Backcountry Pursuit
Risk Taker
I got the driveline shop to move faster with a 30 rack of PBR. No kidding. I jumped like 30 jobs to get mine in for a pinion angle adjustment.
Not So Subtle E350 Shuttle - 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
- Thread starter sakurama
- Start date
villageidiot327
Explorer
My local driveline shop would typically be same day service on service work (balance/ujoints/shortening), but more like 2-3 days on full custom driveshafts, so long as all the parts are in stock and its not some fancy exotic something or other.
Bikersmurf
Expedition Leader
I've found many mechanics can get your work done sooner when a 2 4 is involved.
I kept writing up the recycling truck I drove for not having a backup camera... they never found time to get to it... until a customer gave me a flat or so of beer... left it in the truck for the mechanics since I don't drink... voila, working backup camera. Customer was happy because I always took all his recycling... I was happy because I no longer had a 8' wide blind spot where I was driving 1/2 the day.
I kept writing up the recycling truck I drove for not having a backup camera... they never found time to get to it... until a customer gave me a flat or so of beer... left it in the truck for the mechanics since I don't drink... voila, working backup camera. Customer was happy because I always took all his recycling... I was happy because I no longer had a 8' wide blind spot where I was driving 1/2 the day.
villageidiot327
Explorer
im a mechanic by trade, and the beer thing doesn't work for us at the shop, none of us drink!
but we also only do vintage mercedes, and none of this stuff is a daily driver, and usually theres no schedule on the car, so long as its right when its done. sometimes we get "timeframes" based on historic races, or concours type shows etc, but for the most part, its time and materials, and we invoice every 2 weeks, settle up at the end.
86scotty
Cynic
Cannabis? Meth? Trashy women? Bacon-wrapped steaks? There's GOT to be something!
villageidiot327
Explorer
Cannabis? Meth? Trashy women? Bacon-wrapped steaks? There's GOT to be something!
bacon wrapped steaks would probably work, or ice cream haha.
mostly, we stay booked 3-4 months in advance, i have enough work in front of me for the next 6 months. good help is IMPOSSIBLE to find, much like finding people that actually WANT to work, not dilly dally around. shops been in biz since 1974, and I've been there about 6 years. shop owner was my scout master in the 5th grade, known the family a long time.
if theres something that needs immediate attention, we'll squeeze it in and make it happen, brakes, fuel leaks, stuff like that, but if you waited all year and summer comes and NOW you want to drive your vintage benz convertible and its been setting in the garage for 5 years...... sorry pal, get in line.
sakurama
Adventurer
I stopped by yesterday to drop off the switch panel to MG and he was tying up loose ends and running wires. All the brake lines are done and most of the wires are run.
I wished I'd cleaned and painted the frame while it was stripped but I didn't want to make a mess in Josh's super clean shop. I'll try to address that later. So much of the frame was covered in oil from the leak that the only way to clean it would be to pressure/steam clean it first then brush off the loose rust. Much like the axles it looks worse than it is. For the most part the van has no rust but the frame has a small amount in the front.
One of the things that needed to be addressed was the ABS speed sensor that normally resides on the rear axle. With the Sterling axle there wasn't a place for it so MG designed and cut a special "gear" that would fit behind the transfer case on the output shaft and would actually correct the speed to the new tire size by altering the wheels size/spacing. Pretty nifty!
In order for the sensor to sit in the right position MG used a dummy sensor with a shim to hold the position and then built the bracket in place. Watching how fast things go together with a mig welder is really opening my eyes to their usefulness. I've always only tig welded because of the precision and versatility that it affords but the mig is like the hot glue gun of welding - point and shoot, boom! You're done. Might have to look into a new tool.
Another thing that MG did before I got there was attach this nifty linkage that went through the floor - what could that be?
Oh, yeah, that's what I'm talking about. The 4x4 shifter right there where you want it. Man I can't wait to try this thing out. As for why there's a random pine cone on the floor I can only answer by saying I have kids.
Gregor
I wished I'd cleaned and painted the frame while it was stripped but I didn't want to make a mess in Josh's super clean shop. I'll try to address that later. So much of the frame was covered in oil from the leak that the only way to clean it would be to pressure/steam clean it first then brush off the loose rust. Much like the axles it looks worse than it is. For the most part the van has no rust but the frame has a small amount in the front.
One of the things that needed to be addressed was the ABS speed sensor that normally resides on the rear axle. With the Sterling axle there wasn't a place for it so MG designed and cut a special "gear" that would fit behind the transfer case on the output shaft and would actually correct the speed to the new tire size by altering the wheels size/spacing. Pretty nifty!
