PlethoraOfGuns
Adventurer
That sucks. I know all about breakdowns and missing things! But you must persevere and push forth!
My 4x4 Red Cross ERV Build and Adventures
- Thread starter Rebuilder
- Start date
Bikersmurf
Expedition Leader
Tough break!
As disappointing as it is, you and the rig will live on to have many great adventures. The day will come when you’ll look back and see it was merely a small pothole in the road. I’m glad you weren’t in some distant corner of the world when it happened.
That reminds me, I have only replaced the bearings and seals on one side of my Ambo rear axle. The oil seal started leaking so I had to do it at an incandescent time. Until now I’d completely forgotten the second side. I should get on that and change the gear oil again.
As disappointing as it is, you and the rig will live on to have many great adventures. The day will come when you’ll look back and see it was merely a small pothole in the road. I’m glad you weren’t in some distant corner of the world when it happened.
That reminds me, I have only replaced the bearings and seals on one side of my Ambo rear axle. The oil seal started leaking so I had to do it at an incandescent time. Until now I’d completely forgotten the second side. I should get on that and change the gear oil again.
Rebuilder
Builder of Things That Interest Me
Thanks for all the words of encouragement. It was definitely a rough couple of days but things are looking up at least as far as the axle situation. The ERV is still in Nebraska but I made it home to Minnesota thanks to a few friends that were in the area. In other good news I also found an axle and it happens to be in the building next to my shop. The building owner and friend of mine has this 2003 E450 shuttle bus that came with the building and he was sorta planning to get it running but hasn't done much with it so I asked if I could get the axle out of it and he said sure... the best thing is the odometer indicates it's only got 30k ish miles on it (can't recall exactly and the battery is dead so can't check). It is, however, very rusty from sitting for years in a non-climate controlled building. I was a little worried at first but I think it'll be fine. This axle has 4.56 gearing which I think will be better than the stock 4.10 because I'm running 33" tires.
If my math is correct and I'm thinking about this correctly the 4.56 gearing will bring the RPM back to around where it was with the stock tires. 4.56/4/10 is 1.112 and 33/29 is 1.138. Please chime in if I'm wrong here. I wish it had a locker but nope.
Here's the bus....
I pulled the axle just to check things out a little before pulling the whole thing.
And another yada yada yada and here it is pulled and on the lift....
Like I said it's pretty crusty....
But it cleans up nicely with a needle scaler and wire wheel.... OK this isn't quite cleaned up but it will be....
This side is a little better and I pulled the diff cover and sandblasted it.
The plan is to replace the brakes, brake lines and hoses and replace all the bearings with new and give the whole thing a nice paint job. Should be good as new by next week. Then I just need to get it back down to Nebraska to have it installed. I'm lucky to have some good friends that helped me get home and one that was willing to give up this axle and I'm very grateful for that.
If my math is correct and I'm thinking about this correctly the 4.56 gearing will bring the RPM back to around where it was with the stock tires. 4.56/4/10 is 1.112 and 33/29 is 1.138. Please chime in if I'm wrong here. I wish it had a locker but nope.
Here's the bus....
I pulled the axle just to check things out a little before pulling the whole thing.
And another yada yada yada and here it is pulled and on the lift....
Like I said it's pretty crusty....
But it cleans up nicely with a needle scaler and wire wheel.... OK this isn't quite cleaned up but it will be....
This side is a little better and I pulled the diff cover and sandblasted it.
The plan is to replace the brakes, brake lines and hoses and replace all the bearings with new and give the whole thing a nice paint job. Should be good as new by next week. Then I just need to get it back down to Nebraska to have it installed. I'm lucky to have some good friends that helped me get home and one that was willing to give up this axle and I'm very grateful for that.
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Bikersmurf
Expedition Leader
That looks like a great axle. Disc brakes and 4.56 gears… you should be set now.
I checked your numbers and got the same… so either we are both wrong or your calculations are correct.
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Rebuilder
Builder of Things That Interest Me
The axle is done. I ended up replacing the bearings, pads and brake lines and reused the calipers and rotors. I think this thing had a brake job done right before or possibly during it's time in storage because there was no wear on the pads or rotors and one of the hard lines was new. should be good to go....
And then I hit the road to Nebraska...
It was great to see the rig again. I dropped off the axle this morning and I'm currently sitting around the hotel room waiting for the shop to install it. It's weird not working on my own stuff but it just makes more sense to have them do it....
I'm hoping to be back on the road later today....
And then I hit the road to Nebraska...
It was great to see the rig again. I dropped off the axle this morning and I'm currently sitting around the hotel room waiting for the shop to install it. It's weird not working on my own stuff but it just makes more sense to have them do it....
I'm hoping to be back on the road later today....
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Rebuilder
Builder of Things That Interest Me
I made it back home!! The install went well and I was on the road by 4pm on the same day I dropped the axle off. It's not a hard job but it is heavy and awkward. Red Beard Garage in Alliance NE were great to work with. Super helpful and they did a great job.
