Inkog's M416 Project

[Inkog]

Tear Down

My kayaking/camping trip got cut short this weekend as my girlfriend came down with some sort of bug so we headed home early. This gave me most of the afternoon Sat. and all day Sun. to work on the teardown. I've seen people strip these things down for sandblasting to varying degrees, but I decided that a complete teardown was the best way to go. Most everything came off without too much trouble except for few notable exceptions. PB Blaster, a propane torch, and a small rotary cutoff tool were required to get the job done.

All said and done, it took me about 20 hours to get it completly apart. It was hot and near 100% humidity this weekend, so I took it slow and easy with lots of cold beer breaks to ponder the possibilities...

The 4 reflectors were a pain. Most of the flathead bolts had to be cut off.

The underside of the tub was in surprisingly good shape.

Not surprisingly, the worst rot I found was around the drain plugs. It took everything in my arsenal to get these things off. Note the broken screw extractor.. those things aren't cheap

I'm not certain if these springs are reusable or not. How can I tell if they need to be replaced? They look OK to me... I'm hoping I can just replace the bushings, but I'm no expert. This is the only picture I have of them currently. I will take some more tonight, but they are already off the chassis.

I have more pics from Sunday, but I suspect most folks are interested in the build-up not so much the tear-down J

 

[Inkog]

Almost done.

Here are some better pictures of the springs. Anyone see any reason why they can't be reused?

Thanks!

 

[I Leak Oil]

If there are no broken leaves then you should be fine with reusing them. Take them apart, clean them, put them back together and spray bomb them.

 

[Inkog]

Progress but nothing to show for it yet...

Just a quick update.

I dropped the trailer off at my sandblaster/painter last night. I should have it back by Friday but I've got another camping / kayaking trip planned for the weekend so it will be Sunday or Monday before I get to start putting it all back together. I really got a killer deal, he is going to do a 2 part epoxy coat to the entire thing then give it another coat of semi gloss black for $280.00. Way more than I expected for the $$

I found a replacement NOS lunette for $120.00. I'll post my source once I get it ordered. I'm afraid he has a limited suppy. He's got NOS drain plugs too $10 each.

Ive decided to spring for a new Dexter 3500# axle with a 5x4.5 stud circle, ez-lube (no hub removal or replacing seals to lube) electric brakes and a parking break feature to retain the original functionality. After some calling around $296.00 looks like the best price anywhere around me. Drop shipping was doable, but at ~$100.00. I'll be making the hour drive to pick it up for no additional shipping cost. Looks like I'm going to go with a 55 1/2" hub face. 55 1/2" will keep my 33x10.5' pretty much under the stock fenders but I'll have slightly less than an inch clearance to the tub. (5.5" backspacing on my wheels) I may go another 1" overall to be on the safe side???

*update* i'm going for 56" HF to HF this will give me a full 1 1/8" clearance from the sidewall to the tub and if I ever go to 35's they should fit w/ rims that have less backspacing.

Replacement shackles and greasable spring bolts were just ordered from JCwhitney. These are CJ2/CJ3 parts. ~$50.00

I'm looking for a RV wiring harness since I'm going to have to wire up breaks now.

 

[fjcruzn]

Looking good! Keep the pics coming!

cheers,

dale

 

[Inkog]

New Life

I picked the trailer up from the media blaster last night. I was pleased to find out that there was no hidden rot and only a little bondo on one of the fenders that I was planning on replacing anyway. He coated the entire thing in a thick epoxy coat then sprayed a semi-gloss black enamel topcoat. There are some signs of brush marks on the tub from the thick epoxy coat that I will probably have to sand out some, but otherwise I think it turned out just fine considering the $280 it cost me. He said it took 7 bags of slag to get all the layers of paint off.

I hope to make some progress today, but my garage is still a disaster from the camping trip this weekend and needs some attention first.

Sorry for the bad pictures, it was dark and one of my lights in the garage is out.

 

[Inkog]

Progress

I got about as far as I can on the frame till the shackles come in. All new grade 8 hardware going into the frame components. ($43.00!) I sent the a-frame u-bolts to the blaster with instructions not to paint them… they came back epoxied and painted. It's a good thing I had the right die to clean them up as I've not been able to find replacements.

