Nashville TJ's Build - Continued

[NashvilleTJ]

Before starting the process of getting the carrier in place, I wanted to check the axle for alignment since welding on the truss.

So I did...

Yup, it's a little out again. 45 thou to be exact. Prolly close enough, but this time is was bent in the direction I would have expected from welding on the truss. The axle tubes have curved slightly upward in the direction of the truss.

But I can't leave it alone. So tomorrow I'm traveling back to Big Fat Weld Town. Hopefully it is as easy as the last time.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

This morning I tackled my axle warp (again..). I used the MIG welder set on blast just like before, but this time I tried a different approach to the weld beads. Instead of running them on an arc along the circumference of the tube, I ran long beads parallel to the tube along the outside arc of the bend. I ran one bead along each tube, which moved it about half way. I then ran a second bead parallel to the first.

After cooling completely, dead solid perfect once again.

It did seem that this approach was much quicker. After a little work with the flap wheel it was good as new.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

Then it was back to the gear install. First up - invade the wife's kitchen yet again...

After getting the ring gear up to 200 degrees, it slipped right on to the carrier.

Thread lock and 120 pound feet of torque finished the job.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

For anyone not familiar with the 14 bolt - here is the magic which allows for an easier setup when compared to something like a Dana 44 or 60. These adjustment rings are used to set the left to right position of the carrier, and therefore backlash with the pinion, as opposed to having to use shims. Carrier bearing preload is also set this way. You set the carrier in place once, and never have to remove it again. You simply turn the rings to set backlash each time you adjust pinion depth. Easy peasy.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

The 14 Bolt case I'm using requires a little clearancing to fit the big ARB. On the left side of the case are two ribs which need to be cut back to clear the case.

A little work with the death wheel was all it took.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

And after all of that it was finally time to start doing some setup. I dropped the carrier in and installed the pinion housing with the original 18 thou pinion shim to get a base line. I set the backlash to 6 (range is 6 - 10 on the 14 bolt).

Here is the first pattern.

I'm certainly still new at this, but my initial read is that it looks shallow, and I need to increase the pinion depth.

Any insight on the pattern?

 

[jesseshoots]

We should start calling this thread “The New 14 Bolt Bible”

Absolutely wonderful work man!

 

[Wildman]

Trail Ready Beadlocks will install the Rapid Air valve if purchased with the wheels.

Trailready TR Beadlock HD17 (trbeadlocks.com)

 

[Fouledplugs]

Trail Ready Beadlocks will install the Rapid Air valve if purchased with the wheels.

Trailready TR Beadlock HD17 (trbeadlocks.com)

Wonder how they compare to Power Tanks Monster valves...

 

[Wildman]

Wonder how they compare to Power Tanks Monster valves...

I don't know but I'd guess someone out there has done a comparison some where.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

Trail Ready Beadlocks will install the Rapid Air valve if purchased with the wheels.

Trailready TR Beadlock HD17 (trbeadlocks.com)

I pulled the trigger on the Racelines. Should be here next week.

 

[Wildman]

I pulled the trigger on the Racelines. Should be here next week.

COOL can't wait to see them and hear how you like them.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

For anyone interested, I started a thread on the rest of the gear setup to get some input on my patterns here:

(6) Ring and Pinion Gear Pattern Help | Jeep Wrangler TJ Forum

 

[NashvilleTJ]

I got the gear dialed in yesterday, but it was not an easy path. I bracketed the setup, starting with the 18 thou stock shim as I posted above, and went as high as 30 thou, and then all the way down to 0 - no shim. I did 8 setups to get to this point.

Here it is with a 10 thou shim and 7.5 thou backlash. Closer, but still a bit too shallow.

And here it is at 0 shim and 0 backlash. A little too deep.

So I had my bracket. The problem was that the smallest shim in the Yukon setup kit that I have is 10 thou. I thought that sounded wrong, but I checked and that's what comes with the kit. 10, 11, 13, 16, and 2 19's.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

I did find out that GM makes smaller shims, but I didn't want to wait until next week to get this thing dialed in. My quick fix was to add a shim between the pinion gear and the inner pinion bearing. To do that I needed to pull the bearing, which required some grinding on my gear puller to get it in. So more metal shavings covering the shop...

Once the puller fit correctly, a quick trip to the press. Worked like a charm.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

I didn't have a shim kit specifically for this purpose, but I did have a shim that would work, but it was 49 thou. A bit thicker that I wanted, but it will work fine.

Than it was just a matter of pressing the bearing back in place and reassembling the pinion carrier. A lot of work to save 28 cents on a shim...

 

[NashvilleTJ]

For the next setup I used a 56 thou shim pack to adjust for the new 49 thou pinion shim, and to move the pinion 3 thou deeper than the previous setup at 10. That pattern was moving in the right direction, but still not quite deep enough, and confirmed with feedback from a few folks over on the other thread I mentioned who know what they are doing.

Wanting to go just a bit deeper, I pulled another 3 thou from the shim pack to take me to 53. With a 9 thou backlash, here is that pattern:

And that's an acceptable pattern. On all the reading and research I've done on setting up the 14 bolt, the most important element is to be centered on the tooth between the root and the face - and this pattern is pretty close to doing just that. The pattern offset toward the heel on the drive side, and correspondingly offset to the toe on the coast side, is considered a good pattern according to Yukon's documentation.

All told, 11 setups - which on the 14 bolt is really no big deal. I got to where I could adjust the pinion depth, start to finish, in about 10 minutes. That took at least an hour when I did it on the 60.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

If you are wondering about the purpose of the breaker bar handle you are seeing in the pattern pictures, that is how I kept enough resistance on the carrier to get good patterns. Three heavy zip ties around the carrier body, kept under tension by the breaker bar levered across the pinion bearing support. It worked very well.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

With the gear setup finally behind me, I installed and pressure tested the ARB air port connection. No leaks - and it actually locked which is always a relief after so much work.

And finally I buttoned up the axle and attached the cover.

Now I have a shaved, trussed, pinion guarded and locked 5.38 14 bolt. It's been a fun project so far - which is the entire reason I did not buy an axle off the shelf.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

It's funny, I'm doing all this work with the Jeep sitting there staring down at the new axle - like it's a waiting transplant patient staring down at his new kidney...