Advise on Cut & Turn for my Scout

[Rentalman]

Hi All, need some advise on a cut & turn for my 1974 Scout II that I've been rebuilding. The build is under readers rides in the forum under 74 Scout II rebuild/restore. Unfortuately when I took my Scout apart down to the frame and started rebuilding/restoring it I did not have time for a cut & turn on my front Dana 44 axle as my owners were selling the business where I worked and where the Scout was being rebuilt. I was crunched for time to get it rolling and off of the property and locally I could not find a shop that offered this service. The Scout is now driveable. I've taken it out a few times slowly breaking everything in. When I get close to 30 mph I can tell it wants to wander. I know I have negative caster. I bought my suspension and all related parts for complete axle rebuilds from IHPA. I'm running 33x10.5-15 tires and it was suggested to me to get a 4" Skyjacker lift w/5" shackles to fit those tires under it. What is recommended for caster with this suspension, 6 deg? Also if I remove everthing from the axle except for the inner seals and differential can the cut & turn be done? Or does the Detroit locker, gears & seals need to be pulled out too? Thanks for your advise.

 

[Antho]

1973 scout ii, 4" triangle lift springs, reverse shackle front, 5" shackle rear, 33/12.50r15 tires, original dana 30 front axle with dana 44 spindles and hubs for disc brakes and I put 2 degree shims under the front perch to aid castor. I do have a 44 that I nees to cut and turn. This is what I have read on the angles: Match the degree angle of the front output yoke on the transfer case with the input yoke of the axle, then turn the "C"s to achieve 6 degrees and weld in.

 

[Winchested]

Did you put 4 degree shims in? If not that explains it all. But it can harm high speed 4x4 on the front driveshaft.

But yes when you do a C&T 6 degrees rotated back is a good number to shoot for.

That's what I did when I did my Dana 44. I also did a Dana 60 at 6 degrees too which is now in my Scout II.

 

[Rentalman]

I never did put shims in it because I knew the cut & turn would be best, mainly so the front diff pinion would not be angled toward the ground. My rushing around to get it rolling so I can get it off my prior owners property has now caught up with me. I think this is the last hurdle I have to get through. Thanks for the advice.

 

[ihpartsjeff]

If you were to get it aligned, my guess would be that you are negative 3 degrees of caster. A 4 degree shim should get you into positive territory without driveshaft bind. A 6 degree shim would be better but you will most likely have driveshaft bind at droop.

When we turn knuckles we generally set them to around 5 degrees positive with a .2 to .3 degree split. Meaning if the passenger side knuckle has 5 degrees of positive caster, we will set the driver side to somewhere around 4.7 to 4.8 degrees. This caster split helps keep the vehicle driving straight on a crowned road.

To answer your question though, you don't have to take the carrier out when doing a cut and turn but it is advised since grinding debris can enter the differential area when cutting and welding the C's back on.

 

[Rentalman]

Hi Jeff, thanks for your response. I've been emailing back & forth with Darren discussing the cut & turn for my Scout. I could not find an adequate shop in So Cal to perform the task. The one I did find wanted to pull the gears out and was suggesting 8 deg positve. I did not get a good feel for this. This weekend or next I hope to find time remove the axle from the Scout. I will then contact Darren to make arrangements to drop it off at your shop. I will go with what ever your team suggest on the degrees for cut and turn and if you suggest to pull the locker out. Driving the Scout now beyond 30 mph is not to safe. Thanks again for the reply.

 

[skidoocam]

Ok so you if do , a 6 degree cut and turn then you put a six degree shim in it to make the differential sit flat? Then the C's will sit vertical.

 

[Zaedster]

No, you use shims to properly set your pinion angle, prior to setting your caster angle. For example, if you want the pinion pointing higher, you install a shim to rotate it to the desired position, then perform the cut-and-turn based off that setup.

Anyone doing a cut-and-turn before the axle is actually installed on the vehicle without at least measuring angles prior to the job is essentially guessing, and it’s a gamble whether the vehicle will ultimately handle and drive correctly or be worth the time spent.