Road trip! April Phoolz and Moab, here I come...
that is 38% of the fun, although I couldn't feel my fingertips for awhile...You didn't mention driving 2 hrs topless and doorless in 30 degrees
The drag link is bent back and the tie rod is catching the sway bar mount.Mine right side was tweaked too, I put a big crescent wrench on it and pulled it back close to where it belonged
I've seen others bent on the R/S I can't figure out why
To clarify some, the fusion weld is just to make me happy. There is enough press fit interference on the reamed hole with the shoulder that it would likely never dislocate or work loose. Also with the shoulder being opposite the taper, the nut will keep it in the hole going that direction and the shoulder stops it the other direction.I'm in the process of flipping my tie rod and am almost finished. It has been documented plenty but I will add a few more notes. Since I had the time, I sent my steering knuckle to @mrblaine and had him press/tig fusion weld in the insert. Top side knuckle:
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bottom side of knuckle:
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I also purchased his sway bar relocation brackets. The installation is fairly easy, if you have any questions, @hosejockey61 did a nice video on the installation process in this thread: Tie Rod flip with BMB Sway Bar Link brackets
I elected to remove the upper ball joint in the knuckles to avoid damaging them from the heat when welding on the brackets.
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Once the relocation brackets were on, I started cycling the suspension to see if I had any components interfering with one another. I should say too, I run the Savvy Ultimate 1.5" aluminum tie rod. I had 2 places of interference. One, was in the driver side spring perch area which I knocked down with a cut off wheel and flap disk. Problem solved.
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The 2nd area of interference happens when the passenger tire starts stuffing up into the wheel well and the steering wheel is turning to the right. The jam nut on the tie rod hits the bolt of the steering stabilizer on the axle side mount before I am fully cranked to the right:
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A quick call to @mrblaine set me right, so today, I am off to a pal's place to take the drag link off and add more bend using his hydraulic press. I figure bending the drag link about 1/2-3/4" will take care of this problem. I also hope I am successful...
Lastly, I added this mod whilst in the middle of flipping the tie rod:
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I've had to reshape my drag link twice now to make stuff fit.I know a few of us had to bend our drag links around a full 3" to get it to not interfere. Easy to do and well worth it.
I've had to reshape my drag link twice now to make stuff fit.
Success! I ended up bending the drag link about 3/4". Before I messed around with that, I thought I might get lucky by replacing the steering stabilizer bolt with a 1/2" carriage bolt. Still no luck, so I did have to turn to the hydraulic press. I ended up leaving the carriage bolt in. All good now, and hope to hit the Rubicon trail this weekend. Any NorCal folks care to join me?I know a few of us had to bend our drag links around a full 3" to get it to not interfere. Easy to do and well worth it.
I was thinking of your story the whole time...I should know by mañana but early indications are LSD failure...If the Rubicon LSD died, you are looking at a new rear diff. When mine started breaking apart, I drove 150 miles home and a week to/from work until the new ARB arrived.
It was mostly fine going straight. But during turns, the rear would lock up and make really loud cracking and snapping sounds. It was really unpleasant, but nothing that isn't already ruined is going to get ruined. Stick some big magnets to the diff cover to protect the ring and pinion if you need to drive it.
Very cool trip. Definitely on my bucket list.Spent Memorial Day weekend camping on the Rubicon. Good news was there was very little traffic out there, not busy at all, no snow whatsoever. Camped at a nice spot in the Springs Friday night, camped at Ellis Creek Bridge Saturday night. The weather was perfect minus a 40 minute hail/rainstorm late afternoon Saturday. Thankfully, we were set up at camp already with cocktails in hand and not on the trail when the hail hit.
Just after Soup Bowl, I started hearing a clunk coming from the rear diff. Ugh. Drove easy the rest of the way, when trying to replicate clunk, it seemed to show up making turns, so I drove as straight as I could. Made it to Loon Lake staging area, aired up, shifted to 2WD and clunk, clunk, clunk trying to drive out. So, parked it in the shade under the dam, hopped in my buddies '04, he drove me home, and I drove back same day with my truck and trailer to pick it up. I dropped it off at my pal's shop in Auburn at 9:30pm Sunday night. I got home at 1am. I am guessing the LSD finally gave up. I will find out soon enough the damage incurred. Gears/lockers are not something I am equipped to change out currently. Hopefully, whatever parts are in need of replacing will be easy to source and not back ordered to the point that my summer trips are in jeapordy.
I typically rely on others to take pics so I really don't have any good action shots. We ate well, and, Friday night, watched Elon Musk's satellites cross the sky for, what seemed like 5 minutes...was kinda cool.
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