What did you do TO your Gladiator today? [ADMIN WARNING: NO POLITICS, NO GUN TALK]

[WILDHOBO]

axles shipping out in the morning

That’s going to be amazing.

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[TheSolarWizard]

That’s going to be amazing.

might finally be "me" proof

 

[drewcnit]

axles shipping out in the morning

Are you doing the install? If so, please write it up. That's going to be so bad a$$.

 

[chorky]

hey are tons of work.

Oh man is it. But I couldn't be ok with myself standing by knowing something is in need of help. Be it a human or squirrel.

 

[Sawburner]

Set the parking brake a little to hard ... and snapped off the ratching mechanism and cable connectior on the bottom of the brake handle. Taking the JT back to the dealer in two weeks when they expect to have the new brake handle in since it's a warranty item ... and I'm too lazy to pull the console myself.

I had to have mine fixed last summer under warranty too. You do have to pull on it hard to get it to hold on any kind of hill.

 

[TheSolarWizard]

Are you doing the install? If so, please write it up. That's going to be so bad a$$.

unfortunately im not but that's a good thing

reading into the description you'll notice that on the rear, it's shipping as a clean housing with no brackets. I ordered it this way because in about 6 weeks work is gonna kick off prototyping a first of its kind suspension system on a gladiator. I'm supposed to keep quiet on what's being done till it's finished but I'll post as many updates as they will allow.

What I am allowed to say is that it'll have right around 5" of lift with bypass remote reservoir shocks with a bridge that allows on the fly adaptive response. ~ 14" of travel in the front and an effictive 16" of travel in the rear


I'll post updates as I get authorized to do so. work is supposed to take about 8 weeks with final tuning and first production run based off R&D time

 

[mx5red]

Good news, I think I fixed it. One less parking brake and two zip ties, and I’m back on the road!

the grinding I was hearing was the bent parking brake mechanism/brake shield rubbing the inside of the rotor. The rotational power of the caliper wedging into the inside of the wheel pushed against the brake shield, which rotated/bent it and made it contact the rotor. The mounting holes on the brake shield were stretched 1/4” or so or ripped. I can’t believe it did not bend the axle or flange??‍

that’s supposed to lay flat on the flange, not have a finger sized gap.
The ABS sensor or whatever also got a little wedged.. looked like it was also rubbing the tone ring, but still seems to be working.?‍ I think it’s ok was just hard to get out since the mounting holes were misaligned through the flange and shield.

I also think I made the shield worse with my “trail” repair. To be fair, I fixed the fucking thing on an exit median on an 8 lane highway during rush hour and got it home… so, count as a win.
The longer bolt (spare sway bar bolt), which I did not thread on all the way or tightly (1/4 ugga dugga), I think still pushed into the brake shield and added to the carnage. So be mindful of that!

Diff gears didn’t show anything, no metal shavings. Plus my axle shafts looked good. Can I still parlay this into chromoly??

Now waiting on new parking brake mechanism, and finding the time to drain the diff oil for the third time and take apart the axle shaft again. I’m sore.

I took my spare wheel and broken one to @Discount Tire to have them move the old tire over. The old wheel had a slow leak, dropping 15 psi over maybe 30-60 mins. I couldn’t see anything that would look like a pinhole or leak, but now that I have the rim I can see it!

That bulge/crack is where the end of the brake caliper finally wedged into the wheel, locking it and skidding my tire on the highway?. Leverage is a real thing.

 

[JTBurns]

New tires mounted! These Mickey Thompson's are a thing of beauty

 

[Minty JL]

New Grille from Distinction Applied. Trim is matte carbon fiber. Weather kept changing so the before & after pics look very different.

I'm about to pull the trigger on the '24 grill too

 

[NotSo Bright White]

First mods on the second JT. The windshield shade, floor mats, and dead pedal installed today. Proud to say no 10 millimeter sockets were lost during this project. Ok, none were used. I celebrated by taking it to the beach for the first time. I named it Mo which is not short for Mojave. It is short for this bitch is going to cost me Mo Money! The Rockslide Steps are going on next Tuesday!

 

[mx5red]

Not to it per se, but working on a little DIY project for it. Learning how to weld?‍?. This is after oh I dunno, 9 or 10 passes with some 6013. Whaddya think??

 

[KevinM60]

Not to it per se, but working on a little DIY project for it. Learning how to weld?‍?. This is after oh I dunno, 9 or 10 passes with some 6013. Whaddya think??

Ugly, as expected. Practice makes perfect. ??

 

[KevinM60]

I named it Mo which is not short for Mojave. It is short for this bitch is going to cost me Mo Money!

Wouldn't that make it "MoMo"?

 

[legacy_etu]

First mods on the second JT. The windshield shade, floor mats, and dead pedal installed today. Proud to say no 10 millimeter sockets were lost during this project. Ok, none were used. I celebrated by taking it to the beach for the first time. I named it Mo which is not short for Mojave. It is short for this bitch is going to cost me Mo Money! The Rockslide Steps are going on next Tuesday!

Maybe no 10mm, but did you lose a nut behind the kick panel like most of us. ……………..or maybe that was just me.

 

[Rusty PW]

Not to it per se, but working on a little DIY project for it. Learning how to weld?‍?. This is after oh I dunno, 9 or 10 passes with some 6013. Whaddya think??

Keep at it. You need practice. Get some scrap metal and weld on it. Try some 7018 Low H. It flows better. When you have your amps set right. It should sound like bacon and eggs frying.

If when you think you are really good. Use 308 in the 6G position and weld some carbon pipe with a double V groove with a 1/16" gap.

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