oh by no means am i the first to have done it. many guys have before me, its where i got the idea to build mine. hardest part is figuring out the swing but its really not bad to get right
Grand Tracker continual build
- Thread starter Chevy1925
- Start date
oh by no means am i the first to have done it. many guys have before me, its where i got the idea to build mine. hardest part is figuring out the swing but its really not bad to get right
It's the first one I've seen. I'm not around stuff like that much. I like it!
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Damn near a year since I updated this thread lol. Pretty much been driving it. AEM started giving me fits the last couple months. Horrible lean spots and stuttering (verified with my afr gauge). Tried all sorts of stuff tuning and mechanical and said “f**k it, let’s see if jumping the connectors back to stock fixes it”. She’s been great. Runs rich in open loop cause of the larger injectors and timing has no reduction from the 12* base I set it at but since I had wot at 0 in the AEM for timing reduction, I figured it wouldn’t be an issue. Been great for the last month this way.
Anyhow, worked on the rig a bit a few weeks ago in prep for a wheelin trip last weekend before Christmas.
Made the pass side axle easily changeable by making a stub shaft to go in the differential. Normally the stub is apart of the cv axle which means changing it requires taking apart the whole front end where the driver side is 4 bolts and it’s out.
This is the stub. Cut a broke pass side stub off, then cut the flange from an extra driver side axle I had. Lathed then down and welded the ends together. Also had to cut the tops of some bolts down to clear the flange. Trimmed the stock mount too to clear
All bolted in. Used some tapered Allen’s and recessed the holes in the 3 bolt flange so they would clear the mount bolts. All bolted up.
Went out last Saturday and had a good time till I went to climb a rock and BOOM, there went the LF cv. Back up and go around it but the RR got bound up and didn’t see it and BOOM, there goes that axle. Swapped the LF out with my spare and made it 150ft before it blew cause it was too short (kind of a hybrid axle I was trying). So hopped on the mining road and 5mph all the way back to the truck/trailer
Here is where they blew. You can hear the Lf break soon as I try to climb the rock (should have known better than to crank the wheel full right and climb it). Then at about 1:27 rear axle goes.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3yuzy87M0Ik
So now she’s parked on the side yard while I start the 8.8 rear axle build I have for it (3 link, 5.13 gears, and spartan locker) and then convert the front cv to Toyota cv axles with 930 inner cv’s
Anyhow, worked on the rig a bit a few weeks ago in prep for a wheelin trip last weekend before Christmas.
Made the pass side axle easily changeable by making a stub shaft to go in the differential. Normally the stub is apart of the cv axle which means changing it requires taking apart the whole front end where the driver side is 4 bolts and it’s out.
This is the stub. Cut a broke pass side stub off, then cut the flange from an extra driver side axle I had. Lathed then down and welded the ends together. Also had to cut the tops of some bolts down to clear the flange. Trimmed the stock mount too to clear
All bolted in. Used some tapered Allen’s and recessed the holes in the 3 bolt flange so they would clear the mount bolts. All bolted up.
Went out last Saturday and had a good time till I went to climb a rock and BOOM, there went the LF cv. Back up and go around it but the RR got bound up and didn’t see it and BOOM, there goes that axle. Swapped the LF out with my spare and made it 150ft before it blew cause it was too short (kind of a hybrid axle I was trying). So hopped on the mining road and 5mph all the way back to the truck/trailer
Here is where they blew. You can hear the Lf break soon as I try to climb the rock (should have known better than to crank the wheel full right and climb it). Then at about 1:27 rear axle goes.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3yuzy87M0Ik
So now she’s parked on the side yard while I start the 8.8 rear axle build I have for it (3 link, 5.13 gears, and spartan locker) and then convert the front cv to Toyota cv axles with 930 inner cv’s
Since I blew my shit up last weekend, it’s upgrade game time.
