bit of wear and movement that I'll need to address before too long.

Yes sir! 1-1/4" solid, ground/hardened/polished steel rod with the sleeve pucks for the carrier and axle ends. i have pucks for d44, d60, and all 3 9" carrier bearing sizes. i also have 2 different semi-float bearing end cup dia, a d60/14b threaded puck for spindles, and a buddy just made a d44 threaded spindle puck so we can build his 944.

willing to rent it to ya for shipping if needed. would be one box of adapters and one tube of the rod. i cleaned up and painted an empty stock 9" case to use with the fixture on this axle, it's nice to be able to reach in thru the pinion support. he might have bought it though for the 944.

did you make the cups for the d60 spindles?

also, while RuffStuff no longer sells the rear axle flange for the front spindles ... i've been informed of a place that still does. i completely forget who right now, but Eric at EMS offroad knows. he's THE man for anything axle related from tech to options and the experience to back it up. great dude, just hard to get a hold of some time. last time we threw around ideas of how i might have done these axles differently, worth a call for ya i suspect.

i "designed" all the parts based on what was out there. a local machine shop did the round pucks for me way back cheaper than i could buy them online. a dude at SB&D machine shop turned the threaded pucks as a "g-job" for me.

the CO2 tank i think is my goal. i have a keg-orator, i think 20lb, CO2 cylinder from college and a poly performance 150psi reg. thinking i should have mounted that years go in the jeep, so it's time.

on the other hand, the engine still has the AC compressor mount. an engine driven compressor might also be the ticket.

I actually think I found some this morning. Check out diamond axles page. The description sucks but the look right

http://www.diamondaxle.com/parts.htm

how much are they? when i click the "buy at" link it's a dead link.

i sent Eric a txt to see who it was ... right now i'm thinking it was Branik, but you had to call them to order, wasn't on the website.

150

https://frontrangeoffroadfab.com/ful...-housing-ends/

shoot, that aint bad.

one thing Eric talked about was using a D50 spindle and hub since you could get them for dirt cheap. but i don't know what that means for brakes.

i used the TMR 3/4ton caliper bracket for GM d60. however, the dodge hubs i used have a different rotor offset vs the spindle flange. i accounted for this by actually mounting the TMR bracket to the back side of the spindle flange. had to cut the bracket to fit over the axle tube and only used 4 bolts then. it's about 1/16" off from perfect, but the caliper slides don't care. on the TJ i did make a spacer, but not on the YJ. you'd have to figure the difference for the different flange thickness if doing similar to me.

https://i.imgur.com/zAdDHKC.jpg

eric didn't respond with who, but he has a pair in stock. should really give him a call to talk shop anyways ... he always has some great tip or info.

http://emsoffroad.com/

Eric Startzel, he runs the joint, just ask for Eric

I used a CO2 tank for a while and then switched to OBA. I Used the OBA for my ARB's, and quick pullups, but I primarily used the CO2 tank for full tire fill ups and air tools. I had a 3 gallon tank mounted under the bed for my OBA as well, with an air chuck in each bumper.

i'll actually be using a cordless DeWALT pancake compressor for now :lol:

https://images.homedepot-static.com/...t1-64_1000.jpg

few small updates ... really been working on my tractor, the yard, and my GMC. so got the rear fenders cut and i'm pretty happy with em. not a full comp-cut, still lots of clearance, but has that full-boddied look. i've had issues with the inner axle seals on the TJ, so decided i would pre-stretch them for easier install. can't hurt right? 1.5" shafts, so 1.5" tube that i polished up a bit. the new rear 3rd showed up with the ZIP locker and 5.40s, just need to drill in the air line bulkhead and bolt this thing in!

