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Rear Links - And so it begins - finally!

What I meant was a brace from just above the top bolt hole for the carrier to near the bottom hole in the tabs on the tower. I wasn't very clear.

If you think about what the metal in a weld is I think you'll come to the same conclusion that Carroll Smith did. At his prodding I did. A weld is nothing more than an on-site casting.
Both castings and welds are characterized by large grains in the metal. The only way to reduce the grain size is to do something to the weld metal after the welding process. Coldworking, heat-treat, etc.
Because of this I have no problem welding to cast steel. Cast iron is a bit trickier and a whole different critter, but that is not the case in this application.
 
Still haven't build the brace from the tower down to the pinion bracket bolt, but I did get the kickers in. Turned out pretty good I think, pics are in the progress page.
 
looking really good Russ.

Why did you leave the heims in the adapters while welding? I did not do that last time I fabbed up my links and when I went to install the heims, they didn't thread in properly at all. It messed a few of them up. I never thought of it being a heat warpage issue on the adapters. When I welded mine I put the tube off the edge of the welding table(was a plywood table I had there) and clamped just off the edge. Then I rolled with my left hand while slowly welding with my right. Turned out quite good, but required moving the clamp at least once per end. An actual steel welding table may be a good choice. Just clamp to the table and roll with your hand. But, I'd worry about getting a good ground. Anyway looks like it worked for you.

I just noticed you do have a welding table. Why did you choose to do it this way? I didn't read most of what you said on the page and haven't been keeping up with this thread.
 
Lookin good, I have to admit I like the bolt on braces for the crossmember and may have to steal that idea. I still havn't done mine and was going to have them bolt to the frame but hadn't thought of making them bolt to the crossmember to ease in removal/installation since the thing already weighs 30 pounds...

I like your cnc welding positioner too :D
 
Thanks Jason. Go ahead and use it, it's only fair, seeing as how much I "steal" from you and everyone else! :D And you can use my "high tech MNC positioner" if I can use your lathe? Hmmm? :haha:

Sled, you ask "why did you leave the heims in the adapters", but it sounds like you know why. First set of adapters like that I used (for my tie rod) I didn't thread anything in, and it is an SOB to adjust due to distortion. So now I do what you saw in the pics and have not more trouble, you just don't want to let them get too hot. Removing them almost immediately after welding is fine since everything has already stabilized by then. All 8 of my rodends thread easily by hand, and the rubes adjust very smoothly.

As far as using the welding table for ground, it could have been done that way. And I often do use it for ground on simple frame works and brackets, particularly for tacking. But sometimes it seems to cause "clean ground"(?) problems, especially for something that is being rolled, so I find I prefer to clamp to the work piece. I also set up both ends before starting, and that could not have been done sitting on the table since the rod end is wider than the tube and would have been knocked out of place as well as interfering with the turning. And the original creation of that "jig" was to deal with a drive shaft which had similar issues and a CV flopping around.
 
I've used bolts coated in Anti-Sieze to keep threaded inserts from closing up. The lead based or higher temp and marine versions seem to work better than the common aluminum based stuff.

My fab table is aluminum. I was all excited b/c I'd heard that aluminum topped benches don't mar the parts being welded with arc marks. Wrong, still does it even after a meticulous cleaning. Now when it's a part I don't want marred or going to ground thru something like a bearing I use an old jumper cable btwn the part and the table.
There is also a device a welder I know call's a 'welder's hand'. It's a heavy piece of round bar stock 6"-8" long with a piece of ~1/4" bar stock welded on 90* to the heavy piece's side. The opposite end of the 1/4" has a 90* bent in it and has been tapered to almost a point. No matter how you set it, the point wants to hit the table. Works well for both holding something while you tack it and as a ground.
 
Depends on lots of stuff like my energy level, work load, and the weather (which is finally cooperating). But I hope to get it going for the Los Cruces trip, but that is looking less likely each day since I'll have to have at least one local run to shake things out before going down there. The week end will tell the tail I guess.

I got some of the spring mounts done tonight, basically the upper mount and internal bump stop is done. Still got to finish the lower mount and frame bracket. Hopefully finish that tomorrow. Then this week end, get the fuel cell modifications finished and everything replumbed. Move the transfer case over about 1" to center the drive shaft. Modify and get the skid plate back under it. Modify the back of the cage to protect the elevated fuel cell, and build a cooler rack over the fuel cell. And lots of other little stuff.

Hopefully first of the week I'll be ready to get the exhaust done and paint everything… But the rate other things have been completing, I'm not betting on it…
 
Well, initially I was going to use them as the base for the lower coil buckets. Already securely welded to the axle tubes and they provided a correctly oriented flat surface. Then I realized I needed more room to fit the lower brackets, so I notched the leaf perches to fit the brackets in. It also provided a sort of gusset when I welded them to the brackets where it was notched. The lower coil buckets are still going to weld on top of them, but shifted off to the back, and it's now going to require a brace from the back of the tube up to the back of the coil bucket.
 
