We started the 2020 Ultimate Adventure Ultimate Shop Truck Build with an idea, a mostly wrecked 2006 Toyota Tundra, and a few parts. After wrenching, welding, cutting, grinding, and banging on the truck (and writing several installments of the build progress, which can be found on the Ultimate Adventure event page), we keep getting closer to having a running UA rig. Last time in Ultimate Shop Truck Land (Part 7) we showed you some of the protective bits that we fabricated for the truck. We've also shown you the axles we are using for the build and hinted at some of the parts, but we haven't taken a deep dive into the actual parts that will take our junkyard-fresh axles from used and abandoned to top of the hill. Thanks to parts from Motive Gear, Eaton, RCV, and Stage 8 Fasteners, as well as from our own official Winch Sponsor Warn and our own official Driveshaft Sponsor, Quigley Motor Company. Follow along as we go through the axles and get them ready to turn wheels and tires under the Ultimate Shop Truck.
Up front we started with a 1995 Ford F-350 Non Super Duty ball joint high-pinion Dana 60. It was acquired in trade for something in the past (we forgot exactly what) and waited for a chance to get placed in something we'd build. The plan from the get-go was to run some 38-inch Falken M/T tires on the axle. We started out by reaching out to RCV for what may just be the strongest axle shafts available for this axle. Add to that the simplicity of an Eaton E-locker front differential to keep both axles turning we had a great start. After talking to our friends at Motive Gear, we settled on running a set of their 5.38:1 gears. That should keep the factory 4.7L Toyota V-8 happy with the 38-inch Falken Wildpeak M/T tires and larger if we choose to add bigger tires later. With those parts in hand, we tore apart the Dana 60 to make room for the new bits. The Motive ring-and-pinion set up nicely on the new Eaton Differential. No surprises there. From there we got to messing with the RCV axle shafts, which, with a bit of force and a trick, popped into those iconic orange boots and slid into the axle. The trick is to put a zip tie in between the boot and the RCV ball, which helps air escape when pushing the ball into the boot. With that done we assembled the hubs with freshly turned rotors. Our friends at Toyo Motors in Phoenix turned the rotors so the new pads would have a nice, smooth home. Just to add a little bit of security, we dumped the factory spindle lock nuts and replaced them with Stage 8's Dana 60 Locking Spindle Nut System. This is a great way to ensure your spindle nuts stay tight come hell or high water. Outside of that we added a pair of Warn Premium Locking hubs for 35-spline stub shafts.
Our rear axle is a late-model GM 14-bolt. It's the latest version of the venerable full floating axle that can be had relatively inexpensively on the used market and comes with some reliable and durable parts. We've used 14-bolt axles for years without issue, and the one we pulled from the junkyard for the Ultimate Shop Truck was easy to upgrade. We added in a 5.38:1 ring-and pinion from Motive gear and an Eaton Detroit Locker to ensure both tires turn through the event. The axle is huge but almost pleasurable to work on. We started by tearing the junkyard-fresh axle apart and added the locker to the axle's open carrier. This is about as simple as a locker installation can get, and if that's not enough, the axle also has side spanners for adjusting backlash and the gear pattern, as well as pinion housing shims to easily adjust the pinion depth relative to the axles ring gear. The hardest part about installing these parts is that (as mentioned above) the axle and almost all of its components are big and heavy. The other hard part is setting the pinion preload, as this axle from the factory uses a crush collar (though crush collar eliminators are available (and highly recommended by us) for this axle. With the locker and ring-and-pinion in place, we buttoned up the axle using a RuffStuff Specialities Differential cover and some Stage-8 axle 14-bolt axle flange retainers.
As a general rule, drive shafts have a hard life on an off-road rig. Aside from withstanding the rotational forces that a driveshaft is expected to handle with everyday driving, Ultimate Adventure is hard on driveshafts. First of all we hit some of the toughest trails in North America and then may head down the highway at speed for hours at a time. Driveshafts are one of the lowest points on a 4x4's drivetrain, making damage not likely but frequent. This is a hard life for a driveshaft and other driveline components. And with a few years under our belts, running Quigley MotorSports driveshafts without issue, it was easy to return to them for the Ultimate Shop truck. After touching base and giving Quigley some info on our suspension layout and lengths, they decided to send us a CV-equipped 1350 front driveshaft and a two-piece rear shaft also with 1350 joints and a carrier bearing. Making these parts fit was a cinch with only slight modifications to the Tundra's factory carrier bearing.
Ultimate Adventure 2022, presented by Rugged Ridge, will be happening the last week of September, so be sure to keep your eyes on this website for daily event updates publishing from September 25 to October 2, event coverage in the pages of Four Wheeler, and, of course, the Ultimate Adventure videos on MotorTrend's YouTube page in early December.