E350 pre-build wisdom (and hello)

[SHAFT]

SITREP

it's been a bit so just a quick update cuz i'm beat,
fuel tank re-installed and t-case in and functioning (haven't put the shifter in just yet) bunch of undercoating, engine support trimmed.
first the funny bit......after breaking the cheap pitman arm puller, borrowing a slightly better one and then assembling a beast from the snap-on cabinet at work (all with negative results) this is what i ended up doing to the cursed stock pitman arm.....

a bunch more welding, grinding, burning myself, etc.

and finally.....

if by chance you've followed this thread to front load yourself for an upcoming build (as i did) this last bit may frustrate you since I've skipped quite a bit. but i'll try to fill in the gaps since there's still a LOT to do.
it doesn't drive, brake or steer at the moment but this is a huge moment for me as i've never done anything close to this.

"it's so big! I wanna drive it" "yes dear, just gimme a month to put it back together"

 

[Clean1]

Nice job man, always a good feeling getting her on the ground even if she isn't quite ready to roll on her own. You'll be rolling in no time.

 

[bknudtsen]

Definitely a good feeling when you drop it back on the ground. Nice work.

 

[djbonsu]

Nice Job....looks good!

 

[sixstringsteve]

That's looking so good. What paint did you use on your grill?

 

[SHAFT]

That's looking so good. What paint did you use on your grill?

i didn't paint it yet, just looks dark in the pic.

 

[SHAFT]

Nice job man, always a good feeling getting her on the ground even if she isn't quite ready to roll on her own. You'll be rolling in no time.

no she'll certainly roll on her own, just gotta un-chock the rear wheels and let gravity do the rest. :smiley_drive:

 

[jjohnny350]

Looks great man, nothing like seeing it on the ground taller and with beefy tires on it. I felt like pulling mine out of the dumb garage and seeing it in normal light, I was pretty dang pumped, vividly remember that moment.

 

[SHAFT]

since getting her on the ground i've been going around putting out fires.
left to do til driving:
front brake lines
pull output flange of x-fer case and install new one
center front tires
center steering wheel
final torque and mark every fastener i can see.

left to do til 4wd:
front driveline
sort out shifter linkage
cut floor

pics of progress


for the sway bar attachment points i used a couple of existing holes and drilled them out. the driver's side was a bit tricky due to the fuel lines being right there, so link on that side is about an inch shorter overall. So happy to be done with the frame drilling. threw other pics in for reference, no laughing at my welds....

 

[SHAFT]

hooray, a new problem!!!!

so realized during brake line mock up, that my calipers have a different banjo bolt location than what is designed to work with my new lines. the line works when running to the bolt if it's attached to the flat spot in the middle of the caliper.

my stock lines will work in the short term but i was really excited to have new braided lines...
anyone else run into this or (better yet) have a part number for a caliper that works with the UJOR hard lines?
so close yet so far....

 

[ujoint]

Looking good!That brake line is fine, just tweak it a bit by hand to keep it off the shock.

 

[SHAFT]

chris, if you've got a van in the shop on a sterling, could you by chance snap a couple pics of the parking brake cable routing and connection point along the frame? Purdy please? mine has me scratching my head and i'm annoyed at being stumped so close to being done.

 

[ujoint]

We're putting one in tomorrow, not sure if I'll get to the cables but will take a pic asap. What year is your axle?

 

[SHAFT]

We're putting one in tomorrow, not sure if I'll get to the cables but will take a pic asap. What year is your axle?

2004 sensei.....
the problem i'm running into is lengths. the axle came with one cable on the pass side, so i put it back on that side but it's short. and then the new driver side i got is long but about the same length as the pass side.
shrug.....

 

[SHAFT]

View attachment 311538
didn't really need a reminder of stock size but i got one when my neighbor brought home a work rig this weekend....
looks almost photoshopped the more that i stare at it....like the same van and house but from two parallel universes......