Rear axle: 97 Wrangler to 52 1/2 T - Part II Perches

[pflaming]

Part II: Relocated the perches today. We cut the old perches with a air wheel, then welded the cut marks in the axle housing and ground them smooth.

To relocate the perches we matched and leveled the two axles to each other and set the pitch to match. When all was alike we welded on the cleaned up perches.

Installation is next.

Edited November 30, 2017 by pflaming

[pflaming]

Next is installation. The holes in the perches were 1/16" too small, so they got drilled out. It was nice to have access to a good shop, correct tools, and an experienced friend. This cost me nothing but took about three hours.

I also picked up rotors for the front so 'let the installation begin"!

Edit: Three items inter the backing plate: (1) the fluid line; (2) the E-brake cable and (3) the ABS vacuum line. I think I am going to use the e-brake on the new axle. Question #1, can I just cut that vacuum line and leave the inner parts alone; Question #2, has anyone connected these e-brakes to the lever inside the cab. My lever is mounted under the dash.

TIM: I was just guessing on the ABS hose. What is the vent tube for, where does it go? What does it vent?

New question: Shock absorber connection. I guess I'll know more about that tomorrow.

Edited November 30, 2017 by pflaming

[Plymouthy Adams]

ABS vacuum line???? I would think what you have there is the vent tube for the axle itself..

[Dave72dt]

Vent line is for the axle housing and the loose end is mounted higher than the axle housing with enough free length for axle travel. Should be a breather valve in the end of it. ABS line(s) are a magnetic pickup cable and can be dispensed with. Hydraulic hose for the brake lines also needs enough slack for axle travel.

Edited April 28, 2012 by Dave72dt
spelling

[Plymouthy Adams]

not all the time can you dispense with the ABS pickup..according to what you are building..perhaps one will need the ring tone for ABS, Speedo and cruise control..

[Dave72dt]

not all the time can you dispense with the ABS pickup..according to what you are building..perhaps one will need the ring tone for ABS, Speedo and cruise control..

In Paul's case, with stock engine and trans, he won't need it. Someone doing a chassis swap with modern electronics may find the need to retain it. How well the computor would handle the possible differences in weight distribution betweeen the donor chassis and body and a Pilothouse body could be interesting to say the least.

[B1B Keven]

not all the time can you dispense with the ABS pickup..according to what you are building..perhaps one will need the ring tone for ABS, Speedo and cruise control..

On this axle you can dispense with it as the tone ring has no affect on speedo or cruise control on a Jeep.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I knew in his case he did not need them but others like myself have to have it operative as in the case of bz cp...I have ABS brakes and total electronics..I wish I could have gone with a standard rear gear..but alas..not to be...

[pflaming]

Well I'm going in. (1) I am going to use the e-brakes from the Wrangler axle. Should the main brakes fail, these would be much more helpful and there is no damage to originality. (2) What do I do with the vent hoses? Clip and plug them?

Next are the shock absorber mounts.

Edit: (1) the u-bolts from the Dodge work but the Wrangler Perches are TOO wide and (2) the wrangler shock mounts must be removed, SO will have to take it back to the shop and do some torch work. See the last two pictures.

Edited November 30, 2017 by pflaming

[55 Fargo]

Looks good Paul, you gonna like this 8 1/4 rearend. USing the ebrake, isa good move, and nothing wrong with that.

I still have a the stock ebrake, it works real good, but my Mopar Diff has the ebrakes I can use, someone did eliminate them, but I am going to put them back in service at some point.

I just love the 3.23 diff, do not need an OD for rthis truck now, and I live in flat country, no hills to deal with.

You gotta hurry up, and get her out for a ride, maybe drive to Canada someday......

[pflaming]

Yes, got to get '. . . on the road again'. I have a nice 50 mile test road. It goes from my house at 500 ft above sea level to the Sequoia National Park at 6,000 ft. That will be a nice test run. If something looks awrey, I can make a u-turn an coast home.