Yanked the 8.8 out of the side yard and started tear down/housing clean up. Built some quick stands for my welding table and dropped the axle on top of it. Got it all torn down, cut the old perches and shock mounts cut off and ground flush, yanked the axles, carrier, pulled the ring gear off the carrier, pulled the backing plates and cleaned up where the axle tubes will be welded to the housing. Couple buddies will be helping me get that welded up correctly. Then it’s on to making the truss, new seals and putting the locker/5.13 gears in.
Brakes gone and that’s about it
Stripped down and ready
Decided to measure the difference from the 8.8 axle and the stock tracker
.26” larger than stock. Had Suzuki not necked the damn axle down at the splines, the 8.8 would only be .05” larger though the metallurgy of the 8.8 axle is much better than the Suzuki. Either way, the ring and pinion is significantly larger at 8.8” ring gear verse the 7.5” stocker.
Yanked the 8.8 out of the side yard and started tear down/housing clean up. Built some quick stands for my welding table and dropped the axle on top of it. Got it all torn down, cut the old perches and shock mounts cut off and ground flush, yanked the axles, carrier, pulled the ring gear off the carrier, pulled the backing plates and cleaned up where the axle tubes will be welded to the housing. Couple buddies will be helping me get that welded up correctly. Then it’s on to making the truss, new seals and putting the locker/5.13 gears in.
Brakes gone and that’s about it
Stripped down and ready
Decided to measure the difference from the 8.8 axle and the stock tracker
.26” larger than stock. Had Suzuki not necked the damn axle down at the splines, the 8.8 would only be .05” larger though the metallurgy of the 8.8 axle is much better than the Suzuki. Either way, the ring and pinion is significantly larger at 8.8” ring gear verse the 7.5” stocker.
Couple cans of MAP gas at the same time, a decent sized propane torch (worked faster than the MAP gas), infrared gun and some welding got her done! Took it all over to my buddy Brian’s place for some help doing this (need two people and we were working on his LT bug project today anyhow), heated the cast area all around where we planned to weld (500*f), buzzed it in and then used the very end of the flame of the MAP gas to slowly let the cast cool back down while we kept checking with the infrared gun. Heard no bad noises and doesn’t look to have warped the housing but looks can be deceiving. Once I get the truss welded on, I want to take the housing done and have it checked/straighten. I’ll slowly weld the truss on to keep it cool but the housing may not even be straight to begin with.
I'm running 31 spline Moser axles in my 8.8/7.5 hybrid I had built 8 years ago..
Basically it's LTD 8.8 center with gm 7.5 outers wheel bearings had same ID from 26-31 spline axles
Basically it's LTD 8.8 center with gm 7.5 outers wheel bearings had same ID from 26-31 spline axles
nice! ive contemplated taking the rear axle center section and making a front IFS diff with it but all that work would only gain me .5 larger ring gear and the axle splines into the diff are still the same damn size as i have now so not worth the work... yet lol
So here’s my idea on turning my axles into 5 on 5.5” bolt pattern. Instead of taking them to a machine shop and having them done right the first time, I’m taking the long stupid route and trying this on my own first. Put the kiddo to bed at 8 and stayed up late working on this.
I have an extra wheel spacer for the tracker that is the correct bolt patter. I figured I would make a centering ring that goes on the axle and would center the wheel spacer on the axle. Doing this would then allow me to take a transfer punch and put it in the wheel spacer holes to punch a damn near perfect spot to drill new holes for the new bolt pattern. This is all in theory but let’s see what happens
Took Waids first practice attempt for the solid fan hub on the limo and made the hub centric ring out of that since I had nothing else the size I needed off hand.
Once I got the outer diameter to juuuust slip into the wheel spacers inner hole, I started cutting the inner diameter to match the axle and press on slightly. Parted it off the fan hub and we were in business. Took about 2 hours but I wasn’t rushing lol
Knocked all the studs out of the axle and tapped the hub centric ring on I just made. ignore the cut up edging on the ring, had a moment of "retardation" last night.
