Note: This started out as a SOA Ton swap and some cloaks/armor. It has spiralled into the misadventures of a full on tear down & rebuild/LS-NV4500 swap.
JF has been a huge resource for me in the past. It played a large roll in learning the intricacies of Jeeps. Guess I thought it would be a good idea to put up a build thread in the hopes it might help someone else out there. The purpose of this build is to create a tank, essentially. Not so much the M1 Abrams type but more a well-rounded performer (mud/rock/snow/camping/cruising) that will shrug off some beatings while providing the foundation for expansion down the road. How easily that comes to fruition remains to be seen, so stay tuned.
BACK STORY:
Bought my Jeep around SEP08 off CL from a fairly well off couple in TX who intended to use it as a "beach toy" but found it didn't have the space they wanted after loading it up with their stuff, so it sat in the garage. Bone stock except for some worn 31's and a front bumper put on by a PO.
Returned from one of my deployments and threw some money at it. Rubicon Express 4.5 HD, Adv. Adapters SYE, ProComp MX-6 shocks & 31x10.5 Pro Comp Xtreme Terrains. (I figured they were a good all around performer since it would mostly be seeing street use at the time. I was wrong, they're terrible. Everywhere.)
Then life happened: Installed the "wife-mod" in MAY '10, got out of the military the following September, and subsequently had that marriage fall apart. Go figure lol I removed the wife-mod towards the end of 2011. :wave: "Bye Felicia."
Long story short, a split Tcase, and a fragged D35 and I swapped in one from an '88. While it was a bolt in replacement, it was SIGNIFICANTLY heavier, and more stout than the factory. Anticanman helped me out on here. Stayed that way for a few years and performed well enough.
Fast forward to the day after New Year's 2013, I told civilian life to kick rocks and re-enlisted into a different branch. It sat in a storage unit all buttoned up for about two and half years while I was completing the training pipeline for my new career.
That's the gist of its past, now on to the present.
Mobility
-Outboard front springs and shocks
-SOA- RE 1.5 Springs EDIT (28MAR20): Swapped out RE springs for Waggy's F & R
-Crossover Steering (Chassis Unlimited)
-Repair/ Refurb axles and install
-Traction Bar (RuffStuff)
-Establish Drivelines
-TIRES: 37x13.5x17 Toyo MT
-WHEELS: 17x9 Steelies w/ 3.75" BS
-LOCKER: Front: Lock right / Rear: TrueTrac
Up-Armor and Recovery
-FRONT: Arched Tube Cloaks
-REAR: Poison Spyder
-SLIDERS: Poison Spyder
-BUMPER: Front / Rear: KD Fabworks
-WINCH: 9500lb w/ syn line
-OBA: A/C Compressor, ~2.5G tank and req'd fittings
-ACC: Taurus Fan, CB/PA, Gauges/Dash, 6x9 Driving Lights
Re-Power
-ENGINE: 5.3 LM7
--MODS: CompCam XR259HR, Cowl intake
-TRANS: NV4500
A '91 Ford KP D60 and a '96 Sterling 10.25 w/ discs are in various stages of dis-assembly in my garage. A lot of the reading I had done prior to starting this suggested that I should get the '79 due to the diff being more towards the center and the spring perches only being ~.5" wider per side than some of the other years. I spent some time looking for the '79 variant, but all the ones I found were way too expensive.
Something that was pointed out about the later model D60 was that by out-boarding the springs I could take advantage of the cast in perch and have the benefit of the diff being closer to the frame rail and not as close to the oil pan.
I found the Sterling first. Loaded it into my Explorer and lugged it home. Took me and 2 buddies to drag it out.
The 60
It had been sitting for a bit, definitely needs some cleaning... to say the least. :brickwall
Axle comparison
Metal Cloaks showed up
Took me a while to figure how this mess came apart, but eventually I started making some progress. Got the 60 and Sterling broken down for the most part. Suffice it to say the 10.25's got some issues that need to be addressed.
Took this right before I pulled the shafts.. BEEFY
Now, onto my problem child. Evidently, this axle has been like the village bicycle. Remnants of different perches adorn this lovely chunk of metal. Also, one or more of its former owners appear to have gone full retard. :nono:
Problem 1: There are small holes burned through the tube. I know they go through because gear oil was seeping out of them.
Potential problem 2: Some idiot went ham with God knows what and appears to have dug pretty well into the tube.
Proposed Solution: I was told on here, I think, to just burn in the holes and gaps until its sealed up and then grind down the excess until its flush(-ish).
Can anyone Confirm or contradict that?
09MAR2015
After messing around trying to knock the lower king pins loose I got fed up and put the cut off wheel to the knuckles and just cut the F***ers off. Should have done that from the start. It took like 5-10 minutes, seriously. If anyone is ever taking the knuckles off and not going to re-use them, spare yourself some heartache and cut them off.
In other news: OBA pieces have been accumulating.
- A/C Compressor
- Air tank from Ebay
- 3/4-3/8 reducers
- Snazzy manifold from Pnuemadyne
- check valve
- Fogger
- Oil/water Filter
- Gauge
- 175 PSI Relief Valve
- ViAir 120 on/150 off Pressure switch. 1/8 NPT
Other Purchases:
Reid Knuckles: 702.40 w/ S+H
Blue Torch Lower KP: 217.37 w S+H
This Hi- Steer setup with Bronze Reid KP Bushings and a drop pitman arm: 695.97 w S+H
THIS outboard kit for the front springs & some shock tubes from Ruff Stuff.
So, it's on to new brake calipers front and rear.
