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AUSTIN/RR/SAN MARCOS...meet up?

123K views 2K replies 80 participants last post by  Tommy R 
#1 ·
New to JF...first Jeep owner. I am in the Austin area for the next couple of months...Is anyone interested in wrenching party/drive up/meet up to discuss all things Jeep over some cold beverages? I need to learn anything I can about Jeeps!!! I have lots of ideas in my mind...I caught the bug.

Let me know..I am willing to drive a bit on the weekends...nothing better to do yet :D Staying in a hotel in Round Rock. Also, if anyone in the area is working on their Jeep and don't mind me hanging around to help/watch/learn, I would be very greatful!
 
#1,901 ·
My journey out of this **** hole has begun. I will be stateside in 6 days.
 
#1,902 ·
JcArnold said:
My journey out of this **** hole has begun. I will be stateside in 6 days.
Glad to hear it! Have a safe trip back.
 
#1,903 ·
Well, if anyone is interested in the progress of my "bouncing idle issue" I got it fixed! I ordered a refurbished PCM this week and got it installed today. After the install..... EVERYTHING is working as it should!! I can get this beast back on the road and trails again. :cheers2:
 
#1,905 ·
Last weekend, I picked up a Ford 8.8 at a local wrecking yard. It should be a bulletproof upgrade for my rig, and guarantee that I won't have rear axle issues on the trail (my main goal!). First thing on my list is to get the tubes welded to the pumpkin. It sounds somewhat difficult because of the cast pumpkin, so I'm looking for a local shop or person with good experience. Any recommendations?



As a side note, it was hard to find an 8.8 with 4.10 gears to match my front. There was only one in the entire lot, and it has LSD. Eventually, I'll drop in a Detroit locker, but I hope to run it as is for a while (Just Empty Every Pocket!). 3.73s were very common at the yard.

I'll also gain a little more ground clearance with the install - I'm going to use a U-bolt flip kit and rotate the shocks mount flush with the tube. Little tweaks, but it may help me on an obstacle at some point.

Thanks, Stan
 
#1,906 ·
Stan, are you sure you really need to weld the tubes to the center housing? I've never had an issue with 8.8s in my past, but those weren't Explorer housings so maybe they're different? I've got a friend with an Explorer 8.8 and 38" Swampers and his axle has been fine....and he's known to get a little silly. ;)

Generally speaking, welding steel to cast requires preheating the cast iron quite a bit. My concern would be possibly warping the housing by doing so. There is also a specific welding rod/wire that is supposedly capable of welding steel to cast without preheating. If you can find that stuff in a wire format (MIG), we could do the welding here.

Tommy
 
#1,907 ·
StanF said:
Last weekend, I picked up a Ford 8.8 at a local wrecking yard. It should be a bulletproof upgrade for my rig, and guarantee that I won't have rear axle issues on the trail (my main goal!). First thing on my list is to get the tubes welded to the pumpkin. It sounds somewhat difficult because of the cast pumpkin, so I'm looking for a local shop or person with good experience. Any recommendations?

As a side note, it was hard to find an 8.8 with 4.10 gears to match my front. There was only one in the entire lot, and it has LSD. Eventually, I'll drop in a Detroit locker, but I hope to run it as is for a while (Just Empty Every Pocket!). 3.73s were very common at the yard.

I'll also gain a little more ground clearance with the install - I'm going to use a U-bolt flip kit and rotate the shocks mount flush with the tube. Little tweaks, but it may help me on an obstacle at some point.

Thanks, Stan
Stan,
Not sure what "special wire" you may need... I used my arc welder and just ran a bead around the tube. Haven't had an issue with it. Maybe I did something wrong as a beginner welder. (Not being sarcastic.... I really don't weld much!) I think it was a 7170 stick. I'll have to double check numbers. Either way, it worked for my application. I have the sticks/welder at home if needed. Probably wont be too pretty, but effective!!
 
#1,908 ·
Tommy, Bobby, thanks for the help - I'll definitely take you up on it.

I'm almost positive that I want to weld the tubes. The entire point of the upgrade is to make sure that I don't have any rear axle issues. I'd hate to leave a potential weak point and have an issue on the trail.

