75 Dually build

[75Dually]

Some progress! After having a head cold all this week I finally felt good enough to get out into the shop. With the truck turned around in the shop I attacked the front end. Today I got the entire front suspension removed and started to clean up all those layers of West Texas dust!!! Actually the front end was fairly clean, and the a-arms were in good shape overall.

Tomorrow I plan on starting to mock up the new front suspension. I want to work with the dimensions of the stretched a-arms, and I think I have an interesting idea on how I can do that. I have my drop spindles, and SRW brakes that I will get assembled to see if I can find the best dimensions. Hopefully I will snap some more shots tomorrow and give you guys some updates.

[75Dually]

Some progress! After having a head cold all this week I finally felt good enough to get out into the shop. With the truck turned around in the shop I attacked the front end. Today I got the entire front suspension removed and started to clean up all those layers of West Texas dust!!! Actually the front end was fairly clean, and the a-arms were in good shape overall.

Tomorrow I plan on starting to mock up the new front suspension. I want to work with the dimensions of the stretched a-arms, and I think I have an interesting idea on how I can do that. I have my drop spindles, and SRW brakes that I will get assembled to see if I can find the best dimensions. Hopefully I will snap some more shots tomorrow and give you guys some updates.

[75Dually]

So here is my passenger upper a-arm getting ready to be stretched. I welded two tabs on the bottom of the a-arm along the center line. Then I welded a long piece to the front tab. This way I can clamp it, just like I did in the picture below, to the second tab which will allow me to play with the dimensions once I get the spindle and brakes set up.

I am also going to do the same basic thing to the bottom a-arm so I can mock up the whole assembly and check all the dimensions and the final angles.

I am going to start with 2.5" on the bottom and 3" on the top, but once I lock in the final dimensions I will update you guys.

For those of you who have already done this step can you give me any pointers and what you did on your truck. Thanks for the help in advance!

[stepside83]

this is a cool build
def coming along nice

[75Dually]

Originally Posted by stepside83

this is a cool build
def coming along nice

Thanks man! I appreciate it!

[Dieselwrencher]

Great build thread and nice work on your truck. The fab work looks great. I like how everything is getting set up without the bed floor. It just needs a goose neck hitch in between the tubs to set it off.

[75Dually]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Great build thread and nice work on your truck. The fab work looks great. I like how everything is getting set up without the bed floor. It just needs a goose neck hitch in between the tubs to set it off.

Thanks man! I took out the entire bed floor thinking I would put it back in, but I have some other plans now. Still haven't decided what exactly I want to do for the floor, but rest assured it will not be dull. About the goes neck. Everything I have is receiver hitch. So unless I by a 5th wheel travel trailer I won't need it.

[COS399]

Originally Posted by 75Dually

Thanks man! I took out the entire bed floor thinking I would put it back in, but I have some other plans now. Still haven't decided what exactly I want to do for the floor, but rest assured it will not be dull. About the goes neck. Everything I have is receiver hitch. So unless I by a 5th wheel travel trailer I won't need it.

I can sell you a 5th wheel toy hauler if your looking??? Great work.

[75Dually]

I have decided to change course on the front end assembly. I am going with the stock dually brake assembly along with my 3" drop spindles. So I mocked up the assembly this evening and I am pleased with results.

I will still pie cut the upper a-arm to relieve the extreme angle on the upper ball joint. On the a-arm I cut up I will replace it with one off the donor burb.

I am still thinking about moving the cross member forward 1". Probably more trouble than it is worth, but it beats having to cut up the firewall and tubing it.

So today I took the lower a-arms over to a friends shop and pressed in new lower ball joints, and this weekend I will put the new upper ball joints in. I also have the new inner and outer tie rods to put on as well. So lots of little jobs to get accomplished

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice work. Are those standard 22.5's or are they milled down to 22's? They look like regular 22.5's. I'm just mainly curious.

[75Dually]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Nice work. Are those standard 22.5's or are they milled down to 22's? They look like regular 22.5's. I'm just mainly curious.

Thanks man! They are 22.5's, but I am going to have them machined down to 22's by Tennessee Tire.

[aggie91]

Looking good. What made you stay with the dually brakes instead of switching to the 3/4 T rotor like most do when putting on the semi wheels?

For the upper a-arm, if you ahve not cut them already, why not just flip them upside down and swap them side to side? That should help with the ball joint angle too.

[75Dually]

Originally Posted by aggie91

Looking good. What made you stay with the dually brakes instead of switching to the 3/4 T rotor like most do when putting on the semi wheels?

For the upper a-arm, if you ahve not cut them already, why not just flip them upside down and swap them side to side? That should help with the ball joint angle too.

