Rear Axle 3

After a test fit we finish welded the axle.. I'm confident in my flux core MIG welder.  We doubled up some of the welds on the control arms to be safe.  Also added some welds where the tube meets the center pumpkin, that's to help prevent twisting the tube within the housing, recommended but not absolutely necessary for light 4 wheeling.Painted the ford 8.8 with Rustoleum flat black and fit it under the jeep. Looks like it belongs there.A couple things to point out since this was my first custom axle rodeo.  Lessons that I learned so you don't have to.

• The track bar bracket has 3 holes. Depending on whether you have a suspension lift and how will determine which hole you use.
• I've determined I need an adjustable rear track bar to accurately center the axle housing under the Jeep.
• When you're installing the axle and bolting it back in start with the lower control arms and then uppers, don't forget to get your pinion angle close so everything goes in easier and lift the axle so it's close to it's final location vertically.
• The suspension has to be compressed to get the track bar in where it should be.
• Compressing the springs to reattach all the arms and pieces is absolutely necessary.
• A little bit of elbow grease goes a long way.
• I modified my pinion angle to 12 degrees for less stress on the drive shaft and related components. If I need to adjust this later I will order adjustable lower and or upper control arms.  We'll see how it goes.

I'll be attaching the brakes and drive shaft later this week.  More to come on those details.