-assemble rear axle
-drive shafts
-"turn" brakes
-bleed brakes
-DRIVE IT ... and flex it to measure
-new shock mounts / order shocks
-*hopefully not* all new bump stops since i've never run any

-then drive around in the yard cuz the wheelin trip got canceled :cry:

https://i.imgur.com/pwPs6rf.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/LkcwhH9.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/qRHycly.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/JbsrDtv.jpg

this air line routing feels stupid, but is what the directions, and Eric said to do. also managed to get this bulkhead fitting in without stripping it this time, haha.

then the MOSER shafts came in and one was long, good thing they had extra splines cuz my custom length shafts had to be cut down by .75". got a nice little slug for my desk at work now.

cut up the old rear drive shaft and added an inch for the new front. sleeved inside with the plug welds. she'll last more than long enough to work out all the details to order good new shafts. for a 2pc drive shaft and a stock axle pinion support, that's not a bad angle.

then, du da DA! she lives!!! still needs shock mounts to be trail ready, and eventually a real air system. of course i still have a full list of future plans :pimp:

https://i.imgur.com/uvM8Wxq.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/l0YRmcY.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/SlwUJ1F.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/VYA2iqS.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ZYbVJDE.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/kgIX21L.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/GJQAXuD.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/EmKFQSc.jpg

brakes are a little spongy, but the front calipers are so much bigger it can't be unexpected.

gears vs tires feels pretty good, but i guess we won't know til i'm on the trail.

steering is week for sure, but is what it is. it's quicker than before, and turning more crap this time. feels fine while driving it, but 4x4 with both lockers in that **** feels like manual steering.

:banana: :banana:

home from NC ... but going back next week. i had to miss the wheelin trip i had planned, and kinda dragged this wrap-up out a little bit.

dug into shocks finally. figured out all the new mounts n lengths, going to use the same Bilstien 5125's front and rear. also sticking with the 90s Ford f350 upper mounts, but cutting them down a bunch. rear will get out-boarded and half frenched into the frame now. steering needs a little frame notch, after wiggling the jeep around it settled down and touched. i'll also cut the misalignment spacers down by 1/4" without effecting their travel.

while looking at it all and only doing this once as a final solution, i decided to cut off the rear frame spring hangers like i did the front for HD hangers. will also be moving them back another 1" for a new total rear stretch of 4". the rear DS i have in it is on the long side, so no need to even change it.

https://i.imgur.com/4hOWKD8.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/WgTe5Hx.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/1bj0TJL.jpg

Looking good!

Any plans for the steering arms? While Chevy knuckles are a bit stronger than the Ford ones on my Jeep, the studs are also a weak point, especially when you add hydraulic steering. The keyed knuckles and hi-steer arms seem to be the best solution.

Also, I love that rear 9" build with the 8-lug, full float outers. Makes me want one.

Thanks! fawk i'm excited to go play!

right now i'm not doing anything special with the arms. they are non-keyed basic arms, springless, but they are drilled for the 5th bolt. with the 3/4" tie bolt going to the factory steer arm, and the tie rod being way closer to the factory arm than the high steer, i'm much less concerned. my only thought right now has been to run a nut/bolt into the 5th hole and then weld the nut hard solid to the knuckle.

i really love this rear axle design, it's why i duplicated it to the YJ from the TJ. my only complaints are around the seals. the inner seals actually took me a pretty good learning curve, think i have em now. the pre-lube and assembly order are KEY. also the main spindle seal on the hub isn't made to be an oil bath, just grease. so when the inners leak ... the outer will.

I just went back through the thread and see that you have the bolt through the factory steering arm. Should be fine. :thumbsup:

Pshh, I used to lift my rig by turning the wheels when it was on its side. Stock knuckles :lol:

so i got WAY wrapped up in work recently, and that's where i usually post updates :lol:

the shocks all on, same shocks f/r to make things easy. though, with them outboard in the back it is a bit over-damped back there. not that i drive it over 5mph much, but some more weight would help this and balance things out. for more protection i already have some corner guards that i've never put on, as well as i'm getting a free fold-down Poison Spyder tire carrier to put on it. better protection, balance, looks good, etc.

i used the f-350 towers and cut them up as needed. back was frenched in 1" to help tire clearance.

https://i.imgur.com/IpuCzZT.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/GGH7G2c.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/PY4HXEL.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/jooG4gK.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/6fNcvff.jpg