The Frankenstein Build! LT/Expo/Trail rig..and BS

i think i did once, he thought it was awesome, but i don't think he is willing to just get a truck. he isn't exactly much of a wrench turner either. he would catch on quick though. he loves camping/survival stuff. and do i need to learn all this study material for the ham radios to past the test? cause holy crap is there alot of stuff to learn haha

 

Just figured I'd let you know that since you posted the pics of your truck after LT. It has been the background on my phone ever since.

 

Haha nice

Thanks

There is a lot. The hamtestonline will help you drill it to pass the basic test. Its pretty easy. Then you need to find a local ham club and they can really help you. Ham clubs are usually very nice people and love new members.

 

Well I'm 60% of the way through and took a practice test and only missed 5

 

You'd pass then and get your license.

haha

its not too hard!

 

Some of the stuff you can figure out with common since. What do you have to get to pass? Anything above 50%??

 

That ham test site is a pretty cool resource. I just made an account.

 

I believe its a 70%. Think you can miss 9..or 6..can't remember exactly ARRL Site should be able to tell you that.

It is very nice for studying! Im going to get my General soon.

 

You have to get a passing score of 80% or better. That means you can not miss more than 6 of the 35 questions.

Yes, some of the stuff is common sense, however, most of it is rules and regulations regard bands, power, and part 97.

They say it takes about 14 hours of studying to get your tech license. I like the Gordon West book/audiobooks, but there are tons of free online study guides for anyone interested. I like QRZ.com for practice tests.

 

This is not correct. 74% is a passing grade. You can miss 9 of the 35 questions and still pass.

 

14 hours sounds about right

 

Yea thats what i thought..

 

UPDATE: Arb Locker install

Difficulty: Advanced/Hard

Time for an update! So after years of wanting one but never seeming to get the timing down or funds, I scored a rear RD 129 locker for Frankenstein! I got it used off of here from @CWMcTaco for an amazing price. He was trying to sell his tacoma and nobody want to pay extra for the locker so he went back to stock.

This meant he needed a stock ring gear carrier assembly and that meant he needed someone that could swap stuff over and then send back their stock carrier. I was totally down to do that. So he shipped me his entire carrier with bearings and shims and all accessories to the locker. And it was my job to swap over his ring gear onto my carrier and send it back to him.

Major props to him for doing this with me. Was an awesome TW experience especially considered all the shit that went wrong and how I was almost late with it he was always cool with it. And i have to say, this was the BEST packed item i have ever received. Ever. From anyone. Mad props for that.

Anyways onto the write up.



For those that don't know a locker is very important when offroading. It makes both rear wheels turn no matter what. Vs my open diff that sends power to the path of least resistance, not where you want it. Ive never had a locker, which seems to shock some people. So this was a big upgrade for me!

Id put this as an advanced mod for a DIY person. Again, not impossible, but you need specialized tools and a lot of space. Plus the option of leaving your truck on jack stands for 3 weeks...No impossible though!

I started with the removal of my stock diff and inspected the gears which i set myself last year so i was curious to see how they where holding up.

ARBinstall.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
ARBinstall-2.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
ARBinstall-3.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Wear patterns looked good and tolerances where still tight.

Measure you back lash! Very important. You'll try and match it again later. Mine was about .008. Which makes sense since they are still pretty new and i set them at .007 last time.

Simply pull the carrier assembly after that. You don't have to pull the pinion...thank god.
Remove the ring gear as well.

Mine came off with no issues, the ring gear on the ARB i got...no so much. According to Craig he had had a shop install it for him and it was the only thing he'd ever had a shop do to his rig. Well. IDK WTF they did, but they definitely did NOT torque down the ring gear right. They where all over the map. Some pretty loose and a couple insanely to tight.

One was so tight i stripped the head of the bold So I ordered Craig a new bold and had it shipped to his house. Then i welded a nut to the bolt to get it off. Not something i wanted to do to an new to me ARB locker...but it worked.

ARBinstall-4.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


The two carriers! Left is ARB right is stock open. In case you wanted to see i guess

ARBinstall-5.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


Since Craig was selling his truck, he told me to just keep all the good stuff and send him whatever. Cool guy I really liked this as i had brand new bearings in mine not even a year old. Well...moral of this story. Get the right tools.

I tried using a normal bearing puller on one of my bearings and this happened.

ARBinstall-11.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
ARBinstall-12.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Fuck.

I was furious when this happen with myself.

not really that surprising though. So i ordered a new bearing and when to Zuk's website for some more research and found he used a different bearing puller called a Side Bearing puller made by OTC.