We loaded up the old axle so I can bring it home and try to fix it or at least see how bad the damage is.
First stop as I was leaving town was Carhenge.... not sure what else to say about it but here you go...
Alliance Nebraska is pretty much in the middle of Western Nebraska and there's not much going on around it other than rolling sand hills and vast amounts of nothing. Nothingness can be pretty cool though...
Shortly after the above pics I got a lot further into nothingness on a washboard gravel road while I was heading to a free camp spot by a lake and I realize I should probably take it a little easy so I changed plans and got back on the pavement and headed to another spot. No pics at the spot but here it is.... https://goo.gl/maps/qvXT14zdGt27oZcn7 not by a lake but it did the job for the night.
The next day was a bunch of Interstate 90 towards Minnesota until I decided to head North to Watertown SD and stay a cool spot I stayed at on the way home from Sturgis.
I should mention that the new axle has 4.56 gearing (vs 4.10) which is working out great with the larger tires. The Speedo is pretty much right on now and the cruising RPM's are back to what they were originally. I guess if there's a silver lining that's it.
Anyway I made it back to my shop in Plato MN and am happy to be back. Now it's back to work I guess.....
We loaded up the old axle so I can bring it home and try to fix it or at least see how bad the damage is.
First stop as I was leaving town was Carhenge.... not sure what else to say about it but here you go...
Alliance Nebraska is pretty much in the middle of Western Nebraska and there's not much going on around it other than rolling sand hills and vast amounts of nothing. Nothingness can be pretty cool though...
Shortly after the above pics I got a lot further into nothingness on a washboard gravel road while I was heading to a free camp spot by a lake and I realize I should probably take it a little easy so I changed plans and got back on the pavement and headed to another spot. No pics at the spot but here it is.... https://goo.gl/maps/qvXT14zdGt27oZcn7 not by a lake but it did the job for the night.
The next day was a bunch of Interstate 90 towards Minnesota until I decided to head North to Watertown SD and stay a cool spot I stayed at on the way home from Sturgis.
I should mention that the new axle has 4.56 gearing (vs 4.10) which is working out great with the larger tires. The Speedo is pretty much right on now and the cruising RPM's are back to what they were originally. I guess if there's a silver lining that's it.
Anyway I made it back to my shop in Plato MN and am happy to be back. Now it's back to work I guess.....
Bikersmurf
Expedition Leader
Great to see you’re back up and running. I’d love to have a shop like yours… there’s no way my rig will fit under my 7’ door.
Rebuilder
Builder of Things That Interest Me
Yeah I started renting this shop about a year ago because my home shop wasn't high enough. This place has a 10' door and my rig is 119" so it just barely fits.... but it fits and that's all that matters.
New to Expeditionportal, just finished your thread, love the build. I have a 2002 E450 7.3PSD with Dodgen rear fiberglass housing, think BornFree camper. Mine is stripped and waiting for me to finish several project to get to. Couple of questions, all the aluminum welding you did to the box I would assume is MIG welded, I can't imagine TIG welding some of those locations. Also did you finish the transfer case install, and what are you doing for an e-brake? What kind of mileage are you getting, I get 11ish with mine but it is high mileage (300k) but still bare.
Rebuilder
Builder of Things That Interest Me
I used a spool gun for most of the aluminum welding. I just finished the 4x4 conversion a few weeks ago actually. T Case is in along with a rebuilt front axle and new driveshaft. Works great so far aside from some VSS (speed sensor) issues I've been working on. I don't currently have a parking/e brake and I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet other than put it in park and use wheel chocks if needed. Regarding the E brake part of it, I'm not too concerned about it because brake systems are separated front and rear and it's unlikely that both would go out at the same time. Some people go with line locks which would help as a parking brake but wouldn't do much as an e brake. I seem to get around 9-10mpg no matter how I drive it.
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Bikersmurf
Expedition Leader
11ish seems about right. I get 11ish+ with a lot of short trips around town, about 16+ sailing on the highway at 70+, and best highway run was about 20 (snowstorm in the mountains doing 50 mph tops with very slow starts/stops due to ice & snow.
Overall I'm likely a bit smaller at 88" wide, 8'6" tall, 21' long, and 9700lbs+ most days. No 4WD and small dually tires on a 7.3 with about 240k miles. One day when I'm feeling ambitious I've got a new fuel pump, 70k mile injectors & HPOP, and glow plugs... but for now jabbing myself in the eyes with sharp sticks will have to suffice
vintageracer
To Infinity and Beyond!
There is a Red Cross ERV near our lake home that has been sitting there for 3-4 years now. 26,000 miles on it. 6.0 diesel. Last time I stopped 2 years ago he wanted $6500 for it. The weather has not been kind to it the last several years. Was a local Red Cross unit built by a local contractor for the Red Cross.
I may need to stop and check on it again. The owner was an arrogant PITA!
I may need to stop and check on it again. The owner was an arrogant PITA!
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Ambulamper
New member
How many rolls of vinyl did this take?