In order for the sensor to sit in the right position MG used a dummy sensor with a shim to hold the position and then built the bracket in place. Watching how fast things go together with a mig welder is really opening my eyes to their usefulness. I've always only tig welded because of the precision and versatility that it affords but the mig is like the hot glue gun of welding - point and shoot, boom! You're done. Might have to look into a new tool.
Another thing that MG did before I got there was attach this nifty linkage that went through the floor - what could that be?
Oh, yeah, that's what I'm talking about. The 4x4 shifter right there where you want it. Man I can't wait to try this thing out. As for why there's a random pine cone on the floor I can only answer by saying I have kids.
Gregor
Bikersmurf
Expedition Leader
Where's the lost sock and hairbrush?
My frame looks much the same... I did brush some paint on the shock/spring bucket before assembly, but the majority still needs love.
Coming along well... keep the pictures coming.
If you think mig is fast... you should see stick with some farmers rod. Very little prep needed... just be sure the grease isn't going to catch fire and there's a clean spot to strike an arc. In a former life at WM I welded some castors onto the bottom of a couple rusty garbage cans with very little prep. Stick was way faster than mig.
My frame looks much the same... I did brush some paint on the shock/spring bucket before assembly, but the majority still needs love.
Coming along well... keep the pictures coming.
If you think mig is fast... you should see stick with some farmers rod. Very little prep needed... just be sure the grease isn't going to catch fire and there's a clean spot to strike an arc. In a former life at WM I welded some castors onto the bottom of a couple rusty garbage cans with very little prep. Stick was way faster than mig.
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Probably the most difficult thing for me to decide on was the wheels and tires. I knew that life would be easier if I went with 33's and a 4" lift but if you're going to drop $$$ into a 4x4 van you really don't want to have regrets. I would spend hours looking at vans until I could see a photo and tell you the tire size instantly. 35's just looked right and I knew those stock Ford rims with 33's would disappoint me. I also loved the look of the aggressive mud tires but I knew that they wouldn't be suited to the terrain we plan on visiting or to the fact that the van will nonetheless live mostly on pavement. So the BF Goodrich A/T KO2's are a standard. I've owned a few sets before and they were always stellar and lasted a long time. Most of what we're going to do is driving on the beach and in the mountains in snow. These tires will do that very well based on previous experience.
KO2's, awesome tyre. I have them on my Patrol and recently went to Fraser Island here in Oz (world's largest sand island apparently). They performed flawlessly in the sand :smiley_drive:
Love your house thread too, making me play around with woodworking
Tone
sakurama
Adventurer
KO2's, awesome tyre. I have them on my Patrol and recently went to Fraser Island here in Oz (world's largest sand island apparently). They performed flawlessly in the sand :smiley_drive:
Love your house thread too, making me play around with woodworking
Tone
Nice. It's always good to have the choice confirmed.
Glad to hear you've started doing some wood work too. I need to get back on top of that or my wife is going to kill me.
Gregor
86scotty
Cynic
I'm spending WAY too much time cleaning, degreasing, prepping and POR15ing my frame while I have both axles out. It is a slippery slope and I won't do it again. I had some rust, some a bit more than surface rust and I couldn't stand to leave that there. Anyway, you made the right choice IMO. It isn't a show truck. It's just going to look good for a week if you plan to actually use it. You'll enjoy getting it dirtier a LOT more than getting it cleaner.
On welders, every guy needs one, or two or three. I'm an amateur and still have three.
lilscorpion
New member
I was not aware you were into 4x's, awesome! I'd say my fabrication roots are in off-road fabrication. It's been years but I'm just starting in on a return build. More on that someday maybe.
Like the build thus-far. Have a friend that just built one (his is a little rougher than yours) but it created an itch to build one myself. Thus far my wife has been able to convince me that marriage is better than living in a van so for me, the dream is on hold.
Switch pod that may be of interest - check out switch-pros.com. I have one and the deep features that are available per each users configuration makes it extremely desirable. Pricey but what isn't.
Looking forward to following along to the new thread...and go ahead and learn to MIG already. (though you probably already have by now)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Like the build thus-far. Have a friend that just built one (his is a little rougher than yours) but it created an itch to build one myself. Thus far my wife has been able to convince me that marriage is better than living in a van so for me, the dream is on hold.
Switch pod that may be of interest - check out switch-pros.com. I have one and the deep features that are available per each users configuration makes it extremely desirable. Pricey but what isn't.
Looking forward to following along to the new thread...and go ahead and learn to MIG already. (though you probably already have by now)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
brianjwilson
Some sort of lost...
+1 on the switch pros. I haven't installed mine. I have a stack of parts that I was waiting to install with a complete interior. If you want to see the switch pros unit I could probably swing by Wednesday. It's pretty slick. Check out their YouTube videos.