Project Murphy Build

[fwak1234]

First off let me say this is my first 4r and I love it. It's a 1991 SR5, 3.0, 5 speed, and 4x4. Got it for a mere $500 because the PO thought the head gasket was blown but after gas testing it, came up as good. Next was to fix the P/S leak issue which has turned into a semi nightmare because I do not feel like changing the pump vacuum valve. Plugged the valve back side and seems to be holding finally after about 4 tries. Next did a full tune up and discovered the PO was night the brightest because 2 plugs were finger tight, and two boots weren't fully locked onto the plug. Then came the fun part. I decided to go with a 4-5" Rough Country instead of going with a 2" OME. Hell it as a hundred dollars more and liked the components that were included in the lift and it is mostly just going to e a trail rig and weekend warrior. First let me say the kit is nice, components are solid, rides very smooth, and had no issues with the kit components. The truck on the other hand the truck made it out the be a challenge, hence why I am calling the truck Murphy now. All shocks were insanely frozen and were a giant @$$ pain to get out, rear passenger bump stop bracket broken (now going to pt straps in the back), front say links broke (will just leave it out for now), rear driver camber bolt decided to freeze in the A arm so I had to pound the H3!! out of it which messed up 3 thread (filed threads out and finally got it together), and the rear springs did not want to go in (fought for about 1.5 hours). Love the new look and the way it drives now. Well here are some pictures for now, I'll update when I go pick it up from getting the tires put on. Planning on putting in a new engine (probably stay 3.0), rear locker, and some other things. Will post up progress pictures as I go.

 

[Bad_Vision]

Good buy!

 

[fwak1234]

Thanks man, I'm digging it a lot. And I don't think a half shaft is supposed to look like the one in the picture. More work before hitting the trails.

 

[fwak1234]

Well go the shoes all mounted up, digging them so far. Can't wait to actually get it off the pavement and test them out. 33x12.50x15 Mud Claw Radials. Also the stock 4.56 gearing is not too bad, not a race car by any means but not a beached whale. Pretty happy with the current setup. Also need to line the front end up but that will happen next weekend. Keeping it parked for the week and just drive the truck until I get the front end all set, replaced the BJ's while I was doing the lift and no more knock when hitting bumps or the feel that the right wheel is going to fall off.

Edit: Also will probably drop the front down a bit via the T-Bars so it will appear a little more level and a little less trophy truck like.

 

[norrisbiker]

Well go the shoes all mounted up, digging them so far. Can't wait to actually get it off the pavement and test them out. 33x12.50x15 Mud Claw Radials. Also the stock 4.56 gearing is not too bad, not a race car by any means but not a beached whale. Pretty happy with the current setup. Also need to line the front end up but that will happen next weekend. Keeping it parked for the week and just drive the truck until I get the front end all set, replaced the BJ's while I was doing the lift and no more knock when hitting bumps or the feel that the right wheel is going to fall off.

Edit: Also will probably drop the front down a bit via the T-Bars so it will appear a little more level and a little less trophy truck like.

Looking good.

How does the 3.0 pull those big meats? The 4 banger I had in mine had to struggle when I added 9.50's to it.

 

[fwak1234]

Looking good.

How does the 3.0 pull those big meats? The 4 banger I had in mine had to struggle when I added 9.50's to it.

It actually doesn't too bad at all. I stretch the gears out a bit as is, true test will be when I get off pavement. And I don't use 5th unless on the highway. Helps me out because it is not a daily driver, so it being a little sluggish doesn't kill me. If it was a daily I would have 5.29's and a little less aggressive tires.

 

[Chipper78]

Where in Richmond are you?

 

[fwak1234]

Where in Richmond are you?

I am right near Hull and Genito (Southern Side of Genito behind the Walgreens).

 

[BigRyan1986]

Nice runner. I like mine. I wish i had a bigger lift then 4"'s though. Im going to put a 3" body on when i redo my engine. along with some other crap

 

[fwak1234]

Time to update a little bit: Since last post I have knocked out a few things, none of which are picture wise in my opinion.

-Timing belt, water pump
-New P/S pump, surge valve, and vacuum lines
-Mile Marker locking hubs
-ADD delete
-New drivers side axle
-Tune up
-Coolant Flush
-Quick routed the CB
-New CD player
-Light bar
-Completely removed grill for light bar
-Been stock piling fluids, parts, recovery gear

Other than that it's been kind of slow. Still have a few things left to finish up before I take it out on the first trek. Biggest one is fixing the stupid ******* idle surge. Going to attempt to bypass the coolant portion of the TB next weekend. Also plan on fitting, and welding up my rear limiting straps. Going to cut the factory grill to slide it past the light bar for the time being until I decide to custom make one.
Truck is running like a champ minus the idle surge and the ADD delete/new hubs seems to make a difference. Will know for sure next time I fill up since I was averaging about 8 MPG.