Here is with the wheel spacer on and the ever so slight difference between 5 on 135mm and 5 on 5.5”
Then took an old hiem misalignment spacer I had cut down for another project, machined it down to work for this project and used it to fill in the gap between my transfer punch and the wheel spacer since I didn’t have a punch large enough. Fits nicely
Theoretically, all I have left to do is clamp the spacer down to the axle, hit the punch and start drilling in the drill press but I’ll need to get the correct size drill bit for 5/8” studs before I do that. Drums should be easy as the 96 and older model years use the same sized drum in the back but have the 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern and they are cheap. I need new shoes and hardware anyhow so may as well pick those up.
I have an extra wheel spacer for the tracker that is the correct bolt patter. I figured I would make a centering ring that goes on the axle and would center the wheel spacer on the axle. Doing this would then allow me to take a transfer punch and put it in the wheel spacer holes to punch a damn near perfect spot to drill new holes for the new bolt pattern. This is all in theory but let’s see what happens
Took Waids first practice attempt for the solid fan hub on the limo and made the hub centric ring out of that since I had nothing else the size I needed off hand.
Once I got the outer diameter to juuuust slip into the wheel spacers inner hole, I started cutting the inner diameter to match the axle and press on slightly. Parted it off the fan hub and we were in business. Took about 2 hours but I wasn’t rushing lol
Knocked all the studs out of the axle and tapped the hub centric ring on I just made. ignore the cut up edging on the ring, had a moment of "retardation" last night.
Here is with the wheel spacer on and the ever so slight difference between 5 on 135mm and 5 on 5.5”
Then took an old hiem misalignment spacer I had cut down for another project, machined it down to work for this project and used it to fill in the gap between my transfer punch and the wheel spacer since I didn’t have a punch large enough. Fits nicely
Theoretically, all I have left to do is clamp the spacer down to the axle, hit the punch and start drilling in the drill press but I’ll need to get the correct size drill bit for 5/8” studs before I do that. Drums should be easy as the 96 and older model years use the same sized drum in the back but have the 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern and they are cheap. I need new shoes and hardware anyhow so may as well pick those up.
been slacking on updating this. plus the fact ive not had the time to really work on it like i want to. Went from giving all my free time to the race truck to working 60-70hr weeks and id rather spend time with the kiddo on the weekends or when i do get some free time.
anyhow, drilling the axles out worked awesome
One axle drilled.
Axle truss showed up.
bolt pattern slips right into the wheel and looks centered. If it’s not and gives me a hop, I may make some centering rings to make the wheel "hub centric" on the axle flange.
Got my ruff stuff diff cover in and threw the truss on top to see how she fits.
Then got the brace built for the axle. 3”x3”x3/8 square tube spans the axle, 12”x4”x3/4” flat plate makes up the sides. Had to recess the side plates to bolt up to the axle flanges. 3” carbide tipped hole saw actually made short work of it. Noisy as hell but sliced through quickly on the drill press. Drilled holes and Cobbled together some spacers for the bolts I had to bolt them down. Put the beam in place and welded it up. Got the truss on, made a hole for the vent tube to go in through the truss and tacked the truss in.
My awesome “scrounge up and damn nut I can find to f**king bolt this bitch down”
Welder cranked to max and burned in. First time I’ve cranked it that high lol
Stopping point
Burned in and set. Put some preload on the axle with a pair of cut tubes between each side of the pumpkin. Buzzed it all in and just went slow. Not smiling at me so we gunna run this bitch! Measurements came out the same before and after as well
Truss is not welded to the center section and won’t be. If I bend this axle, I’ll have other bigger things to worry about than this
Then jumped on my remaining axle to convert to 5 on 5.5. Drilled it out (already transfer punched to the flange) and pressed the studs in. Fits just like the other!
Then slotted the drums to fit the new bolt pattern. May or may not run, we will see
Got the old pinion out and tried not to destroy the inner pinion bearing when removing it so i could use it as a setup bearing. Got it off luckily without killing it and took .002 off the inside. Drops right on the pinion now. Pressed new races in the pinion hole, popped the old carrier bearings off and put the new ones on. Pressed the new ring gear on the carrier and started putting the locker in.
