ranger refit/build thread

[gwaii]

OOhhhhh Really Pretty




Robert

just wait till it's all shiny.then it'll be REALLY pretty

 

[Colin]

just wait till it's all shiny.then it'll be REALLY pretty

 

[gwaii]

now you got the idea

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Looking good Tom!

PS. I got that sterling for 50 bucks....now I just need to find another short side axle shaft. I'm wondering if they are the same as the 10.50 as there are a couple of them laying around work.

Also, how did you keep everything straight and aligned when you shortened yours? Did you remove the spindle, shorter and then weld it back in?

 

[gwaii]

Looking good Tom!

PS. I got that sterling for 50 bucks....now I just need to find another short side axle shaft. I'm wondering if they are the same as the 10.50 as there are a couple of them laying around work.

Also, how did you keep everything straight and aligned when you shortened yours? Did you remove the spindle, shorter and then weld it back in?

i'm not sure if the 10.5 shaft is the same or not.if i were you i'd pull one from the diff at work and compare it to the one from the 10.25.it's easy enough to toss it back in if it's not the same.

i ended up cutting the tube around the middle,as i had no good way of keeping the spindle aligned if i cut it at the end.i just clamped a couple of sections of angle iron to the tube to keep it all in line,like this: <O>
then i welded as far as i could,removed the angles,then finished the welds.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Would it be possible to sleeve the axle tube? I think I would feel better with a sleeve inside the tube instead of just a butt weld. I mean I can weld pretty decent and have never had anything come apart that I have welded, but this is one area I might just let my buddy who is a professional welder/fabricator for Rio Tinto Alcan buzz it up....


Edit

Guess I could throw a truss on it if I get that worried about it....

 

[gwaii]

Would it be possible to sleeve the axle tube? I think I would feel better with a sleeve inside the tube instead of just a butt weld. I mean I can weld pretty decent and have never had anything come apart that I have welded, but this is one area I might just let my buddy who is a professional welder/fabricator for Rio Tinto Alcan buzz it up....


Edit

Guess I could throw a truss on it if I get that worried about it....

i suppose you could,if you had some exact proper size tube available.

as with anything,prep is 90% of a good weld.the tube on the diff is fairly thick,so you need to bevel the edges and leave a small land at the base(1/8'' or so)

space the tubes so there's about a 1/16'' gap so you'll get good root penetration,then build onto that.once the weld is above the parent surface it can be ground flush so no one can tell it was ever done.you should be able to get a weld that is at least as strong as the parent tube,probably stronger.
and remember,that diff was designed to handle loads several times what you'll ever call on it to do,even considering off road abuse.

i've decided to widen the rear on the ranger,using two long axles-so if you wait a short bit,i'll show the whole process in detail.it won't be long either,i need to get this thing back to rolling chassis as soon as possible.it's kinda plugging up my limited space being spread all over the place as it is.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Sounds good!

 

[RangerSVT]

You can also cut the tube on a 45* angle (kind of like a Z cut on a frame), this will not only give you less of a shear point, but also give you more of an area to weld, as well as preventing the tube the ability to twist apart...
SVT

 

[--weezl--]

just a thought, if you are using a shorter shaft from a second diff, any reason you can't use the shorter tube from that same diff?

 

[gwaii]

just a thought, if you are using a shorter shaft from a second diff, any reason you can't use the shorter tube from that same diff?

you could,but that would mean getting it out of the center housing.that can be quite difficult,it's easier to just cut and weld it.

 

[--weezl--]

ahh, ok fair enough!

 

[3.0ranger1227]

Updates?

 

[--weezl--]

he probably went off to another project... to leave me (and others) hanging on this, and the GT-12

 

[Robert_1967]

he probably went off to another project... to leave me (and others) hanging on this, and the GT-12

I want to see more of this awesome rig.




Robert