Winch Bumper Build
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 8,147
Likes: 1
From: Joppa, Maryland
O taht rear end I've never posted a pic of it all done beforre. Notice those U bolts. May not look too fancy but they are massive 3/4"!! When I mentioned things that baffle me that break this was one of them. I had new 9/16 U bolts before which I thought would be fine and i twisted them up. What happened was the actually "brand new" weld on spring perches collapsed and bent on the front part where it is a open channel and caused my axle to rotate up enough where it put my 1350 1 ton cv on my driveshaft in a bind and snap it off the flange on the t case in a 4wheeling comp. I couldn't believe it was able to bend 1/4 steel. The stock 4" block was bent as well with a curved bottom. Intense! I had to redo the whole setup on the axle and cut off the old perches. I purchased the same perches againg but this time i boxed in the front and back open sections with 1/2 inch plate so it could not collapse. Then i went and got custom 3/4" farm equipment grade u bolts made up with a 3/4" top plate to lock it down. Axle was re set to 1.5 degree below parralel for proper set up for a cv shaft then I also made custom 4" blocks out of all 1/2" plate I had laying around. The blocks are heavy as hell and took probably 1 1/2 hours of stick welding to glue them together. Overkill but do you think it will break again....yeah NO
I went with this TA performance diff cover because it has set screws to put pressure on bearing caps under extreme torque,has a higher fill plug to allow more oil now that my diff is rotated up it needs this to get oil to the pinion bearing,a drain,cools better, and its 3/8 thick.
I went with this TA performance diff cover because it has set screws to put pressure on bearing caps under extreme torque,has a higher fill plug to allow more oil now that my diff is rotated up it needs this to get oil to the pinion bearing,a drain,cools better, and its 3/8 thick.
), but just throwin that tidbit of info out there. Also, don't know if I posted this or not yet, but that bumper is turning out sweet man. Any interest in producing them?? lol
Thread Starter
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Postmaster
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 3,083
Likes: 4
From: Victoria , BC
Should be fine. It'll bring it back to like it was stock but with 44s. Put it this way I got a twin stick t case and I've driven around in rear 2wd low( something you can't normally do without twin sticking) which means I was double low so basically like I had 4:10x2. 8:20's and it didn't evenscream that much. only Problem with that is it has alot of gear noise from tcase
just another Rockwell looser
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 4,042
Likes: 0
From: Cocoa, FL
Elder User
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 727
Likes: 0
its not going to be on the highway alot, i just want it so i can drive it on the road, not everyday, but you gotta remember im 17 i gotta cruise the town in the thang. im not picking up on your post about getting 5.38s for the long hauls, dont know if its a joke or what?
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Elder User
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 727
Likes: 0
i work alot, well as much as possible, acually i would rather work than do anything else, but my boss dont let me work all the time. im planning on makin enough this summer for all my drive train, except for the axle housings which i just bought like two weeks ago. ok i had a question on my sterling, instead of buyin a nice cover, what i was going to do is fab up like fins for it. That would make it alot stronger right? and it should even let it run alittle cooler, which not even sure how hot they get, but more air contact with the metal? i saw a high end one on the internet, and it just had a fin type set up(idk hard to explain) and i figured i could just make one, what you guys think?
Elder User
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 727
Likes: 0
ya that is a good point, since them covers are already so thin. idk it aint gonna cost me much so ill try it out and see what happens, maybe its one of those things where i just welding one section at a time and let it cool, and see what happens, just thought it would be cheap and easy.
