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| September 08, 2010, 11:17:38 AM |
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1-TON Axles for Project Rock Spider
FRONT AXLE
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Page 2 - 1-Ton Axles Continued...
Currie RockJock 60 Front
The front axle chosen for this build is none other than the reputable yet pricey Currie RockJock 60. This axle will be a nice match to go with the stout 1-ton 14 bolt rear. The reason for its choice was simply a deal you can't pass up. A deal that kick started this project from the get go. If it weren't this axle you'd likely be reading about a junkyard Dana 60 front out of a late 70's ford pickup because of its configuration & cost that makes it easier to install in a YJ.
Spec's
This axle will be equipped with 5.38 gears, Full Spool, 35 spline inner & outer axle shafts, 35 spline Warn premium hubs, CTM U-joints, F450 Currie knuckles & Wilwood calipers. (8 on 6.5 bolt pattern)
Axle Preperation
Yes this axle came initially assembled but not to the spec's needed to work in Project Rock Spider. There would need to be some changes. First on the list was stripping it down to the housing & knuckles empty of everything else. Like the rear axle this one was installed with just the housing loaded with the gears & spool already installed, nothing else. And yes I said spool! I ran one in the front waggy 44 for years and didn't mind it at all. There bulletproof too.
Next step was to get the bare housing mocked up under the Jeep so the axle perches could be welded on. I use heavy duty jackstands to hold the axle in place while I lower the jeeps weight onto the perches. This way ensures proper castor angles. A degree finder is necessary along with a level. I always level the jeep and then rotate the axle to get the desired castor angle. For this axle I set the caster between 7-9 degree's. Can't remember what it ended up being. Unfortunately the Currie axle is like the waggy axle in that they both require the driverside spring perch to be welded to the cast iron center section. Great.... However I have done this before. And the one I did it last time is still holding today. I use a combination torch & MIG welder w/gas. The last axle never had one problem so I must have done it right.
This is how I do it. Heat up the cast iron housing & axle perch until there both hot but not glowing hot. Then lay out some good penetrating MIG welds on both sides of the perch. Now is the crucial part that must be done correctly. If the welds are cooled down to fast they will likely too crack along the weld. To avoid this I reheat the perch and housing every few minutes enabling the metals to slowly cool down as opposed to cooling down on there own. The idea is to use less and less torch each time to ensure slow cooling. I like to cover the welds in a "fire safe" blanket of some sort after the final torching. This allows the welds to continue to cool down slowly. This is just how I did it so don't hold me to my methods. None the less after welding the axle perches on the housing I pulled went ahead on mocked in the lower shocks mounts as well. After everything was welded up I pulled the axle back out for prep & paint.
Re-Assembly & Fitment
I re-installed the axle back under the jeep since its easy to assemble now. The front axle as mentioned earlier needed some things. One of those was a pair of F450 unit bearings in a 8 on 6.5 pattern not to be confused with the typical newer Ford 8 on 160 metric pattern this axle would originally be equipped from Ford with. In order to get the 8 on 6.5 pattern I called the folks down at Branik Motorsports. They buy new unit bearings with the OEM metric pattern, re-drill them to your desire (5,6,8 lug) and thats that. Pricey little devils but I don't plan on changing these out for a long time. One thing I especially liked about this axle is the unit bearings are super easy to install. Way over rated for a Jeep too.
To go along with the unit bearings and 35 spline axles is a set of Warn Premium selectable hubs in the 35-spline flavor. Always been real happy with Warn hubs in the past. Take a look at the pictures I shot of the old Dana 44 shaft next to the new Dana 60 shaft. Those are Warn alloy shafts on the 44 and Superiors on the 60. Also a shot of the spool inside the tube.
(Dana 44 Shaft Next to the new 35 spline 60 shaft)
 
Rotors & Calipers
Next I needed to find a rotor compatible with the F450 knuckles in a 8 on 6.5 pattern. Specific offset, diameter, and must have enough clearance inside the rotor hat to fit the unit bearing. Quite a f'n task that was. I must have spent hours upon hours looking through online sources and god knows how many hours at the local part stores looking at there specifications on rotors. It's not like I could just pull a rotor from a F450 truck. Those rotors are metric pattern and huge. So if anybody else is struggling looking for a rotor that will work on there F450 unit bearing axle this is the ONLY one that works, and it HAS to be a Carquest brand. (CARQUEST PN 54026). Why carquest? because they are the only company that spends the extra time to machine out the extra material on the inside. If it were not for this the edge of the unit bearing face wouldn't go into the rotor.
To top it off the Wilwood Dynalite calipers that originated on this axle had to be converted to accomidate a 1.25" wide rotor. Pretty standard in the automotive industry. However these calipers started out designed for a .81 width rotor. After calling Wilwood and buying a few very expensive little pieces it was solved. By looking through the part #'s I was able to buy the hardware necessary to convert them myself. As for brake lines, I tried some kevlar hoses this time around. We'll see how they do.
Notice how everything has very little tolerance. Perfect fit all the way around!
Steering
The steering for this axle had to be stout of course. The arms are Currie's 3/4" solid steel "single sided" arms. I thought about using there behind the axle steering but there just isn't any real benefit. The steering will be free and clear of getting interrupted by rocks where it sits. The steering links we picked up from Summit Machine. These things are pretty impressive. Constructed of a solid chunk of 7075 aircraft aluminum threaded for 3/4" heim joints. Standard right hand thread on one side and left hand threads on the other. Pimped out wih some engraved Summit Machine logo's. The heims used are FK USA's. A superior name in teflon racing heims. A few more $$ though.
New Wheels & Tires
Since our new axles had an 8-lug bolt pattern our current 6 lug Allied "Monster" wheels had to be sold in order to help fund the new set. I was so happy with the last set of Allieds "Monsters" I called up Greg at High Impact to order a new set just like the old ones but in black instead of aluminum finish. The rings ordered are aluminum with semi countersunk grade 8 hardware. Tires this time around are a set of Maxxis Creepy Crawlers in the 40's. In the past i've ran a couple sets of 40" MTR's and have yet to have found a better tire. However I was curious to try something different. We'll report back on the Creepy Crawlers performance. Here are some pictures of the new tire & wheel combo.
Final Words
After what turned into a 3 month project I was back on the trails with Project Rock Spider. Now better than ever it was time to unleash a project that has been governed down over the years due to inadequate 1/2 ton axles. Not to say this jeep was never laced into because its been used to its potential everytime out. Now I simply have more confidence in its strength to withstand the abuse that gets delivered. In addition the bearings and ball joints in these axle will last much longer than the 1/2 ton components. Therefor requiring less maintenance.
A lot was learned during this build. One thing I enjoy besides the fabrication and wrenching is the knowledge I have after its all said and done. Im a firm believer in doing your own fabrication and wrenching. In the end you will know more about your rig so when something goes wrong you will know how to repair it. Because lets face it, when something does break or go wrong your always miles out on a trail usually in a remote area. Therefor you are the person responsible for getting yourself home.
Here are some quick pictures of the finished product. Sorry we didn't get more pictures but I was having to much fun test driving the first few trail runs. We'll get some more pictures on here soon.
Be sure to check out some of the project sponsors who helped us along the way with there excellent products we used during this build.
Pae 1
Project Sponsors
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