Canada: Got friends in Manitoba, ever heard of Mennonites?!!. Anyway, now to set up the front axle and see what I need for Monday.

[55 Fargo]

Yes, got to get '. . . on the road again'. I have a nice 50 mile test road. It goes from my house at 500 ft above sea level to the Sequoia National Park at 6,000 ft. That will be a nice test run. If something looks awrey, I can make a u-turn an coast home.

Canada: Got friends in Manitoba, ever heard of Mennonites?!!. Anyway, now to set up the front axle and see what I need for Monday.

Well sure I have, there are Mennonite deecendants, in many Towns, sucha as Steinbach, Winkler and Altona, and many live in Winnipeg.

Lots are totally modernized from there old Mennonite rooots, but there are the old school type here. My Children have German Mennonite blood in their background rfrom theri Mothers side...

[pflaming]

After supper I installed the front springs and axle. Not a technical job, just a dirty one without a lift. You have to attach the spring to the shackle first. Then lift the other end and attach.

The bushing into the shackle is a bit tricky. you must start the bushing on the shackle first, the bushing has a smooth leading edge of about 5/8 ". Once the bushing starts on the the shackle, then push it into the eye of the spring. The double thread setup pulls the spring into place as the bushing goes ONTO the shackle and INTO the spring eye similtaneously.

Once the back of the spring is in then I placed the front of the spring in its bracket so it alligned with the shackle and let the bushing travel to the spring eye. It may be right it may be wrong but the two ends are equi-distant from the frame.

In the second pic I have installed my 'new' rotor. Will bead blast it and it will look like new.

Now maybe tomorrow I can smell the wife's roses.

Edited November 30, 2017 by pflaming

[HanksB3B]

Make sure you mention to your wife Darlene what a beautiful garden that is.

Hank

[pflaming]

Question on the Wrangler brake drums. They are nice and smooth, no grooves or sign of wear but they are rusty. I know they will shine up fast once they are in use, but should anything be done to them since they are disassembled?

Same goes for the rotors. Bead blast them or leave them alone. A steel brush cleaning may be all that is necessary.

[55 Fargo]

Question on the Wrangler brake drums. They are nice and smooth, no grooves or sign of wear but they are rusty. I know they will shine up fast once they are in use, but should anything be done to them since they are disassembled?

Same goes for the rotors. Bead blast them or leave them alone. A steel brush cleaning may be all that is necessary.

Have them machined, and measured. The drums can be machined slightly to clean them up, and they will be true. The shops around here charge $10 for machining brake drums....

[pflaming]

Warning: If / when you torch something off of an axle housing, be VERY careful, evidently the metal in the housing is quite soft and torches much faster than a perch mounted on top of it. These are the things that slow down an amateur, but does not stop him.

[pflaming]

You really start to learn about the details when you start to "blend" parts.

(1) some Wrangler parts are metric but not all, (2) Wrangler shock absorber mounts, welded to the housing must come off, all of the mount, (3) the Dodge mounts bolt under axle below the springs, (4) the drive shaft u-joints do NOT match, will work on that tomorrow.

It's not a difficult task if one has a COMPLETE shop. Mine is quite good better now that I have a torch, yet large socket sets and welders are expensive.

Edited November 30, 2017 by pflaming

[pflaming]

Installation Part A: Prep work: Had to use a die on the u-bolt threads, seems the axle torque is enough to flatten them, took time. So attached the springs to the axle on the stands: well IF your rear shackles are in on the top, then one spring must be loose because the lower bushings pull the spring into place as the bushing turns inward, so . . .

EDIT: After dinner went back to the shop. I do not think it is possible to put the rear bushings in with the springs attached to the axle. Those bushings, being double threaded are just too tricky. I have already removed the springs. Tomorrow I will attend church have dinner, then "get the oxen out of the hole" in the afternoon. Once the rear bushings are in, the remainder will not be difficult.

