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1998 R50 Revamping


jlduthie
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On 10/20/2019 at 9:48 PM, jlduthie said:

Slow going but front all back together, minus missing link for now.  Started the rear today - just shocks and coils for now but one issue: Even with the sleeves in the lower bushing of the Bilstein 5125 there's still play between the 1/2" ID of the sleeve and the 12 mm bolt, as you would expect. I haven't seen any mention of this issue on here (seems more commonly that the lower mounting bolts are 14mm and so too big for the sleeve).

 

In the event that I can't easily source a 5/8" OD / 12 mm ID sleeve, is there any downside to increasing the bores in the shock mounting bracket to 1/2" and just using new grade 8 bolts? Looks like lots of material to allow for this slight increase in hole diameter. 

What did you end up doing for the Bilstein 5125 lower bushing bolt and sleeve? I plan on installing the same shocks soon with the LR 9447 springs

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10 hours ago, VegasR50 said:

What did you end up doing for the Bilstein 5125 lower bushing bolt and sleeve? I plan on installing the same shocks soon with the LR 9447 springs

Drilled the mounts out to 1/2”. It’s a .028” increase in diameter so lots of material left.  Then just used the supplied 5/8 OD 1/2 ID sleeves with grade 8 bolts. 

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On 8/12/2020 at 9:18 AM, jlduthie said:

Drilled the mounts out to 1/2”. It’s a .028” increase in diameter so lots of material left.  Then just used the supplied 5/8 OD 1/2 ID sleeves with grade 8 bolts. 

Thanks, will be doing this soon

 

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  • 2 months later...
On 7/28/2020 at 7:09 AM, jlduthie said:

Hahaha Canadian speed holes. Haven’t heard that before but definitely using it. That’s the first carrier I’ve seen at yard in forever. They seem hard to come by too from this forum. 

I just picked up a carrier from the scrap yard today. I lucked out because the R50 I got it from wasn’t on the yard manifest yet.  
 

This may be a dumb question, but is there a way to mount this to a wd21 or an R50 that doesn’t have the mounting holes already? 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Been a while! The thread linked to the previous post is a fantastic resource. Just a couple small updates:

 

1) Earlier this year the exhaust rusted off aft of the muffler so replaced muffler and everything back. More aggressive than stock - sounds fantastic at 2500+ rpm with the pedal down - but as quiet as stock when cruising. 

2) Hella 450 fogs to replace stock. Removed a section from bumper to accommodate larger fogs, filled the voids, and prepped and painted entire bumper flat black.

gAdo9rz.jpg

 

3) Indicator for hubs locked/unlocked. Just an illuminating switch wired to ACC wire for head unit. 
GKntkRY.jpg

 

4) Full exterior LEDs minus front indicators, headlights, and fogs. Load resistors for rear indicators to avoid hyper flash; attached to inside of rear light housing with heat-conductive double sided tape. 
 

5) SFD kit from Pines to Spines is sitting in a shipping warehouse in Montana waiting for the border to open... 

 

No access to garage at the moment so likely that’s it for the winter, though I may try my hand at upholstery and repair the driver’s seat. Everything I’ve found in a yard has been pretty nasty looking. 
 

Major plans for next year or two include the rear tire carrier mod, new fenders at all 4 corners, new rockers, SFD kit with 33s, and possibly gear ratio change plus/minus Lokka for the front diff. I’ve toyed with the idea of a SAS for the front and a heavier rear axle along with a Cummins 4BT but that fab is on hold for a long while and I think that motor is just too heavy. 

 

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On 10/26/2019 at 11:08 AM, jlduthie said:

Thanks Ole_Rosie_R50!  After 21 Alberta winters I'm just glad it all seems like body rust and the structural bits seem relatively OK. 

 

All done for this year - unheated detached garage and Edmonton winter setting in haha. Body work next year, also steering rack and rear upper and lower trailing arms.

Front: OME MD springs, KYB GR-2 struts, SFCreation 1" spacer, new lower control arms, ball joints, inner and outer tie rod ends, sway bar links and bushings, missing link (1/4" x 1 1/2" steel bar stock)

Rear: LR 9447 coils, Bilstein 5125 (33-185552)

Wheels: ProComp Rock Crawlers with weights painted black

 

Before:

o9R8Yge.jpg


After:

6Jy0zAI.jpg

 

Here's what worries me the most — this rust above the windshield. Most other rusted panels I can find either at a JY (though mostly rusted through here) or can order bare panels, but the roof seems a) hard to find and b) I assume is difficult to replace anyways. Haven't done any bodywork before so can learn about that over the winter and try it next summer.  Any thoughts greatly appreciated!