I got the new bearings and seals from Frontline yesterday so I tore down the hubs and will work on rebuilding them tonight. Removing races is a royal pain in the ***, but I eventually got them out. The bearings themselves were in real bad shape, but I lucked out and the shafts are good with no pitting on the bearing surfaces.

What is the best way to clean the grease and grime out of the hubs to prep them for new bearings? (*update* Break Cleaner works wonders)

 

[Inkog]

Rebuilding hubs is the suck

I started rebuilding the hubs last night... and got 1 side done. Unless your into this sort of thing or really strapped for cash, I suggest you take your hubs to a shop and have someone else rebuild them. Allthough it took quite a while, I managed to get the new races installed and the bearings packed. The inner seal however would not go in for me no matter what I tried. It was like trying to get a square peg into a round hole. I ended up bending one of the new seals and will have to order another... a $20 & 7 day setback.

Anyone know the secret for installing these seals???

I'm dreading doing the other side tonight... Hopefully the shackles will come in and give me an excuse to put it off another day

Newly installed races:

 

[Inkog]

Shackles came in. Now I just need to finish the other hub, find some u-bolts and shocks, and I'll have a rolling chassis.

I still haven't made up my mind on doing a SOA or not so I'm still not clear on which shocks. I think I'm leaning toward keeping it sprung under as I've heared they get kinda tippy and it sits nice and level now. I may change my mind after the new 4" lift goes on the Jeep next month.

 

[Cruiser]

If you have a nice big 1/2 drive socket that is larger than the seal put a 4" extension in the open end and use the nice flat side against the new seal. Tap on the extension with a hammer,, like having a seal/bearing installer.. Just go slow and keep it straight..

 

[RAZORBACK]

Pita

I started rebuilding the hubs last night... and got 1 side done. Unless your into this sort of thing or really strapped for cash, I suggest you take your hubs to a shop and have someone else rebuild them. Allthough it took quite a while, I managed to get the new races installed and the bearings packed. The inner seal however would not go in for me no matter what I tried. It was like trying to get a square peg into a round hole. I ended up bending one of the new seals and will have to order another... a $20 & 7 day setback.

Anyone know the secret for installing these seals???

I'm dreading doing the other side tonight... Hopefully the shackles will come in and give me an excuse to put it off another day

Newly installed races:

I feel your pain with the seals. I used the NOS seals and you have to work them around until you get less than a half inch section sticking out then I used a flat head screwdriver to "guide" that little piece in while hitting the back with a rubber mallet. It is a royal pain in the *****.

 

[Inkog]

comming together

Here she is back on her feet, in time to haul gear up to my camp this weekend. She needs new shoes pretty bad, but the axle and wheels will have to come first. Unfortunatly the Jeep needs some suspension work ASAP, so the axle and lid will have to wait a couple of weeks as the lift kit is the next priority.

I'm really happy with the progress so far. I know you guys are waiting for this to turn into a Expedition Trailer... so am I... SOON™

 

[Inkog]

Maiden voyage:

 

[Inkog]

Back at it

I'm finally starting to get to the point where I can make some progress on the trailer.

I got a good deal on a new MIG wealder and picked up a tank of argon. It's been nearly 15 years since I've welded, and that was stick, so I've spent the past few weeks getting down my technique. I've welded up everything around thats needed it, and a whole lot more that didn't . I've been quite impressed with the setup. I got a wide view auto-darkening helmet on the way to replace the hand held shield that came with the setup. I'm certain having two hands is going to make things alot easier.

I just left the local fab shop and they are going to bend and cut up the sheet for my lid. I'm going to weld it all up once they are done sometime early next week. I am still going with the design I posted early on. The plan is to have it done before the Labor Day camping trip next weekend.

I've been tossing around the idea of picking up a new JK Rubicon, so I've put off the axle/wheel/tire upgrade until I make up my mind.

I'll post picks of the lid fab as soon as I'm able.

 

[Inkog]

Well, its been a while, but I'm back at. :victory: The one week wait for the fab work turned into 4.

I think the lid turned out great so far. It is really stout and weighs in at an aceptable 75lbs. The ribs in the top help keep it rigid and will keep water from pooling. I still have a little welding and a lot of grinding to get done.

Still waiting on hinges, latches, and gas struts.

I picked up a bunch of 1" square tube last week, so fenders, a rear bumper and stablizers will be comming soon.

More to come.