94 b4000 axle swap/offroad build

[rockwerks]

not to question your experience but I agree that if its an ugly weld its more likely to fail. There is more to building stuff than the welds. Id be interested to see some of these failures you're talking about just to critique them, I would bet there were other things wrong as well.

Its pretty hard to get poor penetration with a decent welder on doing threated tube inserts, you would almost have to try to **** them up.

I wish that was true, but it is not. wire speed, wleding temp, temp of steel, size of steel etc all make a big difference on the depth of penetration of the weld. Many tend to use too fast of wire speed and too low temp. Many do not preheat thick steel before welding or dont set the weld by tapping on it for cast.

 

[kroussinoffroad]

were not gettin side tracked again are we

well where my buddy works he got nailed on his first test for a weld the was 1/32nd too high, although it held up to the bend tests and passed the x-ray it was too tall. so as far as pretty weld when you do it for a living your welds tend to look as good as they are strong. he welds on everything from Light trucks To the some of the largest in the world

 

[rockwerks]

Trust me my welds are ugly because Im too shaky to get a good swirl or back and forth pattern but I get great penetration. Ive never had one fail (knock on wood) My welder is a snap on FM140A wire feed with spool gun for alum. My thought on a no weld system is that anyone can produce a quality product, even if they dont have a welder

 

[kroussinoffroad]

i'm seriously considering 1 1/8'' since i have seen 3 reputable companys makin there steering outta this size, It's in stock locally(the next size up is 2 inch .25 wall), and i dont plan on hammerin on this thing.

i guess if i destroy my steering due to havin it that small... i build it bigger next time

 

[MAranger]

alotta folks wheel on stock linkages which can't be bigger then 3/4" or 7/8". 2" seems overkill to me but i guess bigger is better.

 

[kroussinoffroad]

well i am back on my feet again and eatin solid foods..

the day before surgery i ended up with a another dirt bike in my inventory
i am planing on movin all the bikes to the basement tommorow.

once the garage is cleaned back up i will attempt to get the truck back in the garage which is a very delicate, multiple persone job

all my tubing has been ordered along with both of the needed taps.

I picked up the gears for my 8.8 today (3.55's to match the front)

and another dana 30 will be droped off tommorow (free spare)
that is loaded with all the same stuff from the same year acctually

 

[NMB2]

glad to hear you are mobile again.

 

[escort_gts]

How's the truck coming? Any updates?

 

[escort_gts]

how much lift did the coil springs end up giving you? did they give you enough clearance between the axle and the engine crossmember?

 

[kroussinoffroad]

Very little has been done to the truck in the past couple weeks. both of my link brackets are welded and bolted onto the frame i did redo the trans crossmember due to fitment issue's. now it mounts behind the link brackets and has tubing bent forward to support the trans and also has a tube notched to brace between the two "legs?"

on the axle all the smaller bushings where drilled out to accept 1/2'' bolts along with the arm's. the required hardware seemed less than satisfactory.

as far as steering and track bar, im still waiting on parts and money.

I'm not sure how much lift i gained with the coil's i used but i can tell you right now i think it's too much. (i've been told there's no such thing as too much lift BUT). i am thinking of lowering it a little once everything is in. i would like to keep the center of gravity a little lower.

My buddie that im gettin my rear spring's from has turned into an incredibly lazy persone and has absolutly no motivation to leave the house. after i spent countless hours helpin him build his truck.

 

[kroussinoffroad]

recieved all my all of my rod ends, jam nuts, and saftey washers on friday and have the steering mocked/ fabbed up will post pictures tomorrow.

 

[dangerranger83]

Wish I had the money to be able to do it this good and to be able to do it now.

Looking forward to the pics.

 

[kroussinoffroad]

i could have made the factory stuff work. but i think it woulda caused me more headaches then doin it this way

 

[kroussinoffroad]

just some misc pictures of the steering mocked into place. still need appropriate hardware, saftey washers, lock washers, trac-bar frame bracket. alont with alot of other stuff.

 

[escort_gts]

kroussinoffroad, did you have any issues with the coils fitting on the buckets on the dana 30 axle?
I am looking into the EB coils from the graveyard.