New guy, new project: 1988 BII wheeler

[leumas12]

Well im finally getting some new pics up! Here is where im at now:

New front suspension components are here:

Tie rods are made. They are the original drag link sleeved with 1.25” sch 40 pipe:

And the front axle is under the truck :

Sorry for the bad pic, I will get a better one later. Now im gonna get started making the radius arms for the front end. Thanks!

 

[spaz1879]

thats a tab bit awesome. you finally got them axles under there when you gonna go for a test drive? where do the lines for the cylinder connect to? also what site did u order the stuff in that pic with the hiems.

 

[leumas12]

thanks!

Once i finish the suspension, steering, and transfer cases i will be able to take it for a test drive The suspension stuff came from RuffStuffSpecialties.com. They're a great company with awesome products and customer service. The lines for the cylinder go to the steering control unit which is what the steering wheel hooks up to. Now if the rain would just stop...

 

[spaz1879]

The lines for the cylinder go to the steering control unit which is what the steering wheel hooks up to.

do you have a picture of this or is it just the stock one on the truck

 

[leumas12]

its a new part from a forklift i believe (basically takes the place of the steering box on a normal truck). Its buried under other parts but i will get a pic when i can The only thing that will be the same for the original steering and the hydraulic steering is the pump haha.

 

[Rinny650]

Its an orbital valve. Google orbital valve

 

[leumas12]

yeah they are often called orbital valves though that is not what any of the manufacturers call them. Here is everything you could possibly want to know haha (link from Pirate4x4.com tech section): http://pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/PR-Hydro_Steering/index.html

Should work out great for me

 

[spaz1879]

that is a pretty good write up how is your daul ram actuator coming along? get it all plumbed?

 

[spaz1879]

UPDDATE!

 

[leumas12]

boy ive been stingy with updates havent i? haha school has been a pain (had a big midterm monday and have another one this monday) and ive just been doing little odds and ends pretty much. Have some work im planning for tomorrow, should be able to get some pictures up soon

 

[leumas12]

Finally getting another update up on here! Its been almost 2 months, cant believe its been that long! The suspension is pretty much done, just need shocks and to tighten up the bumpstops. Heres how it stands:

Heres how I did it:

I first got the arms all mounted:

And the mount from the upper arm to the passenger arm. I added a piece to bridge the gap between arm and bracket but never got a picture of it.

then got a nut that matched the threads on the original bottom mount stud that came on the BII axle welded to the arm

Then I put a 1.5” pipe wall flange and cap with a hole bored in it over that along with the stud

After that I put a stock xj coil spring isolator over the flange and put on the coil. Then I made a plate that goes on the stud and tightens down on the coil to hold it in. After that came the upper mounts. They were pretty simple. 3/8” steel with a piece of the original upper mount welded to it to hold the coil on center. To hold it in I used 5/8” cable clamps. Heres what they look like:

And the installed coil:

The panhard is just 1” pipe sleeved with 1.25” pipe, It’ll be plenty strong. Also it looks like its going to interfere with the truss under compression but its actually angled towards the front of the truck. It doesn’t have much clearance (less than 1/8”) but its enough for me.

The brake parts are on backorder from Summit. They are supposed to ship on the 27th so lets hope they get here around then. Tomorrow im heading to the hydraulic supply place to try and figure out the steering lines, mainly the fittings. That’s about it. Thanks for looking!

 

[leumas12]

Hey guys! Im back again with an update. I got all my hoses and fittings from a place call Hoses and Fittings, etc. in Fremont. They had great service and were really helpful. Heres what i got:

For the hydraulic steering hoses i got 20' of Parker 421-6 (3/8") hose and their field attachable fittings. These fittings are pretty cool. they dont require crimping, you attach em with only 2 wrenches. Heres how they work:

After cutting the hose with an abrasive chop saw or cut off wheel, etc. and cleaning the cut, you take the fitting on the left (which has a left hand thread) and tighten it down over the hose until the hose bottoms out in the fitting.

After that you take the piece on the right which is hollow and has a right hand thready that matches the thread on the inside of the first fitting.

As you tighten the second fitting into the first, it pushes itself into the hose and pinches it between the two fittings. Once the fitting is tightened all the way down, its sealed and ready to go, thats it!

And heres a hose all finished

I also got my brake system done. Here's how it came out:

Having the red brake lines and black radius arms looks pretty sweet (nice job picking the color Katrina!). Its inspired me to (whenever i decide to paint this thing) paint the truck in that same red. With a black soft top and radius arms/axles it will look awesome

And now here's my special little "im poor" project . I needed some sort of parking brake for this truck and i also wanted a way to lock up the rear axle while letting the front spin to do front digs. I could do a couple things to achieve this ability. First i could get a cutting brake, but that costs $150 and wouldnt give me the ability to keep it locked as a parking brake. Also, i could get line locks but they are at least $50 and would kill my battery if i used them as a parking brake for more than a day or so. So i decided to make my own line locks. It was pretty easy, i just got two 1/4" ball valves, some 1/4"NPT to 1/8"NPT bushings, and some 3/8" inverted flare to 1/8" NPT adapters. Here are the parts (excluding brake line of course)

Now i know that ball valves will wear out eventually but thats no big deal, whenever they do that i will just replace them or figure out something else.

after getting the fitting on i just rerouted the brake lines for the front and rear through the valves. So heres how they work all installed (view from drivers seat looking down and to the right):

With both valves open, everything is normal. Brake pressure in both axles is controlled by the pedal.

By pressing down the brake pedal and closing the front valve (the one on the left), the brakes are locked on the front axle and the rear brakes are controlled by the pedal.

By pressing down the brake pedal and closing the rear valve (the one on the right), the brakes are locked on the rear axle and the front brakes are controlled by the pedal. This is what i will be using the most, as this is the position that will allow for an effective front dig.

By pressing down the brake pedal and closing both valves, the brakes are locked in both the front and rear. Obviously, this is the parking brake haha

That's the update! I have to bleed the brakes still and add a filter and possibly cooler to the hydraulic steering system. After that its on to finishing up the double transfer case (shifters, etc.), making driveshafts, and doing the cage/body work. Hopefully soon i can get a job and start bringing some money in to finish up this stuff. Thanks for checking it out!!

Sam

 

[JohnnyU]

Are you planning to gusset or add fish plates to those radius arms? I think the mitered joints are going to be rather high stress joints just as is without some additional support.

Looking pretty good otherwise.

 

[DRIFTGOD187]

nice work, looks awesome

 

[leumas12]

Are you planning to gusset or add fish plates to those radius arms? I think the mitered joints are going to be rather high stress joints just as is without some additional support.

Looking pretty good otherwise.

yeah im going to add fish plates. Im out of money so i need to do stuff that i can do for free anyway