Basket's Build

[Wildman]

why?


Yes it isn't fun I do it and sometimes it is better to just stay in 2wd.

Dana 35 doesn't play well with a lunchbox locker. This is where you break stuff. The stock carrier doesn't like them.

I drove a Samurai with lunchbox lockers front and rear. Drove it for 3 winters too. Then had a Detroit locker in the rear and a lunchbox in the front of my TJ back when I still had the 4 cylinder.

 

[reddvltj]

Dana 35 doesn't play well with a lunchbox locker. This is where you break stuff. The stock carrier doesn't like them.

I drove a Samurai with lunchbox lockers front and rear. Drove it for 3 winters too. Then had a Detroit locker in the rear and a lunchbox in the front of my TJ back when I still had the 4 cylinder.

No better or worse than a full locker really...

 

[reddvltj]

Hmmmm. I already don't really like the way it drives in the snow.

Short wheel base blues!!! Small tip... have your tires drilled and studded of you want to enjoy winter driving a little better...

 

[Wildman]

No better or worse than a full locker really...

I thought I'd read somewhere that the stock carrier was weaker? Maybe I'm remembering this wrong.

I had the Detroit but also had the Warn full floater kit. Still 27 spline axles but I never broke.

Short wheel base blues!!! Small tip... have your tires drilled and studded of you want to enjoy winter driving a little better...

Yep SWB & auto lockers makes for fun driving.

 

[reddvltj]

I thought I'd read somewhere that the stock carrier was weaker? Maybe I'm remembering this wrong.

I had the Detroit but also had the Warn full floater kit. Still 27 spline axles but I never broke.



Yep SWB & auto lockers makes for fun driving.

I know the stock spiders and sides are weak as HE!!.. grenaded them a couple times, the second time they took the carrier with them. I guess it all boils down to how heavy your go pedal foot is....

 

[lBasket]

I thought I'd read somewhere that the stock carrier was weaker? Maybe I'm remembering this wrong.

I had the Detroit but also had the Warn full floater kit. Still 27 spline axles but I never broke.

Hmmmm. I'll have to do some more research I guess.

Yep SWB & auto lockers makes for fun driving.

Yeah. I probably won't end up doing it lol. Just a random thought I had in my head. Maybe if I get more desperate in the future...

 

[lBasket]

In preparation for the trip next week I picked up a hitch receiver cargo basket. We will be on easy trails the entire time so I figured the extra space would make the trip more comfortable. It actually came with a fold-up section, but I figured that won't do me any good and the less bolted connections the better, so I didn't use it. That keeps it tucked nice and close to the bumper. Supposedly it had a 500lb capacity, but...

It was very bouncy as the bumper twisted and flexed. I had added a receiver, but then gotten lazy about making the rest of the bumper adequate to handle using it. See how it was mounted with only the 4 bolts:

There are 4 unused holes in the bumper already, and I needed to add some near the receiver too. To get behind the crossmember near the receiver, the gas tank had to come out.

Since I have like 3/4 of a tank right now, this was good fun. So... nice little win. There are carriage bolts used to bolt the gas tank skid to the front crossmember. Installing it last time, I had lost one inside the crossmember and couldn't find it so I had to use a normal bolt, which is more difficult needing two wrenches up there. Well haha! I found it again removing the skid this time!

I drilled 4 new holes near the receiver through the bumper and crossmember, added bolts to those and the existing 4 holes.

It always bugs me how off-center the receiver is. I am pretty sure it is centered and it is the tailgate that is not centered on the frame... but maybe I'm wrong.

And now so that I don't have to remove the gas tank again to remove the bumper, I threw some boogers down on the nuts on the backside of the crossmember.

It started raining after that so I had to pack my stuff up quickly. While the rest of the state burns down, I'm dealing with this:

 

[reddvltj]

In preparation for the trip next week I picked up a hitch receiver cargo basket. We will be on easy trails the entire time so I figured the extra space would make the trip more comfortable. It actually came with a fold-up section, but I figured that won't do me any good and the less bolted connections the better, so I didn't use it. That keeps it tucked nice and close to the bumper. Supposedly it had a 500lb capacity, but...

View attachment 547636

It was very bouncy as the bumper twisted and flexed. I had added a receiver, but then gotten lazy about making the rest of the bumper adequate to handle using it. See how it was mounted with only the 4 bolts:
View attachment 547637

There are 4 unused holes in the bumper already, and I needed to add some near the receiver too. To get behind the crossmember near the receiver, the gas tank had to come out.

View attachment 547638

Since I have like 3/4 of a tank right now, this was good fun. So... nice little win. There are carriage bolts used to bolt the gas tank skid to the front crossmember. Installing it last time, I had lost one inside the crossmember and couldn't find it so I had to use a normal bolt, which is more difficult needing two wrenches up there. Well haha! I found it again removing the skid this time!

