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Old 10-13-2014, 06:11 PM
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Gojeep Gojeep is offline
MetalShaper of the Month March 2015, March 2020,, June 2022,Aug 2023
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Eastern Melbourne, Australia
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I was not happy with the original design of the end of the tube being smaller than the side of the bush that rests against it. So I cut a disc out of some 4mm plate to weld onto the end of it the same size as the side of the bush.


To further strengthen the mounting plates I welded in a filler piece to box the ends of it which will also keep the sides nice and straight.


Plated the front face even though fairly small.


The original modified support bracket was also welded in to support the other side of the upper mount.
You also have to forgive the appearance of my welds on these upper and lower mounts as the mig kept cutting out multiple times on me while in the middle of a weld. Some times would not start at all. Stripped down the gun and found a loose wire that needed to be re-crimped.


With the arms all now fully in place, I fitted the bump stops so I could check the clearance of the upper arm bracket to make sure it wouldn't hit the cross member. There was still 1.5" of clearance at full travel so that allows enough for the bump stop compression in a hard hit.


Decided to weld in the rear most cross member. First ground a deep V so I would get full penetration

Then laid down the welds. The outside one doesn't require any further preparation.


To clean up any spatter after welding. I first just run over it with a wire brush. Then use this old blunt file that I sharpened the end of to knock any splatter off. Any that doesn't come off easily with this I will then use a hammer and cold chisel.



Now that I know that I have enough clearance under the cross member, could finally weld it in fully. Was nice to have the mig running better after the repair now too.


Also had left the coil support until this time so I could balance the welding by swapping sides between this and the cross member.


Something that has always bothered me was the angle of the lower coil mount on the rear axle. Here is a photo I took of it before strip down. Remember the rear was not effected at all when the Harley rider hit the front door and wheel, so was this way from the factory.


I found the coil bucket was sitting at 6* at ride height. The other side was at 5*! Was too much to leave as is and have no idea why the factory did it this way. Even at full compression it still was not level.


So I ground off the welds and and reset it at the best angle between ride height and full compression.


Threw the rear shocks in too. Can now see why the upper mount was made at a 8* angle.


Steering rack bolted into the stock location.


Wanted to fit the front diff too, but two of the bushes had a tear in them from the accident. Fortunately had already got the replacement bushes last year for it. Just rattled the old one out using a air chisel pushing against the outer steel sleeve. Taking care not to score the housing.


Left the new bush in overnight in the freezer to make fitting it easier. Just make sure the bush is orientated the right way as they allow more movement in one direction than the other. The slot in the centre sleeve needs to be at the top or bottom as you can see in the first shot.


Front diff is now mounted into place. Can also see how much I have moved the engine mounts back as originally the left one in the picture was over the top of the diff mount.
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Marcus
aka. Gojeep
Victoria, Australia
http://willyshotrod.com

Invention is a combination of brains and materials.
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Last edited by Gojeep; 08-01-2017 at 03:29 AM.
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