46 Power Wagon Restoration pt. 2

[Desoto61]

With that vote of confidence I installed the adjuster lock tabs and torqued them down. The final step is to adjust the ring gear thrust pad per the manual and tack weld it in place.

Then it was time to repeat with the rear differential. This one is a little different due to installing the ARB vice the stock differential. Between the new bearings, gears, locker, and the experience from the front assembly this one did go much faster.

There are a few extra steps for setting up the ARB, such as the tab for the air fitting and routing the air line, but the instructions are good. Only problem I ran into was when I removed the bolts to lock-tight them per the ARB instructions the backlash opened up a little which meant some additional adjustment before finally locking everything down.

[Desoto61]

Final step is to make up a rig per the ARB instructions to test the air line for leaks. Using some left-over parts and a few from the local hardware store I made up a test rig and put 90 psi to the unit. I had a slight leak in my test unit, after I fixed that it locked and held pressure.

After double checking everything, I set up the axle housing in some jack stands, cleaned all the mating surfaces and installed new mounting studs with some thread sealant into the housing. A new gasket and I dropped the unit into the housing, then pulled it back out to make sure I didn't move or damage the air line. With that all good some gasket sealant, a dab of anti-seize and new nuts and lock-washers and everything gets torqued down per the manual.

Once the front axle comes back from the media blaster I can rebuild the knuckles and install that housing next.

[Desoto61]

The last couple of items for the rear axle were the wheel hubs and axle shafts. I got the hubs back from the machinest, so I finished cleaning them up, re-installed the wheel studs, using new where I had too, and then taped it up and hit it with some satin black powder.

I installed new axle studs, races, bearings, and seals into each and fitted them to the axle so I can paint the axle ends when I paint the axle. Plus I just wanted so see it all together.

After that it was time to move on to the front axle.

[Desoto61]

I started by scrubbing the axle housing out as well as I could of all it's old grease and grime as well as any left over blasting grit. Then installed the new inner axle seal and upgraded bronze bushings I got from Charles.

I had already cleaned up the knuckles and chased all the threaded holes. Make sure you clean out all the blasting grit from the blind holes though, the stuff packs in there tight! I used some brake cleaner then followed it with a tap and more brake cleaner. I installed new races so with a starter shim pack installed installed the covers onto the ends of the knuckle halves.

I packed the bearings and installed them into the housing. I'm using a bearing on both upper and lower halves so the setup is a little different than the book says. Then I installed the knuckle halves on their respective ends and proceeded to set up the bearing pre-load using the shims under the upper bearing covers. It's been discussed here before, just run a search and you'll get all you need to know.

Not sure if it's something with the bearings or my housings but I ended up having to remove all the shims to get the pre-load close to where Charles suggested.

[Desoto61]

One more pic of the knuckle. I plan on swapping out the original bolts but I was unable to find replacements on a Saturday, so I'll stop by Fastenall on Monday and pick up the right bolts (1/2-20 x 2") and swap them one at a time.

Last step is to drop the differential into the housing after cleaning up all the surfaces and applying some sealant to the new gasket. Most of these studs were in good shape so I just chased them and put on a dab of anti-seze with some new nuts and lock-washers.

With those ready to be prepped for paint I worked on a few other items that will also need painted/powder coated. Namely the caliper mounting kits and wheel spacers. I also spent some time cleaning and painting the calipers themselves.

[Desoto61]

The brake parts all blasted and treated and ready for paint or powder coat, haven't decided. Probably hit them with some powder since I have lots of that and it's easy to apply.

The other big project to be done before I attempt painting is to install the tow hitch. I kicked around a lot of ideas on this one. Paul Merop found a Jeep Cherokee hitch that will fit with some modification but as my frame is modified for the tow bed I couldn't really go that route.

I kicked around trying to build something to weld/bolt to the stock rear cross-member but wasn't sure how to fab it such that I was confident with a big trailer hanging off of it. So I ended up going with a universal class V hitch from Summit. It's designed to be welded together and to the frame but is designed and rated for it's capacity when installed correctly.

My plan is to cut the side plates down to fit under the frame extensions on top, then punch out the rivets for the rear crossmember so it will sit flat to the frame. I'll drill holes through the plate and bolt the plates and rear crossmember in place with some Grade 8 hardware. Then weld the plate to the frame.

The pic is just rough placement, I think I may tuck it closer to the rear crossmember. The wrecker bed has a rear pannel that will cover some or possbly all of this so it won't be as visible as on a regular truck.

[Desoto61]

Got the hitch installed and welded solid. The welds look pretty good for me. Now it's just a matter of scuffing all the surfaces, wiping everything down and prepping for primer and paint. One of those jobs that annoying because the prep takes longer than the actual painting.

[W_A_Watson_II]

Nice work. What are you going to do for a bed? looks like you have spacers added to make a flat frame in the rear.

[Desoto61]

Nice work. What are you going to do for a bed? looks like you have spacers added to make a flat frame in the rear.

