Well, it started innocently enough. A bright, sunny Sat. afternoon and my oldest son wanting to help with the spring-over we'd been talking about for over a year. Figured it would take maybe 3-4 hours to pull it off. Hey, all we had to do was loosen some bolts, swap the axle end-for-end and rotate it 180 degrees. Would be easier if we pulled the tub first... Simple, right?
At one point, the neighbor said "sure hope the power doesn't go out tomorrow." Hmmm... I think. "Why would the power go out?" "It's supposed to snow and ice tonight," she says. Great.
Well, maybe have to put it back together the next weekend, right? Hmmm... rust - lots of rust.
At least I've got the whole axle thing figured out. Brake cable needs to pull forward, so swap it end-for-end and rotate. That puts the spring pads facing up, just like I need, plus the cable will probably clear the spring pack on the bottom similarly to how it used to clear above the pack. Cool! Oh, the spring pack seems to be attached to the spring pad somehow. Doesn't seem right, but darn it won't budge. Hmmm... will have to find replacement centering pin (after I cut it off thinking it was part of the spring pad... other side below after bigger BFH).
OK, I've been wanting to repaint it anyway. Match the color to the Jeep better, maybe spray the bed with Line-X or similar. I'll look into one of those rust converter products I've heard about. Turns out some of them require rinsing afterwards, some aren't compatible with certain primers, etc. Finally, I settle on Jasco's Prep & Primer. Seems ideal - slap it on, wait overnight, no rinsing. Prime right over it and paint. Couldn't be simpler, right? Well, lots of metal brushing, grinding, and cleaning - then apply Jasco with spray bottle.
Not bad - pretty impressed really. Says it turns rust into a substance that ranges "from a white powder to a hard black material." The hard black material is actually called Iron Phosphate. The primary ingredient is Phosphoric Acid which reacts with the Iron Oxide to produce Iron Phosphate. Neat. So, prime and paint time!
I figured the tub will need some extra paint on the bottom, and I may even Line-X it (or similar) and maybe even portion of the frame. The outer portion of the tub will eventually get the Jeep's body paint so no need to get too finicky now. Ah, we're almost there! A little overnight rain won't slow us down...
Turns out that Jasco needs to be applied somewhat sparingly. Just enough to do the job, but not so much that the product itself dries on the surface. Gee, that's pretty tough when you think about it. Hey, we're trying to convert rust here! Spray it on! If you waited for rain, or even deliberately introduced moisture, new rust would form - and give the residual Jasco something new to react with. Unfortunately, this occurred under my fresh primer and paint. Sad, very sad. More brushing, cleaning with solvent this time to remove any/all substances and finally prime and paint.
You know, those bearings probably haven't been repacked since I had that guy at the tire place do it - what was it? Four or five years ago? Hmmm... gee the manual says it's pretty straight forward. I'm a mechanically inclined sort. What the hey, let's pull the hubs! Gosh, that seal puller from Harbor freight is pretty cheap - might come in handy. Oh, look - the bearings are still available, might as well get new ones. Same with races. Have to have those brass punches to avoid scratching the hub. Darn, that bearing grease gizmo sure looks cool. Definitely need that seal driver - too bad the diameter on this hub is so big compared to modern hubs that I won't be able to spend money on it. Same with a bearing buddy - oh, well. Turns out only two guys on the planet stock the durn nuts and washers for the spindles anymore, but they're cheap. Gee, this is adding up, but - hey, any excuse to buy tools is always good, right?! (Hope the wife never finds this page..)
[too busy spending money to take pics...]
Lookin' good! Feels like I've been here before, but we're on a roll. Thing is, I've spent countless hours at places like Northern Tool, Agri-Supply, internet web sites (see resource section), etc. to find parts and tools and I finally begin to realize that one of my major goals of this project has been completely forgotten in all the excitement. I want to run the same wheels and tires as on the '94 Wrangler. The whole point of the spring-over is to try and match the BDS lift we put on the summer before. I'd really like to not carry a spare for the trailer, and even have extra "spares" in case of a dire emergency. Sounds like an opportunity to spend money! Adapters can be had for around $100, and I needed a little width anyway what with the trailer axle being a bit shorter than the Jeep's. Hmmm... that hub diameter again. Turns out that to taper down to a 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern would get very involved - split adapter designs, questions of whether it would work, etc. Regardless, we're talking serious money - more than I spent to buy the durn trailer to begin with (OK, for the slower folks out there, I've already spent more than the trailer cost but it's getting ridiculous).
[will add some pics of the hub rebuild at some point - I only got one rebuilt before I realized I was going with the new axle]
Gee, for less than $100 I can buy a brand new 3500 lb. axle with the right bolt pattern and u-bolts, plates, etc.! What a deal. I've committed the ultimate sin from a restoration point-of-view, but I really want to get this thing back on the road at the right height and with the right wheels/tires. Parking brake wasn't working anyway (whole other story...).
We're almost there! Really, really nice to be back on the road! Now that everybody else can see what I've only had in my mind, the family is getting excited too. My youngest reminds me that one of the other forgotten goals was to avoid having to buy a second trailer to haul his dirt bike out to the motox park. Well... having already committed one major resto sin, what's another right?!
In the middle of all this, I decide that I can do more than stand around and supervise...
Ouch!!! To: All ambulance chasers - it was my fault. OK, back to watching the master at work...
Yeah, the tailgate got a lot more picture coverage. But, it's really cool! Lots of fun designing it, and lots of work by Ken Carter to put up with my idiosyncrasies and convince me of how to make it all work! Now gotta protect all that time and effort...
Thanks to Mel at Line-X of the triangle for a great job and a great price! Yes, it was more than the trailer originally cost... but a significant reduction in what it normally costs to do a truck bed, and I'll not have to worry about it being out in the weather ever again!
So, what have we ended up with? A lotta fun!
For those of you who would like to attempt something similar, perhaps with less pain, anguish, and expense - here are some links.
Rust issues http://itkillsrust.com/
Parts
http://www.armyjeepparts.com/
(spindle nuts/washers)
http://www.flmv.net/
(shock bushings)
http://www.napa.com/
(bearings, grease, tools)
http://www.northerntool.com/
(tools, trailer hitch parts)
http://www.agri-supply.com/
(tools, trailer axle, hubs, hitch parts)
Wilder's Inc. (nuts, bolts, etc.)
Services http://www2.line-x.com/dealersdb/index.htm?AppID=463 (Line-X dealer - talk to Mel)
[will add part #s here at some point...]
A whole other, but very related story...
Many thanks to Ken Carter for his efforts on this project. It started out as a simple bumper and tire carrier and quickly turned into a massive resto and modification. It simply wouldn't have happened without him and I am grateful to call Ken a friend. Thx!
See the bumper page referenced above for more details.
Last update: 6-July-04