Cynicalriders "J0hnny5 is ALIVE!" 01 build thread.

To steal the quote from @Chux... "Dad, are we overlanders now?"

 

Modded the DRZ with a birthday present from my wife:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

And got these suckers welded up:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Going to slap some paint on them to prep for the bag install Thursday.

 

Alright well nothing can ever go easy/right. I started the airbag install on Thursday thinking I had anything I need that could potentially go wrong. I had new center pins, all the hardware welded up for the cradle mounts, bags, etc. I knew I would need to custom fabricate the top mounts and had the material for that as well.

The main purpose to the airbag install on my truck is to make it a little more flexible for the ever changing loads I carry. When I have it unloaded it's still got a ton of extra weight now that the dakars just cannot handle appropriately. Most of this is likely due to my under bed gas storage system, extra metal from the shock crossmembers, and the fully boxed with 3/16" plate frame. Add being fully loaded for a multi state trip or have the bike in the bed with camp gear for a riding trip, I am riding the bump stops on every bump and those expensive go fast ADS shocks are doing nothing for me anymore.

Ride height right now:

Airbag install by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Also when @HomerTaco and @6 gearT444E and I installed my shocks/extended my bumps we expected the wheelers bumps to compress more than they actually did, so i was not using 1" of my up travel as well.

Airbag install by Michael Halat, on Flickr

About 1/2" of shock showing and 1/2" of shaft left under the shock bumps. Now I'll have the adjustability to use all the travel.

So I dug in cutting off my old bump stop extensions. That was hella quick with the sawzall, and ground it all flush. Next up was to work on the mounts for the cradles which are doubling as the u bolt mounts. I got the idea of this setup from @Phessor on his taco build here.

There are a couple differences that I did not notice though and some I knew about ahead of time. The first is the fact that the dakars move the axle up to the front of the truck by about an inch and i am using relocation plates to center the axle in the wheel well again. This meant I needed to move the hole on the u bolt plates up. I copied the flip plates I was already running and drilled a hole. I filled in the original hole just for looks more than anything else, but in retrospect I probably should have left it in case I get rid of the dakars. Oh well.

The second thing was the fact that these u bolt plates and u bolts are wayyy wider than my old setup. So much so they can't go on because my shock mounts are in the way. So great, now I am cutting off shock mounts now too.

Shocks hitting the u-bolts:

Airbag install by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Cutting these off sucked, and now I want a plasma:

Airbag install by Michael Halat, on Flickr

New holes and filled in old ones:

Airbag install by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Airbag install by Michael Halat, on Flickr

And a width comparison:

Airbag install by Michael Halat, on Flickr

After the old shock mounts were cut off it was only a matter of clamping the leaf springs and swapping in new longer center pins.

Airbag install by Michael Halat, on Flickr

This pass through socket was the real mvp there.

Then I chopped everything down so I could mount the cradle.

Airbag install by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Once the cradle was mounted I set out to make mounts for the airbags themselves. I had left over stock from the bumper build and cut pieces the width of the frame.

I centered the studs into the piece and drilled those holes out as well as made the space for the air line. I saw from large piece of tube (obvs was going to cut it down) that in my situation with the cradle mounts moved forward, the bag mounts needed to be angled for best contact.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

So I cut it down and burned it in:

Airbag install by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Airbag install by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Airbag install by Michael Halat, on Flickr

From there it was just rinse and repeat on the other side:

Airbag install by Michael Halat, on Flickr

The fact that the pack travels in a ( shape really fucks with your head.

Airbag install by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Airbag install by Michael Halat, on Flickr

Now I just need my replacement mounts to come in from ruff stuff and run the lines in the meantime.

 

If it makes you feel any better, cutting shock mounts off of the axle is still garbage work with a plasma cutter. I hate it so much.

 

shhh I am convincing myself to drop an absurd amount of money on a rarely used tool as it is

 

They aren’t all an absurd amount of money



Out of stock right now but I love mine, cut a TON of steel during my 3 link with it

 

yeah @Wheelspinner pointed me in the direction of this one too:

Lotos LT5000D Plasma Cutter 50Amps Dual Voltage Compact Metal Cutter 110/220V AC 1/2" Clean Cut & Technology LCS22 Plasma Cutter Consumables Sets for Brown Color LT5000D and Brown Color CT520D

$334 LOTOS LT5000D 50A Air Inverter Plasma Cutter + Lotos LCS22 Plasma Cutter Consumables Sets

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091V6V94P/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_9SR2MQESBQZYKDBVCRC9

Which both are about as much as I’d like to spend for a more rarely used tool.

