I have a really good way.
Google and buy new.
Google and buy new.
CK5
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Pigeon-Rat - Opel gambler build
- Thread starter ashman
- Start date
1966 Opel rekord mounted to 1990 Nissan pathfinder.
Hav you tried a porta-a-power?
This is the way.
You guys are right, buying new is the "correct" way to do it. However, this is a front axle shaft on a light vehicle putting less than 200hp to the wheels. I think it'll survive if I can get it bent back a bit.
Not yet.
I realized it was bent when I couldn't get the u joint into it last night. I did the rest of the u joints and set that one aside. I'll try a few things this evening hopefully.
If you do this, I want blow-by-blow pics.Put a big pie cut in the bend, set it where it needs to be and build it back with the welder
Hammer it back out during reassembly.
Martin
Martin
THIS, has happened more than I care to talk about…
But, I’ve never bent one so bad I couldn’t get it to go back together with a little percussive suggestion.
This ended up being the best way to do it.
I have the 10 ton portapower from harbor freight, so I tried it. Didn't do shit. I've had this thing for awhile and I'm surprised at how little it's been useful. Either 10 tons isn't as much pressure as it sounds, or hf is full of shit on the rating.
I did try hammering on it a little, but prying on the ear worked best.
I clamped the ear in the vise. There was a nice ridge on the ear so that I could be sure that I clamped it in the same spot each time.
I used this piece of rectangular tubing as a pry bar. It was the only thing I had that was strong enough, long enough, and would fit over the axle.
I measured the angle on the good yoke, then bent the bad one to match. Took a couple tries to get it right, but it worked like a charm. It's all back together now.
Thanks again @kennyw !
The last step in preparing the D35 axle housings for the D44 knuckles was to remove a bit of the metal under the upper ball joint.
The Dana44 "C" is slightly wider than the D35s, but taking this bit of metal out makes them the same size. I'll reinforce it from the outside before I'm finished.
After getting everything put back together, it did occur to me that I'm probably going to have to cut and turn the C's anyway, so it might have been easier to just cut off the D44 Cs and use those. OR, since I'm using 2" adaptors to convert to 6 lug anyway, it might have made sense to use the whole D44 axle instead. Sure it's wider, but I could probably use chevy hubs on it and skip the adaptors. Oh, well, too late for that now. :P
I was able to finish putting the axle together finally and I installed it on a crossmember I got from a buddy.
There are a TON of different crossmembers for these axles, so the plan is to figure out a way to mount the crossmember to something solid so that I can try cycling the axle halfs and make sure this spacing of the pivots works for this axle. If it does, I'll be able to use this for taking measurements for building my own crossmember for pigeonrat.
Also, I bought the new shoes I plan on using once the axle swap is complete.
33x10.50R15. A pretty big step up from the 29's that were on it before.
The Dana44 "C" is slightly wider than the D35s, but taking this bit of metal out makes them the same size. I'll reinforce it from the outside before I'm finished.
After getting everything put back together, it did occur to me that I'm probably going to have to cut and turn the C's anyway, so it might have been easier to just cut off the D44 Cs and use those. OR, since I'm using 2" adaptors to convert to 6 lug anyway, it might have made sense to use the whole D44 axle instead. Sure it's wider, but I could probably use chevy hubs on it and skip the adaptors. Oh, well, too late for that now. :P
I was able to finish putting the axle together finally and I installed it on a crossmember I got from a buddy.
There are a TON of different crossmembers for these axles, so the plan is to figure out a way to mount the crossmember to something solid so that I can try cycling the axle halfs and make sure this spacing of the pivots works for this axle. If it does, I'll be able to use this for taking measurements for building my own crossmember for pigeonrat.
Also, I bought the new shoes I plan on using once the axle swap is complete.
33x10.50R15. A pretty big step up from the 29's that were on it before.
Those look huge on it.
I got the crossmember hung from my table.
