Iain_U1250
Explorer
In addition, I have refurbed the back axle, with new diff lock seals, new seal in the torque tube and new bearings and seals in the portals. This should be good for another 9 years or so.
I also have a new custom rear sway bar - it is 39mm compared to the original one being 32mm.
mm. It should help with the rock and roll get get in some off-road situations when both wheel on one side fall into a hole at the same time. The OEM one was meant for a flatbed truck, and we are a lot different to that. I worked with a specialist who sized the bar for our truck, he saw some of the videos of the truck moving around off road, so he made it quite a lot stiffer. We will see whether it makes a difference or not. We don't do to much extreme off-roading, so I don't think it will limit us too much, but it should make a difference when we go around corners, should not feel like we are going to roll over at each roundabout.
Custom bar meant I needed to bore out the OEM bushes, as there is no standard 39mm bushes. I needed to hold the bushes in place without squeezing them, so I 3D printed a holder. It worked great. I bored it out to 38mm, as the OEM bushes had a 31mm hole for the 32mm bar.
The OEM ones have a groove in the middle to hold some grease, so I cut one on with a pencil grinder. Not a neat as OEM but it will do the job.
It all fits quite nicely, with the bushes requiring a few hits with a rubber mallet, but so did the OEM ones, so I think it is pretty close to the OEM requirements.
I need some 25mm stainless tubing to re-make the bushes for the linkage, as the old ones are a bit too rusty, and then I will refit the back axles and then remove the front axle to replace the diff lock seals and overhaul the front portals as well.
I also have a new custom rear sway bar - it is 39mm compared to the original one being 32mm.
mm. It should help with the rock and roll get get in some off-road situations when both wheel on one side fall into a hole at the same time. The OEM one was meant for a flatbed truck, and we are a lot different to that. I worked with a specialist who sized the bar for our truck, he saw some of the videos of the truck moving around off road, so he made it quite a lot stiffer. We will see whether it makes a difference or not. We don't do to much extreme off-roading, so I don't think it will limit us too much, but it should make a difference when we go around corners, should not feel like we are going to roll over at each roundabout.
Custom bar meant I needed to bore out the OEM bushes, as there is no standard 39mm bushes. I needed to hold the bushes in place without squeezing them, so I 3D printed a holder. It worked great. I bored it out to 38mm, as the OEM bushes had a 31mm hole for the 32mm bar.
The OEM ones have a groove in the middle to hold some grease, so I cut one on with a pencil grinder. Not a neat as OEM but it will do the job.
It all fits quite nicely, with the bushes requiring a few hits with a rubber mallet, but so did the OEM ones, so I think it is pretty close to the OEM requirements.
I need some 25mm stainless tubing to re-make the bushes for the linkage, as the old ones are a bit too rusty, and then I will refit the back axles and then remove the front axle to replace the diff lock seals and overhaul the front portals as well.
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