Wildman's TJ is getting a face lift

[Wildman]

No shocker here but it's been raining on the wetside of the mountains since early this morning.
But I was surprised to find this....

I'll have to go back and make sure the drain is cleaned out.

 

[5632]

Could you tell any difference between the old motor and the new one?

 

[Wildman]

Could you tell any difference between the old motor and the new one?

Yes, my old motor was never running right but this Hemi for sure has more power.

I'll need to get it on the trail more to get a full feeling for it.

 

[Wildman]

I went truck shopping yesterday since I wasn't wheelin. My old Ram 1500 was struggling to pull my Jeep so I wanted a 3/4 ton instead.
I was looking at a few Fords and then found the perfect truck for me.

It's a 2012 Ram 2500 Mega Cab CTD. 4WD of course because of where I live.

This is my 3rd Mega Cab I've owned so far and really like the additional cab space.

One reason I picked this truck was because it had the Ram Box option.

And it's a Laramie Longhorn package which just adds some cool stitching to the seats.

Pioneer stereo and dual climate control. Heated and cooled seats plus heated steering wheel.

If you've never been in a Mega Cab and have kids it's worth a look.

And there's even additional storage space behind the back seats.

6.7 Cummins turbo diesel engine and a 6 speed automatic transmission. 68RFE btw.

Wheels wouldn't be my first choice but they're growing on me.

Now I'm set for towing the Jeep with either this truck or the motorhome.

 

[DaveF]

OK that doesn't work... my next thing to learn is how edit video...

I was about to say "on those first rocks you have to climb the peak on the left then bear driver a bit to grab the rock behind it" when crash got out and gave you the same advice lol. Those rocks catch a lot of people... I barely get over it and need just the right line, but I still scrape/bang every time.

 

[Wildman]

I was about to say "on those first rocks you have to climb the peak on the left then bear driver a bit to grab the rock behind it" when crash got out and gave you the same advice lol. Those rocks catch a lot of people... I barely get over it and need just the right line, but I still scrape/bang every time.

I'll try again next time.

 

[reddvltj]

I went truck shopping yesterday since I wasn't wheelin. My old Ram 1500 was struggling to pull my Jeep so I wanted a 3/4 ton instead.
I was looking at a few Fords and then found the perfect truck for me.

It's a 2012 Ram 2500 Mega Cab CTD. 4WD of course because of where I live.

This is my 3rd Mega Cab I've owned so far and really like the additional cab space.

View attachment 577848

View attachment 577849

View attachment 577850

One reason I picked this truck was because it had the Ram Box option.

View attachment 577851

And it's a Laramie Longhorn package which just adds some cool stitching to the seats.

View attachment 577852

Pioneer stereo and dual climate control. Heated and cooled seats plus heated steering wheel.

View attachment 577853

If you've never been in a Mega Cab and have kids it's worth a look.

View attachment 577854

And there's even additional storage space behind the back seats.

View attachment 577855

6.7 Cummins turbo diesel engine and a 6 speed automatic transmission. 68RFE btw.

View attachment 577856

Wheels wouldn't be my first choice but they're growing on me.

View attachment 577858

Now I'm set for towing the Jeep with either this truck or the motorhome.

View attachment 577856

Nice score Rick!!!

Looks like she needs to go on a weight loss program. Oh and do yourself a HUGE favor. Look up ATS's Case brace for the 68rfe. Come to think of it... Isn't the trans in your Jeep a 545rfe?

 

[Wildman]

Nice score Rick!!!

Looks like she needs to go on a weight loss program. Oh and do yourself a HUGE favor. Look up ATS's Case brace for the 68rfe. Come to think of it... Isn't the trans in your Jeep a 545rfe?

View attachment 577927

Yep already looked at that... And yes I can put one on the 545RFE in my Jeep too if I wanted.

 

[DaveF]

I'll try again next time.

for what it's worth, it's easier the other direction

 

[Wildman]

for what it's worth, it's easier the other direction

OK. Good to know.

 

[Sj's TJ]

Congrats Rick, I know that was a long time coming. My first shakedown run only lasted a few hours so I would count yours a big win. Was the trans temp constantly running over 200*? I know with mine it only creeps over 200* if I'm on a long climb and I'm give it the beans throughout the climb, then it'll go back to normal 180*s when it flattens out or going downhill.

 

[Wildman]

Congrats Rick, I know that was a long time coming. My first shakedown run only lasted a few hours so I would count yours a big win. Was the trans temp constantly running over 200*? I know with mine it only creeps over 200* if I'm on a long climb and I'm give it the beans throughout the climb, then it'll go back to normal 180*s when it flattens out or going downhill.

It steadily climbed through out the day and once above 200⁰ stayed there. So I think adding the second cooler with fan is a good idea.

 

[Sj's TJ]

It steadily climbed through out the day and once above 200⁰ stayed there. So I think adding the second cooler with fan is a good idea.

