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The Scoob

SB9041XTT

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Cleaned up the OE rear axles. I'll dry fit them to be sure there's no interference. If that's good, I'll repack them and run them for a bit.

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Still no word on my DSS axles. I should be able to open up the Insane Shafts axles next week to see if they're worth running. As far as Trakmotives go, pre-pandemic-ish, they held up just fine. I have one and it's built well. All the newer ones have shitty machine work and not enough heat treatment. People are grenading CV bells left and right, and it seems that most don't realize that all the HD versions at the box stores are just Trakmotives that have been reboxed, rebranded, and marked up.
 
Poked some holes.

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Changed up the PCV routing for the time being.

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And got started on the Ford tone ring that I'll be putting on the pinion flange.

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Here be what I'm talking about in regards to the "heavy duty" CV axles. The thermoplastic boots are the same as cheap shock boots, so they'll crack open in no time. The bells are busting open after minimal use. What I've opened up shows negligent machine work.

No matter where you go, they're the same part from the same manufacturer, so you might as well pay the least because they're made in China.

Wonh Industries is shown as the manufacturer, while Trakmotive is said to be their marketing brand. Some of the box stores utilize a part number similar to Trakmotive's number. Others make up their own, to what I can assume is to make the upcharge and rebranding less noticeable.


Rock Auto


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Autozone


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Napa


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O'Reilly


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Autozone has the most easily abusable return policy if for some reason you want to buy one CV to outfit four cars...

The boots seem fine for an aftermarket CV.
 
arse_sidewards said:
Autozone has the most easily abusable return policy if for some reason you want to buy one CV to outfit four cars...

The boots seem fine for an aftermarket CV.
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I still have Trakmotive axle up front. Gonna run 'em and see how long that last while turning 31's at higher angles than the OE joints can handle.

Got two more SB8084's on the way. Going to keep working on splicing the axles. I'll probably get some DOM tubing that I can machine and press over all bells to help keep them together.

Word today is that my DSS order is on July 31st. Not sure if that's my turn to have them made, the day they ship out, or the day I see them.


Man, I love the amount of articulation the Trakmotive axles can provide, but damn their QC is down the drain. Since looking into them recently, the algorithms have given me all kinds of entertainment/disappointment that the the boots and bells have been lasting two weeks at best on so many vehicles. Even Autozone has refused to warranty some after the third set in two months.

I still have to open up that pair on Insane Shafts I got. They were supposed to be on par with Driveshaft Shop, yet they look exactly like they're nothing more that recoated Interparts HK axles and the company is pissing people off with their lack of response and short-lived axles.
 
I started to test the headlights out last night and discovered that these LED's have their own cooling fan :homer:

I foresee these croaking in an off-road-ish environment before long. TBD. I take my vehicles anywhere they will go and rarely put in effort to clean them or keep them out of filth.

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Tested out the projector headlights the other night. Going to mess with them a little to stabilize all the parts. The silicone washer that came with the projector kit allows for quite a bit of wiggle, even though I have the nut torqued down pretty good. I'm going to blob some silicone caulk around the plastic adjuster nuts because their fit is kinda sloppy. I hate those oncoming headlights that you see bouncing around.


Trakmotive SB8048's showed up to today and these ones have the rubber boots. Go figure. Maybe they're serviceable too!
 
JNHEscher said:
I started to test the headlights out last night and discovered that these LED's have their own cooling fan :homer:

I foresee these croaking in an off-road-ish environment before long. TBD. I take my vehicles anywhere they will go and rarely put in effort to clean them or keep them out of filth.
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Had some similar a while back. They never failed and that rig was never babied.
 
Major :homer: on the headlight swap. Guess I didn't get the memo that the Fozz headlights don't have the hub for the locking cover. So, I swapped some hardware around.

Also screwed up and wired the bulbs to the high beams. To save some mess and room, I'm just going to use spade connectors on all of them.

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Went to MO Wind and Solar grab some 2g cable for hooking up the Anti-Gravity battery. I have to order a few of the smaller lugs for the fuse block and battery posts.
 
Gettin' a little done on this.

x-member brackets are welded in, parts are painted, and all mounted.

Headlight are all closed up and mounted.

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Posted about this in the ibooster thread.

I pulled my vacuum booster out to get started on fitting up an ibooster. The mounting pattern started looking the same. Tried the gasket on the ibooster and it fit right on. Bolts right in and uses the same size and pitch studs.

I need to extend and adapt the push rod threads. Will get a pigtail ordered and figure what I want to do with the hydraulic lines.

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Almost finished assembling my OE rear axles and I couldn't find the c-clips for the outboard races. Ordered a few OE parts and got the wrong clips :homer:

So, I pulled out the latest Trakmotive set. Don't know what it is with Subaru changing the position of the c-clips in the R160. Even though I order axles for an '01 OB each time, some are machined with the chamfered groove to work with the clips in the side gears, and others are machined with the straight groove with the clips in the CV stubs.

Like a good backyard mechanic, I whittled a chamfer with a thin kerf cutoff wheel in my grinder. Axles are in.

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Not as peachy as it looks, right now. I'm working on dropping the rear diff again. Welded up that guard a few weeks ago on a Monday running on around 2 hours of sleep. Warped the diff housing. Slop in the pinion axis and I can turn it about 30 degrees by hand before it contacts ring teeth. :homer::mad3:

Just called Summit. New ship date for my rear Driveshaft Shop axles is 11/5. If I'm lucky, they may be a Christmas present to myself.
 
You didn't warp a diff that much by welding near it. And even if you did that's not gonna account for that much slop. Shit was fucked before.
 
arse_sidewards said:
You didn't warp a diff that much by welding near it. And even if you did that's not gonna account for that much slop. Shit was fucked before.
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Going by feel, 40-50 thou slop in the pinion axis. Still trying to get it out. Despite putting a hefty chamfer on the Crapmotive axles, the side gear clips won't release yet.
 
Dood. Just SAS it. Less work.
 

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Started on this heap in CO. Looked at SAS, but the cost of everything that state sucked. Gave up and kept building the IS.

Gonna run the diff. Slap it back in and get ready to mount the exhaust. New manifold gaskets arriving shortly. Think I can fire it up after that.
 
Speed sensor bracket is on. Kinda meh on the welds. Breezy and I haven't really any good shelter. Maybe I can spin some rubber next week while it's on jack stands and check everything over.
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Think I'll clean this up, hose it in something pretty, and call it good.
 
Took an R160 to the face yesterday. Rough week and trying to rush. Didn't work in my favor.

Hoisted the diff up with ratchets straps today. All went well. Oldest and I got the driveshaft on.

Fresh manifold gaskets are on. Hopefully slapping the rest of the exhaust on by week's end.

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Lo and behold, the DSS axles arrived. Same deep snap ring groove that I'll have to chamfer. Outer CV's of each will have to be machined and welded together in order to work on my car. At this point, I'm more motivated to just make the Trakmotive extended-length axles work.

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Started to put the rest of the exhaust on and realized that my transmission crossmember impedes. Had to get some new exhaust hardware. I'll see if I can squeeze the pipes in over the crossmember.

Honda Accord ibooster resi's from snivilous showed up today as well. Will be nice to be able to bleed the brakes.
 
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