my junk yard truck - Page 6

lapeer20m · 03-14-2007, 06:10 PM

new photos:

it is so muddy out at the 4x4 park since we're in the middle of the spring melt. Streams of water are flowing down every hill. Even the access roads are nearly impassible let alone the trails.

A fire hose is a wonderful thing!

here is my new motor:

pete c · 03-14-2007, 08:32 PM

that's probably the last time you'll see that motor looking all nice and shiny and pretty!!!

looks too nice to put it in that beast. I think you should just keep the old not so duramax in there 'till she blows. Maybe strap a bigass nawz bottle on her, just to speed along the inevitable.

lapeer20m · 03-15-2007, 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pete c

that's probably the last time you'll see that motor looking all nice and shiny and pretty!!!

looks too nice to put it in that beast. I think you should just keep the old not so duramax in there 'till she blows. Maybe strap a bigass nawz bottle on her, just to speed along the inevitable.

As fun as it would be to watch a motor self destruct, the month of march is an excellent time for me to do upgrades to the truck. The Mounds, which is my local 4x4 park is closed until may 15th, and the sand dunes state park opens april 1st. So i have about 2 weeks in which i have no-place to take the truck.

lapeer20m · 03-15-2007, 10:57 AM

here's a question for the smart 4x4 people out there.....

is there much of a disadvantage to having little or no articulation if a guy has lockers all the way around? We're considering getting rid of the rear air suspension and putting the steel bars back in place of the shocks.....

lapeer20m · 03-17-2007, 06:30 PM

Ever take apart a GM IFS axle?

I spent hours yesterday trying to figure out how to remove the carrier from the axle. I had removed both cv shafts, split the case open, but was unable to remove the carrier.

I beat on it with a hammer, pried with a crow bar, turned it, jiggled it, turned it, and tried several other combinations without any success.

Just days before we did the rear IFS axle on the same truck and had no problems, the carrier pretty much fell right out. The rear is a 98, front is a 90.

I thought there may be a pin inside keeping the carrier from beign removed, or C-clips somehow attached to the axle shaft(s) After struggling for a LONG time i finally called my brother in law who is a mechanic by trade. He gave me the secret. I went back outside and within 2 minutes had the carrier on the ground and started welding the spiders.

looks kind of like this.....only sideways. I didnt take any photos of my setup. (below is actually a camaro or something....rear axle )

the_experience03 · 03-18-2007, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lapeer20m

here's a question for the smart 4x4 people out there.....

is there much of a disadvantage to having little or no articulation if a guy has lockers all the way around? We're considering getting rid of the rear air suspension and putting the steel bars back in place of the shocks.....

Well...the ultimate goal of the flexy suspension certainly is to keep tires on the ground so you maintain traction. You will have the advantage since you will be all locked up. The makers of the Aussie Locker actually recommend putting the locker in the front end of an IFS rig to compensate for the lack of articulation. It would make sense to me.

Ah but there is more...The articulation makes the vehicle more stable. Basically you just have less mass moving around back and forth affecting the center of gravity. I'm sure yoiu can learn to compensate for that by driving technique.

The last advantage of the articulation is that it will keep parts alive longer. Locked or unlocked, keeping all four tires on the ground will help keep stresses evened out. With a tire picked up, the other axleshaft has to take all the torque. I would worry a little about strength with those big tires and a welded diff, but as long as you're careful, things should last. A CV joint is stronger than a regular carden style u-joint in the straight ahead position. They are weaker once you turn the wheel. Basically, try and avoid hammering the stupid pedal with the wheels turned, especially if one is in the air and I think it might survive.

pete c · 03-19-2007, 03:14 PM

I was under the impression that an inferior front suspension actually gave you greater articulation than a solid axle?

Or does it just ride nicer on the street?

eggman · 03-19-2007, 06:12 PM

Just rides nicer on the street. On my trail rig, I can lift one tire 35-36" before I lift another one. And I am locked front and rear.

the_experience03 · 03-19-2007, 09:35 PM

It's really just a matter of physics. You need long locating links to have lots of travel. Radius arms, a 4 link, leafspings, etc give you this. Long-short arm IFS is limited to arm length by...well....the engine. Typical IFS arrangements only have 7 inches of travel and 5 of that is actually usable. The exception would be the radius arm twin traction beam style IFS that Ford used. It allows for insane travel, even with 4wd. Combind that with an engine that sits well back in the frame and you can see why that suspension works so well for Baja rigs.