PN 4520

Link:

$117 OTC Differential Side Bearing Puller Set - 4520

http://www.amazon.com/OTC-4520-Differential-Bearing-Puller/dp/B0015PMZN4

So worth the money if you're planning on setting your own gears of diffs. After a few days i got it and instantly i was glad i did.

You can see the differences here:

ARBinstall-6.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

There are 3 big differences that make a large difference.

1: This puller has a piece that holds the arms from pushing out. VERY nice so that the hooks stay on the bearing instead of slipping off it and catching the rollers retainer which is very thin. Like what happened to me.

2: the hooks are longer and thinner while the arms are solid straight.

ARBinstall-7.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

vs

ARBinstall-8.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

3: This puller comes with three inserts that you set on the diff for it to press off of. And the tip of the press rotates freely for when you are wrenching it down.

Awesome.

ARBinstall-9.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
ARBinstall-10.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
ARBinstall-13.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
ARBinstall-14.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


After i messed around with it and got it dialed in i torqued down the side arm bolts to make certain it will not slip off again.

After you have it ready to go it'll look like this

ARBinstall-15.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

I will say it barely is wide enough with the bar that holds the hook sides in. Took some practice to get it right.

Then i took another note from the great Zuk and put the press in a vice and wrenched it down.

ARBinstall-16.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


Pops it all off with ease

ARBinstall-17.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

So that puller is totally worth the money. Seriously.

I then repeated this happy that my 80 bucks was well spent and everything seemed to be going smooth finally after two big hiccups. Until i got to the other side of the ARB.

For whatever reason, the puller wouldn't fit. There are two quarter coin sized indentations on the locker to allow a puller to get under the bearing, but mine would not fit. Well, the hooks fit but you couldn't get them into the main puller piece since they where angled too far inwards.


FUCK.


So.....i did this.

ARBinstall-18.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Using one hook under the one side. Then a long drift through the eyelet and a second bigger drift through a ring gear bolt. I leveraged against the bearing.....


By hand.



And pulled it up until the pullers hooks could go vertical enough to fit the puller support. About 1/8'' or so.

ARBinstall-19.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

That was my HeMan moment for the project...good lord..idk how else you would do it other then with one of those super duper fancy ass bearing pullers that cost 500 bucks.


But i got it.


ARBinstall-20.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Then i took all the ring gear bolts and cleaned them up on the mounted wire wheel grinder

ARBinstall-22.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Some red Loctite

ARBinstall-21.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

And swapped the ring gears over.

ARBinstall-23.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


Then i used the 20 ton press to press on the bearings

ARBinstall-24.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

I took this moment since it was under so much pressure to torque the ring gear bolts to 85 ft/lbs

ARBinstall-25.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

For the ARB you have to run air to it to work, obviously. It does this with a solid copper tube on the inside of the diff but you have to drill two holes in the diff. The first is on the bearing cap.

ARBinstall-26.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

The tube comes up through that and of course when i tapped the bearing cap down it snapped off the thin copper tube from the seal housing that Craig had sent me...

ARBinstall-27.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Great..

This was a problem because i had tried to order a spare from ECGS when i bought other spare parts. They had called me and said it had been on back order for weeks. Not good considering i had less then 20 days till my big trip.

Somehow i found one at some other gear shop and got it sent over a few days later.

ARBinstall-28.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

I ground the hole a tad bigger using the die grinder and never had an issue again and i removed and installed the bearing cap many many times. Just have to line everything up right.

The second hole is much larger and on the actual housing. Be sure to stuff the pinion with a rag when doing this hole to avoid metal shavings getting into your pinion bearings.

ARBinstall-34.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


You have to tap this hole as well.

ARBinstall-35.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

This is the bulkhead that goes in the hole and makes the seal around the copper tube and plastic air line. The left hand side goes in the diff and plastic line on the right. Gasket goes with the copper line not the plastic.

ARBinstall-36.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

I used some FIPG on the threads and outside of the base of the bulkhead just to be safe.

ARBinstall-37.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Using just your fingers you bend the line down and out the bulk head like so

ARBinstall-38.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
ARBinstall-39.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Then trim the copper line and put in the gasket and middle piece of the bulkhead.

ARBinstall-44.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

I did leave just a little extra copper line. Which is fine as long as it clears everything you won't have any issues. ARB i believe recommends about 3/8''

ARBinstall-45.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Add some zip ties to the top. Ive seen guys put some rubber fuel line around the copper line here too. I just couldn't find any and stores where closed when i was finishing. So whatever.

ARBinstall-43.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
ARBinstall-46.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


Then you test the locker for air leaks. Thankfully mine didn't have any. Was cool to hear it locking though Instant lock FTW!

