landy_andy

Here’s mine for some sweet dreams…. None of that IVA BS here so it’s linked, LS swapped, heavily modified & will be getting some custom 609 axles once I can afford the last few parts… enjoy 👍

Around town & forest roads... we have about 450,000km of them in BC. Attached is a snip from a backroads map book, all the lines are Forest Service Roads used for logging & fire management access as well as recreation.

Yes, we have that on our Western Star plow trucks at work. Problem is finding one after market that fit the Chevy threads and your then introducing another area of weakness. For the few times it needs adjustment it’s an acceptable compromise.

Not really, just need to pop the ends out to adjust it. At the end of the day once it’s done, shouldn’t need doing again.

The cheap chinese 7/8”-18 taps arrived today so I could chase the TRE threaded bungs as they tightened up a bit after flowing the welds with the TIG. Clearance looks great at full lock & we should have a bit better steering angle too.

For a small intermission... got back onto finishing off the D100. Just a few little jobs to do and it’ll be ready for a VI, back on the road after a 10yr rebuild 😃

Got the steering link bent up and trimmed, just needs final welding now.

Picked up a couple more brake rotors & redrilled them for my use. Next to make up the steering link out of 1.5” x 0.25” wall DOM tube.

Some bling arrived today 🤩 Can now see how the front inner axles will sit with the new stub shaft bushings. Axle seals are a nice piece and quite reasonable too. Also picked up the Freddilink after getting it machined. Plenty of clearance now for the drag link TRE with & without the dust boot. Next to make up the steering link and buy some more parts.... $$$

The Dodge knuckles are a bit thicker where they mount, if it binds I’ll get the back faces machined down a bit.

New reamer arrived & I modified the knuckles for the Chevy TRE’s. Will use some rubber sheet to make the dust seals. The ‘Freddilink’ arrived and wouldn’t fit the stock Chevy drag link, even though it’s advertised as being for it... so, reamed it out deeper too and am getting the back machined for clearance.

So nice to be able to start assembling stuff 🙂

Was looking around for other parts & found these specifically designed for the Chevy Moog TRE’s that lots of people use in HD steering here... 😁

Back onto the front axle to work on the steering. After looking at the two options of tie rod ends or heims, I decided to use the common Chevy 1 ton TRE’s for ease of replacement if necessary and tube bungs are widely available. Also, it keeps the steering looking more ‘factory’. So, I think they’ll make a definite upgrade over the stock LR ones 😉 The Chevy TRE’s are the same taper (1.5”/ft) as the Dodge ones but are a larger diameter, so the knuckles need drilling out to 5/8” for the thread & the taper will need reaming out to allow full engagement. Steering link will be 1.5” x .25” wall DOM with bungs and the drag link will attach with one of these that has a Chevy taper in it. I also picked up a couple of the ‘anti wobble’ kits that are designed for Dodge TRE’s as they have to be bent out to clear the diff and it helps with steering link rolling. My steering link will need bends in both ends to clear the lower shock brackets and with a bit of trimming they should fit and keep it all nice & taught. That’s it for now... waiting on more parts to arrive... tic toc... 🙄

Made up & welded on some bosses for the brake lines, time to give it a good clean & coat of paint now ready for final assembly. Little transport trolley works great and will make swapping axles over easy.