Re: JPOR: narrowing a housing questions - JOHN?

[John Nutter <jnutter@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Jeff wrote:
> 
> ****************Please Remember to snip your replies***************
> I am just about at the point to cut my High Pinion D44 housing to width
> and would like to know any details on calculating the cut point.  

How much to cut? I hope you haven't cut yet...

Here's the formula (old shaft length) - (new shaft length) = amount to
cut off of the tube. make sure to take the amount of tube inside the
inner knuckle into account. Did that help? OK, I was being a smart a$$.
:) I already read ahead and know you've cut one side. 


>The
> housing is from a '75 F150 and I am cutting it to use '89 Wagoneer
> shafts (possibly using a early Wagoneer short shaft as it is one inch
> shorter than the '89.)  Where should I measure from?  BTW, I noticed
> that the housing ends on the '89 were actually thicker than the Ford
> housing ends where they attach to the tubes.  Probably a 1/4 or so more
> grab on the tube than the Ford ends which are about 1" thick at this
> point.  Should I simply compare the new shafts to the old shafts and cut
> the difference out of the housing?  

You could do this *if* you exactly how much you had removed when you
pulled the knuckle off. Don't forget to take the amount of tube inside
the knuckle into account. 

>Or should I measure from the
> differential side gears back sides to some point on the housing that
> correlates to the correct spot to keep the u-joints centered between the
> ball joints?  Please give me some pointers here.  BTW, I removed one
> housing end already and even after grinding the weld flush, I had a heck
> of a time removing the remaining 1" shaft piece. 

Pull out the diff so you can see the inner axle seal and stick the old
shaft in until the wear mark from the seal is centered on the seal lip.
Note how far the splines protrude into the center. Next figure out how
much you'll have to cut off the tube to get the splines on the shorter
shaft to protrude the same distance. You'll want about .1" between the
shaft and inner knuckle to prevent binding when turning, plus you'll
want to have the tube recessed into the yoke about .1". In other words
figure out the point where the end of the tube would just rub on the
flat area of the shaft and then cut .2" more off. 


> I needed to cut the
> piece in several places with a hack saw and beat the pieces out.  The
> problem was that the weld penetrated past the edge of the housing end
> and I had to break a little weld to get the tube end out.  Probably
> around 1/16" of weld.  

Fun huh? 

>I didn't want to grind into the housing end
> further though.  Oh yeah, how exactly did you measure caster for setting
> that when reinstalling the ends?  The flat spots above and below the
> ball joint mounting holes should be 90 degrees to a line running through
> the ball joint centers, but they are also angled in compared the axle
> tube.  So if I put an angle finder on the bottom of the housing end
> across the ball joint mouning hole and placed it facing for and aft so
> that you could read it looking at the end of the housing tube, it would
> not give a correct reading because it would not be sitting completely
> vertical.  should I make a little angled pad to mount on the housing end
> to allow the angle finder to sit completely vertical yet allow reading
> of the caster?  Thanks, Jeff

That inward angle is your camber. You can disregard it if you are
careful to only take caster readings at 90 degrees to it. I always set
the angle finder on the machined pad for the lower ball joint nut. Don't
go hog wild here. 3 degrees is plenty. Six is too much and will
contribute to death wobble. 

Plan out your pinion angle first, and then set your caster relative to
this. Personally, I'd get all the suspension brackets in place, hang the
axle and make sure everything is OK, and then set the caster, pound on
the knuckles and weld. 


-- 
John Nutter '85 CJ7
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