SMKYTXN'S 2011 DCFBFTMFW Solid Axle Swap

Got a cardboard list of To-Do's? Wants vs Musts?

 

The big ticket items where so big that I didn't need a written down list, but it's getting to the point that I need one.

 

NICE!!

@HolyHandGrenade do this.

 

When are you trying to have it finished by?

 

Yesterday

 

Lol

 

Which part? Lol

 

Yes

 

Way beyond my skill set. Looking good OP

 

unbelievable build man. wow

 

Let's see, today was a whole lot of little stuff. All of the links are welded and painted, both cab mounts are welded in and painted, and both firewall tubs are welded and seam sealed.

Welding bungs has lead to a couple of the heims seizing in the bung, which sucks! I did a little digging and read up on how folks go about it. The "best" method is to weld the bung in without the heim in place and then run a tap through the bung once everything has cooled. That's all fine and dandy, but I would have to buy several right and left hand taps and that just wasn't going to happen. So the next best thing is to slather anti seize on the heim and go to town. That seemed logical so I gave it a shot. It worked, but I still had one failure on a bung, thankfully one that didn't really matter. So the new tactic that I developed today was to apply copious amounts of anti seize to the bung and heim and then start welding. Instead of laying the three or four beads to get around the bung all at once I stopped after each bead and made sure the heim was still free. Twice I hit a snag after a bead where the heim didn't want to turn, but after applying a little torque with a screwdriver it came free. I then reapplied anti seize and laid the next bead. I had one heim that got stuck on two different beads, but by breaking it free after each stuck it ended up free and clear at the end. So take that for what it's worth. Hopefully that will help someone keep from ruining a heim.

Here's the one and only pic I took today. lol

Oh, and tomorrow should be interesting. My orbital column showed up today.

 

The orbital now has a home in the engine bay, well kinda in the engine bay.

This is the pile of parts I started with. The joint and shaft with a bell on it are out of the donor Lexus, but I ended up not using them. The stock shaft from the taco ended up working beautifully, albeit a tad shorter. The stock shaft is the one with the collapsible bellows on it. That was quickly cut off.


That long shaft ended up as just the ujoint and the spline from the other end. Here's what the whole system will consist of.



And here's where she's going to live. This position was the best bet, though pulling the accessories will be interesting when the time comes. I'll be building in extra length to the hoses so I can just pull the orbital out of the way for maintenance.

 

Since you have everything out of the way, have you thought about adding engine mount gussets?

 

I haven't considered that. When I break a mount I'll think about it then.

 

I finished the panhard and orbital mounts today. I'll paint the driver side hoop tomorrow and get the engine cross member back in.

I also swapped the brakes on the 14 bolt to the front of the axle to allow me to mount the shock mounts on the rear of the axle tube. I'm now an expert on taking the axle shafts out of the 14 bolt.

Thanks for letting me borrow your heater @greeneggsnspam. That was a lifesaver today.



Thanks @TXSmiley for the switchable magnets!

 

Man, those welds just keep getting better!!!

 

Well I'm gonna have to sub this for end results

Nice work so far

 

How do you like you're balancing beads for your tires? Strongly considering them

 

Kinda hard to tell considering I've only rolled these tires around the shop by hand.

 

I started putting parts back on the taco for what I hope is the last time yesterday.


The Tundra oil filler neck seems to have done the trick. I'll have to use a funnel for fills, but she clears just fine.


The new intake still fits as well. We'll see if she rubs when the engine torques over or not.


The calipers are now on the front of the rear axle to allow the shock mounts to fit outboard on the back of the tube.


All painted and pretty!


My reworked ps pump shows up today as well as my order of 1/0 welding lead for the new battery cables. Slowly but surely!