Daily Driver, Go Where I Want To Build

Mother wanted to see the mountain goats up close yesterday. Deer Creek and Saints John Trails. In and out from Montezuma.

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tworley said:
Those are some incredible shots
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It was surprisingly empty for a Labor Day Saturday. We saw a group of 6-8 rigs come down Red Cone. Saints John is a bit more exciting than I recall. Mom didn't like that part very much.
 
Guess I don’t know either. Was thrown off by this...
“An Eaton E locker is interesting, but I don't know enough about their reliability.[/QUOTE]
 
Last year, I recall reading about a bad batch where some type of internal clip would fail. I'm sure Eaton would have addressed that pretty quickly making it a none issue today.

The reliability of the Eaton E locker isn't something I would be concerned about. I just don't like that it unlocks for half a turn when you change direction forward or backwards. I do see the potential for damage to occur if it opens up while making several maneuvers over an obstacle. Given what happened with the one I have, I want to know that it is engaged and will stay engaged.
 
Nobody wants locker troubles of any kind. I have had an elocker for 4+ yrs and it has worked flawlessly for me. Rocked back and forth, backed up hills etc. with no problem. I threw in the video about Currie because I thought he might be the most respected person in the world when it comes to axles and if he would run an elocker in his then you couldn’t ask for a better endorsement. Run what you want. ARB’s are great.
 
I went with ARB lockers over E-lockers for one main reason: the less electronics on my Jeep, the better. Air actuated lockers just seem simpler to me and there isn't too much that can go wrong (at least in my cursory understanding of how they work). I did not know about how E-lockers disengage for a half turn when changing directions before I made my choice, but that fact would have solidified my decision. There are many times when I've been rocking the Jeep back and forth while locked on off camber rocks. Those half turns would cause some serious shock loading on the axle shafts in my mind (I don't have the lightest foot).

I have only been let down by my air lockers once, and that seemed to be a freak accident (the air line in the differential got cut by the ring gear, most likely due to an installation error). Besides that one incident, my air lockers have been flawless.
 
Here is a very good build thread from another forum.

https://www.jeep-owner.com/index.php?topic=1528.0

Two things interest me. First, are the raised body mounts. The side mounts are cut off and raised up on the frame. The rear of the frame, bumper and all, has been cut and lifted as well. No more body lift pucks and now a better departure angle with a little more room along the sides.

Also, this person has MCE fenders where he opened up the back side of the wheel opening.
 
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Wow that's an awesome build. I'm surprised raising factory mounts hasn't been discussed before (that I've seen), and I've also wondered why no one has ever moved their fill plug up like he has...
 
tworley said:
Wow that's an awesome build. I'm surprised raising factory mounts hasn't been discussed before (that I've seen), and I've also wondered why no one has ever moved their fill plug up like he has...
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It doesn't come up very often. Imped raised his body mounts like that. GenRight sells a set of raised replacement mounts, but the factory ones work just as well. On the silver LJ that Blaine recently built on JF, he mentioned that the next big project will have a raised rear frame.

I don't understand why the fill plugs aren't always placed up high. The last time I filled the rear diff, I needed to use the breather hole on the tube.
 
RussTJ said:
Where did you get the side mirrors and are you happy with them? I plan to pick up a set like those but the reviews are all over the place so I keep questioning which ones to get. I’d appreciate any advice. Thanks.
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The mirrors are CJ style from Rugged Ridge. The body brackets are relocation brackets. The arms are bent conduit.

Somewhere in here I go into more detail. What they are right now is the result of 3-4 revisions.
 
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@jjvw, is there any issue with running a 3-link front suspension on the street such as the Savvy mid-arm kit includes?

I’ve heard that some say it can be potentially dangerous on a street vehicle under load to only have 3-links, but I’m not sure if they’re talking about a 3-link with no track bar, or one with a track bar.

Figured I would ask you since you have the Savvy mid-arm kit and obviously run it both on-road and off-road.
 
A 3 link requires a track bar. I don't know where the added danger would be unless the single upper arm were to fail. So far, my welds have not failed after well over a year of daily driving and some longer trips. If the track bar broke, I would still loose steering just the same as before. Though, now the front would flop over to one side. I guess it is more dangerous if something were to break.

The only change I experienced after the switch to a 3/4 link was an increase in body roll. This is due to a significant reduction in the bind of the factory 5 link setup, and maybe also the Johnny Joints to some degree.
 
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