Big Blue's Transformation

[ArdWrknTrk]

Gary Lewis wrote

Ooooooo!  

I'm eyeballing those spring shackles.


Shoot me a text or email and I'll give you an address.

[Gary Lewis]

Dane - $110 for the double cardan isn't bad.  But did that include another joint on the end of the shaft?  I've not priced the joints for the double cardan, but they could be about that much.

Jim - I have the address, unless you've moved, and I have the money.  Was thinking I'd sell the whole thing instead of piecing it out, but I think I'm now piecing it out.  I won't be pulling things apart for a bit, but will send them when I do.  

[ArdWrknTrk]

The whole what?

Text incoming with an address.

[Gary Lewis]

D44 TTB, inc springs, shocks, driveshaft, etc.  Bolt-in replacement.

Brandon/Bruno2 is considering it for Kris's truck, which is 2wd.  But he's not decided, or if he has he hasn't told me.  If he wants it he can find shackles.  

[Gary Lewis]

Well, as you can see below, the BW1345 is out.  But, the plan for it is very much in limbo.

It needs the double-cardan front output yoke, so I thought I'd have it freshened up while having the flange put on.  But here's the input I have to this point on having it done:

Boom's Garage: This is where the D60 work is being done, and his quote is $595.70, not including the double-cardan output flange.  I've gone back to ask exactly what I get for that price and what the flange will cost, but have not heard back.

Harmon's: His recommendation was to "Put it back in and use it if it is working now."  Said it would cost $550-750 to freshen it up, and that was assuming they didn't find anything broken.  But, that parts are hard to find and usually you have to go with used rather than new parts.

Big D's: Said to budget $1000 to tear into one of them.  As for the flange, he thinks he probably has one and it'll be $75-125.

So, I'm thinking of doing it myself and have done a bit of searching for kits and parts.  Here's some I've found:

Drive Train: They have a Seal & Gasket Kit for $29.68 and a Rebuilder Kit (Bearings, Gaskets & Seals, Filter Kit and Pads) for $94.34.  But neither of those include the chain, which is $158.78 if it is the 1.25" wide one with 42 links (#012), or $139.77 for the 1.5" wide one with 43 links (#013).  However, Brad said I'd better hope it isn't the latter as those are no longer available.  And, there's no way to decode the tag to find out what you have before opening the case.

However, he said that the chains do not commonly wear out.  So he recommended going with the Rebuilder Kit.  And, he said they may have the double-cardan yoke, but he'll call me back on that in a bit.

Allstate Gear: They have an Overhaul Kit (Gaskets, O' Rings and Seals) for $23.46 and they have a Bearing & Seal kit for $84.12. But they don't show additional parts like Drive Train does.

There are others, but Drivetrain appears to be a good source.  I'm seriously considering doing it myself with their Rebuilder kit.

Thoughts?

[Steve83]

Is there some specific reason to rebuild it?  Why not just swap the yoke, and drive?

[Gary Lewis]

None other than it is the only thing that won't have been rebuilt in the driveline - although someone in Florida did the rear diff.  

And, since I need the yoke I was considering having someone "go through it".  However, having talked to Brad at Drive Train, who found the yoke for $70, I decided to do it myself.  So the yoke and the Rebuild kit are on their way.  I'll be out $160 + freight, but for the additional $90 I'll have peace of mind knowing the t-case is good.

Or, I'll get into it and discover other problems that would have bit me in the back of beyond and have to come up with a different plan.  But $160 is a lot less than $600 to find that out.

[grumpin]

Gary Lewis wrote

Dane - $110 for the double cardan isn't bad.  But did that include another joint on the end of the shaft?  I've not priced the joints for the double cardan, but they could be about that much.

That included the other u joint on the end of the shaft. An exchange shaft was around $275 or $375 can’t remember exactly. And none available, anywhere.

[Gary Lewis]

Dane - That's pretty good.  Thanks.

