I learned some more stuff over the last couple of weeks.
As I had previously mentioned, I switched to 5.38 gears. As part of that project, I was hoping to re-do the lockers so I could activate the front and rear independently (unlike the all or rear option stock). So I removed the harnesses...
I have 40s and mine is an off-road rig, but it still gets driven a bunch on the road.
- tire pressure is always the first to watch when wandering (repeating for importance)
- I recommend weighing each wheel and tire and if you replace them, get something lighter. If you can stay sub 100lbs...
Got the sway bar mounted today. It was actually kinda cool. So after cutting the old cross member off, I was comparing the metal tubing and found that I could ALMOST fit it through the cross member that was welded through the frame. Since the cross member had some nice reinforcement and it would...
The upstream side was toward the airbox, so Barnadby'sdad might be dead right.
In terms of how lucky you are: The other ingress point into the engine is through the exhaust. When the engine shuts down, the water no longer has that pressure keeping it out. Looks like the water was just below...
Ah, then ya, maybe learn a bit first :) You can hire a local welder to do it for you too. If you drive the truck over, it wouldn’t take them long. You can totally drive the truck around without welding the cradle in, just don’t do anything crazy.
I think I could get away with it. I’m right on the edge of giving up in keeping it legal, since I rarely do much driving on the road with it. Especially since anything you do with the gas tank technical makes things illegal, and I really need to move that gas tank.
The Pro-X kit is hella pro. I love it, and people always comment how my rear axle just floats around on the trail.
The welding was super easy. It’s really not that scary, just take it slow.
Finished welding the bed back together. Doesn't look particularly amazing in its unfinished state, but it's actually pretty smooth after a little hammer/dolly and pry bar action to counteract any heat deformation.
Bed is back off the Jeep so I can get at that cross member (right over the...
You are absolutely right. I’m not happy with it either in its current state, but planning to run it a little as is to see his things work.
I do unfortunately need to keep all of that bumper height to stay legal, but it’s not super effective in its current state.
I’m open to creative suggestions
Some more progress was made last weekend.
Got the spot welds in on reassembling the bed. Hopefully the silicon bronze filler tonight.
I also welded in the replacement for the draw bar and tow hooks. With the Aluminum bumper in place, the truck is still legal according to Virginia lift laws...
Unfortunately, I had a couple projects that were higher priority so it took a month to get back to my truck :/. Made progress last weekend though!
The manual locker switches (no longer computer controlled) are working.
I cleared back some of the old wiring for stuff I’m not using anymore, like...
I remember that spot! There were a couple very sketchy mud holes along that trail last year. We lucked out and didn’t get stuck, but it was close.
Sorry you got stopped, not sorry you had the experience!
I 100% agree with you about the rear shock angles. Not to mention the shock mounts on the axle, which are my real heart ache!
The current round of changes are intended as a part of a two year plan:
* This year (tree-bars and pre-coilover experimentation)
* Next year (long arms + Coilovers)
I...
Haha, true. Though to be honest, I'm putting most of my Jeep budget for next year into the "when things break and gas money" savings account. My post-thanksgiving Jeep list this year was less than $200. Gotta love fabricator parts!