My current plan is to re-use the original wrecker bed. I'll replace the floor with new diamond plate, maybe a few cross braces, and come up with some sort of tailgate. Otherwise it seems to be in good shape and has a unique profile, plus I like the side rails for securing things.

The bed sits on the frame extensions and the wrecker boom and winch bolted through the bed to those rails.

[Desoto61]

The worst part about painting or powder coating is that it takes longer to do all the prep then it does to actually paint it. Last few days have been cleaning, scuffing all the primed surfaces, and prepping the garage and equipment. Set up a rack and hung all the pieces parts that also need to be painted. Last steps will be to wipe everything down with the pre-cleaner and do a final prep.

Biggest problem now is the weater has been more of a summer pattern with high heat and humidity with chances of afternoon thunderstorms, which is not very condusive to painting.

On the plus side the new springs came from Eaton Detroit Springs. Hopefully they'll work right with the mods on the truck. The rears are basically stock vs the original springs which where much heavier, but while there is some extra weight with the bigger fuel tank and heavier bed and hitch I'm not installing the winch or boom.

The front springs have a 2" lift with a slightly stiffer spring rate to help compensate for the extra weight of the drivetrain and other modifications.

[Desoto61]

Suited up over the weekend and got out the paint gun. Biggest problem I had was the heat. I think the Tyvex coveralls protected the paint from me as much as me from the paint.

But with a few breaks I managed to get two coats of primer on everything. I had enough primer but that was because it mixes 1:1 so I had two quarts, which was just enough. It also made me realize I wasn't going to have enough top coat paint as the quart mixed 4:1. So with a second quart ordered I decided to paint the axles and small parts and use the second quart for the frame.

[Desoto61]

For a top coat I'm using the Eastwood ceramic Chassis Black in satin. The stuff isn't as forgiving as the primer, and it's definitely been a good learning experience especially in relation to the logistics of painting as far as pot life and spray times.

Benefit of this is the frame is more about coverage than appearance so I'm not as concerned with runs or blemishes. Though if anything I'm spraying too thin instead of too heavy.

The axles and parts are done, though I have a spot or two I'll have to scuff and touch up as I didn't get complete coverage, but for the most part I'm happy.

Now I can start assembly of the axles while I wait for the other quart of paint.

[Desoto61]

Started on the rear axle first. I pulled the axle shaft and removed the hub, which was just on there for painting.

After cleaning the new rotor and the mounting flange it gets mounted to the machined flange that was welded to the hub using four 1/2" cap bolts and some lock-tight.

The backing plate gets bolted to the rear axle using the original brake backing plate mounting holes and 5 grade 8 bolts with nuts and lock washers from the kit.

The hub already has new bearings and seals, so everything gets packed with grease and slid back on the spindle. Then the nuts installed and set up per the manual and this post.

The axle gets re-installed with new seals and gaskets and a little bit of sealant and torqued to the specs in the manual using new studs, nuts, and lock washers with a dab of anti-seze to help any future maintenance.

Then the brake pads get cleaned on the working side and some grease on the back side and slid into place per the Ugly Truckling instructions. After greasing the caliper and pins the whole assembly gets slid into place and torqued down.

There's something pretty about shiny new brakes. One down, three to go!

[Desoto61]

Problems with the paint I ordered (on my end) so after putting the other side of the rear axle together I moved to the front axle. I had previously blasted and powder coated the felt retainers so with a new gasket, felts, spring, some sealant, and the original bolts I re-installed the assembly on the passenger side. Kind of a messy job with the felt soaked in oil.

I had picked up a set of NOS Bendix-Weiss axles a while back off the other forum, they've been sitting on the shelf waiting for today, but first I had to unwrap them, not an easy task. After wiping down with some solvent they looked like the day they were made!

I put some grease on the bushings and worked some into the axle joint and slid the shaft into the housing.

[Desoto61]

Some additional grease on the outboard bearing and a little gasket sealant and the spindle and disk brake mounting plate go on with the new Grade 8 bolts included with the kit.

Then it was the fun of pumping three tubes of Royal Purple grease into the knuckle till it was full. Need to put a viewing window on these things, I kept wondering if I was pumping grease into the axle shaft or something, it just kept going in!

Other side went on similar to the first, just had to assemble the joint myself, which is like one of those puzzles you buy where you have to get the rings apart except larger. It also put up a bit of a fight going into the differential but in the end it all cooperated. Still waiting to get the hubs back so they can be rebuilt and installed.

I did get some painting done, I put some rattle can paint on the springs, it won't last but should slow down the rust and look nice for a while. I also finished the skid plate I built for the fuel tank. The interior I painted with the frame paint, the exterior I wanted something a little more durable, so I went with some of that roll-on bed liner material. Should take a beating and looks decent.

Since I had to wait so long for the paint I missed my re-coat window for the primer. So I have to scuff the primer coat on the frame and wipe everything down again before I apply the top coat, so that's next. Then I just have to hope the weather co-operates so I can spray the frame sometime this week.