I may need to get the spring perches relocated on an Explorer rear end. So far I haven't found anyone local that routinely does that kind of work and I'd rather have it done by someone who does it a lot. If I can't find someone with that kind of experience to do it locally, maybe I can get it set up myself and get someone to do the welding. This tech article http://www.fordification.com/tech/leafspring-perches.htm makes it sound pretty simple so I'm thinking I could cut all the stuff off the Explorer rear end, make a jig like is described in the tech article, scribe the positions of the relocated perches, and take it to a good arc welder to get them attached. Just have a couple of questions: 1. If its welded a little at a time, would the tubes warp? I know welding all the way around the tubes to shorten them will warp them, but what about small welds to attach the perches? 2. Does pointing the pinion angle 5* up sound right? If the installed pinion angle is off by a few degrees I could fix it with shims, right? Comments or advice?? Thanks.
Cut the old perches off. Buy new ones to reinstall. They're around 20 bucks a pair. Put everything in place and bolt it down when you have it centered and the driveshaft and rear yolk angle correct to each other. Double check and re double check. Get it tacked in place. Remove and weld. Not necessary to remove, but a good idea for easier welding.
He can weld it in place, that's what I did with my 9" rear. As long as the bearings and axles are in place, no harm should occur as far as warping is concerned. With the car jacked up and the wheels and tires off, it's pretty easy to weld the perches.
Thanks for the responses. You guys aren't buying the 5 degrees up rule, are you. Was thinking I'd get the axle set up while the truck is apart and before there's any way to know what the pinion angle should be. The 5 degree rule would let me go ahead with the axle before the engine & transmision are in and before the drive shaft angles could be measured. Guess I can put the axle set up off till last if I have to. Its good to know that the spring perches can be welded in with the axle fully assembled and the welding shouldn't warp the tubes. Was thinking the rear end housing would have to be stripped before the welding could be done.
What truck are you talking about ? Is it a 1 or 2 pc driveline ? If it's a 2, then the angle isn't as critical as a 1 pc is.
What I do is jack car up with everthing still in place with old set up use a mag. Angle finder. Ok remove old set up install new setup leave front pinion low ok then raise pinion wit jack till you get same angle weld it there,then if you want to ever change angle use shims
Truck is described in an "Other Automotive" thread. http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=87879 Didn't go into the truck here to avoid non-Maverick/Comet talk in the Maverick/Comet forums. Even though I'm thinking about putting the axle in a truck, the spring perch relocation discussion is just as relevant to Maverick/Comets so think that question should be ok here. But, briefly, its a '70 F100 -- one drive shaft.
Problem is, the engine and transmission will be replaced with mod motor of some kind and I don't know what the angle of the tail shaft will be. If the 5 degree up rule works, I could do the axle while the truck is apart and before the engine and trans are in place. But, since no one is endorsing the 5 degree rule, maybe I'd better do the spring perch relocation after the engine and transmission are in place. This board is really helpful with these new (to me) puzzles. Now I know the perches can be welded on the assembled axle, the welding shouldn't warp the tubes, and the perches should be set after the mod engine and trans are in place. Thanks.
in my limited experience welding on perches either warps the tubes or your not getting a strong enough penetration on your weld and risk having the perches break loose. the first indication of a warped tube is if the axle has resistance when you slide it into the carrier. it should be able to be installed and removed with no significant drag.
After the welding is done, if the differential cover is removed, would I be able to see if the axles are centered as they are pulled out and re-inserted into the carrier? Or, would a straight edge on the tubes tell me if the tubes are warped and need to be straightened? If the tubes need to be straightened, could that be done with a bottle jack and rigging kinda like the way Twin I-beam axles are bent to set camber.
i will check every diff for straightness by sighting through the tubes. i will try to line up the axle bearing with the two holes in the side gears in the carrier and the other outer bearing. now ive been doing this for 11 years now and its easy for me to see. many people try it and just cant do it. its like gun sites, but i dont know how many people i know who are shooters who just cant do it. the best tell is if you can slide the axles out with out any significant effort and put them back in you should be good to go. if they have more drag than expected to move then your bent. the dragster chassis fabricator that straightens our housings uses a large I beam with 3 movable stands on it and a bottle jack. he puts to discs holes in them in to where the carrier bearings would go then has a straight bar that goes through the housing. he then can see which way the end of the housing needs to go. he then positions the 3 stands to support the housing correctly and clamps the housing to each stand. then he uses the bottle jack to press the housing straight again. we send over at least two housings a week. usually out of chevy trucks (worse 1/2 ton rear end on the market)
Bryant, That gives me enough info to know if there's a problem or not. Will come back to this when the time comes. Thanks very much. Jim
If my 9 inch is warped due to welding the perches with everything in place, installed in the car, it sure didn't affect anything to any signifigant degree, as I've been running it as is for 5 years now and there's no leaks, binding or anything to suggest otherwise.