Well, other than final plumbing and painting, it's pretty much done. I'll probably go back and add some plating to the bridge, but the fab is basically done... As always, let me know what you think.
 
Oh, and one more thing for all of you who take delight in my mistakes.

I screwed up and broke 1/2 a coil off one my springs. One end on the ZJ coils was cut and not "flattened" so I went to a friends place and borrowed the torch to flatten one coil. I've done this a fair few times and NEVER had a problem. Well, he was busy and being that I was bumming, I wanted to get on out of his way. The springs had been sitting for a bit, and had long since lost the ruddy read color. I figured it was well below "critical temp" so I finished cooling in a handy puddle so it wouldn't melt my bed liner or something and left. Well, I guess I was wrong. It crystallized and I broke it literally by hand when it got bound up in the retaining mechanism on the bottom plate, and I was wrestling it loose. Moral of this story, don't EVER rush cooling a spring even if you think it's well below critical temp (I would have guessed no more than 400* at this point). Air cooling is the way to go.

Anyway, those coils were really a bit shorter than I would consider ideal even in unbroken form, so I'll go ahead and use them for a test run just to see if the rate will work. Then, if it does look like I need longer coils, I'll probably pick up some +2 or even +4 ZJ coils. Priced them at $120 a pair so that's not too bad, but they may be a slightly higher rate. I'll have to check that. If the unbroken one seems about the right length, I'll look for another set of pull-offs, but with my luck, it will never happen. Ahhhh, already glad I went to the trouble to make them upper buckets adjustable.
 
Looks good Russ. I am a little leary of the length of the coils, but it just might be perfect (I can be picky sometimes).

ntsqd, the tool you mentioned is also called a mechanical finger, they are a great item. I have two of them, one out of 1.5" schedule 40 that stands 3 feet tall (bumper/cage work) and another that is about 8" long out of 1/4" round stock for small work.
 
Russ,


Looking good my brother!!! :thumb:

One random thought in case you haven't already considered it relating to that rear bridge.... It looks to be well-supported on the pinion side, why not do the same thing on the diff cover side? Depending on the overhang of that bridge, it might be a simple matter of building "half" a rock ring (for the upper 7 bolts) and weld the supporting metal to it??? I'm thinking something with a pretty substantial thickness for the ring....like maybe 1"?? Obviously, longer cover bolts too....

If you did it right, you might still be able to get the cover out from behind it by grinding off that slight lip that the stock covers have...

Dunno, I like the idea of utilizing existing mounting holes and with THAT many bolts available for clamping I can't see how the forces would ever be high enough to shear off those bolts...


.
 
It will be plenty strong like it is without mounting it to the diff cover. Anything more will just add weight and take from looks, IMO. With the size of material and the way its welded, it will be fine. My upper links truss doesnt mount to the pinions bearing area like Russ' does and works extremely well. Every non moon buggy Shannon Campbell ever built has a upper link truss smaller than mine and they have all held up great, so I dont worry about mine either.
 
blk87K5 said:
It will be plenty strong like it is without mounting it to the diff cover. Anything more will just add weight and take from looks, IMO. With the size of material and the way its welded, it will be fine. My upper links truss doesnt mount to the pinions bearing area like Russ' does and works extremely well. Every non moon buggy Shannon Campbell ever built has a upper link truss smaller than mine and they have all held up great, so I dont worry about mine either.
Click to expand...


He could drill some "speed holes" in it though.....you know.....for LOOKS!! :D

...or Chrome it.

.
 
Thanks all. Man, it's been a PIA to be sure...

Matt: Worried about the coils how? Too short? If so, I agree. That's why I'm thinking I may go with +2 or +4 when I get a change to wring it out a bit to see how it works.

Greg/Bryan: Several people have expressed concern about the bridge shifting because it is flat plate. I'm not entirely sure one way or the other. It's worked for other buggies, truggies and trucks, but they were all (as far as I know about) smaller than mine. "Jeep class" and 2 seat buggies. So I've about decided to cut some 1/8" plate and weld a "wall" in between the back of the bridge and the diff housing to make sure it does not try to straighten the bends over time. And the bridge does not extend over the ~1" cast flange (the top side of the "land anchor), so tying to the bolts would require an "L" shaped piece.

Bryan: Just currious, is you bridge a flat plate piece? Too late now, but looking back, I wish I had built it all myself and sold the BTF bridge when I changed link designs...
 
Yep, its a flat plate about 25" wide and 8" tall that is cut to fit over the top of the 14 bolt. I wouldnt regret buy the BTF piece, looks really nice. I even thought of buying one for my rear four link, but I had some plate laying around, had plenty of beer boxes to make templates with, and had about half of said beer in me, so I wasnt scared. :crazy: All in all, it turned out nice and will probably be hell for stout, as it looks like your will too. I think you certainly put a lot more thought and math in yours than I did on mine. When my roomate gets out of bed here in a few, I'll get him to snap a few pics of mine so everybody can pic it apart.
 
Ya, I am wondering if they are too short. You can also look at the 2wd prerunner ford ranger springs. I think they are softer/longer than XJ lift springs.
 
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