I drilled 4 new holes near the receiver through the bumper and crossmember, added bolts to those and the existing 4 holes.

View attachment 547639

It always bugs me how off-center the receiver is. I am pretty sure it is centered and it is the tailgate that is not centered on the frame... but maybe I'm wrong.

And now so that I don't have to remove the gas tank again to remove the bumper, I threw some boogers down on the nuts on the backside of the crossmember.

View attachment 547640
View attachment 547641

It started raining after that so I had to pack my stuff up quickly. While the rest of the state burns down, I'm dealing with this:

View attachment 547644

Do you not have frame ties for your bumper? They make a huge difference in supporting/stopping twist.

 

[lBasket]

Do you not have frame ties for your bumper? They make a huge difference in supporting/stopping twist.

I do not, but with the entire width of the bumper being unsupported other than the far edges, it allowed the center to twist. The frame tie-ins are on the outside of the frame rails, right? I do need some of those, but not sure they'd have helped for this particular problem?

I did take a video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/P9cCc2KvdSji9gzn8

 

[reddvltj]

I do not, but with the entire width of the bumper being unsupported other than the far edges, it allowed the center to twist. The frame tie-ins are on the outside of the frame rails, right? I do need some of those, but not sure they'd have helped for this particular problem?

All the ones I've seen are made for the outside. I'm not sure if they make any for the inside or not?

 

[lBasket]

All the ones I've seen are made for the outside. I'm not sure if they make any for the inside or not?

Some bolts straight through the crossmember are frame tie-ins too, no?

 

[lBasket]

All the ones I've seen are made for the outside. I'm not sure if they make any for the inside or not?

My bumper is just like a "skin" for the crossmember so sending bolts through both gets it nice and secure. I totally stole this idea from JJ lol

 

[reddvltj]

Some bolts straight through the crossmember are frame tie-ins too, no?

Yep...

Stole this from a random search, not sure what brand it is but you get the idea....

 

[lBasket]

Yep...

Stole this from a random search, not sure what brand it is but you get the idea....
View attachment 547646

Yeah... My hard part is I have tow hooks there. Although Maybe I will trust my bumper more with 8 more bolts in it.

 

[reddvltj]

Yeah... My hard part is I have tow hooks there. Although Maybe I will trust my bumper more with 8 more bolts in it.

With the tie-ins you could "confidently" use the bow shackle points.... maybe?

 

[lBasket]

With the tie-ins you could "confidently" use the bow shackle points.... maybe?

Theoretically, I think you're right. The tie-ins are probably a better use of the space. The way the bumper is shaped plus just how it goes I'm much more likely to slam down on the corner I think than the center of the bumper.

 

[lBasket]

Currently in a hotel in Alamosa.

Looks like a control arm failure, driver rear lower. So weird, all the threads on this arm are completely gone on both sides of the arm.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/7NN6UAHnqfDyGQhc7

I'm going to see if I can get a mobile welder to weld the two pieces together so at least it doesn't flop around on me to get home.

Hopefully core 4x4 will warranty it? It's a strange failure

 

[Rickyd]

Currently in a hotel in Alamosa.

Looks like a control arm failure, driver rear lower. So weird, all the threads on this arm are completely gone on both sides of the arm.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/7NN6UAHnqfDyGQhc7

I'm going to see if I can get a mobile welder to weld the two pieces together so at least it doesn't flop around on me to get home.

Hopefully core 4x4 will warranty it? It's a strange failure

Measure the other side for a length to set it to and don't tell the welder its for a vehicle. Make up a lie about a tractor link or something so they aren't scared away by liability

 

[lBasket]

I ended up finding a 4x4 shop in Monte Vista, Colorado 4x4, really cool owner there. He had a set of skyjacker TJ/XJ arms he installed in 15mins. Very cool guy and the Jeep drives awesome again!

Seems like the other one failed because the jam nut came loose and allowed it to wallow out the threads and eventually pull them out, the inner threads and shank threads are just completely gone. Whoops! Tighten your jam nuts, folks.

 

[lBasket]

More broken parts!! U joint failed on the last switchback down cinnamon pass. Literally the last switchback before the dirt road to the highway. I was so mad.

The ujoint originally blew and took out the ears in the diff-side of the shaft.

Couldn't find a mechanic to help me in lake City and I didn't have an axle nut socket. So I decided to drive it to Gunnison to get some tools.

It had already done a lot of self-cleancing on the trail, so by the time I made that trip it was basically driving normally. In gunnison I decided to risk it and drive home - I just picked up some diff lube since it was leaking pretty bad. Stopped and filled it up every 30mins, ended up losing about 1/3q every 30mins on the highway.

Ended up being a nicer drive out with a known bad ujoint than my drive out with an unknown bad control arm lol. It honestly drove mostly normal.