Agree on a cooler with a fan. Mine's not in the best place on the inside of the tailgate, but it does the job.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

It steadily climbed through out the day and once above 200⁰ stayed there. So I think adding the second cooler with fan is a good idea.

Remind me, Rick - what is the current tranny cooler setup?

 

[JMT]

I do t think you need another cooler at 200*F. If it’s getting over 220*F then yes. So, if you’re going to be in environments with ambient temps over 20*F of what you saw at Reiter, then yes, or just a single better cooler. I don’t know what you have now.

 

[Wildman]

Remind me, Rick - what is the current tranny cooler setup?

I just have a medium cooler up front. Can't remember the brand and the box is at home. It's about a 7" x 11" cooler.

I do t think you need another cooler at 200*F. If it’s getting over 220*F then yes. So, if you’re going to be in environments with ambient temps over 20*F of what you saw at Reiter, then yes, or just a single better cooler. I don’t know what you have now.

It was on the cooler side Friday with temperature in the mid 40's. I was seeing temps above 215⁰ by the time we stopped which was around 1:30. So if we'd ran a few more trails I might have seen 220⁰.
And my guess is that if it was warmer out I'd have seen higher temperatures also.
Without having to completely redo my current cooler setup there isn't a way to add a larger cooler for the transmission.
But the spot I've got picked out for the second cooler is above the rear axle on the passenger side where a stock muffler would normally sit.
So adding it there will be easy and I've already got it. It's a nice B&M with a fan mounted and a thermostat. So the fan will only run when needed.
I'd like my temperature to be 200⁰ and less 95% of the time.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

I just have a medium cooler up front. Can't remember the brand and the box is at home. It's about a 7" x 11" cooler.



It was on the cooler side Friday with temperature in the mid 40's. I was seeing temps above 215⁰ by the time we stopped which was around 1:30. So if we'd ran a few more trails I might have seen 220⁰.
And my guess is that if it was warmer out I'd have seen higher temperatures also.
Without having to completely redo my current cooler setup there isn't a way to add a larger cooler for the transmission.
But the spot I've got picked out for the second cooler is above the rear axle on the passenger side where a stock muffler would normally sit.
So adding it there will be easy and I've already got it. It's a nice B&M with a fan mounted and a thermostat. So the fan will only run when needed.
I'd like my temperature to be 200⁰ and less 95% of the time.

If it’s a decent cooler, that should be sufficient - if you are getting enough air flow. Hate to say it, but your fan may not be moving enough air - especially if you have the condenser in place. If memory serves, didn’t you do the smaller 300 watt spal fan?

I’d hate to see you have to run that secondary fan under the deck. As you know I ran one of those for a while and absolutely hated it. It also did not do a great job of cooling for me.

 

[reddvltj]

I just have a medium cooler up front. Can't remember the brand and the box is at home. It's about a 7" x 11" cooler.



It was on the cooler side Friday with temperature in the mid 40's. I was seeing temps above 215⁰ by the time we stopped which was around 1:30. So if we'd ran a few more trails I might have seen 220⁰.
And my guess is that if it was warmer out I'd have seen higher temperatures also.
Without having to completely redo my current cooler setup there isn't a way to add a larger cooler for the transmission.
But the spot I've got picked out for the second cooler is above the rear axle on the passenger side where a stock muffler would normally sit.
So adding it there will be easy and I've already got it. It's a nice B&M with a fan mounted and a thermostat. So the fan will only run when needed.
I'd like my temperature to be 200⁰ and less 95% of the time.

I can't remember off the top of my head if you already have an aluminum pan or the stock steel pan?

Also I know realestate is in short supply but if you have room a finned deep pan can reduce temps by 10° to 20° over the stock pan. That's a personal observation in both my '06 and the '10 we use on the mail route.

 

[Wildman]

If it’s a decent cooler, that should be sufficient - if you are getting enough air flow. Hate to say it, but your fan may not be moving enough air - especially if you have the condenser in place. If memory serves, didn’t you do the smaller 300 watt spal fan?

I’d hate to see you have to run that secondary fan under the deck. As you know I ran one of those for a while and absolutely hated it. It also did not do a great job of cooling for me.

When I bought my radiator and fan from Wizard they weren't offering the 500 watt fan with my setup.
My engine temperature never went above 200⁰ all day. But yes you could be correct that I might need to get the 500 watt fan.

I know you used to have a cooler in the back of your rig.
And yes I know a lot of people dislike it for the noise. I didn't know it wasn't doing a good job cooling for you.

 

[starkey480]

Something tha


I don't know yet I've only used it to load the Jeep onto the trailer. But my prosthesis thought it might help.

One thing @starkey480 might find interesting is this Rush foot is made out of the same materials as a pole valt is made from.

Edit: One answer is that the Sport foot (Blatchford) is made for medium activates like baseball or other sports like that where the Rush foot is just a water foot made for wearing in the shower or at the beach. It's got some flex but compared to the sport foot its very stiff. I'll see how I do with it out on the trail this weekend.

Just now seeing this! Is it fiber glass?