Belafonte Reboot....Ambulance to 4x4 Camper Conversion

[tgreening]

A bit more progress today. Started working on refreshing the front axle. Doesn't look like much but it was a fair amount of work getting to that point. It helps if you do axles a lot and have all the right tools, but I don't and I don't. My "work stand" is the ******** for lifting an axle up into place, or lifting the back half of your truck way too high in the air, but it doesn't make the greatest platform for working ON the axle. At least I didn't have to do it on the floor, so I should quit my **************.

See that big "cone" in the background? It's a slag pot from a steel mill. When they pour steel this gets filled up with all the slag and they run it off and dump it someplace. The constant heat / chill cycle doesn't sit too well and they eventually crack. Sometimes dang neat split in half. It's one of the things my company repairs. You can see one of my welders hard at it over toward the right. You can't tell but he's sitting on top a squarish chunk of steel that's about 30,000 lbs and 700 degrees. Good times.

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I was going to go the DIY route on replacing the ball joints but I'm running out of time so I dropped them off at the automotive machine shop that is just down the street from my shop. They'll be done tomorrow.

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And the reason I'm running out of time. Took her out for the season beginning shake-down run. All systems go!

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They're excited. Really.

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[rlrenz]

Amen to that! I think back to what I used to do for fun, and these days, my list of fun things is a whole lot shorter. At a certain point in life, you don't get down on the floor until you've figured out how you're going to get back up (I've been known to use a bridge crane to help with a little "upsey-daisy"...)

 

[patoz]

Dang Tom, with all that heavy duty manual labor going on it looks like you're more than due for some R&R. And yes, the pups look absolutely thrilled about going!

 

[tgreening]

Dang Tom, with all that heavy duty manual labor going on it looks like you're more than due for some R&R. And yes, the pups look absolutely thrilled about going!

Break time is coming. I just want to get it rolling again so I can play with it dang it. And I can't get my mower out till it moves. Didn't think that one through far enough. Oops.

The pups will come around. They enjoy our traveling because they get to be more active. We'll head down to Disney again because the kids love going, I love the campground, and I like the theme parks. After that I'm not sure. We had decided we weren't going to go big again this year but the closer it gets the more noise the wife and I start making about heading north out of florida and then taking a left to the west coast. Last year we got as far as the middle of Wyoming and then had to head south to start the loop back to Ohio because the kids had a girl scout event we didn't want to miss, but this year we're leaving earlier and have said screw it on the girl scout thing. The kids are totally on board with that, so we'll end up with a good solid 3 extra weeks we could spend on the road before they have to get back to school.

But man, that's a boat load of driving toting that big pig around...

 

[tgreening]

Bits and pieces. It all adds up. Took the housing outside to prep for coating. Grease cutter, metal prep, then coat...

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My axle building stand. Not really. It's ok for holding it way up in the air so I don't have to bend over, but it's not the best setup.

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And coated... Looks pretty now! I'm waiting on the axle shafts. I took them in to have them blasted a bit and new seals and U-joings pressed in/on. Hope to get those back tomorrow so I can start the final assembly.

I didn't do the pinion yoke because I still need to pull it off to replace the pinion seal. Don't know if it needs it or not, but it's a lot easier here than under the van so, out it comes. I'll do the yoke then. Tic toc tic toc....

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[patoz]

Looks like you're on the downhill slope now Tom!

Of course, now you're going to have to paint the entire frame and everything else under there so it will all match. :agree:

 

[tgreening]

Woo Freakin Hoo! I finally got my D60 hung and sweet baby jesus was that an ordeal. I loaded it in the bed of my truck easy enough using a tow motor at my shop, but getting it out of my truck was fun. I muscled that bugger out that hard way, IE by hand with a ********-pot full of gruntin and groanin.

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I need to get rotors, calipers, and new tie rod ends. Once I get that I'll be able pretty to much finish up the axle and get my tires mounted. Couple more days of working at it and it should be back on the ground.

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[Abitibi]

Nice work! I went with Chris suggestion for better brakes and got mine from The Brakeman. If using a '99-04 D60 these are the parts number I used.
Front rotor*3-54078*
Front Pads*6-082493*

I also bought the rear but for a Sterling 10.5
Rear rotor*3-54074
Rear Pads*6-075793

Cheers
Mr. D

 

[tgreening]

Nice work! I went with Chris suggestion for better brakes and got mine from The Brakeman. If using a '99-04 D60 these are the parts number I used.
Front rotor*3-54078*
Front Pads*6-082493*

I also bought the rear but for a Sterling 10.5
Rear rotor*3-54074
Rear Pads*6-075793

Cheers
Mr. D

Too late! I just got back from the local parts store with all the goodies I need. If they dont hold up though I'll for sure take a look at your suggestion. I'm headed out to the garage in a bit to get some more progress made. Past this I need shocks and drive shafts and I'm golden, but as long as I can make it roll I can at least get it out of the garage so I can get to my flippin mower. Too much longer and I'm going to look like the neighborhood hill billy. :/

 

[tgreening]

Tie rod and drag link, BOOM!