Sorry for lack of pics, my phone kicked the bucket on friday.. had to add that to the list of purchases as well :brickwall
JF has been a huge resource for me in the past. It played a large roll in learning the intricacies of Jeeps. Guess I thought it would be a good idea to put up a build thread in the hopes it might help someone else out there. The purpose of this build is to create a tank, essentially. Not so much the M1 Abrams type but more a well-rounded performer (mud/rock/snow/camping/cruising) that will shrug off some beatings while providing the foundation for expansion down the road. How easily that comes to fruition remains to be seen, so stay tuned.
BACK STORY:
Bought my Jeep around SEP08 off CL from a fairly well off couple in TX who intended to use it as a "beach toy" but found it didn't have the space they wanted after loading it up with their stuff, so it sat in the garage. Bone stock except for some worn 31's and a front bumper put on by a PO.
Returned from one of my deployments and threw some money at it. Rubicon Express 4.5 HD, Adv. Adapters SYE, ProComp MX-6 shocks & 31x10.5 Pro Comp Xtreme Terrains. (I figured they were a good all around performer since it would mostly be seeing street use at the time. I was wrong, they're terrible. Everywhere.)
Then life happened: Installed the "wife-mod" in MAY '10, got out of the military the following September, and subsequently had that marriage fall apart. Go figure lol I removed the wife-mod towards the end of 2011. :wave: "Bye Felicia."
Long story short, a split Tcase, and a fragged D35 and I swapped in one from an '88. While it was a bolt in replacement, it was SIGNIFICANTLY heavier, and more stout than the factory. Anticanman helped me out on here. Stayed that way for a few years and performed well enough.
Fast forward to the day after New Year's 2013, I told civilian life to kick rocks and re-enlisted into a different branch. It sat in a storage unit all buttoned up for about two and half years while I was completing the training pipeline for my new career.
That's the gist of its past, now on to the present.
Mobility
-Outboard front springs and shocks
-SOA- RE 1.5 Springs EDIT (28MAR20): Swapped out RE springs for Waggy's F & R
-Crossover Steering (Chassis Unlimited)
-Repair/ Refurb axles and install
-Traction Bar (RuffStuff)
-Establish Drivelines
-TIRES: 37x13.5x17 Toyo MT
-WHEELS: 17x9 Steelies w/ 3.75" BS
-LOCKER: Front: Lock right / Rear: TrueTrac
Up-Armor and Recovery
-FRONT: Arched Tube Cloaks
-REAR: Poison Spyder
-SLIDERS: Poison Spyder
-BUMPER: Front / Rear: KD Fabworks
-WINCH: 9500lb w/ syn line
-OBA: A/C Compressor, ~2.5G tank and req'd fittings
-ACC: Taurus Fan, CB/PA, Gauges/Dash, 6x9 Driving Lights
Re-Power
-ENGINE: 5.3 LM7
--MODS: CompCam XR259HR, Cowl intake
-TRANS: NV4500
A '91 Ford KP D60 and a '96 Sterling 10.25 w/ discs are in various stages of dis-assembly in my garage. A lot of the reading I had done prior to starting this suggested that I should get the '79 due to the diff being more towards the center and the spring perches only being ~.5" wider per side than some of the other years. I spent some time looking for the '79 variant, but all the ones I found were way too expensive.
Something that was pointed out about the later model D60 was that by out-boarding the springs I could take advantage of the cast in perch and have the benefit of the diff being closer to the frame rail and not as close to the oil pan.
I found the Sterling first. Loaded it into my Explorer and lugged it home. Took me and 2 buddies to drag it out.
The 60
It had been sitting for a bit, definitely needs some cleaning... to say the least. :brickwall
Axle comparison
Metal Cloaks showed up
Took me a while to figure how this mess came apart, but eventually I started making some progress. Got the 60 and Sterling broken down for the most part. Suffice it to say the 10.25's got some issues that need to be addressed.
Took this right before I pulled the shafts.. BEEFY
Now, onto my problem child. Evidently, this axle has been like the village bicycle. Remnants of different perches adorn this lovely chunk of metal. Also, one or more of its former owners appear to have gone full retard. :nono:
Problem 1: There are small holes burned through the tube. I know they go through because gear oil was seeping out of them.
Potential problem 2: Some idiot went ham with God knows what and appears to have dug pretty well into the tube.
Proposed Solution: I was told on here, I think, to just burn in the holes and gaps until its sealed up and then grind down the excess until its flush(-ish).
Can anyone Confirm or contradict that?
09MAR2015
After messing around trying to knock the lower king pins loose I got fed up and put the cut off wheel to the knuckles and just cut the F***ers off. Should have done that from the start. It took like 5-10 minutes, seriously. If anyone is ever taking the knuckles off and not going to re-use them, spare yourself some heartache and cut them off.
In other news: OBA pieces have been accumulating.
- A/C Compressor
- Air tank from Ebay
- 3/4-3/8 reducers
- Snazzy manifold from Pnuemadyne
- check valve
- Fogger
- Oil/water Filter
- Gauge
- 175 PSI Relief Valve
- ViAir 120 on/150 off Pressure switch. 1/8 NPT
Other Purchases:
Reid Knuckles: 702.40 w/ S+H
Blue Torch Lower KP: 217.37 w S+H
This Hi- Steer setup with Bronze Reid KP Bushings and a drop pitman arm: 695.97 w S+H
THIS outboard kit for the front springs & some shock tubes from Ruff Stuff.
So, it's on to new brake calipers front and rear.
Sorry for lack of pics, my phone kicked the bucket on friday.. had to add that to the list of purchases as well :brickwall