The "Donkey" build/rebuild

[Bracket racer]

The good and the bad...
Had it for a cruise on the power line, I don't have shocks hooked up yet so I put a cargo strap to limit extension. Suspension works great! Bouncy obviously but where I had to crawl over rocks in first, I can now go in third! Soaks up the bumps!
Issues are, with 7" of lift, the truck is high in the ass which makes a lot of positive caster on the front end so it's twitchy when in 4th or 5th. (40-50kph)
Also, the arms are at a steep angle so it lifts the back when you step on it, but it wheel hops bad in reverse if you use to much throttle. Shocks will help but it's a geometry issue. Almost feels top heavy and needs a sway bar but we'll see after adding shocks.

The bad..the squeaking from the front turned out to be the u joint in the front right axle. The c clips popped off and the caps are half out! The really bad issue is its going through coolant. I was razzing it pretty hard but the gauge never moved off normal. Stop and shut it off and heard the gurgling again. I topped up the coolant before we left and left the cap loose. When I shut it off it started puking like it was over heating. Ran it home, topped it up and watched it slowly sink. Put 3 litres of water in it. No leaks, the oil looks new, nothing out the tail pipe. It's going somewhere so I put it in the garage and went in the house. I'll probably pressurize the cooling system tomorrow. I let it sit hot with the cap on for 20 minutes and then started it, didn't hydraulic the motor so I don't think it's going in the cyl, I think it's a cracked head and it's going out the exh and I can't see/smell it.

Anyway, pictures when I can....

 

[bobbywalter]

Anti squat

Anti dive

Anti roll





I have a book called race car dynamics.

It's very old and outdated like me. Worth it's weight in gold.... especially when I first started implementing it's data when I was a preteen.



These days we have Google.


Look up the terms listed and start playing with the online calculaters....many online and free.

Reinventing the wheel is fine.


Killing yourself or others.....you can mitigate some of the risk.

 

[Bracket racer]

Built a lot of drag cars and this is like a ladder bar set up that the front of the bar is pointing at the ground. With the triangulation, my roll centre is about the middle of the engine too. I know the issues, it's just a matter of adjusting to get where I want it. I originally built it with the bars 8* up or positive, but when I found out the 1" of travel I jacked it up which resulted in the crazy angles.
Last night was a test drive with the muffler wired in place, no shocks and my new (er) 35x12.5's sitting in the shop. I'll be going over it and deciding what to do.
Again though, this is a woods truck which primarily (99%) is in 1st gear low range idling through the rocks of the powerline. Last night I was testing crap and razzing it pretty hard, not trying to break it, but if it breaks 1/2 mile from home it's easier to get home then 25 miles from home. The suspension (welds) seem to hold up ok, even backed over a 3' dia rock I didn't see and moved it, didn't hurt anything. Now that I think of it, something else I have to change is the u bolts as now all I need are 4-5" long ones, not the 9" I have on it for the test run. (which have 5 big nuts as spacers, also not "safe")

I'm at the shop so I'm going to fab up some shock mounts. In a minute I'll do the pictures before I start.

 

[Bracket racer]

Time for pictures...
After finding only 1" of travel with the original set up, I cut the mounting tabs off so I could drop it into the frame.

Stuck a one inch bar across to see how high I wanted it

That was 7" so a little less than that would be good. So I put 6" long 2" square tubing on top of it and made new tabs.

NOW she's sitting up! (maybe a little too high, lol)

Built a track bar out of the old broken spring because it had rubber bushings in it already (less fab work) As I was heading out I realised that I didn't fully weld it on the right side. Do that when I'm installing the shock mounts. (those red and black cables hanging are for the winch)

After I install the shock mounts (and the u joint) I'll pull it out of the shop and get some "finished" shots. (is it ever finished though, ever??) lol.

