Full Float Ford 9" Build

They turned out amazing.

 

So I didn't get many pics due to not wanting to get my phone all grungy with the blood sweat, tears and grease.

My springs are kind of sagging, so I threw in an extra leaf from an XJ pack, but it was way too much, 2+ inches of lift (i was looking for .75"-1"). So after three variations of springs I ended up with the original pack. Here is the before and after:

Scratched the paint all up, it was still a bit soft. Sad.

Fit up the axle shafts. Plenty of lube to get through the three seals. Did I mention the main reason I am doing this project is because my amc 20 had a leaky seal and fixing seemed like a lot of work.



Using these as inner seals:
Seals-It EAS15100 Universal Inner Axle Seal for 2.5-2.75 Inch Tube

They fit in the tube very easily, maybe too easily. Plus the tube is ERW so there is a seam inside. I ground down the seam but it wasn't perfect due to limited access. So I gooped them up with grey rtv. It was a bit of a mess.

I am also running my outer seal, but the shaft was about 0.010" under the seal size. It was snug, it might do something. I could probably find a perfect outer seal if I look. We will see.

I also made dust covers that mount on the caliper brackets. Pics to follow.

 

i know that feeling, i was working with a transfer case, and i had gear oil on my hands, which id didn't want on my phone, so i washed 'em in the parts washer. worked really well.

 

I have done that before with my parts washer, which is a kitchen pot on a hot plate, 50/50 simple green, water. For being a mild solvent it works pretty well once warmed up.

 

One side done...mostly

These moroso studs are pretty nice, the are too long at 3" so I will likely need to trim them.



Standard install of Ford hub on gm spindle


Tire on, still need to clearance the brakes and install.

 

With the long studs you can run slicks at the drag races.

 

If I could subtract the 2 seconds between each shift (sm465s are known for their lightning fast shifts afterall) I might get a decent ET.

I should mention that it was a big relief that the axle shafts all lined up perfectly. About .200" end play, splines and snap ring were all perfect. I am very eased with that, of course I measured a hundred times twice. It was worth mocking everything up and measuring the real thing, there were small differences from the paper plan.

The axle shaft is close to the id of the spindle. I am a little nervous about that. Maybe 0.030" hopefully no rubbing under load. I probably should have bored out the spindle a touch..

 

i use kerosene

 

I have fond memories of the beautiful aroma of kerosene as I huddled around an old space heater though the cold winter nights growing up in Michigan.

 

Well it was an interesting couple of weeks. I was working feverishly up through 4/2 so I could take the jeep with me up to Paso Robles. Got it all done, towed up the 101 nicely, i was a happy man. Once in camp, locked the rear hubs and set off for town with TomTom to get parts to fix the flood in my RV (different story). Made it about a mile before, without any warning, the rear drivers tire locked up and nearly sent my passenger flying through the windscreen as we came to a howling stop.

Here is the skid mark (no pics of the skid marks left in the britches).


Turns out that the tolerance was a bit too close between the axle shaft and spindle on that side. I do have a vague memory of someone saying that I should have bored that spindle out a bit more. Here you can see the heat:



In that blackened area the axle shaft was completely welded to the spindle. I put it in the lathe to cut the spindle from the shaft and the spindle material was indistinguishable from the axle shaft material. I smoothed out the shaft. Cut a new spindle to give 0.100" clearance and reassembled. I am little nervous that the heat will have ruined the temper of the axle shaft. It is HyTuff, I need to investigate further and I may just order another shaft in case..

I the took apart the passenger side to inspect and there were no signs of interference. Apparently 0.050" was enough clearance but I opened it up to 0.100" just to be safe.

Installed a new brake master last night for the new rear disks. The Astro van disk/drum seemed to work fine but the rears wouldn't lock up in dirt. Probably due to the Astro proportioning valve. This is the Corvette four wheel disk master that will fit the Astro hydroboost. Hopefully it will work well. No proportioning valve but I think with the smaller pistons in the rear calipers the balance should be ok.

 

Wow! Glad your ok!
This story reminds me of the time a thrust washer jammed the gears in my transfer case while cruising at 55 down the road.

 

+1!!

 

That will wake you up!

In reality it was very controlled and I was able to steer to the center lane easily. My speed was probably about 45 mph. One the upside the splines on the shaft showed no sign of damage even with the abuse. Hopefully these shafts hold up.

 

I almost forgot the most important part of the story. Within a minute of coming to a screeching halt, two people came up and offered help. First a guy in a truck pulled up and asked if we needed a hand and then a guy from the house we were near walked down and offered his lift if we wanted to check it out. Hats off to the kind folks of Paso Robles. Good to keep in mind that there are a lot of good people in the world, no matter what the news has to say.