51 B3B build thread - after all these years

[bkahler]

2 minutes ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

pin mounted studs for the calipers are often failure free given the plating on the slide pin has not disintegrated and turned to rust...these pin units are less trouble on the average as they are equipped with sealing boots.

 

All mounting hardware and boots are new with the calipers.  That might explain why I've not found any real failure info in my searches.

 

 

[JBNeal]

I have been fighting with brake issues on the QuadCab for months and have a writeup pending...long story short:  close ain't close enough when it comes to brake calipers  ?

[bkahler]

29 minutes ago, JBNeal said:

I have been fighting with brake issues on the QuadCab for months and have a writeup pending...long story short:  close ain't close enough when it comes to brake calipers  ?

 

What kind of caliper mounting is on your truck?

 

[JBNeal]

BR-series HD 4-wheel ABS use a cast iron bracket to attach the caliper to the spindles up front and Dana 80 axle in the rear, but the bracket is rarely the problem...the overall design is robust, however my experience has shown serious issues with replacement parts not being up to specifications ?

[bkahler]

I've experienced and also heard of issues with rebuilt calipers myself.  It's probably just luck of the draw when it comes to whether or not problems will occur.  I at least try to buy from companies I've heard of as in this instance my new calipers are Raybestos for the rear and ACDelco for the front.

 

 

[Plymouthy Adams]

I have never had an issue with a OTC rebuilt caliper and even rebuilding them is not a problem even when a single rear caliper has 60+ individual parts inside. Secret to a good caliper is the surface of the piston, not so much the caliper interior....you got a good piston, the rest is a cake walk...

[bkahler]

I've been doing some research on wheel adapters and came across these lug nuts.  

 

Not quite the look I'm going for...... ?

 

[bkahler]

I took advantage of the sunny day to drop the original axle and set it on the back of my Truckster along with the Jeep axle.  I use the Truckster bed for a work platform as it provides a nice working height and is mobile.  Sometime in the next week or two I hope to have the new spring perches welded in place.  

 

 

[minicooper]

I have an L275 4-WD that looks to be of similar vintage as your L2550. Makes a great engine and axle hoist!

[bkahler]

1 hour ago, minicooper said:

I have an L275 4-WD that looks to be of similar vintage as your L2550. Makes a great engine and axle hoist!

 

I wish mine was 4-WD!  But it does get the job done.  I added a backhoe to it and then sold my old Case 530.  

 

[Tooljunkie]

Old dodges, kubota tractors and cushmans. Way too much in common here..

mine is a 51 fargo 1/2 ton 

L1501 kubota and 2 cushman Lobsters..

 

[minicooper]

Ha! I don’t have a Cushman, but I’ve got 2 Kubotas, the L275 and an L2800 and the B3C. Would love to get a backhoe for the 2800.

[bkahler]

13 hours ago, minicooper said:

Ha! I don’t have a Cushman, but I’ve got 2 Kubotas, the L275 and an L2800 and the B3C. Would love to get a backhoe for the 2800.

 

The backhoe I bought was a cheap 3-point mount style import but it seems to work well.  It worked well enough to do a neighbors septic system replacement.  Instead of mounting it via the 3-point hitch I made a sub frame and hard mounted it with a quick disconnect to make it relatively easy to remove (~30 minutes).  

 

What kind of spreader is that?

 

 

[bkahler]

14 hours ago, Tooljunkie said:

Old dodges, kubota tractors and cushmans. Way too much in common here..

mine is a 51 fargo 1/2 ton 

L1501 kubota and 2 cushman Lobsters..

 

 

I'd never heard of the Lobster before!  Definitely interesting looking.  I wouldn't mind having a dump bed cart like that, would definitely come in handy around my property.

 

 

[minicooper]

I can't remember the brand, I think I got it from Tractor Supply, but it's not County Line brand. I've had 3 or 4 different kinds of those, they tend to rust out from the fertilizer, no matter how I clean them (I even use a slurry of baking soda to neutralize the PH of the fertilizer). This one has lasted a lot longer than the others. What brand backhoe?

[bkahler]

31 minutes ago, minicooper said:

I can't remember the brand, I think I got it from Tractor Supply, but it's not County Line brand. I've had 3 or 4 different kinds of those, they tend to rust out from the fertilizer, no matter how I clean them (I even use a slurry of baking soda to neutralize the PH of the fertilizer). This one has lasted a lot longer than the others. What brand backhoe?

 

I'm not really sure the backhoe has a brand name.  The model number was listed as a BH770 although I couldn't find a link to it.  Here is a link to their BH7600.  It's rated just slightly less.   It's been installed for over 5 years now and I've had no issues with it as yet.

 

 

[5027 steve]

On 2/2/2020 at 10:50 AM, bkahler said:

I took advantage of the sunny day to drop the original axle and set it on the back of my Truckster along with the Jeep axle.  I use the Truckster bed for a work platform as it provides a nice working height and is mobile.  Sometime in the next week or two I hope to have the new spring perches welded in place.  

