Tennessee Red

Ran some errands today and the CEL came on, small evap leak code. Seems I cracked the valve where all the vapor lines are connected when I was "forcing" things to go my way. Can't seem to find the valve available. Oh well, I guess if the CEL is going to be on, I might as well just remove everything and take a sawzall to the fender to push my axle back little ;-)
 
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Ran some errands today and the CEL came on, small evap leak code. Seems I cracked the valve where all the vapor lines are connected when I was "forcing" things to go my way. Can't seem to find the valve available. Oh well, I guess if the CEL is going to be on, I might as well just remove everything and take a sawzall to the fender to push my axle back little ;-)
That sucker is the bane of my Jeep existence. Pop’s on about once every six months, and I have to reset it. I’ve never been able to figure out what is triggering it.
 
That V8 turns on the light to remind you to pop the hood and admire it. V8s deserve to be vain since they have the knack to turn everyones head.

The CEL doesn't really bother me that much, what bothers me is the fact that I most likely cracked it by being a bull in a china closet and you would think I would have learned better by now.
 
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That V8 turns on the light to remind you to pop the hood and admire it. V8s deserve to be vain since they have the knack to turn everyones head.

The CEL doesn't really bother me that much, what bothers me is the fact that I most likely cracked it by being a bull in a china closet and you would think I would have learned better by now.
No, you be you, brother, you be you.

🙂
 
No, you be you, brother, you be you.

🙂
I just picked up a copy of this book and have been debating reading it. But now with Jeff's wisdom of you be you, I think I will hold off.

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Thanks. I am looking for the wider and more stout Rubicon Axles.

They are starting to pop up for decent prices, just not close enough to make the drive yet.
 
I am looking at getting a Genright tank. Have you verified the clearance between the gas tank and coil springs?
Yeah, it is installed. No issues with the coil springs. With the 23 there is no room to run the exhaust so I have it turned down right after the muffler. If you want the exhaust to go out the back, you will need a smaller tank.
 
I did not move the axle back, mine is centered in the arch. On the GR23, there is room to move it back. I don't see how the springs would get in way. Here is two pics, one is the axle at full droop (with the upper perches centered), the other is at bump (however, the perch was not moved yet). There is plenty of room for springs.
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at bump.jpg

I am assuming when you stretch that you are going to triangulate and not run a track bar. I don't think you would be able to push it back with a track bar. Here is my track bar at stock location and it barely clears.
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I am on my way to Florida to visit my parents for the week. Once I get back I can get you more info if you need it.
 
I wasn't thinking about this before, but I guess if you moved the upper perches back 6" to account for the axle shift, then yes you may have an issue with the springs and tank. The tank would definitely limit how far you could move the perches back.
 
I would say that there is clearance with the diff to shift it back close to 6" (on a Dana 44), but you would most likely have to do coil-overs in order to install the spring properly.
 
I wasn't thinking about this before, but I guess if you moved the upper perches back 6" to account for the axle shift, then yes you may have an issue with the springs and tank. The tank would definitely limit how far you could move the perches back.

I did a 4.5" stretch and have the mounts for my air bags centered in the arch like you have your springs. But I moved the arch back the same distance as the axle and I couldn't move the springs back anymore either. I'm running the Savvy mid arm so I don't have a track bar.

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I have a Dana 60 and there is more room for the axle but it would depend on which axle and the type of mount you had for the upper links. The mini truss I got from Branes 4WD would hit if I went back another 1" - 1.5" I'd guess.


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The other thing is you want to have the tank there to make sure you have your shock mounts out far enough for the tank. I'd set the lower shock mounts before I had the tank and just got lucky but I wish I'd spaced them out another 1/4-1/2" for shock clearance. But then you run into having enough clearance for the tires/rims.

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It is one of those learning the hard way kind of mornings. Guess I am going to cut off a brand new bearing and retainer 5 min after I just pressed them on.

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During our trip to Tackett Creek last weekend, I noted that during some night snow wheeling that I cracked a wheel. It was still holding air so I just wheeled it the rest of the weekend. Just ordered a new wheel, I just run cheap pro comp alloy wheels and it is amazing how much they have gone up in price over the last few years.

cracked wheel.jpg
 
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My drag link and tie rod get bent every now and again and I have been using my winch to "somewhat" straighten them back.

With the replacement of my front wheel I decided to go ahead and buy a bubble balancer to get the tires somewhat balanced. Balancer arrives tomorrow so I figured today I would remove the steering links and straighten them with my press. I got them pretty straight with the press and then did a real good alignment.

Hopefully with somewhat straight steering links, a good alignment, and wheels balanced I will be able to get up over 55mph without a wobble.

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Haven't balanced the tires since I started trailering it. Figured there was no sense since everytime I hit the rocks, a weight gets removed, rubber is torn, aluminum is peeled, etc.... On our last snow trip we had to drive on some roads between trails and I couldn't get up over 50mph without it starting to wobble which was no fun. So, I got a cheap bubble balancer and some stick on weights. After playing with the bubble balancer and making some slight modifications to make it more free on the pivot point, I went ahead and balanced all four tires. Three of the tires had no weights at all on the wheels and the fourth had one weight but it looks like it had been spun on the wheel. Wow! I can't believe how much that improved the ride. I just took it to run some errands and not only can I get it up to hwy speeds with no wobble, even the low speeds feels better. Guess I will chalk that up to another lesson learned and I will try to keep the tires more balanced between wheeling trips, now with the bubble balance and stick ons it should be easy.

Reminded me of when I was a kid working at an auto shop. I did all the small jobs in the shop which consisted of a lot of tires, oil changes, batteries, alternators, starters, etc.... Anyway, like I said, a LOT of tires. When I started we just had a bubble balancer and then we got a dynamic balancer and we charged extra to have the tires dynamically balanced. The dynamic balancer was so much easier to use that after the first few times I always used the dynamic balancer even if the customer didn't pay for it. So eventually, my boss asked me about it and I explained how much faster and easier it was to just use the dynamic balancer. Next day the bubble balancer was gone, cost to mount the tire went up a buck or two, and there was no longer a wheel balance option for the customer. Now 30 years later, I am back to the bubble balance.
 
I knew when I seen it was my son calling (he always texts) that it was not going to be good.

The unmolested '98 Sahara is going to need some front end body work. The Ford Escape he hit looked like it suffered no damage at all.

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I knew when I seen it was my son calling (he always texts) that it was not going to be good.

The unmolested '98 Sahara is going to need some front end body work. The Ford Escape he hit looked like it suffered no damage at all.

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I assume he’s ok. What year escape? I would have expected the reverse.