Once there, I got a better look at the PS axle and realized it's spaced too far apart even before cycling it.
As you can see, the boot is already pulled off where it should rest. The PS axle needs to come in close to 2".
Its a bummer the crossmember didn't work out, but it at least gives me a starting point.
Once there, I got a better look at the PS axle and realized it's spaced too far apart even before cycling it.
As you can see, the boot is already pulled off where it should rest. The PS axle needs to come in close to 2".
Its a bummer the crossmember didn't work out, but it at least gives me a starting point.
What's the crossmember out of?
I think it was an f150.
I've been pretty busy the past several weeks, but I did manage to put together a test crossmember to cycle the axle with:
It's pretty ugly, but the plan was to make it easy to change up the mounting points so that I can dial in exactly where they need to be (hopefully).
My first setup is obviously wrong.
When I cycle the axles, it still pulls the boot off of the shaft. Initially it seemed to make sense that the ujoint (under the red line) shoul be in line with the pivot point on the right so that the ujoint could pivot on the same plane. I eventually realized that only makes sense if just 1 axle half is pivoting. Given that both sizes move up and down, that u-joint needs to be closer to centered between the 2 pivots (green lines). I was able to confirm that by checking my WMS spacing against what is listed as stock for an Explorer with a Dana35. Stock width should be 59.5-60". As it sits, I'm at about 62", so I'm still too wide. Pushing the axle pivots further apart will narrow the total axle width, and push the u-joint closer to centered between the pivots.
Also, my front to back spacing is off:
I based this spacing off of the f150 crossmember, but looking at the angle of the axle shaft, it seems obvious that they are too far apart.
I'm going to pull the axle off of my "crossmember", adjust the spacings and then remount it and see if I'm closer.
I don't have to get it perfect yet, just close enough that I can build V1 and mount it in the car. Until I get it mounted with the radius arms there are too many variables anyway. To be perfectly honest, I've been putting off cutting the old suspension out of the car, but I need to just get on with it, and figure this out.
It's pretty ugly, but the plan was to make it easy to change up the mounting points so that I can dial in exactly where they need to be (hopefully).
My first setup is obviously wrong.
When I cycle the axles, it still pulls the boot off of the shaft. Initially it seemed to make sense that the ujoint (under the red line) shoul be in line with the pivot point on the right so that the ujoint could pivot on the same plane. I eventually realized that only makes sense if just 1 axle half is pivoting. Given that both sizes move up and down, that u-joint needs to be closer to centered between the 2 pivots (green lines). I was able to confirm that by checking my WMS spacing against what is listed as stock for an Explorer with a Dana35. Stock width should be 59.5-60". As it sits, I'm at about 62", so I'm still too wide. Pushing the axle pivots further apart will narrow the total axle width, and push the u-joint closer to centered between the pivots.
Also, my front to back spacing is off:
I based this spacing off of the f150 crossmember, but looking at the angle of the axle shaft, it seems obvious that they are too far apart.
I'm going to pull the axle off of my "crossmember", adjust the spacings and then remount it and see if I'm closer.
I don't have to get it perfect yet, just close enough that I can build V1 and mount it in the car. Until I get it mounted with the radius arms there are too many variables anyway. To be perfectly honest, I've been putting off cutting the old suspension out of the car, but I need to just get on with it, and figure this out.
The fullsize x member is different than the d35 x member. Why not use d44 beams?
I'm trying to keep the width reasonably close to what I have now. The Pathfinder it's based on is between 56-58" width. The Dana35 is already wider at 60", the dana44 would be around 65" wide.
You may have to source a ranger or Explorer crossmember to make it easier. 2wd is different from 4wd on the d35 stuff.
As mentioned above, I readjusted my makeshift crossmember, and I think I'm closer, but it's just too hard to tell if I'm really getting it right or not. I think I'm going to have to do exactly what you said and get my hands on the right crossmember. I think it's the only way to be sure I've got it right.
