Possibly a slight change of plans. Instead of an Artec truss, I think I am looking at one from Barnes 4wd. Looks to be a little beefier than the Artec.
I’ve also decided to cut off the old EVO raised track bar brackets. The way the front one is designed, it gets in the way of the truss. The rear would be in the way as I try to get rid of some of this rust.
Some progress on the rear:
Before:
After:
It’s likely I will be cutting off the stock bracket as well, after I take a bunch of measurements, photos and diagrams. The Barnes bracket looks to be a replacement, rather than a bolt over.
Haven’t done much with the front. That’s coming soon. I am, however, thinking I might need new seals. The shafts have been sitting in the housing for quite a while, with no outer support of a bearing. I would have to think those seals are deformed by now with that weight sitting on them. It would be a lot easier to replace them now than after the axle is installed. I’ve never done anything like that. It looks easy enough, keeping the parts of the diff in the right order and configuration, seems to be the hardest part. At which point I would leave the shafts out until install day. Not sure what I am going to do with that.