Pinched a finger today and it turned blue FAST. So i found a tiny, sharp bit, put it in the drill press and drilled for blood. When that pressure was released, it quit throbbing. The price we pay!

edit #2: Hank requested a picture: I also got an impact wrench, BIG help.

Mechanical work is great exercize for the retired. It really builds muscles. All the muscles get used and I mean ALL!

Edited November 30, 2017 by pflaming

[carl b51]

Paul keep after it, looks like it is coming along fine. Carl

[pflaming]

The suspension is in:

It's a '52 Dodge B3B Pilot-house, 1/2 Ton

It has new kingpins and bushings, cleaned spring leafs, new front discs from Charlie, and a 97 Wrangler, 3:55 rear axle.

I removed one leaf all the way around, the 2nd from the bottom.

Wheel base = 108" / three speed tranny / stock 16" wheels

Center of front bumper = 20"

Center of bed floor = 26"

Center of the bottom of the end bed frame = 21"

Outside to outside dimension of the front tires = 68 1/4"

Outside to outside dimension of the rear tires = 69 5/8"

(I placed long 2x6's on the floor from front tire to back tire to get the above, (see pic)

The front bumper is near level

The top rail of the bed side is level

The running board mounts show a rake of 3/8"

The bed floor shows the drivers' side to be about 3/8" low

I would guess that for a 52 year old truck that is not too bad. I can tell it is noticibly lower but not drastic. I regret I did not measure before I started, so I have no reference points.

Some final comments: the Dodge U and the Wranger U mated to the same bearing, so all that was needed was a U bolt to attach the Wranger to the Dodge (see pic).

I had to install both springs then attach the axle to them; I had to keep the axle U-bolts loose until both sides were attached then work my way around the two ends to tighten. I did a good deal of tapping on the springs and u-bolts to get all centered, by my eye, I hope it's good enough.

I lined up my front tires then had my wife turn the steering wheel until the steering gear box arm and the guide rod end lined up. Then put my steering wheel on per normal.

I'm still in the shop, but brake lines and bleeding is next.

I hope this chronology has been helpful to someone. It is quite a chore especially without a lift.

Edited April 5, 2018 by pflaming

[Pilothouse Mike]

Very nice job on the rear end Paul. I really like how you used the stock pilothouse shock mounts on the jeep rear. If I ever have to do mine again I may try your idea out.

[pflaming]

The old shocks were hanging there and I just hooked them up. I'm certain I will need new ones, but I want to see just how stout they may need to be. I still have no idea how soft this ride will be. I will wait til I put on new tires. If the ride is too soft to carry a load, one could put air shocks on the back.The old mounts fit perfectly on the wrangler axle and I was able to use the original u-bolts. What I like about this is that I did not have to drill one hole, the truck remains stock. You just have to cut off ALL of the wrangler's shock mount.

With all assembled, the old shock only has about 2" of travel to bottom out. I pulled it loose a bottomed out shock may cause some damage. the shock now lays quite horizontal, the top mount may have to be moved to give a move vertical movement. I don't know anything about shocks so a new learning curve. I haven't put the front ones on yet.

I will use the Wrangler's e-brake. Be sure you get the Wrangler's e-brake cables. Then it is not difficult to attach the truck's e-brake cable from the cab to the Wrangler's assembly and the old is still retained. I like two drums vs one for emergency. I retained ALL the brake lines on the Wrangler, so that eliminated the need for new ones there. Now I only have three old lines to replace and all my brake lines are new! I'm getting very anxious to drive this down the road!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rockwood, I'm right behind you!

Edited May 10, 2012 by pflaming

[Frank Elder]

Looks good Paulie baby! ??????got any fingers left?????

[Dave72dt]

2 " of shock travel when on an angle gives you more axle travel than when the shock is vertical. To find out how much, collapse the shock, run a vertical line from the lower shock mount up and find the point the centers would intersect.