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Hubs assembled, POW! Rotors installed, SLAM! Calipers loaded, SWOOSH! Wheel stud threads, WRONG! Wha huhhhh? Yeah. Not sure how this particular pooch got screwed but the thread pitch on those new unit bearing hubs is a coarse thread and the rears are fine thread, and naturally I didn't notice this till every-stinking-thing was assembled. All I can figure is the 2 wheel ABS setup is different than the 4 wheel ABS setup. Four wheel is what came off the axle, but I figured if I'm not using 4 wheel ABS why not save a couple bucks and get the 2 wheel ABS bearings, and not have a wiring harness to cut or hole to seal up.

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Best laid plans and all that. I wasted half a day the other day trying to track down a 33mm socket which is what it seems to take for the upper and lower ball joints, and I had to have it because I wanted them torqued properly and my Tom/Pounds torque crescent wrench is out of cal at the moment. Everyplace I looked the sockets jumped from 32mm straight to 36mm. Some kind of conspiracy going on there I think. Finally tracked one down at Advance Auto of all places, which isn't a place I had pegged as having much in the way of tools. It wasn't looking bright either when I couldn't convey to the parts droid the difference between a spindle nut and ball joint.

So now tomorrow instead of jumping back in and gettin stuff DONE I have to see if I can track down the proper lug nuts. I'll just have to carry two kinds because I'll be durned if I'm yanking it all back apart to press studs out/in. If/when those unit bearings buy the farm I'll rectify then.

Oh, and I seem to have misplaced the bolts that hold the calipers to the knuckles. Anybody know a good source for those, preferably available in any dinky little town and in stock?

 

[stormlover]

Nice work! I went with Chris suggestion for better brakes and got mine from The Brakeman. If using a '99-04 D60 these are the parts number I used.
Front rotor*3-54078*
Front Pads*6-082493*

I also bought the rear but for a Sterling 10.5
Rear rotor*3-54074
Rear Pads*6-075793

Cheers
Mr. D

I have not had much luck contacting The Brakeman, now owned by TBIbrakes. How did you get through?

Strong work Tgreen. Overcome, adapt, conquer!

 

[Abitibi]

When I use the old Web address it redirect me to http://www.tbmbrakes.com/home but from the content it looks very similar. This is who I got my parts from (closest to me...)
Keith Van Dyne
360-518-3176
columbiariverlegends@gmail.com

 

[tgreening]

Sweet baby jesus with tom cruise voodooo magic it's on the ground! Plenty of stuff yet to button up but by cracky it's on the rubber anyway. As soon as I get cleaned up and get to my comp I'll get a pic or two posted, but I couldnt wait. Seems like its been a freakin fight every step of the way for some reason, so I'm glad to be to this point.

 

[tgreening]

You know, it's really not much to look at is it? Kind of hard to get a good shot while it's still in the shop. I'll get it rolled outside (so I can get my flippin mower out) and take a better shot outdoors where I can get the whole thing in frame.

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It's big. Big enough anyway. It's 6 feet to the top of the mirror. I can't quite tell if it sits level or not. It looks pretty close so as long as it's pretty in the ball park I probably wont sweat it, unless it's sagging in the rear. In that case I'll probably just bag it.

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And here's a shot of the crossmember I don't want to cut. It'll take about 2 1/2" - 3" of straight down compression to make it contact and I'm not sure it'll ever happen. My old CJ had a differential snubber on it and I bet it didn't have half that clearance. I'll dink around with it using a tow motor to flex it and see what it looks like. If I need to chop it I'm cool with it.

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Pics make it look like the tire sticks out of the wheel well about a stinking foot, but it doesn't. It fits right back in there.

Two major items to go, drive shafts and shocks, and I think the major work is in the bag. Been a slog for sure. Running solo has been a female dog, with the worst getting that pig of an axle out of my truck and under the van. Wouldn't recommend it.

 

[tgreening]

When I use the old Web address it redirect me to http://www.tbmbrakes.com/home but from the content it looks very similar. This is who I got my parts from (closest to me...)
Keith Van Dyne
360-518-3176
columbiariverlegends@gmail.com

Alright, I cant stand it any more. I have to know what your nic means so I see something else in my head when I see it. I didnt pay real close attention for the longest time so every time I saw it what came out in my head, and please please PLEASE don't be offended, was A Bit Bi. I swear I thought that was what it was till I looked closer one day but I cant get that stupid thing out of my head now. Like a stuck song.

Ok. Let the ribbing and homophobe jokes begin, I deserve 'em.