Steve - To give a little more detail, the transmission and front diff have been professionally rebuilt, the front wheels will have all new bearings and lockouts, and all the u-joints will be new.  And, as I said, the rear axle was rebuilt with new gears, bearings, and Trutrack, although to say "professionally rebuilt" might be a stretch.  Anyway, I didn't want to install a used transfer case in the midst of that.

Now for what I did today.  After pulling the transfer case I rolled the truck out of the shop so I could open the doors and work inside it.  That let me pull the seat, carpet, transmission cover, transmission shift lever, and steering column.  And then I did the put-your-back-to-it trick and rolled the truck back into the shop.

Here's a shot of the truck with most of the interior out, but this was before I pulled the steering column and shift levers.  As you can see there's some rust, although not bad, which I'll treat with POR15 at some point before I put it all back together.

If all goes well I'll pull the tranny and the engine tomorrow.  

[ArdWrknTrk]

"Retirement* becomes you, Gary..

[salans7]

Three hideous things in that picture:
-The rust
-The purple burlwood
-Those speakers

[Gary Lewis]

This is my weight-loss program.  I've been too sedentary of late and have put on a few pounds.  But lately I think I may be active enough to turn that around.

This morning it rained, and at about 11 it quit so I rolled the truck out to work on the interior as I can't get a seat out with it between the lift legs/posts.  But even though the temp was only 84, the humidity was atrocious and I got completely soaked.  There was no breeze at all.

It is supposed to rain again in the morn, so we'll see what I can get done.  I can pull the tranny with the truck on the lift, but to pull the engine I need the truck rolled part way out of the shop so the shop crane is in the shop and the truck out.  But I don't want to do that with it raining.

Speaking of on the lift, I've been thinking through the order of pulling the front suspension, installing the D60, and then repairing the cross member.  And I think that's the correct order.

The issue revolves around the fact that a truck is tail-heavy w/o the front suspension and tends to fall off the lift backwards.  And while I have a safety stand and can prop the rear up, that doesn't allow you to raise and lower the truck, and I think being able to do so when working on the cross member would be helpful.  Scott says we need to weld from both the top and the bottom, so using the lift would be helpful.

But, that means you have the D60 to deal with, and it may be in the way.

I wonder if I can move the truck forward on the lift enough to balance it w/o the suspension?

[Gary Lewis]

salans7 wrote

Three hideous things in that picture:
-The rust
-The purple burlwood
-Those speakers

Yes, yes, and yes.  And this transformation will address at least two of those.

- The rust will be handled with POR15.

- The purple burwood will be replaced by mesh weave 'cause I'm going with radio bezel from an F600 with spots for switches

- But I'm not sure what I'm going to do about the door panels and those speakers.  What you can't see is that they cut the door to make room for the magnets.  Probably Florida Man did it.  

[ArdWrknTrk]

How much weight is in the rear?
Can you chain or lash it down to the front spreaders?

[Gary Lewis]

Lots of weight in the tool box, and there's the spare, but I could take it off.  And the tool box is about midship, so...  Maybe chain it down?

[ArdWrknTrk]

IDK.
Just trying to come up with a better answer than bags of media.

[ArdWrknTrk]

What about weight in the footwells of the cab?

[salans7]

Gary Lewis wrote

- But I'm not sure what I'm going to do about the door panels and those speakers.  What you can't see is that they cut the door to make room for the magnets.  Probably Florida Man did it.  

That's just sickening.

[85lebaront2]

Which Florida man, Larry, Moe, Curly, Jack Legg, Hamm Phist or Schayde Tri?

[Steve83]

Gary Lewis wrote

I wonder if I can move the truck forward on the lift enough to balance it w/o the suspension?

I was going to say: put the truck on the lift so it ALMOST falls forward with the front suspension, then ratchet-strap it down to the lift arms, and you should have no problems as you add/remove weight, and raise/lower the lift.


...and buy a shop fan.  Among others, I have this one, which would probably suit you:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0073CQ9CQ
But I found mine at Sam's on clearance for $40.