project Chknfkr!

[CHKNFKR]

Stuffing the 9" housing in there was fun and all but it didn't really get me anywhere, just gave me a laugh and helped illustrate the size of these things. the something useful i referred to is the third member. I can man handle the housings around just fine by myself, but the thirds make me feel like a little girl!

Here you can see what i mean about needing to clean it up with a grinder

It all needs to be level to the low spot just to the right of the bull gear

There's not a whole lot of wiggle room down in there

Right now i have the third in as a rear, its as if they were designed to be run as either front or rear

These pics really just show how things work out when you plan ahead. look how perfectly that third just hangs there on that stand

slightly different angle

the full size back there is my daily driver. its a 95 f-250 2wd 7.3 psd. i get 20 mpg empty or pulling a trailer, it doesn't matter. its official name is Great White Buffalo (thank you Ryan) which makes its initials GWB just like our former president. Thus its nick name is George, sometimes By Golly George...

I just like taking pictures....

 

[Robert_1967]

I was wondering if the third could be clocked 180 to use the axle backward.

thanks for the info.





Robert

 

[CHKNFKR]

I was wondering if the third could be clocked 180 to use the axle backward.

thanks for the info.





Robert

Yes. as it sits in the pics above it is a rear. on page one before i tore them down they were both set up as fronts. whats cooler is the knuckles can be hung on either side so if you have a driver side drop t-case, no prob, if you have a pass side, thats not a problem either, if you are building a mud truck or a monster truck and hang the t-case in there vertically, that'll work too. these things really are universal, once you figure out how to make them fit

I'll have mine set up as a driver side drop front and rear, but with the rear clocked 180* so the pinion is closer to the centerline of the truck. what this does is line up both skids, if the front made it the rear will to. also this will keep my driveline geometry as close to perfect as it can be

 

[escort_gts]

Interesting build. Can't wait to see more.

 

[CHKNFKR]

Thanks for all the support guys! I'll do my best to keep you informed and more importantly entertained.

Robert, if you ever find yourself in central (soon to be eastern) Illinois pm me, i'd be more than happy to put you to work lol

7.5L STX, I never expected to be sig'd on page one of this thing, i kinda figured it would happen eventually, but page one! I'm off to a good start. Whenever i am ready to start building that engine you and I need to have a chit chat. I have a feeling its not going to want to fit, what do you think?

 

[WoodyB2]

Man this is going to be a sweet build....and damn those little fawkers are massive.

 

[bcost882]

naw it was a pretty nice lookin four link front and rear here is the link http://www.fourwheeler.com/top_truck_challenge/2010/129_1011_brian_barker_1993_ford_ranger/index.html prolly alittle too big but interesting.....maybe if your asperations get this high haha

 

[Ranger44]

There was plenty of room to cut. Mohawk that bitch and get it going.

 

[CHKNFKR]

There was plenty of room to cut. Mohawk that bitch and get it going.

Meet me on down at the storage unit, I'm gonna need some help getting that thing right side up so i can pull the third and get the grinding all wrapped up.

 

[railman]

was wondering if you were gonna cut the long side down to same length as the short side.....

l8r, John

 

[CHKNFKR]

I will not be narrowing them. The front is gonna be tight already, if i shortenned the long side that would require the third member and my engine to occupy the same space. These things arent much wider than a full width axle anyway, before the hub flip they're somewhere around 88" wms-wms, after a hub flip its around 74" wms-wms. More on that on page 12...

 

[CHKNFKR]

took a break from the rocks today, pulled what was left of the 2.3 and took her to the scrap yard

i was surprised as hell that thing weighed in at 200#, what'd I get for it you ask, a whole $8

back to the rocks tomorrow. I've been feeling lazy lately, i think its the whole getting dark at 5 thing

bcost, i thought about getting axles like those, the biggest problem i had with them was how deep the gears are. To me 35:1 in an axle just isn't practical, not to mention the maintenance involved with planetary hubs.with the rocks at 6.44:1 i can still run at highway speeds if i so desire. all that aside, that rig is tits.

 

[CHKNFKR]

This may be hard to believe considering my previous posts, but i have no pics today. I did get one ground down and ready for plate, no rush on the other since the plate isnt scheduled to get here till thursday. Might be kinda slow till then. In the mean time i'm open to criticism

 

[CHKNFKR]

tiny little update

Here's the first one ground smooth with the third thrown in

and a couple different angles

and here's the second one ground smooth, no third for now.

and a couple different angles

In case you've never heard of a Metabo, here she is

what makes a Metabo so special? well first off ergonomics. this is the most comfortable angle grinder i have ever used. also it is 100% tool-less use, and maintenance free. came with a 15 year no questions asked warranty (which i doubt i'll have to use) on more than one occasion i have used it continuously for 6 hours without getting above warm.

there are some drawbacks, no case. so i cut out the molding from a Milwaukee drill case and made room for the grinder and everything i could ever think to put on it.

As for the grinding I've done on this project, the majority of it wasn't done with a grinding wheel. I prefer these

if you've never used them they're called flap wheels and they are nothing more than sandpaper glued to a disc that you use on an angle grinder. I prefer them over a standard grinding wheel for several reasons: they do not kick back or gouge the metal you are working with, they are light which means less they're easier on the grinder, it also makes them spin up faster and spin down faster which is very important if the grinder ever gets away from you, they are soft which means they won't shatter and send shrapnel flying like a grinding wheel, they don't throw sparks as bad, they do not heat up the metal you are working on as bad as a grinding wheel. I think that just about covers it. they're available from 40 grit all the way to 200 grit. /ramble

Now all i have to do is wait till Thursday

 

[MountainMike]

I agree with you on the flapper wheels. I bought some when I was working on my leaf spring hangers and was very skeptical. I thought "WTF is this, looks like it's for woodworking". But I gave it the benefit of the doubt and starting using it to grind down the rivets and they worked awesome. You loose the end on ability a grinding wheel gives you but in every other way they are vastly superior