The ManVan. 06 E350 Chateau V10
- Thread starter rex_1_mn
- Start date
I have the gas tank out. Cleaning it up/out for cutting. Front suspension is completely out. As with any vehicle project I had to fight a few things from rusty bolts to poor engineering but making headway. Almost all parts from Ujoint are here. Springs should be here around Christmas.
By my calculation... Just barely. Time will tell.
Nice, the same way I did mine (jack stands)
After using the transfer punch, I used #14 self drilling screws for pilot holes.
What year of axle did you find?
2003 Front
2005 Sterling rear
I specifically found both axles with 4.30's for now. I will run this for a bit and see how I like it. When I add traction aids I will decide if I want to jump to 4.56's.
I should mention I have a 5 star tuner as well.
poppensoffroad
New member
Where in South Dakota?
I have a ujoint 6inch lift on 37's
I have a ujoint 6inch lift on 37's
Brookings area. You?
poppensoffroad
New member
Sioux Falls area.
Getting a lot closer to being ready for springs!
Front spring hangers are in. I was able to do this with a standard set of drill bits. I am sure it would have been easier with some long bits but I was able to get it done. I did also use transfer punches and a unibit for a couple of them.
Rear shackle sleeve installed. I cut 3 of the holes with a torch and 1 with a hole saw because these are the tools I have. I also had to relearn to weld as it has been 10 years since I have. I would have liked to have skipped posting this picture with my ugly welds but I thought it will serve as encouragement that you don't need to be a master fabricator to get this job done. I would definitely recommend a plasma or hole saw to cut all of these holes. To use the hole saw on all of the holes would require a 90 drill. The holes left from my torch were pretty jagged so it made getting a clean weld a lot harder.
The pitman arm put up a valiant fight. There was no amount of penetrating lube and torque that were getting it off. I gave up and made a cut with a .040 cutting disk as deep as I dared without hitting the splines. I then drove a chisel into the cut until it cracked. Even then it took quite a little torque to get it off. On a side not my puller wouldn't fit on the steering box unless I removed 2 bolts, loosened the third, and clocked or rotated the steering box a little bit.
Cross member trimming went pretty well. I watched the ujoint install video and eyeballed it a little. Keeping the brake line out of the was the hardest part. I also removed the stock I beam mounts on both sides. I did most of this with a grinder and a little with the torch.
Enough typing.... Back to work!
Front spring hangers are in. I was able to do this with a standard set of drill bits. I am sure it would have been easier with some long bits but I was able to get it done. I did also use transfer punches and a unibit for a couple of them.
Rear shackle sleeve installed. I cut 3 of the holes with a torch and 1 with a hole saw because these are the tools I have. I also had to relearn to weld as it has been 10 years since I have. I would have liked to have skipped posting this picture with my ugly welds but I thought it will serve as encouragement that you don't need to be a master fabricator to get this job done. I would definitely recommend a plasma or hole saw to cut all of these holes. To use the hole saw on all of the holes would require a 90 drill. The holes left from my torch were pretty jagged so it made getting a clean weld a lot harder.
The pitman arm put up a valiant fight. There was no amount of penetrating lube and torque that were getting it off. I gave up and made a cut with a .040 cutting disk as deep as I dared without hitting the splines. I then drove a chisel into the cut until it cracked. Even then it took quite a little torque to get it off. On a side not my puller wouldn't fit on the steering box unless I removed 2 bolts, loosened the third, and clocked or rotated the steering box a little bit.
Cross member trimming went pretty well. I watched the ujoint install video and eyeballed it a little. Keeping the brake line out of the was the hardest part. I also removed the stock I beam mounts on both sides. I did most of this with a grinder and a little with the torch.
Enough typing.... Back to work!
Last edited:
Getting a lot closer to being ready for springs!
Rear shackle sleeve installed. I cut 3 of the holes with a torch and 1 with a hole saw because these are the tools I have. I also had to relearn to weld as it has been 10 years since I have. I would have liked to have skipped posting this picture with my ugly welds but I thought it will serve as encouragement that you don't need to be a master fabricator to get this job done. I would definitely recommend a plasma or hole saw to cut all of these holes. To use the hole saw on all of the holes would require a 90 drill. The holes left from my torch were pretty jagged so it made getting a clean weld a lot harder.
Enough typing.... Back to work!
Don't feel too bad about those welds. I've seen a lot worse by people who do this kind of crap for a living and should be a whole lot better at it. Shoot, if you look on that frame hard enough you'll probably see worse from the factory.
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