Onroad the LSA style IFS is supreme because is able to have the optimal caster, camber, and toe at any given tire position just by altering the length and angles of the links.

lapeer20m · 03-30-2007, 08:13 PM

i suppose my thought on lack of suspension with lockers is that if one tire is in the air, the tire on the ground now has twice as much force pushing it into the ground which would provide better traction. The more i think about it, the more i realize a vehicle with lots of travel is much less likely to tip over when climbing an obsticle. I just wanted to see what peoples thoughts were....

The lockers work great! Got the new motor install done today and she purrrrrs like a kitten. Now i need to find a place to take her. The local 4x4 park is closed until may 15.

There are a few things to finish up. I want to redo some of my electrical, find a suitable hood latch, pad the rollcage (banged my head 1 too many times) and there's a few other minor odd and ends. Found out the hard way that i accidentally sliced a hole in the rubber brake line while removeing the front sway bar. GRRRR! And don't forget the winch! One of the local junk yards has a wrecker with hydraulic winches on it. I've been meaning to stop by and see what one of those would cost.

the_experience03 · 03-30-2007, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lapeer20m

i suppose my thought on lack of suspension with lockers is that if one tire is in the air, the tire on the ground now has twice as much force pushing it into the ground which would provide better traction.

It's exactly that coupled with the fact that the torque isn't split between both sides that will cause parts to break.

You would actually have a fair amount of cushion just by having the tires aired down, but I would work on a suspension solution that works if I were you.

Did you end up rigging something up for that axle disconnect or are you just using it as is?

lapeer20m · 03-31-2007, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_experience03

Did you end up rigging something up for that axle disconnect or are you just using it as is?

I think the cable actuator would be ideal, but the electric one seemed cheaper and easier.

I purchased a new 4wd actuator. Not the proper one for my 1998 axle, but the older style because it was cheaper. I made certian that the old style actuator would srew into the newer axle. It seemed to be a perfect fit, so i bought the actuator. As it turns out, the older style is about 1-2 inches longer when closed then the newer style actuator. The old style actuator will not allow the new axle to unengage. GRRR. I'll either buy another new actuator (1998 and newer) or i might try finding a way to mount the older style so it'll work. I like the idea of having a pair of switches to engage/unengage the "lockers"

lapeer20m · 04-02-2007, 01:42 PM

the trucks first youtube video

if you listen carefully you can hear the sound of that new gm diesel...especially in the beginning of the clip! (youtube sais you still have to wait a few minutes until you can view them....i'm sure they'll be available soon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWjnNWUdnQE

here's another clip of the truck utilizing her new lockers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f17MbBK6UaA

this last one has no action, but shows the chain drive and also addresses ground clearance. I thought she had almost 20", but this test only showed 16.5. Perhaps i'll try it on level pavement sometime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGlKkvCADYo

pete c · 04-02-2007, 08:26 PM

gawd, does that thing sound ugly.

sounds like an old tug boat. a reallly old tug boat.

i love the way the whole thing shudders when it almost stalls in the beginning.

lapeer20m · 04-02-2007, 09:40 PM

she did get a new motor since the video's were taken....did i mention that?

i forgot a video....this is before we had lockers, and i broke a rear cv shaft so we only had front wheel drive, which translates into 1 wheel drive. The mud was almost knee deep on that hill. It was enough the truck was bottoming out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0env0KeuooI

Steve · 04-03-2007, 09:47 AM

Is the motor an Olds 5.7 350?

lapeer20m · 04-04-2007, 06:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve

Is the motor an Olds 5.7 350?

no, it was actually a stock 350 gasser....the rods were just so loose in it that i told people it was a diesel as a joke. It rattled a lot!

pete c · 04-04-2007, 07:49 AM

would ya believe some tool named petec9686 actually thought it was a duramax?

I think they call those trolls.

lapeer20m · 04-05-2007, 05:07 PM

new video taken this week. I'm annoyed with the rear chain drive and will soon be finding a better method

(you might have to wait a few minutes, just uploaded it to youtube)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id1v9ETWjxE

the_experience03 · 04-05-2007, 09:37 PM

I can see that rear end moving around....I understand what you mean about the steering kinda going as it pleases sometimes. I especially liked the noises coming from the passenger seat

If that chaindrive is giving you that much trouble it might be time to cut, turn, and weld that rear drive the other direction and figure out a solution to the gearing issue. Just let some air out of the rear tires and keep the fronts aired up or something.

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