53 Surburban "Family Truckster"

[youngrodder]

I went to Moser to get my rear diff shortened on Friday. It was just under 3 hrs one way. I arrived just before 8 am. I tired to snap some pics but I was told that would not be allowed. There where (2) other people dropping stuff off for same day service.

Upon inspection the guy noticed that my axles were gnarled up where the axle bearings ride. This is a common problem for 10-12 bolt rear diffs. I had to have new axles made because they would just chew up my new bearings if I didn't. The bad news is it doubled my overall expenses. I was able to have them drill out the axles to except my lug studs that are matched to the front (7/16-20). This will save me from doing it.

By 12:20 I was back on the road to MI...

Tonight, I finished welded my brackets and I started getting the rearend cleaned up and reassembled.

Marc

[mongocanfly]

Very nice...as usual

[Advanced Design]

Too bad about the axles. Were you able to watch them narrow the rear? Seems they were pretty fast.

[oldman3]

Marc, hate to hear about the added cost. But now you should be good to go for along time...Jim

[Scott2]

Bummer about the axles but you don't want to do it halfway and suffer later. It's pretty cool to make one stop and get it all done in a day especially with a custom job!

The spring perches look good - are you boxing those in by chance? I had a set just like that on a '69 Camaro with a 525hp 408 and a Richmond 5 speed and they collapsed during a very sporty burnout - I guess the tires were stickier that day! The rear end rolled as the perches collapsed and the driveshaft twisted off after it gouged a hole in the floor. Bad day.

Maybe overkill but every time I see a set of those it brings back expensive memories!

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Very nice...as usual

Thank you

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Too bad about the axles. Were you able to watch them narrow the rear? Seems they were pretty fast.

No there were pretty guarded with there processes. I would have only been in their way.

Originally Posted by oldman3

Marc, hate to hear about the added cost. But now you should be good to go for along time...Jim

Yes, that was my thoughts as well.

Originally Posted by Scott2

Bummer about the axles but you don't want to do it halfway and suffer later. It's pretty cool to make one stop and get it all done in a day especially with a custom job!

The spring perches look good - are you boxing those in by chance? I had a set just like that on a '69 Camaro with a 525hp 408 and a Richmond 5 speed and they collapsed during a very sporty burnout - I guess the tires were stickier that day! The rear end rolled as the perches collapsed and the driveshaft twisted off after it gouged a hole in the floor. Bad day.

Maybe overkill but every time I see a set of those it brings back expensive memories!

Yes it was a cool road trip to take a day off of work for. No the peaches are not boxed but they are welded on all sides. My power will be quiet modest compared to what you had. The should hold up fine but I appreciate the heads up.

Marc

[lower50's]

Sucks about the bummed axle but good thing you still got it all in one day.

[youngrodder]

I have been spending time/money getting the various seals and bearing necessary to reassemble my rearend. It took 3 tries to purchase the correct axle bearings and bushings. For the Zr2 this is a common occurrence that other people have had. After some searching on Google, I was able to locate the correct part numbers.

I finished welding my brackets on the rearend. I then cleaned it up and painted it with frame paint for now so it wont rust. Tonight I pressed in my axle bearings and axle seals as well as a new pinon seal. This weekend I hope to get the rearend fully put back together.

Here is a pick of my new axles with the new lug studs that I drive in the other night. No my front and rear lug studs are the same size and thread count.

Marc

[99 to Life]

looks great. just went through a full rebuild on my daily not long ago, so this process is dejavu.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by 99 to Life

looks great. just went through a full rebuild on my daily not long ago, so this process is dejavu.

My first time screwing with it. I will be glad when its back together. I have learned a lot though.

Marc

[oldman3]

Marc, looks great, doing some great work also...Jim

[lower50's]

Every axle I have had apart I learn something new. Looks good.

[99 to Life]

if you are not rebuilding the whole thing. Def don't mix up your shims. Putting the shims back in takes a few times to get a good grip on the best method to do it. Get a deadblow hammer cause you'll need to hammer the carrier back in, tapping the shims. you can prolly trust everything when its torqued to spec, but it would be good to check the backlash on the ring gear and check your gear teeth pattern with paint. Be a booger to have to redo something in there once your whole truck is done and you want to just drive!

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by oldman3

Marc, looks great, doing some great work also...Jim

Thanks Jim

Originally Posted by lower50's

Every axle I have had apart I learn something new. Looks good.