Setup bearing dropped on 5.13 pinion
Spartan instructions suck major ass... they tell you to pull the carrier and install the locker but no where does it say how to put the damn c clips in. So I put it together and figured I’d take it back apart once it’s ready for final assembly in the axle. Anyhow, I then remembered that the cross pin won’t fit due to the 5.13 gears. Ring gear is much thicker than the 3.73. Seemed like everywhere I looked, everyone said to cut a tooth down to get the cross pin in or use a slotted cross pin so you can put it in before the ring gear and just twist it while installed to get the c clips in the axles. I didn’t like the thought of a cross pin that damn near cut in half but I also didnt want to grind down ring gear teeth.
I wound up getting the ring gear on where the pin would kinda saddle between two teeth, still a long ways from fitting so I put the pin in the lathe and cut .078 off one side and 90* from the hole that the bolt goes through and holds the pin in. Cutting that down and taking just a little off the inner edge of the ring gear let the cross pin slide in
Cross pin
Locker in
Of course, that was my second attempt at making the cross pin work. Initially, I took the new cross pin that came in the kit and started slowly cutting it down till it fit. Then realized I put the flat face on the same side as the bolt hole. So now when it’s in, the flat face faces the axle and would allow the axle to slide in further than normal. Wasn’t gunna chance it and the original pin was still in great shape so made that one work
Finally, cleaned up the backing plates and put new brake parts and shoes in. New wheel cylinders as well.
Would have liked to have started gear setup tonight but I dinged the inner pinion race putting it in.
that brings me up to this past weekend. got the gears in last night and started setup to see how far off everything is. may or may not be able to start putting some marking compound on the gears tonight and see if we can dial that bad boy in.
anyhow, drilling the axles out worked awesome
One axle drilled.
Axle truss showed up.
bolt pattern slips right into the wheel and looks centered. If it’s not and gives me a hop, I may make some centering rings to make the wheel "hub centric" on the axle flange.
Got my ruff stuff diff cover in and threw the truss on top to see how she fits.
Then got the brace built for the axle. 3”x3”x3/8 square tube spans the axle, 12”x4”x3/4” flat plate makes up the sides. Had to recess the side plates to bolt up to the axle flanges. 3” carbide tipped hole saw actually made short work of it. Noisy as hell but sliced through quickly on the drill press. Drilled holes and Cobbled together some spacers for the bolts I had to bolt them down. Put the beam in place and welded it up. Got the truss on, made a hole for the vent tube to go in through the truss and tacked the truss in.
My awesome “scrounge up and damn nut I can find to f**king bolt this bitch down”
Welder cranked to max and burned in. First time I’ve cranked it that high lol
Stopping point
Burned in and set. Put some preload on the axle with a pair of cut tubes between each side of the pumpkin. Buzzed it all in and just went slow. Not smiling at me so we gunna run this bitch! Measurements came out the same before and after as well
Truss is not welded to the center section and won’t be. If I bend this axle, I’ll have other bigger things to worry about than this
Then jumped on my remaining axle to convert to 5 on 5.5. Drilled it out (already transfer punched to the flange) and pressed the studs in. Fits just like the other!
Then slotted the drums to fit the new bolt pattern. May or may not run, we will see
Got the old pinion out and tried not to destroy the inner pinion bearing when removing it so i could use it as a setup bearing. Got it off luckily without killing it and took .002 off the inside. Drops right on the pinion now. Pressed new races in the pinion hole, popped the old carrier bearings off and put the new ones on. Pressed the new ring gear on the carrier and started putting the locker in.
Setup bearing dropped on 5.13 pinion
Spartan instructions suck major ass... they tell you to pull the carrier and install the locker but no where does it say how to put the damn c clips in. So I put it together and figured I’d take it back apart once it’s ready for final assembly in the axle. Anyhow, I then remembered that the cross pin won’t fit due to the 5.13 gears. Ring gear is much thicker than the 3.73. Seemed like everywhere I looked, everyone said to cut a tooth down to get the cross pin in or use a slotted cross pin so you can put it in before the ring gear and just twist it while installed to get the c clips in the axles. I didn’t like the thought of a cross pin that damn near cut in half but I also didnt want to grind down ring gear teeth.
