Project 4x4 Commuter Mazda

[SAY789]

Ya heat wont put one back on without cleaning it up atleast. I still had to use a rosebud a lil bit on mine when i did it but sanding the tube made it so much easier to slip and set the angle. No press required as well. Dont forget to chamfer the edge a lil too so it dont catch anything and gaul it up like the factory did.

Man i should have kept my coil sprung axle when i had it with as much work as i put into it.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

BBQ did wonders for my inner C on my D60 swap.

 

[legoms013]

i was wondering when some boots were gonna make it into one your pics. you did that on purpose, didnt you? for v-day? lol

See the ridiculously tall BLACK ones? Those are mine

After some math, I figure out where I am going to cut the tube. Just need to verify that my cutoff saw cuts fairly square

I am almost positive my D2's are gonna show up tomorrow or Sat....they shipped out yesterday morning from the warehouse which is just south of where I live

 

[SAY789]

Meh if its not exactly square its not gonna kill anything, theres plenty of slop to acount for it

 

[Hagan]

Are you getting your axle shaft shortened or are you buying an EB one?

I would cut it as square as possible. You want it to fit square into the cast section.

 

[legoms013]

Probably gonna buy one in a few weeks, and have the stocker cut and resplined to keep as a spare or sell.

Edit:

It will be cut square enough, since the cut end goes in the tube, if for some reason it ended up a bit crooked it wouldn't be that huge of a deal since it is a press fit and can only go in concentric with the wedge....plus with weldment on it no one would ever know. I am more concerned with cutting it the correct length, as to not be a headache later on (shaft to long and needing grinding, or shaft too short and not getting enough spline engagement). Both situations would only happen though with an error of more than 3/16" I believe...I am confident that it will be withing +/-16" or better when I am through with it. Again, this isn't rocket science here Worst case scenario I'd have a custom shaft made or have the stocker cut and splined the correct length.

Cutting it off was super fast...no wasted time grinding the weld down and looking for the seam, and the more time required to beat or pull it off with a machine. Cut and done, then about 15 min of grinding on the face of the wedge. I only spend and hour on it that evening.

 

[SAY789]

Dutchman has a pretty good price on cutting and resplining those axle shafts.

Are you getting your axle shaft shortened or are you buying an EB one?

I would cut it as square as possible. You don't want it to be a janky ass piece of shit like other members RBV's.

Btw, i'm narrowing another axle. I think I'm just going to cut it off like what you did.

Who's RBV you talking about?

 

[legoms013]

Dutchman has a pretty good price on cutting and resplining those axle shafts.

There is a local guy by me who does em, he did the shafts for my fathers CJ-5 D44 swap. I will find out what he charges and what Dutchman charges...ahh the joys of capitalism

Who's RBV you talking about?

I like what you are getting at

 

[SAY789]

Haha ya thats the beauty of today, you can always find a cheaper price somewhere. IIRC it was like 1 shaft was $55 and 2 was $90? Since your in cali, i heard theres quite a few cryo centers down there. Heard alot of drift guys would get there shafts and ring and pinion sets cryod and it added like 25% more strength to it and didnt cost all that much.

 

[legoms013]

Haha ya thats the beauty of today, you can always find a cheaper price somewhere. IIRC it was like 1 shaft was $55 and 2 was $90? Since your in cali, i heard theres quite a few cryo centers down there. Heard alot of drift guys would get there shafts and ring and pinion sets cryod and it added like 25% more strength to it and didnt cost all that much.

This is news to me. I will have to look into it....might not be a bad idea since I am leaning towards 37's....

Check this out:

http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/produc..._Set_w_Drive_Flanges/bronco_axle_shafts_front

 

[Hagan]

Who's RBV you talking about?

I like what you are getting at

No one specific.

I'd recommend Dutchman axles too. I got mine cut and resplined. They messed up and shortened it to short. I called them and they are making me a new one (there shaft) and shipping to me for free! And I get to keep the old shaft.

Are you planning on building or buying radius arms? I'm almost done with my arms. I'm just waiting on some heims I ordered this week.

Another thing on the housing...I have an idea that might work. Cut the tube an inch or so from the cast wedge. Weld flat bar (anything really) onto the end of the tube and then heat the piss out of the cast wedge and press it out. Just an idea that I might try tomorrow.

 

[legoms013]

I'll be running these:

You have a good idea about welding on a piece of flat bar....actually it better be some thick stuff or a short section of I-beam would resist bending better. Do you have a press Hagan?


Although...I do have a pair of factory F150 arms, so if I start getting short on funds and very impatient...I'll cut them up, extend them out, and plate them all up....and switch it to a heim setup (I'm tired of the noisy donut bushings on my TTB).

 

[legoms013]

Took the piece of tube that I cut off, smashed it with a c-clamp, tack welded it to itself (so it would slip inside the wedge with no resistance)...then tack welded it to the tube, so that I could double check my math:

After marking where I think I should cut it (11.75" from the face of the housing) I measured from the end of the tube to my marked line and wouldn't you know it, exactly 6" shorter is where my line ended up (actuall 5.875 since I ground some, and the width of the bandsaw blade):

Then proceeded to hack it off:

Measurments came out to withing +/- 1/32"....more than good enough for the girls I go out with

 

[Hagan]

Looks good!

I do have a press. Might not be strong enough though.

The duff arms are nice but I think they are about $900. Way too pricey for me. I just got done building my arms for around $240. The heims were $125 from Ruffstuff and I got a 20' stick of 2x2 .25" square tubing for $84. And I got square tubing adapter for $30. They turned out pretty nice in my opinion. And now I have a lot of square tubing left.

 

[legoms013]

Used my flapper disc die grinder and cleaned up the inside of the wedge:

Bolted some flat bar on for my angle finder, and mounted the radius arm to aid in adjusting the C angle relationship to match the other side:

Got the wedge started, it will go on no problem now with heat and a sledge:

Hagan, James Duffs arms are $750 or so shipped… yeah still a lot of money but they are pure beef and eye candy. I really like the way they look.