6fQnG6L.jpg

 

 

Those Pro Comp Crawlers, are those the stock size? Or has anyone seen/heard of any 17" wheels being used? 

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18 hours ago, 98dreamer said:

Those Pro Comp Crawlers, are those the stock size? Or has anyone seen/heard of any 17" wheels being used? 

 

Yeah they're 15". 8" wide, -19 mm offset.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 11/23/2020 at 10:51 AM, jlduthie said:

Been a while! The thread linked to the previous post is a fantastic resource. Just a couple small updates:

 

1) Earlier this year the exhaust rusted off aft of the muffler so replaced muffler and everything back. More aggressive than stock - sounds fantastic at 2500+ rpm with the pedal down - but as quiet as stock when cruising. 

2) Hella 450 fogs to replace stock. Removed a section from bumper to accommodate larger fogs, filled the voids, and prepped and painted entire bumper flat black.

gAdo9rz.jpg

 

3) Indicator for hubs locked/unlocked. Just an illuminating switch wired to ACC wire for head unit. 
GKntkRY.jpg

 

4) Full exterior LEDs minus front indicators, headlights, and fogs. Load resistors for rear indicators to avoid hyper flash; attached to inside of rear light housing with heat-conductive double sided tape. 
 

5) SFD kit from Pines to Spines is sitting in a shipping warehouse in Montana waiting for the border to open... 

 

No access to garage at the moment so likely that’s it for the winter, though I may try my hand at upholstery and repair the driver’s seat. Everything I’ve found in a yard has been pretty nasty looking. 
 

Major plans for next year or two include the rear tire carrier mod, new fenders at all 4 corners, new rockers, SFD kit with 33s, and possibly gear ratio change plus/minus Lokka for the front diff. I’ve toyed with the idea of a SAS for the front and a heavier rear axle along with a Cummins 4BT but that fab is on hold for a long while and I think that motor is just too heavy. 

 

 

I'm on the exhaust now. Having finally got the 3.3 purring. 

You said, you went with an exhaust more aggressive than stock... can I ask for more detail on this? Brands, process and all please. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/18/2020 at 4:24 PM, 98dreamer said:

 

I'm on the exhaust now. Having finally got the 3.3 purring. 

You said, you went with an exhaust more aggressive than stock... can I ask for more detail on this? Brands, process and all please. 

Glad you got it working!!!

 

Just brought it to a local exhaust shop. Told them I wanted something a little more aggressive than stock that would still be reasonable at 110 kph on the highway. 
 

Brand is Flo-Pro. I’m not sure of the exact model (other than that it’s from the Max series) but this is the website: https://www.flopro.com/max.html

 

MWRrNIf.jpg
 

wfAtcID.jpg


uwL2FFB.jpg

 

rr6xh2j.jpg

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 11/29/2019 at 6:46 PM, jlduthie said:

Little update. LEDs bought for interior and brake lights but not in yet. New head unit installed. Bought from Crutchfield with kit and pretty much plug and play. Kit to concert from double to single DIN pushed the climate control panel up a bit but can live with that. 
 

https://imgur.com/gallery/PKVgM2d

 

Have an oxyacetylene welding course coming up in January, then lots of body work and hopefully paint next summer!

 

Holy smokes! Where did you get that fantastic carbon fiber trim piece, and did it come with the door trim as well? 

 

And your info and updates are great. Thanks a ton. 

 

Next issue for me is a slight hummm under acceleration at about 3k rpm in 2nd gear... 

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On 1/5/2021 at 8:03 PM, 98dreamer said:

Holy smokes! Where did you get that fantastic carbon fiber trim piece, and did it come with the door trim as well? 

 

And your info and updates are great. Thanks a ton. 

 

Next issue for me is a slight hummm under acceleration at about 3k rpm in 2nd gear... 

Faux carbon fiber came stock on this model for that year; I haven't replaced any interior trim. 

 

Good luck with that hum! Hopefully it's nothing major.

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  • 1 year later...

Can’t believe it’s been almost 2 years! Over the last 6 months finally got the move done and garage set up so have had a chance to get some stuff going again. 
 

Pines to Spines 4” SFD painted and ready to go:

YIC6MtQ.jpg
 

Driver’s strut tower - product of wet leaves collecting and behind and under air box:

kurw3L6.jpg
 

and fixed (though welding won’t win any beauty contests):

SFj4Wzi.jpg
 

 

Once the SFD is installed the front end will get rebuilt- new PS pump, rebuilt CVs, etc and onto the sheet metal on the windshield surround snd the rear end:

q0kP21c.jpg
 

it sure had been great to get back to working on the truck. Going to get my 3 yo going on it with me soon - every day he asks if we can fix the truck!

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  • 2 weeks later...

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