Outer Limits 4x4 Board

hey every1,
im new here, read alot of posts, u seem like an intelligent bunch any thoughts on rotating the steering nuckles on a 40 series?? is it necessary with a s/o and how do you guys do it?? iv got a 40 in bits in the shed, s/o spring mounts welded on, just need to figure this out

cheers,
Wes

G'day Wes

I have just done this to my 40 and if you do it right the first time its a pi$$ in the park.

Can you put the axel under the front and does it sitt in line?If so. . . . .What you'll need :

1) Tape measure
2)Texta
3)Angle grinder
4)2-3 axel stands or something to rotate the axel on
5) Anglegrinder
6)Level
7)Welder

Now there's how i did it.

1) Remove front axel and place on stands.

2) Mark a circle around the axel tube about 25mm from the 1st weld after the knuckel.

3)Grind through the axel tube (aprox 5mm) you should see a fine line between the axel tube and the knuckel.

4)Place the axel back under the truck and lower the truck onto the axel (until it is sequer under it)

5)Place a jack under tie rod end. Now make sure that the tire is level (place level from to to bottom of tire)

6) Raise bottle jack to rotate axel untill the top of the tie rod arm is level also. Recheck that tire is level

7) Spot weld around the diff (I found that it was best to grind the gap a bit wider with a grinding disk to increase weld penitration)

8) Remove axel and place back on stands for final weld.

9) Repeat on other side

NOTE: THIS LAST BIT OF WELDING MAY DAMAGE THE AXEL OIL SEAL TAKE YOU TIME OR USE SOME SORT OF COOLANT ON THE KNUCKEL

good tech MY45.

I cut down just on the inboard edge the weld, so after rotating the knuckles and grinding a bit off the top of the old weld, the new weld looks just like factory, you have to look very close to see that the axle has been modified. be careful not to cut any deeper than 4 - 5mm into the housing. DO NOT remove the knuckle from the housing, they are a biatch to put back in.

also I think it's worth the trouble of stripping the axle right down to an empty shell, then do your cutting and welding - then thoroughly was out the housing. replace the inner seals when you're done - avoids the possibility of damaging seals and getting grit or anything inside the housing.

dumbdunce wrote:good tech MY45.

I cut down just on the inboard edge the weld, so after rotating the knuckles and grinding a bit off the top of the old weld, the new weld looks just like factory, you have to look very close to see that the axle has been modified. be careful not to cut any deeper than 4 - 5mm into the housing. DO NOT remove the knuckle from the housing, they are a biatch to put back in.

also I think it's worth the trouble of stripping the axle right down to an empty shell, then do your cutting and welding - then thoroughly was out the housing. replace the inner seals when you're done - avoids the possibility of damaging seals and getting grit or anything inside the housing.

I did that first and somehow farked the angles I found that this way was much easier and i got a way better result. You shouldn't have any probs with anything getting into the housing because of the tight fit "DO NOT remove the knuckle from the housing, they are a biatch to put back in.". But thats ony my opinion.

"good tech MY45" I just linked it to General 4x4 FAQ.

you don't need to do any of that just get a 75 serries houseing there the same width and the centre is set up with more angle in it from the factory to get the pinon up and keep your caster correct also you can run 3 degrees positive caster instead of negitive it will drive fine and not were tyres i can garantee that as ive done 25000 on my 35BFG and they are wearing dead even . Just a nother option there is no right or wrong good luck with it .

I did the cut and rotate yesterday and was pleasantly surprised how easy it all went ..After having welded the new spring perches on and the pinion angles set...I positoned the bare housing under the springs clamped it all up with the u bolts then let the weight of the vehicle rest on it and checked that the car sat level then turned the ends till I had the desired angle of caster....

wood this work on a GQ front axle ??

yes.

will you need to though? the only advantage will be that you can point hte diff pinion up at any angle you want - you can set your caster by the way you set up your front suspension linkages.

Eddywelder wrote:I did the cut and rotate yesterday and was pleasantly surprised how easy it all went ..After having welded the new spring perches on and the pinion angles set...I positoned the bare housing under the springs clamped it all up with the u bolts then let the weight of the vehicle rest on it and checked that the car sat level then turned the ends till I had the desired angle of caster....

good to here it helped someone Did you do it my way???

as I had to do a lot of welding to mine I stripped the housing back to a bare shell even cut of all the stock brackets ..which made it a lot lighter for handling and positioning for the downhand welds for reattaching new shock mounts,spring perches,steering bump stops and brake line brackets.
I was going to hire a big pipe cutting tool but decided to use a cutting disc on a small angle grinder.

dumbdunce wrote:yes.

will you need to though? the only advantage will be that you can point the diff pinion up at any angle you want - you can set your caster by the way you set up your front suspension linkages.

ill b running leaves in the front of my lux

hypolux wrote:ill b running leaves in the front of my lux

Grimace!

dumbdunce wrote:

hypolux wrote:ill b running leaves in the front of my lux

Grimace!

no i dont think so

hey, thanks for the advice my45, id already cut the housings as u'd suggested when i read ur post, did u leave the whole front axle complete??? damn iv already pulled everything apart do u rekkon i should out it back together so i can jack the tie rod ends?, cos i was jus gonna try and heat up the outer tube and turn them with the bare alxe housing out of the car. sorry it took so to reply too

if you alreadt have the housing out and in peices work out how far you need to rotate it. i did mine seven degrees. go to a wheel alignment shop and buy 2 degree shims. places the axle on 2 level shaw horse with the shim between the horse and the diff housing. weld the perch to the top side so that it is level, this gave me the 7* that i needed when placing the diffs back in SOA.

