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A rebuild of #miRustyJeep...
- Thread starter Mike_H
- Start date
OP
Went on a run Saturday with my 4x4 Club. Did about 75 miles of two track trails. Nothing challenging except the weather. We'd go from full white-out to blazing sun and back. Drove about 45 miles to get to the trailhead, and the roads in the morning were a bit sketchy. Jeep performed flawlessly though. I do need to install a thermostat on my transmission cooler. The warmest I saw all day on Saturday was about 100 degrees...but mostly it was under that. Outside temp was VERY cold too, 25° F or so.
And the mess that I cleaned off when I got home. Its a nice mix of road salt, sand and trail dirt.
And the mess that I cleaned off when I got home. Its a nice mix of road salt, sand and trail dirt.
I'm going to send you a packet of Indian black tea and my hot spice mix (dried ginger, lots of cardamom, black cloves, black pepper, star anise, fennel seeds, little sliver of cinnamon) that goes with it. What you do is .. you heat up some whole milk (none of that 2% crap), add the Darjeeling tea leaves and spices, some sugar and mix it well. Then you it all come to a boil under medium heat. Keep stirring and don't scald the milk! Once it is about to boil over, you take it off the heat and immediately strain it with a fine steel mesh filter. Then you pour your tea into a thick ceramic mug that you have preheated with hot water.
You take a sip of it and you fetch up some shortbread cookies to go with. And when your crazy buddies from the 4x4 club call you asking if you are ready, you tell them, "sorry, I'm in my pajamas and drinking Indian spicy tea. Y'all enjoy the whiteout, I'm making myself another cup! "
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Been buying some lights lately. Got some factory fogs in really nice shape from a member here. I’ve had a 20” light bar for a while, sitting around waiting for me to figure out where to put it, and some flush mount reverse lights that only need my energy.
I picked up the rough country MCL8 from a buddy in my 4WD club for a very good price, and I “splurged” on some KC cyclone V2 rock lights (6 of them). Heading to Ky in a few weeks and I want to have the option of night wheeling.
Pics in a couple days.
I picked up the rough country MCL8 from a buddy in my 4WD club for a very good price, and I “splurged” on some KC cyclone V2 rock lights (6 of them). Heading to Ky in a few weeks and I want to have the option of night wheeling.
Pics in a couple days.
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Went wheeling in Ky last weekend. Had a great time. Jeep worked perfectly and the new automatic is incredible. My transmission temp never got over 150 degrees F and the control I have with the auto is so much better than with the manual. The torque converter makes 4hi more usable. Plus, not having to worry about running the clutch meant I could concentrate on wheel placement much more.
Some of the other changes I made this winter were well appreciated too. Doing a full bypass on my locker switch was something I should have done a long time ago. Very nice to just trigger the locker I want vs using the single switch to control both. With the way traction was down there, being able to lock my front or rear independently was helpful. It’s not a game changer, but it adds a bit more control and capability.
I do think my front locker is starting to go, or at least, getting bit lazy when it engages. Couple of times that I wanted it, I heard something make a rapid clicking noise up front, like the plates slinging past each other. It never failed outright, but I’ll need to check it out.
I also bent my tire carrier, dropping off a ledge. Everything is so tight to the rear, it took the full force of the Jeep coming down on it.
Here are a couple poser pics from the weekend
Some of the other changes I made this winter were well appreciated too. Doing a full bypass on my locker switch was something I should have done a long time ago. Very nice to just trigger the locker I want vs using the single switch to control both. With the way traction was down there, being able to lock my front or rear independently was helpful. It’s not a game changer, but it adds a bit more control and capability.
I do think my front locker is starting to go, or at least, getting bit lazy when it engages. Couple of times that I wanted it, I heard something make a rapid clicking noise up front, like the plates slinging past each other. It never failed outright, but I’ll need to check it out.
I also bent my tire carrier, dropping off a ledge. Everything is so tight to the rear, it took the full force of the Jeep coming down on it.
Here are a couple poser pics from the weekend
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Added damage report...My steering wheel is off center again. I'm about done with the JKS trackbar...but I gotta roll with it for just a bit longer since I just blew my wad on a bunch of batteries and other assorted gizmos for my camper project.
Stupid noodley rod end...
Stupid noodley rod end...
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The axle end. the JJ is fine. I have bent the bushing end twice now.
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I mentioned that I bent my tire carrier on the last wheelin trip to Kentucky...Finally had some time to further investigate and found this...
Looks like the mounting plate twisted...and I didn't have a third lug nut on, so that is what allowed the tire to pull away from the carrier. Not sure if that saved my tailgate, or if it wouldn't have bent if the lug nut was there. Either way, I'll be fixing it. I may make a new plate with the proper pattern for my wheels (5x5) so I don't have to use an adapter...but then again...that extra adapter saved my bacon when I had one fail.
Looks like the mounting plate twisted...and I didn't have a third lug nut on, so that is what allowed the tire to pull away from the carrier. Not sure if that saved my tailgate, or if it wouldn't have bent if the lug nut was there. Either way, I'll be fixing it. I may make a new plate with the proper pattern for my wheels (5x5) so I don't have to use an adapter...but then again...that extra adapter saved my bacon when I had one fail.
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Or you could just join the dark side...
And ditch the spare.
It has crossed my mind.
I debated this for a long time. When I had the 35" tires I had a spare but when I went to the 38" tires I ditched it. I can see the arguments for either way.
When I broke my wheel I was lucky someone had a tire that fit my bolt pattern.
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The spare has gotten me off the trail 2x now. I’m probably keeping it
Good
call... since I had the dual beadlocks I could repair just about any tire failure. I even carried a tube if needed. But once you break a wheel all bets are off.
I've been fortunate enough to never have a tire issue I couldn't address on the trail. And I certainly don't miss the 100+ pounds hanging off the ass end.