 

This is what I got and it's been great.
https://yeswelder.com/products/cut-55ds
Make sure you have a good air dryer though. Otherwise you'll be hating life trying to use it.

Another thing to keep in mind is that all these cheaper ones use high frequency inverters to power them which prevents you from using them with a plasma table down the line if you're into that kinda thing.

 

Where do you have the drier in relation to the machine? Right at the input for the airline? I don't have an air drier currently and my air comes from a 50 foot retractable hose from the ceiling. I heard the consumables from yeswelder are cheaper than the Lotos stuff.

 

You generally want it right after the outlet of the compressor. That's where I have mine. Got a short 3' hose to connect them and mounted it to the wall next to the compressor. I got this one. Surprisingly solid and good quality for the price.

$47 NANPU DFR-03 3/8" NPT Air Drying System - Double Air Filters, Air Pressure Regulator Combo - Semi-Auto Drain, Poly Bowl

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z5PHJS6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8

I haven't had to buy any replacement consumables yet, but it comes with I think 2 or 3 of two different style tips. One for 110v and another for 220v.

 

Just curious as to why this is the case.

Would you mind explaining for dummies like myself? Thanks!

 

since they're high frequency they will damage and cause interference with the sensitive components that in a gantry table. (i.e. stepper motors & controllers).

You sadly need a much more expensive unit to use with a table. One that uses pilot arc instead

 

Awesome explanation. Thanks, bud.

I work with steppers and their controllers every day and good god those things are so susceptible to EMI it’s not even funny.

 

The herocut uses a pilot arc and a CNC port, which was a big reason I got that one

 

Everything I read mentions having the drier after the air cools down a bit. I am thinking i might be able to hook a drier up to right before it comes into the hose reel...

I mean I highly doubt I'll ever have a plasma table but the thought is nice. Crazy that one comes with all those features at that price.

 

Ah. Interesting, yea I guess. I don't use my compressor continuously for hours at a time or anything like that so I've never noticed the air get that hot, and never heard anyone mention that before, so I'm not that worried about it but that's just me.
Just before the hose reel would probably work well for you in that case.

 

I see you have the ol' Passenger side wheel well rusting through....

Got the same, going to a few junkyards next weekend to patch that very same area...

 

Dude the bed is a mess. That one's fiber glass patch is still going strong though Like I've said before, eventually I'll be scooping up a rust free bed from the south and starting over.

 

Got the airbags done and the truck rolling. Should have just barely enough time to check it and the bike before a camping trip this week. Tried to check articulation as best as possible, then burned the mounts in and slapped it all together.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

The welds/mounts clear the u bolts nicely now.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

This is how the shocks sit "unloaded" - basically all my tools, spare, hi lift and recovery gear in the bed, but not camping gear or anything else. My daily carry. At 6 psi the bags barely touch the cradles.

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

And the stance of the truck:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

A couple things regarding the stance, I think I can raise the front a little and make the front match the rear. I also feel like the rear looks higher because of the fenders being cut the same amount all around.

I did end up finding that my axle was leaking around the spring perches when i was flexing the axle out and all the oil was going to one side:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

I cleaned it up as best as I could and shot some wire in it:

Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr
Untitled by Michael Halat, on Flickr

I'll be trying to figure out a more permanent solution to this.

After a drive this morning I could tell how much I was hitting my bump stops during daily use. The ride was much more plush and hitting a pot hole wasn't as jarring now that I am not in the bumps on every pothole. After doing the shocks twice, I can tell I could have probably put the lower shock mounts downwards more considering the stance of the truck and high ass high it is currently. This would let the truck ride more in the middle of the shocks range under normal circumstances but then I would need to make sure I don't over compress the shocks by needing to keep the bags more inflated all the time. I would also then not be using all of the shock travels down travel in that circumstance too. I guess that's the trade off of running a pack that cycles about 9", and 10" shocks under the truck while still trying to keep the lift not sky high.

 

If it wasn't for the bedliner I'm pretty sure I could see daylight through that spot.