I like this method because it draws the stud in straight the whole time. Be careful not to let either clamp get too far ahead of the other and use something to protect the wheel mount surface from gouges and you should be good though 👍

@WebWheeler oh yeah that's a given. Gotta pull them in evenly and alternate. My dad actually used to have a massive c clamp with a cupped flat side and a sort of horseshoe welded on one end than a nut on the end of the threads that he made for drawing studs in. Worked amazing but idk what happened to it. This works great too tho

Sounds like a heck of a clamp! If I tried to press these studs on with the clamps I have they'd just blow up haha

@WebWheeler yeah it was like a 2 foot long hardened c clamp lol I still have a couple but not the one he fabbed up. I don't even know where one gets such a massive clamp anymore lol

Yes! I have the next build video and a video of the first drive almost done editing 👍

@@WebWheeler hell yeah ! thanks !

I did at first but it ended up going away once I swapped in the stock abs sensor from the Dakota instead of the Ford one. Bolted ring in- just needed to grind off a little guard that was cast into the sterling housing. Can't remember if that was before or after I regeared too - that might have affected it also. Good luck!

Acetone is great but can be a pain if you're trying to weld something with a lot of irregular surfaces or crevices. Hosing the parts with brake cleaner tends to be the easier way so it's how lots of people do it, which is why I made it a point to mention it in the video. Thanks for watching!

If you aren't worried about it holding together for long, it's worth a try haha. That carrier wont be usable anymore though if you wanted to switch to a Detroit or anything that reuses the 14 bolt carrier. Good luck!

4 links are superior to both in every way haha

@@WebWheeler so I’m thinking about getting a four link front suspension set up for My jeep Comanche. It is not a triangulated today. Do you think that would be better than radius arms?

@@moejr14 If you aren't running hydraulic steering, you don't want a triangulated 4 link in the front. Conventional/mechanical steering will bump steer badly with a triangulated 4 link because the axle cycles straight up and down while the steering travels in an arc (pivots on the pitman arm, axle side steering point is on the passenger side knuckle with crossover steering and as the axle travels up and down, it also shifts sideways.) Better to have a straight 4 link with a panhard bar that matches the length and angle of your steering so bump steer doesn't happen. All that said, radius arm front will do the job in most mild to moderate offroad applications and are quite a bit simpler. Hope that helps!

@@WebWheeler what about rough country radius arm?

Thanks for watching!! Appreciate it. More to come 👍

Wish I would have remembered to mention it in the video! Thanks for watching!

Thanks! Appreciate it. The low ride height has made it awesome on the road, even without sway bars. Might bump up the ride height an inch or two for ground clearance but haven't made a decision yet. Either way, it's a lot easier to go up than lowering it so might as well build as low as possible. More videos coming soon!

Glad it helped!

I use solidworks but fusion 360 is a great free option for sheetmetal design. There are simpler programs if you only need 2D but learning fusion 360 is definitely worthwhile. Thanks for watching!

Does the wheel feel the same when turning both ways? Or does one way feel harder/easier and the other normal? Hard to imagine anything that would fail only on one side- my guess would be the cylinder having a bad seal or fluid level not being high enough if it's pushing a single-ended cylinder

@@WebWheeler I'll verify both answers to the those questions when I get home, that way I'm not spot balling. But I wanna say, when driving at any speeds in a straight line and trying to turn , the front wheels will fade back to straight. Like turning a steering wheel indefinitely when moving at higher speeds to keep the front wheels tracking where you want them.

That's a big "if..." Lol hopefully someday I'll get myself the heavy duty equipment to make my life easier. Thanks for watching!

Yeah I have 5.13's in my Dakota now. You can go as low as 5.38's in the Sterling 10.25/10.5 axles made up until 2010. 2011+ only goes to 4.88 gears. However, the factory locker started in 2011 so you'll have to swap the locker in to a 2010 or older axle like I did to get the lower gears and factory locker. Hope that makes sense!

@@WebWheeler yeah the 5.13+ gears at only in the 10.25" ring gears far as I can tell and require a special master kit, likely for special bearings

You just need to use the 10.25" install kit if you're putting 5.13+ gears in the 1999-2010 10.5 axles. Nothing special- worked for me! 👍

@@WebWheeler great video ,could you send me the gear product number for the 5.13 you used and is that factory locker the only size like for different gear ratio?

What was the problem that made you disassemble it originally? Did it have anything to do with only being able to turn with no load on the steering?

Thanks for the reply. Sounds good. I’d just noticed on my ring gear that tone ring index tab was resting against the cutout in the carrier. I’m assuming it had rotated a little but, maybe not.

I agree- increasing the pinion preload a bit is a good place to start- measure it again before you change it and make sure it didn't loosen up on you then increase it by 5-10 in/lbs. Good luck!

Good catch! Working on these sterlings and Dana axles really makes me appreciate the 14 bolt adjusters haha

Definitely on the way- trying to wrap up build videos first but need to get my butt in gear with editing haha

It's much easier to use an oxy acetylene or plasma cutter to cut the brackets off first, then grind down what's left because the welds on the axle tubes are hard to get to in some spots. Other option would be cutoff wheels to take off as much of the bracket as you can then finish with a sanding disc. Good luck!

Won't work in the front- it's a Dana 60 and this locker only fits the sterling. Lots of aftermarket lockers available for the dana 60 front though 👍

Appreciate it! Thanks for watching

The truck is driving- the videos are just way behind haha. Another video will be out soon though. Thanks for watching!

They're starting to pop up in junkyards but your best bet right now is still dismantlers selling whole axles or diffs from used trucks. I will try to find the Ford part number- some places sell the locking diff brand new also. Good luck!

Thanks man! Let me know if you need some measurements or stuff love that when you get started. Sounds like it'll be a sweet project!

Thanks for the support! 🍻

Not to mention the failure modes he's talking about are incredibly rare. To drive in such a way that a properly engineered suspension arm is completely detaching from the axle or chassis would mean you've already broken a hell of a lot of other things