Solid Axle Swap!!!

Dont tell me that, I've already used 28 1mm cutting disks so far and thats just the axle prep. I need a plasma cutter!

Need a (insert american accent) dool saaw

dilmah said:

Dont tell me that, I've already used 28 1mm cutting disks so far and thats just the axle prep. I need a plasma cutter!

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Yeah you'll use more then that.. I used cutting discs and a cold chisel and it was a huge pain. After that i got an oxy kit, heaps better and a bit more versatile then plasma

How much will an oxy setup set me back? There is the cost of the gas, regulators, torches and piping. if it can be done for under $500 I might consider it for the next stage of the build as there is a lot to be cut off the chassis

Cost about $400 just to fill the bottles these days..let alone rental regs..hoses and torch..
If you have a air compressor and good power a plasma is the way to go.no ongoing costs..they both make a mess tho and the gringer always finnishes the job no matter what you start with.

joshy said:

Yeah you'll use more then that.. I used cutting discs and a cold chisel and it was a huge pain. After that i got an oxy kit, heaps better and a bit more versatile then plasma

Click to expand...

Oxy is a amazing tool for freeing parts..not much else that can do that job

Actually one of those plumbers torches with mapp gas is pretty good too..i use that more than my oxy these days...but mainly doing sheetmetal work.and the odd stuck bolt...for the big stuff (tractors and 30-40 year old chassis work) the oxy comes out.

You can buy an oxy setup (torch, regs, hoses, etc) for around $400 from memory. I don't know what cylinder rental is like, but you can get small cylinders... Here's one here http://www.toolmart.com.au/tools/welding/208011.html I do know you can get them cheaper than that tho....




Otherwise there's this.... http://www.toolmart.com.au/tools/welding/cut-50.html

Thanks for the info guys, will look into it more when it comes time to do the chassis work

Medium size cylinder is about $100 to fill, yearly rental is about 130 with boc. Gas weld now do bottles you can buy but the upfront cost is up there. An oxy kit with all the gear you need will range from about 300 and up.

Plasma is one of those get what u pay for things, I've gota unimig one that was $1000, you need a decent compressor as it uses a fair bit of air. I've barely used the plasma, keep going back to oxy atm

payed $270 for my last e size acetelene..oxygen was bit over $100 for a e2...im getting shafted!

Im leaning towards the trusty 4" and another 30 1mm cuting disks. the budget for the build is $8000 and im looking at $7000 for parts already

Alright followers I made some small but very time consuming progress today. I cleaned all of the swivel hub parts with degreaser, wouldnt believe the amount of shit that came off!
This weekend I plan to weld the knuckles back on, going to aim for a positive pinion angle to help with the front drive shaft.

I've already ordered a swivel hub rebuild kit. It should arrive early next week. Progress will be slower once the welding is complete as I will need to save for an E locker ($1500) and a new 4.88 crown and pinion ($850 - best price so far). My trusted diff merchanic will do the diff build for $660. Im still undecided if I want to run chromoly cv's what are your thought???

I'm doing a full restoration/modification on an old 81 rn36 hilux shorty and just rebuilt the front axel/swivel hubs, by far the most dirty/messy job i have had to do on a vehicle.
Didn't help that it had over 30 years of crap on it.
I opted not to use the cromoly cvs and axels for 2 reasons, one was to save a few dollars up front so i could spend them elsewhere, and two was once the front end is all back together it is pretty quick and easy to swap out an axel or cv so i figured i would try and bust the factory ones first!
Love your work, will be watching closely, might even look into it after the hilux is finished.

Im thinking along the same lines with the cv's, with the large amount of flex im expecting, front locker and no more than 37" tires i wont break the stock cv's anytime soon

Haven't made any progress this week, been busy building another shed to store all of my parts and other crap in so I can expand the workshop. I will be purchasing the MQ tie rod ends from superior this week and speaking to my machinist to see if the steering knuckle tapers can be pressed out and flipped or if he has make me new ones and i drill the current ones out.

Factory Gq cvs will break with 37's. Gus would be fine. Personally I think 4.88s will be too high.

I run 4.88's now with 33's would prefer 4.6's but I couldn't find the ratios when I did it last year. The little 2.5 struggles to turn the bigger tyres. I think the 4.88's will be ok with either 35's or 37's. As for the cv's I might bite the bullet and get some chromoly ones

Bit of progress this week, bought a 20T workshop press so I did the swivel hub bearings and wheel bearings this week. Still working on finishing the shed but i've been busy with other shit so me and the old man haven't had time to finish it yet.

The knuckles still haven't been welded yet my boily mate keeps going on fishing trips (lucky bugger). Should be a lot of progress over easter time as we all have time off.

Next part of the build will be focusing on the diff then moving towards assembly and finally the steering. This will take me up until July.

Can't remember what you said you were doing about steering but, a patrol steering box will bolt straight on, it gives you the pitman arm in a better position for diff clearance and lining up to your knuckle better. If you use a patrol steer box, when hooking up the power steerin lines, put them on back to front compared to the Navara steering box.