New truck in the drive

[Shifty]

I'm glad you decided to keep the beast, it may not have received the love you're giving it.   

[Dr_Snooz]

After a week of wire brushing, rust treatment spray and rust primer, the axle housing changed color today.

[Dr_Snooz]

FailEx can't seem to get its act together and get me the parts I ordered 2 weeks ago, so I'm not getting much done on the axle. I did, however, put the old pinion in last night to get a pinion depth measurement. I learned something when I did. I had trouble getting the pinion nut tight enough to achieve the right bearing preload. I pulled on my torque wrench until it clicked at 150 ft-lbs. Preload is supposed to be 10-15 in-lbs, but I was only at 9.5. No problem. I grabbed my impact gun, rated at 600 ft-lbs and laid on it. That got me up to... 9.5 in-lbs. Okay, I am using a tiny pancake compressor, and the gun is old now, so I grabbed my buddy's DeWalt battery gun, rated at 700 ft-lbs and went to town. That got me all the way to... 9.5 in-lbs. Once the pinion nut bottomed on the crush sleeve, it wouldn't go any further. I don't have anything more than 700 ft-lbs, so I'm done. Really, only big-rig shops with five-figure compressors, big hoses and 3/4" guns can go higher.

It's not easy to crush a crush sleeve. The average crush torque on the average axle is 300-400 ft-lbs. On my 1-ton axle, it takes more than I'm able to produce.

All that to say, when I was under my truck, cursing myself for not marking the pinion nut before removing it, there was an easy fix. I could have simply brapped the nut back on to as much as my impact gun could muster, and driven happy. It wouldn't have mattered. Once the nut bottoms on the crush sleeve, it doesn't move any further without really long cheater bars.

That feeling when you realize your $2,500 axle build wasn't necessary...

Don't get me wrong, my axle needed attention. It had started to howl a bit, that bearing was sad, the brakes were a mess, etc. That said, it was still running and could have kept running for some time still.

For the next guy, just know that failing to mark your pinion nut probably isn't a big deal. Put it back on and tighten it up. You'll feel it bottom out on the crush sleeve, and it won't go any further after that. As for me, I'm off to buy some really long cheater bars for the new crush sleeve.

[Dr_Snooz]

My inexperience and a cheap press turned into a chipped pinion tooth. Sigh. Pinion setup is critical to a successful build, and impossible to correct without a complete teardown. I knew it would be difficult. I read 2 different manuals, multiple discussion threads and watched a half dozen YouTube vids, but still got to pay to learn a lesson the hard way.

I called the guys at East Coast Gear again for another ring and pinion. They also had some setup bearings and good advice that made the next attempt look like this.





For those who don't know, those grey circles in the center of the tooth face indicate that the pinion shims are perfect.

The next task was getting the pinion bearing preload set by crushing the crush sleeve. As I've already indicated, that's no small task. I went to Harbor Freight, got their longest breaker bar and their biggest pipe wrench. Then I went to Big Orange for some 10' lengths of pipe. It made crushing that sleeve really easy, even for my skinny punk nephews.

A test fit of the new disc brakes looks great!



I got this kit from lugnut4x4.com. So far it looks good. I still need to buy a new prop valve though.

I'm hoping to get this thing rolling again this week. Wish me well.

[Dr_Snooz]

Speaking of the prop valve, I understand the prop valve sits above the rear axle. If so, what's that giant cast iron contraption under the fan shroud?

[Dr_Snooz]

The cheap jack on the cheap press blew a seal and bled out as I was pressing in the new lug studs. Now I'm not recommending it, but when you're fractions of an inch away from finished, you do what must be done.



Yeah.

From the colossally oversized jack, to the lopsided galvanized pipe supporting the axle shaft at the bottom, to the jack that doesn't quite line up with the reinforced push point at the top, that's all kinds of wrong. God help anyone nearby if that mess blows apart under load. Namely me. The good news is that I finished the job without a trip to ER.

A new jack is on the way.

[Mike81K10]

Sacrificing a jack or tool is worth it at times to get the job done.

[JohnnyPopper]

Speaking of the prop valve, I understand the prop valve sits above the rear axle. If so, what's that giant cast iron contraption under the fan shroud?

Giant cast iron contraption under the fan shroud- does it have a single wire connected to it? If if does that Is your Prop valve.
Made of brass as I recall.

[Dr_Snooz]

...And we're back on the road!!!

I'm not sure why, but it took a little extra oomph to get the C clips on the axle shafts.



Axle installed.



Brake lines bent, flared with my crappy Chinese tool, and installed.





Brakes, shocks and everything else ready to go.



The parking brakes are not done. I thought I would be able to use the OE cables, but the one side was too long and the other too short. I have some cut-to-length cables on the way.

[Dr_Snooz]

The old brake drums mount on the outside of the hubs. The new discs mount on the inside. My nephew has been my faithful helper throughout this build, and he noticed that I would lose 1/4" of offset with this arrangement. He's taking beginning welding at the JC here, so he grabbed my old drums and took them to class. Then came home with these.



Those are hand-crafted, custom wheel spacers. I had him sign them and then put a hand-rubbed finish on them, just like you'd do with any fine, custom metalwork.



Awesome!

[JohnnyPopper]

Great progress! Keep going man!

[Dr_Snooz]

The drive to break in the ring gear and pinion was real nice. It didn't get too hot. The clunk into gear was hardly noticeable. The brakes grabbed well, didn't squeal and felt great, though I ought to get a new prop valve. There weren't drips or leaks, which might be a first for me, lol. The diff is dead silent at low speed. There's no growl or anything, and the quiet howl between 55-60 that was there with the old axle... is still there. I don't know why.

All in all, it seems to be a successful build. Here it is, as it sits in the drive right now.



I can't wait to drive to the beach now!

[Dr_Snooz]

Great progress! Keep going man!

Thank you, kindly!

[Dr_Snooz]

Oh, I forgot the best part! I bought a keyless controller for my rear window. I laugh hysterically every time I use it...

https://1drv.ms/v/s!AmykSvd_9WdWhM0WJys1AJCOjftvBg?e=KxPGMS

(Just a link to my OneDrive account, because I don't know how to embed video on this site.)

It's a cheap eBay special, so what do you expect lol? I'm glad it works at all, because it's better than me stooping down in a crowded parking lot to short the wires hanging down beneath my rear bumper. That makes it hard to hide how easy it is to get into the truck. I'll reach out to the seller to see if they have any guidance. They'll probably just send me another one and we'll all cross our fingers and hope it works rofl.

[bd]

I'm going out on a limb here, but it sounds like the rear window mechanism and glass channels are dry as a bone.  The motor contains an integrated circuit breaker that may be cycling open-closed-open-closed... due to the mechanical load on the motor.  If you lubricate the mechanism and channels liberally and verify proper channel alignment you might be pleasantly surprised.