94 E-350 UJOR conversion

94idi

New member
Hey everyone!

I've been reading this forum for the last 6 months in preparation for the start of my project - and decided (since I have finally begun) that I ought to make a small build thread to summarize the build, what challenges I've faced, and (undoubtedly) some of the questions I may have.

As is obviously apparent - I picked up a 94 E-350 conversion van with a high top and a non turbo IDI 7.3. The van itself, while it came from New York - was pretty decently taken care of, and other than what I would consider standard surface rust on the frame, is not bad at all. So far no broken fasteners - which is grea

I ordered a 6" kit from Chris - of which I have most of what I need now, and have to make one more trip up there to get springs and fox shocks (singles). No surprise there, the kit seems very well engineered, high quality parts made in the US - and extremely well packaged. Can only recommend it!

I picked up a front Dana 60, and rear Sterling 10.5 with a LSD out of an '04 F350 which I am VERY happy with. The full axles, plus brakes, rotors, brackets, sway bars and driveshafts for less than a grand:) Donor truck had less than 93k miles, and was clearly ALWAYS in the south..everything has been very nice to work on. I have replaced inner axle oil seals, outer dust seals, ujoints, hub seals, and ball joints.

As far as the conversion itself - so far I have removed all the suspension, installed and painted front spring hangers, and need to dive into the shackle sleeve and crossmember cutting. Probably this week.

I will work on posting some pics of progress soon as I figure out where I'm going to host them, but had a couple quick questions.

1. I have replaced upper and lower ball joints with Moog. The drivers side knuckle, upon reassembly, seems to be fine - relatively little resistance for new joints.

The passenger side, however, after first installation, was EXTREMELY tight and difficult to turn..as in, I could barely turn the knuckle by hand without bracing my foot agains the pinion to keep the axle on the jack stands. I took the knuckle off, pressed out the lower ball joint again, found I was able to actually press the upper ball joint back in a tiny bit more, and reassembled the lower and knuckle. At this point, it is better, but still much stiffer than drivers side.

I have read a bit that this is a common problem with Moogs - has anyone here ever experienced this? I bought a cheapo duralast last night out of frustration - and at this point am trying to decide if I replace the lower to eliminate the stiff steering I anticipate, or assume Moog did it right, and it will loosen up with a few miles..any advice from you seasoned guys?

2. Second questions is regarding upper shock mounts. In Chris' guide he references the front shocks "lean back" - that the lower shock mount is farther forward than the upper. Without having the lower shock mounts available, how should I know what angle I need to weld the upper mounts at in order to accomodate this lean? Or am I overthinking this;)

All in all - looking forward to the build, and sharing it with you all. Thanks in advance to what I am sure will be some helpful advice as I go thorugh this!

This forum is fun to read!

Thanks,

G
 

ujoint

Supporting Sponsor
Welcome to Expo, thanks for posting. The upper shock mounts are cut to fit the bucket at the angle so just center them on the former coil retaining hole and burn em as pictured in the instructions.
 

94idi

New member
Great. Probably should have just test fit them and would have figured that out. Thanks for the advice.

How stiff/tight are assembled knuckles on your builds Chris - have you experienced this before with the Moog ball joints?
 

94idi

New member
I finished torquing everything up per instructions, and after cycling it a bit today, I am feeling much better about the stiffness..entering what I would consider to be a normal amount of resistance..

Thanks!
 

94idi

New member
Grrr....went a little (ok a lot) overboard in my interpretation of "its a tight fit" in reference to the steering arm install on the knuckle, and proceeded to mess up all the threads in the knuckle...now I need to drill them all out to the next size up and tap...I have a bunch of 14 x 1.5 taps - what do you guys think - too big? Otherwise - I will wake up at 3am and go join the crowds at Sears for a 9/16 - xx tap set tomorrow morning:)

On other news - got the rear axle and springs out in one hour - had to destroy one rusty brake line in the process but that will get replace..

I will try and post a couple pics later on.

Thanks

g
 

94idi

New member
So I started reading about steering arm repair / knuckle repair, and got mired in a LOT of wheeler advice that hardened studs and conical lug nuts are the only way to go..etc etc..

My original plan was to drill it out, re-tap to M14 x 1.5, and be done with it..any reason I shouldn't just do this?

Also - calling all the axle/driveshaft experts - can I buy an adaptor to go from the companion flange on the sterling, to my existing driveshaft (I plan on driving it in 2wd mode probably for a bit)..

Thanks as always..

-g
 

ujoint

Supporting Sponsor
So I started reading about steering arm repair / knuckle repair, and got mired in a LOT of wheeler advice that hardened studs and conical lug nuts are the only way to go..etc etc..

My original plan was to drill it out, re-tap to M14 x 1.5, and be done with it..any reason I shouldn't just do this?

Also - calling all the axle/driveshaft experts - can I buy an adaptor to go from the companion flange on the sterling, to my existing driveshaft (I plan on driving it in 2wd mode probably for a bit)..

Thanks as always..

-g

Bummer on the stripped holes. No need for conical washers and studs on this particular setup since the arm is keyed to the knuckle 2 ways. Open up, tap and bolt it down.
 

94idi

New member
Thanks Chris..my intent in posting questions here was not to bother you via email...seems you're everywhere anyways:)

Tapping away!
 

ujoint

Supporting Sponsor
No worries, either way is fine.

For the record, the RSC knuckles from Dynatrac use conical washers and studs because the top of the knuckles are flat, no keyway.
 

devo 1

Adventurer
So I started reading about steering arm repair / knuckle repair, and got mired in a LOT of wheeler advice that hardened studs and conical lug nuts are the only way to go..etc etc..

My original plan was to drill it out, re-tap to M14 x 1.5, and be done with it..any reason I shouldn't just do this?

Also - calling all the axle/driveshaft experts - can I buy an adaptor to go from the companion flange on the sterling, to my existing driveshaft (I plan on driving it in 2wd mode probably for a bit)..

Thanks as always..

-g
http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...Build-The-quot-RDV-quot?p=1764978#post1764978
 

94idi

New member
Wow thanks Devo!

Exactly what I need..I was not loving the idea of some fancy companion flange just to continue running 2wd.

-g
 

94idi

New member
Hey all. I will try to get some pics up later tonight..making great progress and hope to have the van back up in the air this weekend.

One question - how are you guys coating your tanks after cutting/welding?

I bought POR15 sealer, but I know I am supposed to etch it with their Metal Prep stuff, but I don't know if I want to coat the entire inside of an otherwise nice tank..any thoughts? Can I POR15 just the end cap?

Thanks!

-g
 

94idi

New member
Hey All! It's been a year since I've posted - but I wanted to finally start updating this thread! Progress has been steady, some ups and downs, but I will start with some pictures of the beginning and go from there.

1. Screwed up high steer - referenced in the post above:

I started verifying that my re-drilled arm was lined up with the larger holes drilled in the knuckle:

IMG_2042_zpsdzemxlkt.jpg


Then I got these things from an old machinist at work - you just thread them in, and theres a special tool to drive those four hardened pieces through the threads I tapped in the knuckle - locking them in place.
IMG_2040_zpssrbuuhrh.jpg


Like this:
IMG_2041_zpsxjivhtu2.jpg


I dont have a picture of it on, but you get the picture - success! I was able to finish putting the axle together, and get it ready for installation once the springs arrived!
 

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