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

[azmojave]

Built a new fuel box to hold all four cans instead of the one I made before that held two cans. I still have 39 inches of bed left so hopefully I can fit all my camping junk LOL

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[WILDHOBO]

The Bilsteins are the shocks that I got with the Mopar 2" lift. The little LED puck lights are from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DKRYW4N8?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

I used to have 6 of them, now I have 5. One of them went for a ride and fell off somewhere.

Very cool. Yeah. They looked like part of the shocks.

 

[WILDHOBO]

I tried to

That's what I get for following instructions. Thanks for the tip.

follow them the first time. Then I just decided to figure it out myself.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

Built a new fuel box to hold all four cans instead of the one I made before that held two cans. I still have 39 inches of bed left so hopefully I can fit all my camping junk LOL

You take 20 gallons of fuel with you camping?!
Guess I need to up my game. Looks good! I may steal that solution for the 2 Jerry cans I’m planning.

 

[Freems]

I would do unspeakable things to have a detached garage to put all this fanciness in

In other news we do need to talk about the elephant in the room……

The wife’s around town sled, she loves it, I hate it…a tough pull but been married to her for 50 years in May, it’s that turn the cheek thing.

 

[azmojave]

You take 20 gallons of fuel with you camping?!
Guess I need to up my game. Looks good! I may steal that solution for the 2 Jerry cans I’m planning.

Depends on where and how long. Stations in the middle of nowhere out here are few and far between and when I’m loaded down and offroad, the mpg’s drop hard. I’ve been on a few trips where that was barely enough.

 

[Shibbyjeep]

Finished installing the RCV front axles. They are so very nice.

The before:

The after:

I'd still be out there working on it if I hadn't stopped and made this "backstop" out of scrap 2x4 so that I could just focus on pushing the CV joint into the boot. (Yes I had the zip tie between the CV joint and the boot.) I just didn't have the coordination / strength to smash the greasy heavy bowling ball of the joint into the boot. This let me work on just pushing the joint into the boot since the boot was pinned against the board which was then pinned against the "C" of the axle housing.

I had a hole saw that was bigger in diameter than the section of the axle shaft where the small end of the boot rides, but smaller than the outer diameter of the small end of the boot. The piece I ended up using was about 15/16" - 1" thick.

If you don't have a similar hole saw, it is probably easier to just make two cuts at 45 degrees to create a 90 degree notch in the board that would land on the section of axle shaft where the inner lip of the boot rides.

Here is a shot of a scrap piece placed to show where I had the actual piece I used when I did the install.

If the board is too thin the axle shaft will bottom out into the diff before you can get the boot on. Too thick and the boot is out into the knuckle and can't expand as you're trying force the CV joint into it.

We make shifted some metal shims when we did mine as well. You didnt wanna change out your knuckles as a while youre in there?

 

[Pliny]

You didnt wanna change out your knuckles as a while youre in there?

Don't yet have all of the tools that I'd need to do that. Have never replaced ball joints or tie rod ends.

 

[WILDHOBO]

Don't yet have all of the tools that I'd need to do that. Have never replaced ball joints or tie rod ends.

The ball joints are a job. @Shibbyjeep, @Stan H, and many more can attest to that. If metalcloak sold knuckles with ball joints installed, I’d buy them. Put it that way.

 

[Bandit’s Lair]

The ball joints are a job. @Shibbyjeep, @Stan H, and many more can attest to that. If metalcloak sold knuckles with ball joints installed, I’d buy them. Put it that way.

True they are a job but Pliny was literally balls deep into the knuckles.

Don't yet have all of the tools that I'd need to do that. Have never replaced ball joints or tie rod ends.

The harbor freight kits are fine for that kind of work. The hardest part on ball joints is getting down to the ball joints. Pressing them in and out isnt that difficult. Both tie rods and ball joints seem slightly imposing until you get into them then it’s like “oh, it’s just bolts and stuff”.

 

[WILDHOBO]

True they are a job but Pliny was literally balls deep into the knuckles.



The harbor freight kits are fine for that kind of work. The hardest part on ball joints is getting down to the ball joints. Pressing them in and out isnt that difficult. Both tie rods and ball joints seem slightly imposing until you get into them then it’s like “oh, it’s just bolts and stuff”.

The problem with these is the taper on the lower C. Most of the rentals, harbor freight, parts stores presses don’t have a cup that matches that taper well. Next time I’ll spend the 6-700 on the Matco pivoting press. No question.

 

[Stan H]

The ball joints are a job. @Shibbyjeep, @Stan H, and many more can attest to that. If metalcloak sold knuckles with ball joints installed, I’d buy them. Put it that way.

Absofreakinglutely !!! Steel ones. That is actually a great idea @Metalcloak are you hearing this

 

[Stan H]

The problem with these is the taper on the lower C. Most of the rentals, harbor freight, parts stores presses don’t have a cup that matches that taper well. Next time I’ll spend the 6-700 on the Matco pivoting press. No question.

I ended up using a ³/¹⁶ piece of flat metal strap under the outside of the cup on the bottom to achieve the correct angle. .

 

[Stan H]

True they are a job but Pliny was literally balls deep into the knuckles.

Now thats what I call dedication

 

[Stan H]

Don't yet have all of the tools that I'd need to do that. Have never replaced ball joints or tie rod ends.

It just takes time. DM me if you need some assistance.

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