Now the steering is all up the creek, it will be 7* out. Measure around the out side of the housing to get the circumfrance of the axle tubes and divide by 360. this will tell you what 1* is, times that buy 7 and that is how far i had to turn the knuckles. Mark a line on the knuckle and one on the tube of the axle. cut the knuckle and turn the required distance to bring the steering back to standard but at a 7* angle. weld back together.

All make sence?


NICK

yea, the problem is that i didn't measure how far i twisted the diff, i just pointed it at the transfer case, and stuck it there. lol i think il just make them a tiny bit back from neutral, and if its not correct, ill put correction wedges, or just tack it in the first place, trailer it to a front end joint and fix it if its wrong. to measure how much castor i have would that be the difference in degrees from the level of the spring perches??

manwith40series+guitar=:) wrote:yea, the problem is that i didn't measure how far i twisted the diff, i just pointed it at the transfer case, and stuck it there. lol i think il just make them a tiny bit back from neutral, and if its not correct, ill put correction wedges, or just tack it in the first place, trailer it to a front end joint and fix it if its wrong. to measure how much castor i have would that be the difference in degrees from the level of the spring perches??

It's important to rotate both knuckles through the same angle.

no shit .... lol im not that stupid, i'll probably use a level to make sure theyr the same

I take it from this that the knuckle has a tube that is a tight fit into the axle tube, and basically this process is doing the rotation of the inner tube (connected to the knuckle) in relation to the outer axle tube to get the change in castor.

How far in does the knuckle tube go?

Slunnie wrote:I take it from this that the knuckle has a tube that is a tight fit into the axle tube, and basically this process is doing the rotation of the inner tube (connected to the knuckle) in relation to the outer axle tube to get the change in castor.

How far in does the knuckle tube go?

about 15 - 20mm from memory. it's not much, and if they come out, it's a real PITA to put them back in.

Thanks Dumbdunce. Is it 15-20? MY45 was saying in his one to cut 25mm in from the weld which would cut the knuck off then???

Slunnie wrote:Thanks Dumbdunce. Is it 15-20? MY45 was saying in his one to cut 25mm in from the weld which would cut the knuck off then???

yeah I think that's all there is in there. I can cut one open if you really want? even better you can come and get half an axle housing to experiment with with if you want, I have a 60 series front housing chopped in half on the scrap pile.

bout 25mm gives plenty of room to work, it sounds harder then it actually is to do, once you start it will allmake sence

Ah thanks for this Dumbdunce! If you don't mind I wouldn't mind picking up that cut axle and carving it up to check it all out.

are you guys cutting the steering stops off?

bj on roids wrote:are you guys cutting the steering stops off?

why, do you want some?

Slunnie wrote:Ah thanks for this Dumbdunce! If you don't mind I wouldn't mind picking up that cut axle and carving it up to check it all out.

Trust me on this im a doctor Cut about 5mm back from the weld or even closer. Towards the diff centre. If you cut back 25mm chances are you will miss-aligne the knuckle as you twist it. As you cut into the housing you will know when you have gone deep enough as the sparks change color as you go from the mild steel tube into the cast steel knuckle. At this point stop. As long as you get a good clean cut all the way around they usually twist real easy. I find it easiest to have the diff fitted to a vehicle when trying to rotate as its almost impossible to stop the diff twisting otherwise. Easiest thing to twist the knuckle with is an old long side front inner axle. Slide it through the 2 Trunion bearing holes and then twist it around. You may need to use a BFH to help it start moving. Before actually twisting mark both the housing and the knuckle with a pin punch right next to each other. Then you have something to measure off as you go.

Also your going to have to move the steering stops to suit.

dumbdunce wrote:

bj on roids wrote:are you guys cutting the steering stops off?

why, do you want some?

i think he means cause the steering stops may need to rotate aswell

unless the amount your rotating the knuckle isnt enough to make the steering stops not work anymore.

Excellent, thanks for this Ruff. These comments give me a lot more confidence in doing this. It'll be an interesting exercise when I do it and hopefully I wont have to keep Turbo4t in speed dial for another axle.

I am going to do this on my Cherokee (which runs on all 60 series machinary) tommorow. I came across this thread and I must thank all for clearifying all the details. Its my first SOA and it gives lots of confidence reading through this page.
Thanks
Ehsan