ARBinstall-40.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


At this point you have to check you backlash again. ARBs carriers are never 100% like your stock one so you usually have to adjust the shims. Mine was a total nightmare to do this time and i had to order a whole bunch of new washer plates. But i got it to .009 average which was close enough for me and a slapped the bitch in!

Now it is worth mentioning that i am not using an air compressor. Instead i am using CO2. But i am no using my big 20lb bottle of CO2. Instead i am using 20oz paintball canisters. I bought an 85psi regulator that attaches right to a bottle. All i did was plumb the ARB solenoid into it and mount the bottle.

a 12oz bottle is good for 1200+ locker articulations. So...a 20oz should be well over 2000. I still carry a second bottle just to be safe and they are easy to carry anyways. I'll probably get some sort of connection so i can run it off my 20lb bottle too if needed.


Anyways i bought the power tank paintball canister bracket. Was super impressed with this thing. All aluminum and very nicely put together. Comes with 3 hose clamps, one for the bottle and two for mounting. Or you can use bolts.

ARBinstall-29.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
ARBinstall-30.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
ARBinstall-31.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
ARBinstall-32.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
ARBinstall-33.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

This is all thats needed to run air lockers!

ARBinstall-41.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

This is the 85 psi regulator. Power tank makes one too but this one is more affordable by Ox Lockers and is US made and what not. Plus i have a buddy that runs it already so i knew it worked!

ARBinstall-42.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Then i just mounted it to my rear bumper up out of the way. Even reused the blue line Craig gave me.

ARBinstall-47.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
ARBinstall-48.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
ARBinstall-49.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
ARBinstall-50.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
ARBinstall-51.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Then i just ran a single double pair wire down for the solenoid and slapped in the ARB switch and was done!


I HAVE A LOCKER!!

Pretty cool. I got to use it 3 times on Whipsaw. Was hard to tell if i really needed it or not but i never had a single issue. Also put on damn near 2000-2500 miles on the rear diff and it didn't explode so...musta set it up okay for now! (knock on wood)

Also, shout out to Jerry, i use and abuse the shit out of this thing...love it @JLee BAMF FTW!

ARBinstall-52.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr



Cheers folks!

 

Not stupid actually.

and really...nothing. My only excuse for being able to do this is that it is on for very short periods of time. I don't even open the regulator unless i know im on a part of the trial where i might need it. Thats pretty much it.

I plan on relocating it with the addition of a front locker. I mostly put it there because it was convenient and i was short on time. But you are right there could be problems. Once i dial in packing my truck i'll probably move it to the bed of the bed rack.

Or i'll keep it there and get a siphon tube for my bottles.

 

UPDATE: Wheelers Super Bumps rear Kit

Difficulty: Easy

Two in one day???!?!

yea.

This one is small but kinda cool. Ive know my shocks where too long for a while but just let it go. But now with the front LT i wanted to change that. So i purchased the Wheelers Super bump kit. It comes with mounting plates and the famous Wheelers super bumps. I also picked up two 3/8'' and two 1/4'' UHMW Spacers they make for the kit.

They look nice!

WheelersSuperbumps.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
WheelersSuperbumps-2.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


The attach just like stock getting sandwiched under the U bolts.

WheelersSuperbumps-3.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

They are much taller even without the spacers.

WheelersSuperbumps-4.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

However, they compress a lot more.

WheelersSuperbumps-11.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
WheelersSuperbumps-12.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr


That was with as much pressure as i could pump down with just my finger, not using the actual bar on the 20 ton press.

So with that in mind i kinda eye balled it due to shortness of time i didn't have time to cycle anything.

No spacers.

WheelersSuperbumps-5.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

1/4'' spacer

WheelersSuperbumps-6.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

3/8'' spacer

WheelersSuperbumps-7.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Both spacers

WheelersSuperbumps-8.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

I settled on the 3/8'' for now. Which lead to my only complaint about this kit.

The bolt that holds the super bumps down is perfect for no spacers but much too short for the spacers and they don't even mention it or offer to sell you a longer bolt.

WheelersSuperbumps-9.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

So i went to the parts store and bought two more a 1.5'' and 2''

WheelersSuperbumps-10.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

I believe i used the 1.5'' for the 3/8'' spacer.

WheelersSuperbumps-13.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Then you just undo your U bolts and remove and replace!

WheelersSuperbumps-14.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

I did notice wear marks on the bump plates of the frame my last trip. I still think id like to add the 1/4'' spacer to it this winter. But over all i am very happy. Makes the hard hits not seem so hard now.

 

Nice writeups and for locker!

 

Hells yea!

Need to go to Christina to really do some damage now And that one spot on Shoshone.

 

haha lets not do damage... unless you mean damage to that ledge!