 

[fwak1234]

So took Murphy out over the weekend for a feeler run. Truck did very well in my opinion on the trails. I did a few last minute mods and repairs; heater core bypass (leaking) and ISR. Truck ran great on the way to the trails, did well on the trails up until it felt like I was dragging a sea anchor, checked underneath multiple times and finally disconnected the parking brake. Felt like it made a difference because I could actually get the rear tires to break traction on dirt/loose ground. While driving home the rear end gave out on me at the top of a mountain. Turns out I may have been a dumb*** and not realized that I never checked the rear end for fluid level or I potentially cracked the third member when bouncing around the rock gardens. Will know for sure tomorrow when I get home from work and clean it up a bit and take a look. Talked to a local offroad specialty shop and was quoted around 2k to re-gear to 5.29s and a rear locker. I would do the gears and locker myself but I do not have the shop location and I do not have enough knowledge or experience to tackle this. I figured go ahead and leap to the 5.29 in the thought that I will be going to 35's in the next year or two, and since it is not a daily I don't need to worry too much. Would post pictures but the attachment feature is kind of being a PITA. Will try again tomorrow.

 

[fwak1234]

So spent about half of my weekend tearing down and reinstalling the new gears. Got the rear completely done, and would have completed the front as well but I unfortunately received the wrong front third member. Decided to go with 5.29 and a Spartan locker in the rear. I am planning to drive to the company that built the thirds with my factory front tomorrow and see if they can built it up for me. The reason the rear blew out was due to a clogged breather, which let the pressure build up too high and blew the diff seal. Made a new breather than runs to the top of the frame to hopefully avoid this happening again. For some reason I can't add the pictures. Will try again in a little bit. Hoping to have Murphy all done by Tuesday night.

 

[fwak1234]

Well figured I would do a quick update since it's been a while. Murphy now has a homemade front bumper with 9k Badlands winch, new alternator, optima blue top, and that's about it at the moment. The even better news is that tomorrow 09JUL16 I am going to be picking up three 3rd Members and two axle housings. One of them just happens to be a solid front (bet you can't see where this is going). Planning to run a 4" total leaf up front and keep the coils in the rear for a little bit longer. Will still be running 5.29's and 33's for the rest of the calendar year then will be bumping up to probably 37's. I will try to do better about posting up some pictures of the build progress. Also will be painting the truck Satin black once the solid axle is done. My goal is to have it done by end of September.

 

[fwak1234]

Well I finally got almost everything wrapped up on the SAS. All this is left is to put in the new driveshaft when it arrives, bleed the brakes (air in the master), and replace driver side axle seal. This swap was pretty insane but all in all I am very happy with it, for anyone looking into doing a solid axle swap on a second generation I would warn you it is a lot of metal work. So if you don't have a decent background in welding and fabrication I would contract someone to help out. 3" Trail Gear HD kit also went ahead and did the following; valve cover gaskets, hand throttle, 35" BAJA Claws, new pads, projector headlights, HID conversion, and a few minor tweaks. Next on the list is modding in a hand parking break (not the stupid stock pull handle), switch operated electric fan, and some new LED fog lights. Here is some eye candy for the guys and gals.

 

[fwak1234]

A few teasers from testing out the articulation, largest mound I have at my shop and its a little under 3 foot. Wasn't even close to maxing out the front end. Shackle angle still isn't perfect but springs are no where near settled. See how it looks by the weekend, right now the are at about 80* parked and only get back to about 60-70* when testing them out.

 

[Dropzone]

just out of curiosity how far forward of the front cross member did you mount your front spring hanger? How is your shackle angle?
Hopefully the springs settle somewhat.

you might consider bracing that front spring hanger, they put a lot of strain on the frame (i cracked the frame on my 81) and i have seen several other cases of it
i ended up doing something like this


much easier to add now than after it cracks, mine was a PITA to fix

 

[fwak1234]

just out of curiosity how far forward of the front cross member did you mount your front spring hanger? How is your shackle angle?
Hopefully the springs settle somewhat.

you might consider bracing that front spring hanger, they put a lot of strain on the frame (i cracked the frame on my 81) and i have seen several other cases of it
i ended up doing something like this


much easier to add now than after it cracks, mine was a PITA to fix

I have to the lateral square tube flush the front of the frame. The perches only stick out the 1 1/8 inch. As for the frame I braced it when I cut the IFS out. The springs had settled a little bit when I went by my shop. Angle is about 80* last time I looked at it, that's sitting still no load. When articulating the axles they got to about 50-55*. That was only with weight on for about 24 hours in both cases. Going to swing by the shop tomorrow and take another peak at the truck and see how it is sitting. If it isn't settling like I think it should I will bite the bullet, cut the perch welds out and move the perch back about 1/2-3/4" to see if that settles it out.

 

[fwak1234]

Well I haven't posted many updates for a while because I was just enjoying the truck for the most part.

Took two leafs out of the front springs to make them softer and get more articulation, made a square tube front D/S, snapped my rear D/S in half in Uwharrie so I made a new center section out of 3" DOM, and my most recent project is.....CHOPPING THE BACK END OFF MUAHAHAHA

Will post some pictures of it when I get it fully welded in, make the flatbed section, and have the gas tank fully relocated.