2 Blue 2 Doors

[Dangeranger3]

Your build looks good.

 

[Tony Raine]

[quote author=Tony Raine link=topic=217.msg75327#msg75327 date=1238710235]
Ordered the "8.8 simple swap kit" from Ruff Stuff Specialties on March 31, and its here today!(april 2) great product, fast shipping

[/quote]

alright, finally something to update, haha.

old and busted:

the new hotness:

(the cable lock is looped through the jack and axle, since i am leaving the jack under there for a day or 2. i'll get to the crooked u-bolt plate in a minute)

replaced leaf spring center bolts with grade 8 fine thread bolts with the bolt head ground to fit the perch

removed gigantic 3/4" thick overload leaf set (came with the springs) that weighs a ton

and used the holes in the perches that scoot the axle back about an inch

my work area

alright. first off, axles are a pain in the butt to line up by yourself. and a 8.8 with no brakes or oil weighs a ton compared to a fully dressed 7.5. everything i did today is just a mock-up. i'm going to tack weld the perches in place, then pull the axle back out. the old 7.5 will be thrown back in temporarily since the next part will take a little while. while its out, i'll make sure all the measurements are even. i already know i need to scoot both perches to one side about 1/4" to get everything even. that will be a lot easier out of the truck. then i'll tack them back down, and take them to a local off road shop to get fully welded. shock mounts will also be added, later. btw, i had to hammer those stock explorer traction bar mounts over a little, as they interfere with the u-bolt plates. i would grind them off, but i would have to take everything off the ends of the axle to get a grinder in there.

i will be using a shortened explorer driveshaft (single u-joint each end). right now my t-case points down 5 degrees, and the axle is pointed up 5 degrees.

ok, now to explain the u-bolt plates. unfortunately, the nut of the centering bolt (the new ones and the originals) will not fit through the holes in the u-bolt plates. that may be just a fluke on my part, as my leafs are not original, but 4" lifted leafs from Rough country. oh-well i'm not worried. the local offroad shop has a drill press and can enlarge one of the holes for me. i'll probably take the axle and plates up there at the same time.

bad new is (actually its really good news in the long run), the shop is moving all its stuff to a new facility. so i'm not sure when they will be able to do it. but thats ok, the b2 has developed a new issue that needs attention. oil is squirting out around the dipstick when the engine is running.

oh yeah, one more thing, here is a pic of old and new u-bolts together. beefy

 

[Tony Raine]

Well, the old Explorer died a spectacular death.

sold it to my folks a few years ago, and it became a errand runner and fishing-trip rig. started losing antifreeze really bad, but no puddle. sold it to a guy who fixed it, and kept driving it. somewhere around the 200,000 mile mark, and still running like a top.

he claimed the "throttle stuck", and drove through a building. pretty sure the dude's fine.



So RIP little buddy. Lots of great memories, many with questionable morals. proposed to my wife of 9 years on a atv trail with you by my side. You gave me over 125,000 hard-earned miles, and just kept going. muddin, donuts, burnouts, air time, drag racing, and you got taken out by some unfortunate old guy with $600 that just mistook the gas for the brake.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Rip

 

[1qaz]

^ +1. What was her name?

 

[Tony Raine]

I just called her the "Hot Rod". Had a buddy rebuild the trans at 100,000 miles, and he changed up the guts to make a "shift kit". That, combined with the 3.73 gears & trac loc, made this one haulin' ass little rig.

Plus, I was hard on this rig, I wont lie. wore the balljoints out to the point the tires wobbled going down the highway. gas tank had a big dent that probably cost around .5-1 gallon capacity. not sure why I was in such a hurry back then....