turning of the knuckles

N-Smooth · Dec 1, 2003

okay so i am going to turn the knucks on my xj this weekend. it is a waggy d44 with leafs soa, the reason i am doing it is because i decided to go with srs. i have a couple of questions.

i was planning on going about it this way: set the new perches on the axle (unwelded) and put the weight of the jeep on them. turn the pinion up till i get the driveline angle i desire. tack the perches on and then remove the weight of the jeep. then, take the knuckles off (if not already done) and then place them on the axle level with the perches. reweld. i am also going to build two triangle gussets from the knuckle to the tube with some 3/8" i have leftover.
as far as removing the knucks i just grind the hell out of the factory welds and them get a bfh and pound them off right?

does that sound right? are the knucks and the perches supposed to be on the same angle? how much angle can you have without turning knuckles (i am doing it anyway)? would you guys trust your own welds or have a shop do it? i can turn the pinion up as far as i want just as long as the bearing still gets oil right(it won't be that far up anyway)? would a mig work well?
anything else i should know?

thanks,
-nate

p.s. if anyone wants to check it out or offer a hand i should be doing it this weekend at my uncle's in south jordan.

Caleb · Dec 1, 2003

well, a couple things:

1) if you are asking if we would trust our welds then you prolly shouldn;t do it yourself. I trust my welds 100% but it doesn;t seem like you trust your welds.

2) the knuckles are pressed on. I may be wrong but I think it will take more than a BFH to get them off.

3) no, the knuckle aren;t supposed to be the same abgle as the perches. that is part of your alignment (I think caster, I can never remember) and its set to a certain degree form the factory and thats why scout axles are usually not so good for swaps cause they have 0* caster. I think they should be between 7*-10*...

I would have a shop do it and get it done right...JMHO

N-Smooth · Dec 1, 2003

supergper said:
well, a couple things:

1) if you are asking if we would trust our welds then you prolly shouldn;t do it yourself. I trust my welds 100% but it doesn;t seem like you trust your welds.

2) the knuckles are pressed on. I may be wrong but I think it will take more than a BFH to get them off.

3) no, the knuckle aren;t supposed to be the same abgle as the perches. that is part of your alignment (I think caster, I can never remember) and its set to a certain degree form the factory and thats why scout axles are usually not so good for swaps cause they have 0* caster. I think they should be between 7*-10*...

I would have a shop do it and get it done right...JMHO

1)i knew someone was going to say that

i do trust my welds and after i posted it i realized i phrased it wrong.

2)what about a RRRBFH?

i have heard of people leaving the knucks on and hitting them with a hammer to make them turn... that way you don't have to press them back on ya know cause they would still be on there

3)yeah that is why i asked the question because i figured they weren't at the same angle... damn angles

on the shop thing, i meant to bring it up in the post that if i don't feel comfortable doing some of the things myself i will have someone that is experienced help me or take it to the shop. it wouldn't be a big deal to take it to a shop and have the knucks pressed off or welded. i could swing that. :-\

thanks for your honest opinion, that is exactly what i wanted.
more opinions from anyone, anyone?

-nate

Hickey · Dec 1, 2003

I would have a shop do it if I were you.

N-Smooth · Dec 1, 2003

Hickey said:
I would have a shop do it if I were you.

damn the numbers are against me today!! what if you were you??? does anyone want to do it for me?

Caleb · Dec 1, 2003

one way I have heard of guys doing it is to cut the tube and then turn it and splice it back together but you need to sleeve it to do that...I personally wouldn't do that but its another option...

Hickey · Dec 1, 2003

supergper said:
one way I have heard of guys doing it is to cut the tube and then turn it and splice it back together but you need to sleeve it to do that...I personally wouldn't do that but its another option...

I wouldn't do it that way either. FYI, you can not just turn the c's with a hammer without taking them off all the way.

Herzog · Dec 1, 2003

Maybe if you heat the them up really nice you could get them to turn. But even then you chance warping the 'C's.

