Solid Axle Swap!!!
- Thread starter dilmah
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bods
Member
Just find an excel and go for broke hahaha
I got stuck into some work on the front end of the truck today. When I did my last lot of testing I had noticed a "thud" sound coming from the front end when I went through large washouts. The top of the panhard rod mount was fouling on the shock tower at full bump, not good!
So far I have cut the old panhard bracket off and made a new one using similar materials and dimensions. I have mocked it up in place and cycled the suspension to check for clearance and so far it looks the goods.
When I built the front end initially I was rushing, under a time constraint to get everything finished and get it back on the road. I neglected to cycle the suspension, build the front end at ride height, build bump stop strikers on top of the radius arm brackets and properly align the front end at ride height. I have since spoken to a few people and done further research on setting up 3 link front ends. The good news is even with the bumpstops fully compressed there is about 20mm of shock left so they are at the ideal height.
Im hoping that by doing the following I will solve all the issues I'm currently having:
Weld in Panhard bracket and centre axle at ride height
Cycle suspension in the following 4 positions; full bump, full droop, raised right, raised left
By using the above observations weld bump stop strikers in appropriate positions
Reassemble front end and align steering
Take the shock pressure up to 200psi, its currently at 150psi
Preload coilovers to increase ride height to 4" up travel, 6" downtravel
Im hoping to have most of this done by Monday
So far I have cut the old panhard bracket off and made a new one using similar materials and dimensions. I have mocked it up in place and cycled the suspension to check for clearance and so far it looks the goods.
When I built the front end initially I was rushing, under a time constraint to get everything finished and get it back on the road. I neglected to cycle the suspension, build the front end at ride height, build bump stop strikers on top of the radius arm brackets and properly align the front end at ride height. I have since spoken to a few people and done further research on setting up 3 link front ends. The good news is even with the bumpstops fully compressed there is about 20mm of shock left so they are at the ideal height.
Im hoping that by doing the following I will solve all the issues I'm currently having:
Weld in Panhard bracket and centre axle at ride height
Cycle suspension in the following 4 positions; full bump, full droop, raised right, raised left
By using the above observations weld bump stop strikers in appropriate positions
Reassemble front end and align steering
Take the shock pressure up to 200psi, its currently at 150psi
Preload coilovers to increase ride height to 4" up travel, 6" downtravel
Im hoping to have most of this done by Monday
samcubus
Member
Eagerly awaiting results. Nice work mate.
Well I took the Nav for a spin in the pines on Friday arvo for a bit of testing to see how the front end would perform at both speed and crawling. Shocks are still a little soft for my liking. Even with the adjustable collar wound up the spring is still compressing under the weight of the front end. Id say it sits at about 3" up and 7" down where I want it to be more 4" and 6". It still did a good 80km/h on the limestone without too much trouble. The upper spring is only an 8" spring when I could easily fit a 10", as stated in earlier posts there is no point in changing the springs until I sort out the rear end.
Crawling: well it did everything I could find. I used this part of testing to practice hand signals with my Navi for the up and coming comp. I only had to use the rear locker once. The only issue we had was when I tested the front locker the diff swallowed the locker cables
I can only assume the locking tabs which stop the electromagnet from turning have broken off.
It goes into On Track Fab for sliders and scrub bars on Tuesday, it will be there most of the week and I have Scrutineering on the Saturday 31st so any repairs will have to wait until after that. Shouldn't be too much of an issue to fix, just time consuming pulling everything apart and reassembling.
Few pics. This is not full flex. The coilovers still had about 2 - 3" of travel left
Crawling: well it did everything I could find. I used this part of testing to practice hand signals with my Navi for the up and coming comp. I only had to use the rear locker once. The only issue we had was when I tested the front locker the diff swallowed the locker cables
I can only assume the locking tabs which stop the electromagnet from turning have broken off.It goes into On Track Fab for sliders and scrub bars on Tuesday, it will be there most of the week and I have Scrutineering on the Saturday 31st so any repairs will have to wait until after that. Shouldn't be too much of an issue to fix, just time consuming pulling everything apart and reassembling.
Few pics. This is not full flex. The coilovers still had about 2 - 3" of travel left
4BYFOR
Member
That's mint
ShortyNavros
Member
After SAS'ing is there any problems with using your original transfer case? I thought I remembered reading people having difficulties with the navara transfer case not having enough grunt and consequently breaking when using 4wd after a SAS?
ShortyNavros
Member
Shit they look sweet, I have never even heard of them. I am assuming it would be a fair bit of modification to fit one though, I assume you get them from snake racing?
