Had a reasonably productive morning. Got the rear diff housing stripped bare, shaved it and half welded the control arm mounts and coil spring seats on before running out of welding gas.
Bare housing:
Mounts half welded on:
I shaved 32mm off the bottom then added 6mm plate for 26mm extra clearance under the pumpkin. That's the same as running 2" taller tyres. I thought it might help if I go over the procedure I always use to shave housings in case anyone else is curious. I pillaged this idea from someone else online so I'm not taking credit...
1) Make sure the housing is level with the right amount of 'pinion angle' then put a bucket under the pumpkin:
2) Fill the bucket up so the top of the water is where you want to make the cut. Once the water's at the right height, get some enamel spray paint and spray as much of the housing as you can where it meets the water line;
3) The enamel paint won't mix with the water and floats on top. Let it dry a little (5 mins) then remove the housing and it should give you a nice cut line:
4) Cut along the line, taking your time, and you should get a decent flat cut. A little grind work at the end might be necessary if you rush it - just eyeball it if you need to grind. This cut off section is 32mm thick:
5) Make a cardboard template for the open hole in the bottom of the housing and trim is til it's just right then transfer the stencil to the steel plate and cut it out, grind it smooth and give it a little chamfer for the weld:
6) Stitch weld the plate on the housing. We're trying to avoid too much heat from distorting the housing and, especially in this section, warping the diff centre flange where the 3rd member bolts too - this would obviously cause oil leaks. You could also bolt a 3rd member to the housing. I weld 35mm at a time and keep moving around the plate so it has time to cool before welding near the same section. You can see from the discolouration that the heat input isn't too bad:
I won't get a chance to get more welding gas til mid-week. If I get a chance, I'm planning to drop the fuel tank this week to notch the skid and make a indent into the tank for 2-3" rear stretch. It'll make mounting the diff a lot easier without the fuel tank in there too. Getting there slowly!
Man I can't wait to get the transfer doubler and wheel this thing.