That's how I have learned most things, just read/watch/ask and then tear into it.
Marc

Originally Posted by 99 to Life

if you are not rebuilding the whole thing. Def don't mix up your shims. Putting the shims back in takes a few times to get a good grip on the best method to do it. Get a deadblow hammer cause you'll need to hammer the carrier back in, tapping the shims. you can prolly trust everything when its torqued to spec, but it would be good to check the backlash on the ring gear and check your gear teeth pattern with paint. Be a booger to have to redo something in there once your whole truck is done and you want to just drive!

Yes, I was smart enough to label (by side) and bag all of the shims, bearings and caps separately by side. Yes I also have a friend that is willing to help me check back lash once I'm back together. Thanks for the tips.

Marc

[RockinKees]

Too bad for the extra costs Marc, but now you know it lasts a lifetime!

Back in the old times when I was still at work at big trucks (MB), I did a few axles. We had special tools to set the ring and pignion and set the bearings at the right tension, also colored the theeth of the ring to see if it made the right contact area on the pignon.
Looks like today is all about swapping axles in those big companies.

In short... I respect that you do your own axle, it isn't that easy!

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by RockinKees

Too bad for the extra costs Marc, but now you know it lasts a lifetime!

Back in the old times when I was still at work at big trucks (MB), I did a few axles. We had special tools to set the ring and pignion and set the bearings at the right tension, also colored the theeth of the ring to see if it made the right contact area on the pignon.
Looks like today is all about swapping axles in those big companies.

In short... I respect that you do your own axle, it isn't that easy!

Thanks Kees, Like most projects that I decide to take on, it comes down to cost. I figure it out and maybe buy a tool or two along the way. At the end of it (good/bad) I can say "oh I know how to do that" plus I have the tools incase I or my friends need to do something similar. It was funny one of the guys at Moser said that "everyone liked to work on the front end (engine/drive train) but most people don't want to tackle the back end and it really isn't too bad".

Marc

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Wicked thread, spent most of the day with a very sick toddler sleeping on me reading it. Tons of info.

I plan to mount my tank and compressors similar (or at least mock up that way) and was curious about rolling the fenders since it's common in the car world.

Also was considering the same booster set up so you basically validated a bunch of my theories and I'll probably use a lot of the fuel info as well!

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by Dave_The_BMXER

Wicked thread, spent most of the day with a very sick toddler sleeping on me reading it. Tons of info.

I plan to mount my tank and compressors similar (or at least mock up that way) and was curious about rolling the fenders since it's common in the car world.

Also was considering the same booster set up so you basically validated a bunch of my theories and I'll probably use a lot of the fuel info as well!

Thanks Dave...I have followed your build as well. Having a sick little one is no fun. Glad you can use some info. I need to bolt back up my front sheet metal to validate my rolled fender lips but I did it on my 48 truck that is bagged on 20's and it worked well on that so I'm pretty confident it will help me out on the Suburban. Other than my lines and residual valves I have all of my brake hardware.

As soon as I get my rearend back in I can really move forward on finishing my inner wheel tubs. Looking forward to more progress forward. At times it seems like I move backward more...

Marc

[Dave_The_BMXER]

He's on the mend now which is good (actually seems like it never happened). With the ebay brake set up any worries about the booster being an offshore unit? I'm Canadian so it's hard to find competitively priced parts made here anyway but a few people said sometimes the quality is off.

[youngrodder]

Originally Posted by Dave_The_BMXER

He's on the mend now which is good (actually seems like it never happened). With the ebay brake set up any worries about the booster being an offshore unit? I'm Canadian so it's hard to find competitively priced parts made here anyway but a few people said sometimes the quality is off.

Not a real concern, if a part fails like the booster or proportioning valve I can always replace it with a better part. In hind sight I need to see what type of restriction with exhaust this frame mount set up might cause. I don't have the use of my friends LS mock up block at the moment to check.

Marc

[youngrodder]

Sunday I had the whole day clear and I planned to reassemble my rearend. after I determining that threads on my pinon shaft were screwed up I was unable to start the pinon nut. With it being a Sunday I knew I was out of luck to find a 7/8"-14 die. I was able to pick up one today and get my threads fixed. I was able to get the rearend put back together tonight. I also bolted up the rotors and calipers to get a look and check clearances. I was fretting putting the center section back in but it went in without too much trouble.

I'm happy with how it turned out. Next I will throw it back under the Suburban and get cracking on finishing the tubs.

Marc

[mongocanfly]

Rear looking good marc..nice and clean

[oldman3]

Looking good there Marc...Jim

[Scott2]

Nice job - looks great! It'll be nice to see it back under the burb.

[Eagletucky]

Nice and clean!