Yes you can get the Atlas through snake racing but they mark the price up a fair bit. I already have the adapter plate sitting at home. I will either buy it directly from the states or go through Locktup 4x4. With the adapter plate and input shaft it will bolt directly up the back of a stock gearbox. All you have to do it modify the drive shafts to suit the yokes and install the twin sticks.
The main advantage of running an Atlas is the ability to do front digs, where you lock the rear brakes and disconnect the rear driveline thus allowing you to make on the spot turns. They are also race proven, can handle 54"+ tires, 1000+ Hp and come in a variety of gear reductions from 2:1 all the way down to 11:1 if you run the 4spd variant
The main advantage of running an Atlas is the ability to do front digs, where you lock the rear brakes and disconnect the rear driveline thus allowing you to make on the spot turns. They are also race proven, can handle 54"+ tires, 1000+ Hp and come in a variety of gear reductions from 2:1 all the way down to 11:1 if you run the 4spd variant
I copied this post from another forum where my build is primarily on. I entered an entry level 4x4 comp this weekend. It doenst require you to have a roll cage, just a helmet, first iAd kit and fire extinguisher and your set to go.
Well I just got home from my first comp and man couldn't wipe the smile off my face I had so much fun, cheers to the organisers, sponsors, marshals, and other competitors for a top weekend. No for the fun part - cleaning the car..........
Damage report:
The air sensor for my W2A has come out, will need to replace that
W2A intercooler has lost prime so I had no cooling on the way home - easy fix.
I rolled a tire off the bead, got it back on but the valve is rooted - another easy fix
Rear step is bent and dented but its going in the bin when I build the new rear end
I was very surprised how well the car held together and how far it went on some of the tracks. The front end works amazing its just the rear lets me down a little. Ill give you a little run down on how we went on each stage.
Stage 1 - was a rock garden stage with a bit of mud. Scored 80 points lost point on reversing (10) and I took out some bunting (10). Having such a long wheel base and average turning circle was a bit of a challenge all day.
Stage 2 - again in the rock garden. We got 98 for this stage only 1 reversing penalty. It was a short up and back stage with a tight turn at the end
Stage 3 - still in the rock garden we scored 76, I had 2 reversing penalties and we got stuck in the tire pit at the end so only got to the 80 point marker.
Stage 4 - was the big rock stage. I got to the 60 point marker then timed out. This stage had some big rocks in it but with both lockers on I managed to get past the difficult section at the 40 point mark. If I had spent less time in this part I would have finished the stage. Lost 10 points for reversing and 6 points for bunting contact for a stage total of 44
Stage 5 - flex ramp. don't know how I placed overall but I got 1200mm up the ramp before I lifted a rear tire. The leaf springs cost me in this stage.
Stage 6 - I got stuck trying to exit the bog hole and Azz had to pull me out so we got a DNF. I needed more aggressive tires for this part as the ATZ's got self clean too well
Stage 7 - the tennis ball stage. We timed out on this stage with 1:54. We needed a 1:30. We only got 2 balls in the bucket (20ea) and 1 reversing penalty for a total of 38
Stage 8 - was the fast lap stage. we got 2:11. It was basically a small circuit through a water trap, few whoops on the back straight and a few tight turns. Cars did 2 laps
Stage 9 - was the wombat holes. I put both lockers on and smashed it in 4L 1st gear got got through in 20 seconds. We were one of the faster cars of the day for this stage. We score 100 points for this stage
Stage 10 - the blind folded stage. We made it to the 60 point mark before I drove off the track and had to stop.
Most of the cars got through everything before lunch so the marshals decided to make an additional 5 stages for after lunch
We started off with the fast laps again but the DNF time was now 2 mins, we got 2:04. The car was a little sluggish in the tight corners with the intercooler which costs us some time.
We then redid stage 6 in reverse this time I took a better line out of the bog hole and made it up. Only 1 reversing penalty for a total of 98
Next up was stage 3 in reverse I just got through the tire pit with both lockers on and some limiter bashing and completed the course with only 2 penalties for a total of 96.
After this stage the front passenger's tire rolled off the bead so we decided to call it a day with 2 stages left; stage 1 in reverse and a more difficult wombat holes
The main things I took out of the comp:
1) Tires - 33's don't cut it against 35 and 37's. Some of the guys were running sticky trips and centipedes.
2) Departure angle - I dragged my arse end over a lot of rocks
3) Rear axle - leafs don't cut it agains the patrols running coils but Ill soon fix that
It was a very good comp and Im happy with how I went. Where to from here? Well Im going to see if I can get the truck to MOA for ANZAC weekend for a bit of fun. After that back into build mode with the rear 4 link, CAMS spec cage and a bit more power from the engine would be nice. Aim is to have all of that done by September.