 

[Bracket racer]

Mounted the shocks and topped up the coolant. Then I used a hammer to push the caps back in on the front axle. Missing a clip and the other won't go in so....a tack on each cap and we're golden. ( told you I was redneck..)
Took it for a run...it's a new truck!
Running 2nd gear on the trail now, like a factory ride with more travel! Very impressed. The wife doesn't even have to hold "the girls" now. (She's quite endowed lol)
After a 2 hour test run parked it and it was quiet, no gurgling. I'll see tomorrow if it went through any coolant.
While it still has a lot of positive caster, it's no longer tippy or loose feeling. I think I'll jack the front up 2-4" and that should level it out a bit.
More to come.

 

[Bracket racer]

went out last night for another "test", left at 7:00 and got home around 12. Fueled up, checked it over, everything was fine so.....went back out. Got on some bad trails in the woods, more like rabbit trails, got lost, found our way home. Rolled in the yard at 5:39 am, sun coming up!! lol!!
I was below the red for fuel so don't know how I made it. Pictures below explain though.

Here's the donkey sitting home this afternoon. (when we got up...)

Why does it have a tow strap on it you ask????
It towed a full size dodge 3 wheeler home!

And the parts that flew off and we had to go look for them in the light today??

There is now a deep gouge in the road from the trail exit to my driveway, about 4 km's. lol.

So the good is, I found out why its wandering, twitching, following the cracks in the road....the front right radius arm bushing was loose. When we came in at midnight I checked the coolant/oil/suspension and voila, there was a gap between the bushing and the bracket. (obviously loose) Tightened it up and its good at 40-45 kph. (that's 3000 in 5th)

I have new u bolts to put in, maybe tomorrow. The too long ones (with all the nuts for spacers) are holding up fine and don't drag on stuff as bad as I thought they would. Well, ok, I did push some rocks and bend one, but it held!

 

[Bracket racer]

Oops, forgot the full picture of it.

 

[Bracket racer]

A couple of days of HARD running...sigh...
Well, this mud hole

was so bad that only I could get as far as I did. So far I had to get towed out by this,

because after hitting a buried rock (or part of the Canadian shield)
I heard a loud crack and then crunch, crunch, crunch when I let out the clutch.
Drove home in 2wd and when I got there I looked underneath and saw this dangling out...

Blew the front right axle u-joint. Snapped the ears off and everything.
Just before leaving I found the plastic donkey the wife bought as a joke and mounted it to the hood. Problem was, bashing around with it laying in the back, one leg got broke. I thought it was a bad omen....3 legged donkey on the hood...broke and axle so I only have 3 wheel drive...

And how is your week going??

Wife asked what I was going to do, I said do you want option 1 or 2?? Wouldn't tell her what they were. 1 was fix the axle, 2 was SAS. She picked 1 damn it! I think I'll go with the 44 knuckle upgrade though. (along with the c clip delete. Just need more time I guess.....

More to follow.

 

[bobbywalter]

is that you peg?

 

[Bracket racer]

BWAHAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!
I'm honoured you would think that but no, I'm just another Canadian with too heavy of a foot!!


Now I got to go watch zip ties and bias plies on lube tube

 

[bobbywalter]

Well...
Your close enough.....i can make do with ya.

 

[Bracket racer]

If you flat faced, mouth breathing, mongoloids want to watch my crap more power to ya. You can take a fish outta the water, but you can't steam a pickle with a bike.

Axle? You don't need no stinking axle, put her in the ketchup and she's mint!



MINT!!!

 

[sgtsandman]

If you flat faced, mouth breathing, mongoloids want to watch my crap more power to ya. You can take a fish outta the water, but you can't steam a pickle with a bike.

Axle? You don't need no stinking axle, put her in the ketchup and she's mint!



MINT!!!

You've been hanging out in Dirtman's basement, haven't you? That or you've been hanging out with PetroleumJunkie412 and he slipped you something.... LOL

 

[Bracket racer]

Lol! Slip me something? Heck I've got about 11 gallons of shine in the basement, I slip that all the time.

Tried to change a belt tensioner on the focus and snapped a bolt off in the block. Welded a nut on the end of the stud on the back end. Of course wrenches and vice grips won't move it.
I think it's a tomorrow job. Damn it, just looked outside and it's snowing! We got 11" last week and now they're calling for 4-6".
And I can't go snow wheeling.....poo....

 

[bobbywalter]

Snowing here too and I am a few parralels down