I wound up getting the ring gear on where the pin would kinda saddle between two teeth, still a long ways from fitting so I put the pin in the lathe and cut .078 off one side and 90* from the hole that the bolt goes through and holds the pin in. Cutting that down and taking just a little off the inner edge of the ring gear let the cross pin slide in
Cross pin
Locker in
Of course, that was my second attempt at making the cross pin work. Initially, I took the new cross pin that came in the kit and started slowly cutting it down till it fit. Then realized I put the flat face on the same side as the bolt hole. So now when it’s in, the flat face faces the axle and would allow the axle to slide in further than normal. Wasn’t gunna chance it and the original pin was still in great shape so made that one work
Finally, cleaned up the backing plates and put new brake parts and shoes in. New wheel cylinders as well.
Would have liked to have started gear setup tonight but I dinged the inner pinion race putting it in.
that brings me up to this past weekend. got the gears in last night and started setup to see how far off everything is. may or may not be able to start putting some marking compound on the gears tonight and see if we can dial that bad boy in.
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it is and it isnt lol. i love that its different and no one has really built one like im doing but its also a pain as there is hardly any aftermarket support. when the suspension/driveline is done, its on to making custom pistions and building my spare block i have for this thing. already got 4 custom cut cams for the heads, next is boring to a 2.7 (its a 2.5 now) and putting high compression pistons in.
and its finally about done. just needs some clean up, paint, brake lines and other minor stuff. Gotta pull the rear drive shaft next and see if they make a yoke that will accept 1310 joints or if im stuck with stock joints at the t-case.
no way to get this locker in without having a way of removing the cross pin. even with a notched cross pin, im not seeing how it could be done.
this is the brake drum setup and the "drilled out holes" to fit. think im going to try them and pull the wheels after my 500 mile break in to see if they are notching into the studs or not. i wouldnt think so as the pressure/friction of the wheel bolted to them ought to hold them well.
Drive side gear pattern. initial pattern was shallow on the tooth so changed the stock pinion shim from .033 to .037.
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he was a hell of a racer and built some really cool rigs. I loved his IFS/IRS rock crawler he built in the early 2000s. im just glad i got true walker evan wheels on my truck and tracker before ultra bought them and sold them off to china... new ones they sell are junk
it is and it isnt lol. i love that its different and no one has really built one like im doing but its also a pain as there is hardly any aftermarket support. when the suspension/driveline is done, its on to making custom pistions and building my spare block i have for this thing. already got 4 custom cut cams for the heads, next is boring to a 2.7 (its a 2.5 now) and putting high compression pistons in.
and its finally about done. just needs some clean up, paint, brake lines and other minor stuff. Gotta pull the rear drive shaft next and see if they make a yoke that will accept 1310 joints or if im stuck with stock joints at the t-case.
no way to get this locker in without having a way of removing the cross pin. even with a notched cross pin, im not seeing how it could be done.
this is the brake drum setup and the "drilled out holes" to fit. think im going to try them and pull the wheels after my 500 mile break in to see if they are notching into the studs or not. i wouldnt think so as the pressure/friction of the wheel bolted to them ought to hold them well.
Drive side gear pattern. initial pattern was shallow on the tooth so changed the stock pinion shim from .033 to .037.
The fact that you are pretty much blazing the trail for the aftermarket parts makes it even better. I'm a machinist so the one off machined parts are really cool to me. I don't work at a shop that I can make my own stuff anymore but I made some cool stuff for my Harley awhile back.
James, really nice work! Ingenious way to change lug pattern. :thumb:
Id find hubcentric rings for the wheels, though. I dont see an issue with the drums as long as they center on the axle, too.
Id find hubcentric rings for the wheels, though. I dont see an issue with the drums as long as they center on the axle, too.