Cheers
Dyl
Well I just got home from my first comp and man couldn't wipe the smile off my face
I had so much fun, cheers to the organisers, sponsors, marshals, and other competitors for a top weekend. No for the fun part - cleaning the car..........Damage report:
The air sensor for my W2A has come out, will need to replace that
W2A intercooler has lost prime so I had no cooling on the way home - easy fix.
I rolled a tire off the bead, got it back on but the valve is rooted - another easy fix
Rear step is bent and dented but its going in the bin when I build the new rear end
I was very surprised how well the car held together and how far it went on some of the tracks. The front end works amazing its just the rear lets me down a little. Ill give you a little run down on how we went on each stage.
Stage 1 - was a rock garden stage with a bit of mud. Scored 80 points lost point on reversing (10) and I took out some bunting (10). Having such a long wheel base and average turning circle was a bit of a challenge all day.
Stage 2 - again in the rock garden. We got 98 for this stage only 1 reversing penalty. It was a short up and back stage with a tight turn at the end
Stage 3 - still in the rock garden we scored 76, I had 2 reversing penalties and we got stuck in the tire pit at the end so only got to the 80 point marker.
Stage 4 - was the big rock stage. I got to the 60 point marker then timed out. This stage had some big rocks in it but with both lockers on I managed to get past the difficult section at the 40 point mark. If I had spent less time in this part I would have finished the stage. Lost 10 points for reversing and 6 points for bunting contact for a stage total of 44
Stage 5 - flex ramp. don't know how I placed overall but I got 1200mm up the ramp before I lifted a rear tire. The leaf springs cost me in this stage.
Stage 6 - I got stuck trying to exit the bog hole and Azz had to pull me out so we got a DNF. I needed more aggressive tires for this part as the ATZ's got self clean too well
Stage 7 - the tennis ball stage. We timed out on this stage with 1:54. We needed a 1:30. We only got 2 balls in the bucket (20ea) and 1 reversing penalty for a total of 38
Stage 8 - was the fast lap stage. we got 2:11. It was basically a small circuit through a water trap, few whoops on the back straight and a few tight turns. Cars did 2 laps
Stage 9 - was the wombat holes. I put both lockers on and smashed it in 4L 1st gear got got through in 20 seconds. We were one of the faster cars of the day for this stage. We score 100 points for this stage
Stage 10 - the blind folded stage. We made it to the 60 point mark before I drove off the track and had to stop.
Most of the cars got through everything before lunch so the marshals decided to make an additional 5 stages for after lunch
We started off with the fast laps again but the DNF time was now 2 mins, we got 2:04. The car was a little sluggish in the tight corners with the intercooler which costs us some time.
We then redid stage 6 in reverse this time I took a better line out of the bog hole and made it up. Only 1 reversing penalty for a total of 98
Next up was stage 3 in reverse I just got through the tire pit with both lockers on and some limiter bashing and completed the course with only 2 penalties for a total of 96.
After this stage the front passenger's tire rolled off the bead so we decided to call it a day with 2 stages left; stage 1 in reverse and a more difficult wombat holes
The main things I took out of the comp:
1) Tires - 33's don't cut it against 35 and 37's. Some of the guys were running sticky trips and centipedes.
2) Departure angle - I dragged my arse end over a lot of rocks
3) Rear axle - leafs don't cut it agains the patrols running coils but Ill soon fix that
It was a very good comp and Im happy with how I went. Where to from here? Well Im going to see if I can get the truck to MOA for ANZAC weekend for a bit of fun. After that back into build mode with the rear 4 link, CAMS spec cage and a bit more power from the engine would be nice. Aim is to have all of that done by September.
Cheers
Dyl
DeanosD22
Member
Congrats on gettin her thru her first comp mate u must be stoked
Cheers deano
Cheers deano
Ben54b
Member
Wow. Just caught up after a few months. I've got nothing but. Wow.
75 GRC
Member
SWEET!!!!!
Grinning from ear to ear(One would think)
It appears your hard work has really paid off.
Well done!!!!!!
Grinning from ear to ear(One would think)
It appears your hard work has really paid off.
Well done!!!!!!
May of spoke too soon, found a crack in the UCA mount that is welded to the chassis rails. Its about 3" long. Seems the shock towers place a lot more strain on the chassis than I first thought. Ohh well ill weld it up and see how it goes. May need some additional bracing
