"I had a dream last night that I was done and driving the truck. That has got to be a sign, but of what?"
Day 11
Day 10 has come and gone and now so has Day 11. Day 11 ended on a much higher note than the days prior. By the end of the night I had one side of the suspension mounted, installed, and working. But it is all going to have to come off one last time to finish it up.
You can see in the photos of the lower link frame mounts that there is a plate, un-welded, behind it on the frame. This is the reason for removing the mounts one last time. Any critical suspension parts or things welded to the frame should always be plated to help prevent cracking in the heat affected zone (HAZ) and to just add strength and rigidity in general to the important part.
Along with getting the frame mounts set I was also able to bolt the lower link in place and set the mount on the axle. The position of these lower link mounts determined the pinion angle of the axle. They were first tack welded on with the heim in place and the arm attached to the axle and frame. Then once they were positioned the heim and arm were removed and replaced with a slug of equal size so that the heim would not be damaged by weld splatter or heat.
The plan for tonight, Day 12, is to copy the link mount placement from the passenger side to the driver side. Once they are both in place and installed I can finish assembling the axle and start on the tube work.
Jason Gonderman
Online Editor
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