OK update time!
The cap off the rear diff lock actuator came up ok after a few coats of paint, not perfect as it is a bit pitted, but ok.
I stuck the magnets back in position with silicon.
And bolted it all back together.
Refitted it to the diff, but the diff lock still wouldnt engage when turning the switch.
Then I found some damaged wiring that goes to the diff lock actuator, attached to the chassis at the back end one of the vehicle.
That got soldered and heat shrunk.
But still the bloody thing wont work.
So I will need to follow all the problem solving procedures in the FSM.
The big job over the last few weeks has been the rear bumper.
I put some masking tape on the body work to protect the paint work and started working out where I needed to cut my freshly folded steel in order to create the rear bumper.
The end behind the rear wheels would need cutting on an angle, the same as the body work so that the standard mud flaps would work.
And the other end needed cutting out to fit around the rear lights.
I made a cut which allowed the wing to fit inside the rear section a little.
And then marked the other cuts.
Couldnt decide how best to do the notch around the lights.
But in the end I went for a nice round cut out.
A bit more cutting.
Followed by a cardboard template of the piece of steel I would need to fill in the corner with.
Once I was happy with the sections I had cut for the passenger side I copied those measurements onto the drivers side sections and cut them so both sides were identical.
And clamped them in position.
Started tacking it together with the MIG.
I cut the steel for the corners.
And bent them in the vice.
Tacked in position.
Other side.
I needed to fill in around the rear lights next.
Clamped a sheet of copper underneath the rear section, the reason being if I just used normal steel then it would probably end up welded to the bumper, where as by using a piece of non ferrous copper underneath there is no chance of it sticking to the ferrous steel above.
Next I needed to fill in the rounded section but as the little sheet metal roller I've got is only meant for 1mm sheet I couldnt roll the sheet myself.
Instead I cut a section out of some pipe.
Last piece went in.
And then the whole thing could be removed to be fully welded.
Back to the bumper the next day and I had turned the car around as I had taken it for a test drive.
The passenger side was all welded.
But the drivers side wasnt.
So the same as the other side...........
Opted to do all the cutting and grinding outside this time though as the amount of dust in the garage from the previous day was crazy!
Cut the end cap pieces.
And set about welding them on.
This weeks top tip.
If your going to be grinding the welds down afterwards as you want nice rounded corners, never cut the metal to come right to the edge, otherwise you will end up grinding all your weld away and whatever your making will fall apart.
Instead you want the edges to be set back roughly the thickness of the metal, so in this situation 3mm all the way round.
To manage distortion from all the welding heat going into the metal, put plenty of little tacks on all the way round.
Dont make the tacks too big or they will affect the weld going all the way around and could cause little bumps.
Once tacked its time to run round with the MIG.
I genuinely believe you could teach monkeys to MIG weld, it really isnt difficult!
Sure it takes practice to get good welds but its not difficult. Once the gas pressure, wire speed and amps are all set properly on the machine its just a case of having the correct torch angle, keeping the torch the correct distance from the metal and moving along at the correct speed for what speed you have the machine set to.
For these welds all I did was move along with the torch, no weaving, wiggling, nothing, nice comfortable position, steadying myself on the bench and weld.
Once that one was welded I did the same on the other section and then they were both almost finished.
I needed to make the brackets to attach them next.
So I nipped out and got some steel.
Cut the 100mm x 100mm x 6mm angle first.
Marked where the holes needed to be to pick up on 2 of the chassis cross member captive nuts.
Decided as I didnt want any visible fixings on my bumper, to use M8 bolts through the captive M10 nuts in the chassis.
So bolted the angle sections in position and then spot welded the M8 nuts on.
Then I tacked the bumper sections to the angle.
Cut some more 3mm sheet for the other mounts, these will be sandwiched between the 10mm thick towbar mounts and the chassis.
Used some punches to mark through the cardboard for where the chassis captive nuts are.
Then marked and drilled the 3mm sheet.
Bolted them in position.
And tack welded them to the bumper section.
I looked at how the plastic sections will look when they bolt back on next.
And realised I'd cocked up.
So I would need to weld some more steel on to fill in the gaps.
Decided I'd come back to that once the bumper sections were next removed and instead turned my attention to the other mounts that were necessary to add some much needed strength to the wings.
For this I used 75mm x 10mm steel.
Apologies for the dark pics, but these are the brackets pushed into position.
Found some mounting bolts for them.
And marked and center punched them ready for drilling.
Drilled them on the pillar drill.
And bolted them to the chassis.
Cut a 200mm long piece of 100mm x 6mm corner to corner.
And welded it to my brackets as a gusset to add lots of strength.
To avoid putting too much heat into my brackets and distorting them and because it didnt really need continuous weld all the way around, I chose to do alternate 50mm fillet welds.
As the exhaust needed to come through the rear bumper, so its fully protected off road, I need to put a 75mm hole through it.
Picked up a suitable hole saw.
And got drilling.
I designed it so that exhaust finishes just inside the rear bumper by 1-2mm.
Once I was happy with the exhaust I removed it to fully weld it.
I did encounter one major problem though that seriously annoyed me!
In order to get this last exhaust section up and over the chassis at the back I needed to remove the rear spring and shock on the passenger side.
It was sitting slightly out of alignment, but I had a plan to fix that.
I just needed to add a mount to pick up on the rubber exhaust mount bolted to the chassis.
As I couldnt weld a permanent mount to the exhaust as it was already too tight getting the S bend exhaust over and around the chassis, I picked up a 75mm exhaust clamp.
Bent up a piece of 2mm stainless steel and welded it to the exhaust clamp.
Slotted the holes to give me some adjustment.
Bolted it on and I was now able to pull the exhaust over to exactly where I wanted it.
I then removed the bumper sections and welded in those little plates on the top that were needed, fully welded the mounting brackets on, drilled some 40mm holes for my reverse lights and welded on some half chain links to hook the mudflap chains on to.
I then set the grinders up, one with an 80 grit flap wheel, the other a 60 and spent an hour smoothing all the welds down.
Before finally wiping them down with thinners and spraying them black with the spray gun.
*When were back in Melbourne and I can get good quality work done by reliable companies at a fair price again, they will get shot blast, electro plated and powder coated.
The next morning I got them on the bench and bolted the LED reverse lights in position.
And bolted them onto the car.
Started looking at how the plastics will fit.
I'm just waiting for my new rear step to arrive from Amayama and then I can finish bolting all the plastics on.
I also need to modify and fit the mudflaps and towbar.