Elder User
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 575
Likes: 1
one thing you could do is get yourself a FLAT piece of 1/2" plate that is big enough, lightly tack weld your stock cover to it in a few corners (I'm talking like BB sized tack, and make sure you clean it really well with brake clean), trace your stock cover onto what is about to become your new flange, and then using multiple sized drill bits and a center punch drill your new holes using your existing holes, and if you use a cut off tool, you should be able to even use the stock cover as a template to cut it out. Then using a cloth tape measure, you can measure the cover bubble contour from edge to edge, add 4", and that will give you the amount of 1/4" plate you will need to make the same bubble with some room for goof ups. Then take two rulers, lay one flat across the mounting surface and use the other to measure the height of the ring gear outside of the housing with the cover off. Next remove the little tack welds, and flip the stock cover over, and using the cloth tape measure, measure the lip/ flange/ flat mounting surface with the bolt holes in it. Lets say its 1". You would measure 1" in from your cut on your flat piece of 1/2" plate all the way around and mark it. Then use a cut off wheel to make the cuts BUT BE CAREFUL!!! when you get to the corners, you should drill holes so that the wheel doesn't get into your flange. Once you have your flange cut out, check that it bolts up to the axle properly, and bolt it down with a bolt at each of the 4 "corners". Then you can just use pieces that are a length that equals 1/4" more than the height of the gear outside the case for your sides of the bubble, and the width of the side of the flange you are doing. I would recomend doing an angled piece at the bottom on each side so that it slides off of obstacles, and doesn't hang on them. Heres a good one to get an idea of what I'm talking about 10.25/10.5" Ford Rock Crusher Cover Just remember to stitch weld, take your time, and move around alot to keep from overheating and warping the metal.
also, use the thickest gasket you can find, even making one from a piece of cork wouldn't be a bad idea, just in case the metal does warp the slightest bit. Oh, and make sure the new cover doesn't protrude AT ALL below the bottom of the axle. This can be accomplished by installing it and then using a grinder to put a 45* angle on the bottom edges.
also, use the thickest gasket you can find, even making one from a piece of cork wouldn't be a bad idea, just in case the metal does warp the slightest bit. Oh, and make sure the new cover doesn't protrude AT ALL below the bottom of the axle. This can be accomplished by installing it and then using a grinder to put a 45* angle on the bottom edges.
Thread Starter
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Postmaster
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 3,083
Likes: 4
From: Victoria , BC
one thing you could do is get yourself a FLAT piece of 1/2" plate that is big enough, lightly tack weld your stock cover to it in a few corners (I'm talking like BB sized tack, and make sure you clean it really well with brake clean), trace your stock cover onto what is about to become your new flange, and then using multiple sized drill bits and a center punch drill your new holes using your existing holes, and if you use a cut off tool, you should be able to even use the stock cover as a template to cut it out. Then using a cloth tape measure, you can measure the cover bubble contour from edge to edge, add 4", and that will give you the amount of 1/4" plate you will need to make the same bubble with some room for goof ups. Then take two rulers, lay one flat across the mounting surface and use the other to measure the height of the ring gear outside of the housing with the cover off. Next remove the little tack welds, and flip the stock cover over, and using the cloth tape measure, measure the lip/ flange/ flat mounting surface with the bolt holes in it. Lets say its 1". You would measure 1" in from your cut on your flat piece of 1/2" plate all the way around and mark it. Then use a cut off wheel to make the cuts BUT BE CAREFUL!!! when you get to the corners, you should drill holes so that the wheel doesn't get into your flange. Once you have your flange cut out, check that it bolts up to the axle properly, and bolt it down with a bolt at each of the 4 "corners". Then you can just use pieces that are a length that equals 1/4" more than the height of the gear outside the case for your sides of the bubble, and the width of the side of the flange you are doing. I would recomend doing an angled piece at the bottom on each side so that it slides off of obstacles, and doesn't hang on them. Heres a good one to get an idea of what I'm talking about 10.25/10.5" Ford Rock Crusher Cover Just remember to stitch weld, take your time, and move around alot to keep from overheating and warping the metal.
O and ever hear that phrase a picture is worth a 1000 words??? haha yeah its hard to follow what your talkin about
it is especially hard for someone primitively DRILLIING holes too! If I made a cover I would punch the holes in a iron worker with one pushof a pedel and even still I'd rather buy one.