Half Ton is Done!

[broncosbybart]

Once I got the rear axle out, it was time to tear it apart. It was a small bearing housing. After doing some research and some measuring, it looks like I can use the axle shafts (it had 31 spline Chromo's in it) in the 77 axle housing, but I will need to put some new bearings and retainer plates on it.

The 3rd member wouldn't come out. The 4 link truss was too close to it. So, you can guess that it never got new oil or checked since it was built. I had to plasma the truss apart just to get the 3rd member out. Once it was out, I found that the cast housing was cracked by the pinion bearing (pocket bearing). That is where they are known for breaking.

Last year I built up a 3rd member with 5.38 gears and a full spool. So, that was what I used. I purchased the axle housing from someone else. I have no idea what it came from, but it had ball bearings on the axle shafts. I wanted tapered bearings. I ended up using some 31 spline shafts with tapered bearings and disc brakes (the shafts came from the axles I bought from Chuck a while back). Here is a pic of the 3rd member I built and the front axle housing I used (also from Chuck).



Then, it came time to cut some link brackets and weld them to the 'new' housing.



Not many pics of the welding process. It took a while. I also had to use new links for the uppers. The original links ended up being 2" too long for my new truss (but at least now I can take the 3rd member out)...










For those that are actually reading this, those are coil overs in the one pic. I do have a set of 4 SAW 16" shocks, but won't be putting them on quite yet. I will have to do some more fabbing. Don't want to spend the time at the present.

Here is a pic of the rear disc brake setup. The brackets are super cheap from Speedway.