109 Expedition rig build

[Mercedesrover]

Alright, I'm going home now. We're doing 18 miles of the Appalachian Trail tomorrow and I haven't even packed my pack yet.

Finished the bracing, bolted the head pipe up and started working back. There will be a stainless muffler under the passenger's floor and it will dump out right in front of the rear wheel. It will run parallel with the truck half-way up the outriggers between the yet to be made rock sliders and the frame rail. The spring shackles are still the lowest part of the truck so I should be in good shape.

Bracing:

Progress for now:

 

[Mercedesrover]

No work this weekend. A trip up Race Brook Falls trail and south on the Appalachian Trail to Sages Ravine. Lots of ice!

Three troopers:

Notice the flask! Maggie, the black dog is 11 and lives for this stuff. She doesn't carry a pack anymore but is game for anything.

A little help across an icy brook.

Back on point tomorrow. Fuel tank goes in followed by fuel line and then on to the steering column mods.

 

[frans]

Love your dogs!
Its good to take a break sometimes...

 

[Mercedesrover]

Ok, back at it....

Got the tank in and waiting for fittings to plumb it up. Cut the steering column, bushed it and put on the universal. Got the slip shaft cut and fitted to the lower universal. The saddle on the bottom of the column will fasten to the brake tower. All fits well. Painted it tonight and will go back on for good tomorrow.

 

[DCH109]

Hey Jim as i am using a LC PS box as well (got the idea from you) can you PM or post it here the parts you used for the steering setup. No sense reinventing the wheel.

Looking great By the way.

 

[Mercedesrover]

There is only a few special things you'll need

McMaster Carr:

Bushing # 6391K418
Saddle # 11355T72

Borgeson Universal:

3/4"DD x 11/16"-36 universal # 014925
1"DD x 3/4"SM universal # 015264
24" telescopic shaft # 450024

About $220 worth of stuff all told.

jim

 

[DCH109]

Perfect thanks Jim, that will save me some headaches.
How did the Gas tank mounting go?

 

[Mercedesrover]

How did the Gas tank mounting go?

The only gas tank available for these trucks anymore is an aftermarket piece. They're really lousy but there's not much else you can do short of making one yourself. I still need to put a bulkhead fitting in it for the return line.

 

[Alaska Mike]

Were the parts the same for the Saginaw box? That installation was pretty darn clean, certainly more so than the stock setup. Do you have to do any fender hacking?

 

[Mercedesrover]

Were the parts the same for the Saginaw box? That installation was pretty darn clean, certainly more so than the stock setup. Do you have to do any fender hacking?

Everything would be the same except the lower u-joint. Not sure the size and spline count of the Saginaw.

You'll need to cut a little slot in the inner fender for the shaft to travel through, but nothing too major.

Getting ready to plumb brakes and clutch:

 

[Yorker]

Jim-

you are using Parabolics and 1 ton/MOD spring shackles? Are the front spring hangers the lower type like on the 1 ton chassis or are they in the regular 109 position?

I've never run 1 ton shackles with parabolics but I've seen a few people who have and who have had problems with drive shafts(too much lift)- you might want to keep an eye on that.

 

[KingSlug]

If I remeber right Jim is using a Stage 1 frame, the Stage 1 spring hanger are dropped but not the same design as the 1 tonne/MOD 109 frames. Over at GnR we went through the whole thing once on the difference types of frames. Here is what I remember about the Stage 1 frame.

Dropped spring hangers, front cross member moved forward, middle cross member was notched for DS clearance on the early Stage 1 and really reduced on the later Stage 1s. There might be a couple of other things but I don't remember them.

Jared

 

[Mercedesrover]

I'm using military shackles both front and rear, 2-leaf paras on the front and 4-leaf on the rear. I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew in the rear. Guess I'll know when the rest of the body is on but it's pretty tall right now.

If the front hangers are dropped further than a Series truck, it's not by much. I'll have to take a look at the 88" but I didn't really notice that they're longer.

The driveshafts are in and there doesn't seem to be a problem right now. Like Jared said, the rear shaft is underneath the middle x-member, not through a hole like on a Series. The front joint on the front shaft seems fine and as the truck sits right now it's at full rebound. Keep in mind that I'm running Toyota centers and the pinion is lower in the housing than a Rover diff. Even so, it seems fine.

I've made some progress this week...Have clutch, brakes and steering. I'll paint the breakfast, hang the radiator, plumb the oil filter and cooler, run a few wires and with luck I'll have it running by late in the week or early next. Keep your fingers crossed.

 

[Yorker]

If I remeber right Jim is using a Stage 1 frame, the Stage 1 spring hanger are dropped but not the same design as the 1 tonne/MOD 109 frames. Over at GnR we went through the whole thing once on the difference types of frames. Here is what I remember about the Stage 1 frame.

Dropped spring hangers, front cross member moved forward, middle cross member was notched for DS clearance on the early Stage 1 and really reduced on the later Stage 1s. There might be a couple of other things but I don't remember them.

Jared

Hmm I was pretty sure the front spring hangers were the same as a civilian 109/88.

If the pinions are lower that might compound driveline issues?

All I know is the UK guys who have tried 1 ton shackles and parabolics have had driveshaft issues- eaten U -joints etc. I remember one thread in particular I'll see if I can find it.

I don't know if it will be any problem just wanted to give you a heads up though since others have had problems... Of course the guys over there weren't aware of the angle shims we have here.

I have experience of both on my 109.

The parabolics will lift the front end by about 2" and the rear about 3". This will not adversely affect handling - on the contrary, the more supple suspension will greatly help road adhesion and cornering. How much roll you get depends on the spring rating (I have HD paras on mine) and, to some degree, the dampers. However, if you're conering so fast that the body roll becomes an issue, you're conering to fast full stop.

One -ton shackles will give about 1" lift, but a re a bad idea as they rotate the axle casings and upset the prop geometry badly, especially on the front. They will cause vibration and wear in the transmission. They should only be used on 1-ton chassis, where the hangers for the front end of each spring are deeper to match the shackles' extension, keeping the axle case orientation normal.

The parabolics will provide enough lift for your needs, especially if used with 7.50 tyres on LWB or after-market rims. It'd look very odd on 6.00s, and will look peculiar on the bigger tryes withttp://forum.landrovernet.com/showthread.php?t=93611&highlight=shackles+parabolicsh the paras and 1-ton shackles - it'll be too tall for the length.

http://forum.landrovernet.com/showthread.php?t=111447&highlight=shackles+parabolics

http://forum.landrovernet.com/showthread.php?t=23188&highlight=shackles+parabolics

 

[Yorker]

Of course it is always the same guy- Snagger- who goes on and on about it:

No, the problem is the use of 1-ton shackles with a standard chassis. You can't lower one end of the leaf spring using 1-ton shackles without lowing the other (front) end on extended mountings. These mountings are part of the 1-ton chassis design. By fitting the longer shackles, you have rotated the axles around their lateral axis, putting the pinion out of parallel to the gearbox shafts. This causes harmonic vibration, very rapid wear of the propshafts and damage to the axles and transfer box. Parabolics compound the problem because they have a greater camber, causing the prop angles to be greater. Returning to standard shackles with the parabolics will cure the problem, but you need to replace your rear prop UJs now.

Everyone told me the sky would fall if I used the 1 ton spring hangers on my IIa 88" and I had no problems...