Karl, The more I thought about messing with the a-arms, the more I wanted to get this beast on the road I am sure that this will be something I will do later, but for now I am OK with this setup. Basically it was going to take forever and I want this thing on the road sooner than later.

[75Dually]

OK I went and spent some serious money today. I purchased the Accuair e-level setup along with their new iLevel system. They are just about to release the Android version of the iLevel. They said it should be a couple of weeks before they release it, so that was cool.

However I did not buy their valve assembly. Their valve assembly is a 3/8", and the more I talked to them about it and asked them directly how fast is really was, the more it turned out it was slower than the current 3/8" valve assembly I have today on another ride. Basically the sales guy admitted that their systems speed is between a 1/4" and 3/8" normal valve assembly. Not on my dually! So I went with the Airbaggit 1/2" airengine valve system. And before you ask, yes you can run another companies valve system off their controller. Maybe not as plug and play as I would have wanted, but I am not going to put up with that slow of a system speed for that much money.

I also got my rims sent off to Trevor (Thanks Trevor for all the help today!) at Tennessee Wheel and Tire. I can't wait until these are back and I get the tires mounted up.

So now I'm broke... But HAPPY! HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!!!

[mooseknuckles]

awesome!....you'll like the accuair. I have the VU4 valve and I find it fast...I can't imagine what 1/2" valves would be like, I wouldn't want it any quicker than what it is now....

[75Dually]

Originally Posted by mooseknuckles

awesome!....you'll like the accuair. I have the VU4 valve and I find it fast...I can't imagine what 1/2" valves would be like, I wouldn't want it any quicker than what it is now....

Have you had any issues with the Accuair system?

[mooseknuckles]

Originally Posted by 75Dually

Have you had any issues with the Accuair system?

no...nothng yet. I just installed mine, I haven't tried it out, outside of the garage yet...but so far it's awesome.

[75Dually]

Several new toys showed up today! I got my 1/2" valve, and polished stainless steel air tank. I also got my coalescing filter in today as well. This will work with my York 210 once it shows up. I still need to order an air dryer to go along with the coalescing filter, but I simply forgot the other day when ordering all the other parts...

So once I get the front end all buttoned up I am going to start on the air ride components.

Getting closer...

[75Dually]

Look what the UPS guy brought! Been like Christmas around here lately!

Can't wait until I can do the oil fix on my York, and speed up my build. I am just waiting on a couple of other parts and I should have most of what I need for the air ride. Oh yes and I also need time....

[75Dually]

The cross member is out! What a cruddy job! Still it has to be done... I am going to put it on my welding table and work on the spring pockets and make new mounts for the upper airbags. That is the stuff that I enjoy, fabrication.

Next on the list is to drill and plasma all the new holes 1" forward. Still have to move the steering box and the other steering components 1" forward as well. Once all that is done I can reinstall all the front suspension and move on to the air ride portion of the build.

[Dieselwrencher]

Do you have a link to a good place for the york mods? I'm thinking of putting one on my truck now to run my air system. Thanks Ryan.

[75Dually]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Do you have a link to a good place for the york mods? I'm thinking of putting one on my truck now to run my air system. Thanks Ryan.

Ryan,

Here are 2 good build pages I have found. I have found others but I think these were some of the better ones. Check them out and let me know what you thought of them. Also if you find any other builds please send them my way. I am always looking for new sites to help me in my projects.

http://www.hummer4x4offroad.com/foru...tart-to-finish

http://www.gmfullsize.com/forum/showthread.php?t=261799

[75Dually]

I got my Accuride stuff in today! I got the eLevel system and their iLevel system as well. Really cool stuff!

Been going through the instructions today and seeing how I hook it up to my 1/2" Airbagit valve. It is fairly straight forward. The rest of the items are just nuts and bolts, and some plug and play. The big items are finishing up the front suspension and then finding locations for all the level sensors.

Now I have to see where I want to mount all these items. I also have to find a good location for the valve and the air tank.

[Dieselwrencher]

Thanks for those links. It actually looks a lot easier to convert one than I had imagined.

[75Dually]

Had the stomach flu all week, Yuck! So today was the first day I felt decent. So this evening I got out to the shop and started to clean up the cross member. Once I got most of the grime off of it I mounted it to my fabrication table and mocked up the suspension.

I have got a good idea what I need to do for the bag fitment. The picture below of the bag in place is just me messing around when it got late in the evening. I will be of course modifying the lower a-arm, but I have some serious plans for the upper spring pocket as well. Most of it will be cut away. I want all the angles to be right so that I allow the bag to move in as straight a line as possible. I have seen to many builds where the air bag is pulled at odd angles, and this allows increased wear and potential failure.

So tomorrow should be a fun day in the shop. I hope to have the lower a-arm and the upper spring pocket at least roughed in. Then I am going to start finding the right spot for the air ride sensor. Stay tuned!