 

 

Thanks for this great thread and great deal of Info,I'm about to start a rear end swamp on my 50 B2b and i am loving the info here,Boy in the pic of these two sitting there it doesn't look like the Dana 44 is 2 1/4 inches shorter...Nice job on cleaning up the axle tubes....Steve

[bkahler]

1 hour ago, 5027 steve said:

Thanks for this great thread and great deal of Info,I'm about to start a rear end swamp on my 50 B2b and i am loving the info here,Boy in the pic of these two sitting there it doesn't look like the Dana 44 is 2 1/4 inches shorter...Nice job on cleaning up the axle tubes....Steve

 

Thanks

 

Pretty much all of the info I've gleaned has been from searches of this site or responses received to my questions.  Lots of knowledgeable people here.  

 

The Dana 44 is 1" shorter on each side.  I was quite surprised at just how similar the Dana 44 is to the original axle.  The pinion yoke ends up being in exactly the same place really makes things easier.  The tube diameters are different.  The original axle is 3" in diameter and the 44 is 2-5/8" in diameter.  I was not able to find perches for that diameter but the places that sell the perches say it's not a problem and you're just supposed to fill the gaps with weld.  Seems odd but that appears to the way to do it.

 

 

 

 

[bkahler]

Spent part of today dismantling the rear leaf springs and adding plastic liners that I bought from Speedway Motors.  It actually ended up being easier than I was expecting.  Of course the springs had been previously dismantled which obviously helped

 

I didn't add the liner to the upper set of overload springs.  I don't figure I'll be doing much heavy hauling in the truck so I figured it wasn't worth the effort or material.

 

 

I did find the part number stamped on the bottom of the smallest spring leaf.  1271888.  I was somewhat surprised that I couldn't find the number in my parts book.  I'm not sure what to make of that.

 

 

 

Brad

 

 

 

 

[kencombs]

On 2/3/2020 at 6:36 PM, bkahler said:

 

Thanks

 

Pretty much all of the info I've gleaned has been from searches of this site or responses received to my questions.  Lots of knowledgeable people here.  

 

The Dana 44 is 1" shorter on each side.  I was quite surprised at just how similar the Dana 44 is to the original axle.  The pinion yoke ends up being in exactly the same place really makes things easier.  The tube diameters are different.  The original axle is 3" in diameter and the 44 is 2-5/8" in diameter.  I was not able to find perches for that diameter but the places that sell the perches say it's not a problem and you're just supposed to fill the gaps with weld.  Seems odd but that appears to the way to do it.

 

 

 

 

Speaking of filling gaps with weld:  I had a old neighbor that was a retired steelworker.  He was working a trailer in my shop with my welder and had that exact issue.  He grabbed a second electrode, I think we where using 5/32nd, and used it as a filler rod.  Just fed it into the puddle from the other one in the holder!  I learned something from him that day that comes in handy every once in a while.

[bkahler]

1 hour ago, kencombs said:

Speaking of filling gaps with weld:  I had a old neighbor that was a retired steelworker.  He was working a trailer in my shop with my welder and had that exact issue.  He grabbed a second electrode, I think we where using 5/32nd, and used it as a filler rod.  Just fed it into the puddle from the other one in the holder!  I learned something from him that day that comes in handy every once in a while.

 

I've done similar in the past when I used to stick weld.  I mostly mig weld now so I'll just have to build up a couple of layers.

[bkahler]

I finally got around to welding the perches onto the Cherokee axle.  This is the first decent day we've had in a while so why not take advantage of it

 

 

 

 

 

For others that might be interested in using a Cherokee diff in their B3B the one I used came from a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee.  It is a Dana 44 with the aluminum center section and C-clip axles.  It is a disc brake rear axle.  

 

It measures 1" shorter per side at 60-1/4" wms to wms.  The original axle in my truck measured 62-1/4" wms to wms.  

 

The Dana 44 measured 55-1/16" from outside to outside of the flanges.  The leaf springs on my truck are 44-1/4" apart centerline to centerline of the springs.  On the Dana 44 diff I ended up measuring in from the outer flange 4-1/2" and placed the edge of the perch at that point.   Using 4-1/2" places the centerline of the perches at 44-1/4".  

 

Next up is temporarily mounting the disc brakes so I can see where to mount a couple of brackets to hold the rubber brake lines for the calipers.  They need some sort of mounting bracket so they don't just flap in the breeze while driving.  

 

Brad

 

 

 

Edited February 9, 2020 by bkahler

[CO54]

Great info, glad the weather let up for you.  Started snowing here today again.  Worked on resume for promotion, and tried out the new welder on some scrap to get back into the swing with it.  Wasn't sheet metal, but still good practice for the welding needed in the future with spring perches, and floor pans.

[bkahler]

Today was cold but the only day for the next week or so where I could work outside.  Rain and snow the rest of the week.  I kinda like welding when it's cold much more so than when I'm hot and sweaty

 

What kind of welder?

 

 

[CO54]

A little Forney set up, it's only a 125, but it'll get the job done with flux-core wire.  Had another set up years ago with the gas, and hated that I couldn't get a good bead if there was breeze with the garage open.