Hickey · Dec 1, 2003

xj_punk said:
damn the numbers are against me today!! what if you were you??? does anyone want to do it for me?

If it were me it would be easy. I would charge a lot more than a shop would to do it again though.

brian · Dec 1, 2003

......it can be done......( is that what you wanted to hear

).with all the above...maybe a plasma cutter would help....the best advise above is get a shop to do it......you can grind the factory welds off as much as posible..( get your angles figured out first.......perch vs. knuckle.).....then use the plasma cutter to get deeper....it will then take the heat and the BFH to get them off......also a lot of chasing it around the garage......the down fall is once you start this project there is no backing out.....you cut or grind too much you may be screwed.......you may be biting off more than you can chew.......think about it before tear into it......

Hickey · Dec 1, 2003

brian said:
......it can be done......( is that what you wanted to hear ).with all the above...maybe a plasma cutter would help....the best advise above is get a shop to do it......you can grind the factory welds off as much as posible..( get your angles figured out first.......perch vs. knuckle.).....then use the plasma cutter to get deeper....it will then take the heat and the BFH to get them off......also a lot of chasing it around the garage......the down fall is once you start this project there is no backing out.....you cut or grind too much you may be screwed.......you may be biting off more than you can chew.......think about it before tear into it......

Plasma isn't the way, you have to use a blade. You have to cut through the weld, and the part of the c that the weld penetrates into.

brian · Dec 1, 2003

Hickey said:
Plasma isn't the way, you have to use a blade. You have to cut through the weld, and the part of the c that the weld penetrates into.

.......may not be "the way" but it works......like I said or agreed with "let a shop do it "....the weld usually isn't much further than a grinder will reach...

brian · Dec 1, 2003

.......somethin' else I just thought of... If my memory serves my right ( and it doesn't always )..isn't that axle tube flared on the ouside???.....if that's the case you will have to outsmart it....

Hickey · Dec 1, 2003

brian said:
.......somethin' else I just thought of... If my memory serves my right ( and it doesn't always )..isn't that axle tube flared on the ouside???.....if that's the case you will have to outsmart it....

No, it isn't. 44 knucks come off pretty easy, IF you cut through the weld pen. on the c. 60 knucks on the other hand....

cheapzuk · Dec 1, 2003

If you are just trying to get pinion angle than you could maybe rotate the diff instead of the nuckles then run a truss to stregthen it up.

Caleb · Dec 1, 2003

why the hell go through all this work for an offroad rig. I would just set your pinion weld up the perches and call it good. test it out and THEN decide if it is really necessary, I dont think it would be...in my experiences its not needed...I have had a waggy D44 in the front of my YJ that had 2.5" springs SOA so it was about 7"-8" of lift and it was not needed in my case.

brian · Dec 1, 2003

supergper said:
why the hell go through all this work for an offroad rig. I would just set your pinion weld up the perches and call it good. test it out and THEN decide if it is really necessary, I dont think it would be...in my experiences its not needed...I have had a waggy D44 in the front of my YJ that had 2.5" springs SOA so it was about 7"-8" of lift and it was not needed in my case.

....easy fella.

...nobody said it was necessary....just giving help on how to do it......

Hickey · Dec 1, 2003

supergper said:
why the hell go through all this work for an offroad rig. I would just set your pinion weld up the perches and call it good. test it out and THEN decide if it is really necessary, I dont think it would be...in my experiences its not needed...I have had a waggy D44 in the front of my YJ that had 2.5" springs SOA so it was about 7"-8" of lift and it was not needed in my case.

I agree. Waggy 44's have better pinion angle than a stock Chev 44 and way better than a Scout 44. I've never heard of anyone wanting to turn waggy knucks.

thornhill · Dec 1, 2003

When I mocked everything up in my TJ, it looked to me like I needed to turn my waggy knuckles. The pinion was almost pointing a lot lower than the 30 did.

bobdog · Dec 1, 2003

I just want to say that I think everyone should be talking you out of the shackle reversal instead of debating the knuckle turning.

turning of the knuckles

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