BigMike's "Return of the Project" [Updated 7/11]

[Doof]

So when is Mike going to start another thread about the build up of his truck? Maybe even a thread about the thread of the thread about the thread of the build up of his truck.

and might post in it more than once a year with updates instead of leaving the world of on lookers in the dust

[BigMike]

I just walked in. What happened?

[Bazzi]

they guy´s have been rambling on about how left out they feal that you don´t shuff all the updates that you have on your truck all at once in theyre face...  you know mike, if the boys don´t get theyr fix every day, they get really cranky.

[MiniSimp]

I just walked in. What happened?

Nothing, not one single thing.

[AreYouSure]

What happened Mike?

[MiniSimp]

What happened Mike?

This is what happened:

[BigMike]

May 4th, 2008: Removing front end



The best part: Removing the crazy 2" wheel spacers!!





MAN that felt good!!!!

Getting it pulled apart now...





Ahhhhhhh she's out

[KDXSR5]

UPDATES

[46&2]

Hmmm.... this should be good 

[Weak-Link]

sweet jack, you get that from under the hood of a power-wheel?

[Phazertwo]

 

however WE NEED MORE!

[MiniSimp]

Is that your trucks mini-twin parked next to yours in the driveway?

[Duffil]

Is that your trucks mini-twin parked next to yours in the driveway?

its a 2nd gen though. 

[Cheesemaker]

What the hell!  Mike, I dated a girl that didn't tease me as much as you do!! 



Do we have to come down there and chain ya to the computer desk, till ya get us all updated! 


Mike why didn't you get a house with a bigger garage?  Who needs bedrooms?

[BigMike]

sweet jack, you get that from under the hood of a power-wheel?

I had your wife get it from your garage for me


jmsdad was the first to spy it on reply #7, so here it comes!



I went with the width of a FJ80 axle

[NorCalToy]

looks good mike,

[BigMike]

Here is the difference between the Moser axles and my old Alloy USA axles




As for the weight difference,

1985 Axle + Geiger's tampon + (2) 3/8" spring pads + diff breather + diff studs = 49 pounds

Diamond Axle totally bare + axle/knuckle ball kit = 75 lbs

But of course the added weight is down where I need it far below the trucks center of gravity

Also notice how the Moser axles do NOT use any inner NOR outer snap rings. Very strange indeed. An obvious cost avoidance feature I believe.

[BigMike]

Next is to address my leaky oil pan issue and to figure out why I loose oil pressure on steep climbs!

Here you can see the work I did a long time ago to clear the High Steer.

(please note that is due to my misplacement of the 3RZ: I mounted it too low, but it's great for a lower CG!)



And here we can see 4 years of differential-to-oil pan abuse. It's obvious who is winning:


Dropping the pan now..



I remember the night I did all that brazing.... maaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnn that was a looooooooooooooong night....



WHAT !! NO WONDER I LOOSE OIL PRESSURE ON HILL CLIMBS!!!! AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGG





Hey Al, if you are following this, that's why I needed all that oil for Jack Hammer canyon at this year's Tin Bender Jamboree

[BigMike]

May 20th, 2008: Got new pick-up tube and oil pan installed, got the truck back on the ground

So it took me a while, but I finally hunted down a replacement 2WD T100 3RZ oil pan & pick-up tube and got it shipped to me.

Here is the used wrecking yard pan on the left, and my old pan on the right:



Another angle:



But the big surprise was found on the inside!



Look at the difference in the baffling!





The old pan:


The replacement used wrecking yard pan:


Unfortunately I do not know what year the replacement wrecking yard pan was taken from. It's gotta be a later model 2WD T100, like a '96 or '97. But what a difference! I really like this pan design much better than my original one!

Here is the pan installed and the weight of the truck on the axle. It's looking very good



And she is back outside on her own four feet. The front wheels are being temporarily borrowed from blane525. But why do you ask? Yes, why is the question you must be wondering

[BigMike]

Is that your trucks mini-twin parked next to yours in the driveway?

haha nope, that is Marlin's daily driver carburated 1984 XtraCab

[BigMike]

Here is the new tie rod 1/4"-wall DOM tie rod I built. It turned out that I was able to use my old High Steer tie rod for my diamond housing drag link. So I only had to make one link! sa-weet!




EDIT: Also notice the axles and the differential (upper left hand corner) were not installed at this time.

[BigMike]

May 21, 2008: Installed 3rd member and inner axle shafts

During this time, I had my 3rd member down at the shop. Rocky wanted to check up on the pattern and tighten it up since it was out. So I installed the Diamond without a 3rd member and without any inner axles. No big deal, it's really easy to drop each knuckle and slide the shafts in at a later date.

Here I am back at the shop the next day with the axle pulled back out and the outers removed:



Almost done:



There ya go, that was easy

[NorCalToy]

so have you figured the overall width yet?

[hollywood_toy90]

very cool man!!  i know i speak for all of us, we are jealous!

[BigMike]

May 22, 2008: Modified drag link to clear oil pan, installed beadlocks!

And here we are the next day with it getting ever so close to being complete!



The cool thing was that while I was doing all the axle work, blane525 was busy with my wheels and tires up at his house. That crazy guy mounted all four of my wheels and tires in two nights, and he had never built beadlock wheels before! Thank you Bevin! I couldn't have done it without your help!!

These are Allied beadlocks, 15" diameter X 8" wide. I really like the 8" width with a 12.5" wide tire like the 37" MTRs. I have ALWAYS felt that a 10" wheel is simply too wide for a 37" MTR. With the 8" beadlocks, the total width is more like a 8.5" or a 9" wide if you include the outer ring, so it has turned out exactly as I had hoped it would!



And, while this was going on, I had our bumper man bend up my drag link to clear the oil pan! It turned out PERFECT! And it works great too! I have plenty of left over room to spare even while under full articulation!



Look how clean that turned out! And that is 1/4"-wall DOM, there is no way it is going to bend!!

I will break the pitman arm before I bend that DOM beefy Marlink rod!!

[BigMike]

Here are a couple of the beadlock install pics from Bevin's house..





And here TURBO shows us how to look like a big goof ball. You've had one too many Monsters there TURBO

[BigMike]

So that was May 22, a Thursday. You can see my front driveline still needed to be installed, and I had a couple other small things here and there...... But that upcoming weekend, blane525 and I took a trip up to Bass Lake to check out cheap-o saddle...

So that weekend I load up the truck, pick up TURBO, and head to Bass Lake to meet with Bevin..

Here I am at a gas station in Oakhurst. I just had to take some pavement pounder poser pics

[BigMike]

It had been raining all morning long, so we knew we were in for a wet one

Man I hate mud!! nasty!



Here Bevin gets it own early








and......











and then.....................















it was then that I discovered.................











I had no front wheel power



As pictured, a 2WD lead sled.




More information to come!! You won't want to miss what I did to my front end!!!!

[MiniSimp]

You won't want to miss what I did to my front end!!!!

Forgot to install the driveshaft?

[BigMike]

so have you figured the overall width yet?

I took measurements before but not yet after. I plan on updating that and other measurements soon.