Crunchy Taco? - 1st gen on 35s BS

Last night I took the skid and both hubs off and got the CVs pulled and got the front diff drained. I should be good to drop it tonight after pulling the driveshaft and unbolting it.

Every time I tear into the front end I wish that I had wheels with the correct backspacing so I don't have to run spacers; the spacers are annoying to install and remove and appear to contribute to the vibrations I have.

 

Little more progress today. Swapped axle tube and brackets to the new diff

 

That’s a good thing to have behind you. Those external torx bolts that hold the tube to the diff suuuuuuuuck.

 

Interesting, mine were standard hex head bolts. They were in there really good though

 

Mine were gronked in there really good too, and those torx bolts just wanted to deform. It was the opposite of fun, for sure.

 

Have you heard of the manual hubs being a failing point?

Sometime soon hopefully i'll be doing an ARB in the front with my manual hubs as well. I already carry spare CV's, but have never heard of the hubs themselves being something that commonly fail.

 

@Reh5108 , didn’t your manual hub grenade itself when your CV blew or something?

 

From what I remember reading, his CV broke inside the hub which caused problems and screwed up that brass ring part in there.
More related to CV strength than the hubs themselves breaking.

 

That sounds like a real pain to deal with.

If I had known about the loctite the torch would have been a help.

I have heard secondhand stories about breaking them. I know my buddy with a solid axle Toyota has broken them; those are the same design as our hubs. said I'd rather have my CVs and hubs be the weak point so I'm not breaking gears instead

 

dang. Well at least it's a pretty easy small part to carry as a spare.

I agree. Much rather that than the stub shaft or differential parts.

 

To be fair his truck is on 37s and has a Detroit in the front and he wheels it hard to keep up with the buggies

 

ah. yea that'll definitely be hard on parts.
Given I won't be on 35's for a while, I hope my hubs don't grenade on me as long as i'm not trying to go rock bouncing.

Have you had to replace a manual CV on the trail before?

 

I have not; I've been fortunate enough to not break anything so far. I'm not looking forward to taking that little c clip off of the CV when I inevitably do have to do one

 

I haven't either. I have a feeling that might change with a front locker

As much as I do enjoy my manual hubs, I envy the ADD guys for the ease of changing out a CV.

Not to mention dealing with those damn cone washers....

 

The cone washers aren't too bad if you have a brass drift or brass punch. I put anti seize on them too

If you're a dumbass like me you can also use a regular hammer with great success at the cost of fucking up your studs or hub body though

 

A little update; yesterday my buddy came over and helped me get the front together enough to load up the truck and drag it to his shop which he has been generous enough to offer to me.

After getting it there I put the hubs on and bolted up the front driveshaft before calling it a night. The only thing left to do for the front diff is to fill it and hook up the airlines.

 

The last few times they gave me hell. Even with a brass drift. I did cover them in anti-sleeze before putting them back in though. Hopefully the next time around won't be so bad.

I've been there. Had a few close calls on my stud threads before moving to brass tooling. Keeping the nuts on the studs saved my butt

EDIT: where did you end up mounting your compressor and switches?

 

I've had to replace a few studs and had to run a tap down several others Putting the nut on can help IF you put it on more than just a few threads otherwise they get wrecked

Not sure I have a pic of the compressor mount but I built one that bolts to the fender behind the factory airbox so it sits on the passenger fender close to the firewall.

I have a paranoid fab bracket that mounts where the ashtray was which is where my front lightbar and compressor switch currently are. I'll add the switches for the F/R lockers there as well, though I have a feeling I'll be wanting to move stuff around

 

Shit, you tagged me once and I forgot to reply. Didn't know you had a build thread

Did you button everything up with the new hubs?

 

Front is all together and filled. Still need to do everything for the ARB



@betterbuckleup here is where/how I mounted my compressor. I was meant to be temporary but I haven't found a better spot for it yet. The unistrut is welded to a 3/16 bracket with a piece of ? Gauge sheet metal that the compressor is bolted to.