There are some pretty good threads on welding the tubes:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/jeep-non-hardcore/798746-built-8-8s.html
"Welding the tubes keeps them from spinning. It's done as a precaution to make sure this doesn't ever happen. When welding the tubes, make sure you do them about 1 inch at a time. I welded on one side, then made another weld 180* on the other side of the tube and kept doing this until the whole tube was welded, this helps keep from pulling the tubes up or down due to the "warp" that welding can cause. A lot of guys pre and post heat when they weld the tubes. It was about 100 degrees the day I did it and all I did was weld it up and let it cool naturally (no water, compressed air, etc.) and everything went well. I also welded up another 8.8 for a guy with a MIG using the same process and it turned out good as well."

"I welded the tubes to the housing with a 220V stick welder and 6011 rods."


"Pre heat it first and use a 903 I think or 908 rod and you want to heat the weld again. And have some clean sand to cover it to let it cool down very slowly. Ask what rod at a welding supply store. you ant to do it right getting cast that hot can make it very brittle and shatter. one inch at a time 180 out but you can do both tubes flip and do both again heat and dump sand or a thick welding blanket to let it cool down slowly."

There was a lot more advice here, but it's all over the map.
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f37/how-weld-ford-8-8-tubes-housing-1058033/

My takeaway is that it isn't that difficult, and there are many ways to get the job done, and it doesn't need to be perfect or the prettiest welds to be effective. I need to get the axle all cleaned up first, which may take a while. Thanks, Stan
 
#1,911 ·
My feet have touched US soil.
 
#1,912 ·
:woot: :highfive: :cheers: :2thumbsup: :cheers2:
:woot: :pickle: :woot: :banana: :woot: :bacon: :woot: :congrats:

WELCOME HOME!!!!!!! :salute:
 
#1,915 ·
Perkalater79 said:
Hey guys. How about Hidden Falls on the 17th. It's one of my free Saturdays every few months. :) can anyone join me?

Sent from my iPhone using JeepForum
Possibly.... :)
JCArnold, you gonna have your build done by then?! Or you slackin' on it already..... :peaking:
 
#1,917 ·
Winners97TJ said:
Possibly.... :)
JCArnold, you gonna have your build done by then?! Or you slackin' on it already..... :peaking:
I'm still waiting on parts to arrive. I'm at home this weekend but headed back to hood tonight and won't be back till the 14th so count me out. I did however, drive the YJ yesterday. Oh how I missed it. The 2012 is a dream to drive also but it's not the YJ.
 
#1,918 ·
JcArnold said:
I'm still waiting on parts to arrive. I'm at home this weekend but headed back to hood tonight and won't be back till the 14th so count me out. I did however, drive the YJ yesterday. Oh how I missed it. The 2012 is a dream to drive also but it's not the YJ.
Welcome home brutha. Glad you made it safe.
 
#1,919 ·
Thanks man. I'm back at Ft Hood now for the next week. I have ordered everything I need to build the Jeep. Now I get to sit and wait for it all to arrive.

Are those welding rods you have nickel rods or are they something else.
 
#1,921 ·
It's Christmas in August. Lift arrives on Tuesday.
 
#1,923 ·
JcArnold said:
It's Christmas in August. Lift arrives on Tuesday.
Nnnn-iiiiice!!!!! Did you go Nitto MTs again??

When do I need to bring the law chair and beer.... er... I mean camera??? Yeah, camera. :cheers2:
 
#1,924 ·
Those are 37" Goodyear mtr's already mounted on 17x9 pro comp 7031's. I'm not going to be starting the build until I get back from the beach unless I get confirmation that the shocks will be delivered early next week. I've got everything except lift and shocks right now. The lift gets delivered by Tuesday.
 
#1,925 ·
Hey do any of you JK peeps want a set of 5.13 gears? I've got gears for the Dana 30 front with install kit and gears for a rubicon Dana 44 frt and rr without install kits. Dana 30 frt and 44 rear are USA standard and Dana 44 front are Yukon. Send me a pm if you want a price. I will make you a great deal on them. I got a 2012 and had to buy 4.88's for my project.
 
#1,926 ·
It begins....
 
#1,928 ·
anarchychoppers said:
I love my MTR's one of the best Tires I have ran
Any comparison between them and the KM2s?? (Road noise, grip?)
 
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