Between this freeken Jeep and my even more pressing, fresher Vette project, I don't have time to ride my Uly even on a beautiful day such as this one, here in East Tennessee. Dammit!
My son and I sure had fun on our earth mounds yesterday. Now I have to build a better stronger transmission/transfer case cross member. Damn the torque! I also need another cross member under the engine. The big torque and huge tires are actually making the frame rails twist at the engine mounts.
Everything was fine until I started using the throttle, as I should, now that it has axles that will not explode. Hey Mark, like I told ya, my Jeep is going to follow the path of every beefed up 4x4 that has hit the trails by self destructing all of the rest of the unmodified stock stuff.
Mike, it sounds like you are having a great time with your Jeepin' buddies. Got any pictures?
How far do you guys go on a weekend adventure? Does the Jeep need to be licensed and so on? I may be headed to NW Pa this summer. If the wife gets me to get out of here for a week or so I will be taking one of the toys.
kinda like my 03 dakota 4x4, no lift kits out there for it.
got the kit on this sat. took 5 hrs with two of us supposed mechanics and it was still a pain. broken track bar bolt, frozen lower control arm bolts (in the bushings), two of the four rear shock bolts broke off, drive line vibrates like crazy now & the rear brake line is too short... but man she looks sweet now!
Do you suppose the Jeep Jamboree folks would have a problem with a foreign entry? Like this here truck(made in California).....
Could I make them feel OK about it by bringing pictures of my American made American Motors Jeep? You know, because it is outside their rules framework. Or perhaps a bumper sticker that says "my other 4x4 is a Jeep".
For the July event I could put on some grippy 32's. This truck is going to stay stock so 35's are out.
Etennuly, lots of pics on jeepforum and wrangler forum under the "hudson valley" threads. I have trouble posting pics on here from my phone but there are probably hundreds of pics on the various jeep and toyota offroad forums. NW PA is still 5-6hrs away from here, def would hit Rausch Creek in central PA awesome place to wheel. my place is small, just under 4miles of trails but we get a good crowd due to everything being illegal in NY, so much good wheeling around me but the hikers and bikers have it all and are very aggressive about reporting evil hordes of jeepers cleaning plastic water bottles from the trails (that we made...). Crazy place.
vern, nope no rubbing now with the 3" lift. (they rubbed before I lifted, the fenders) the wheels have 3.75" offset so they stick out couple inches more than the stock wheels oh and they're 31x10.50
rumor has it an xj with 3" lift and 31's are darn near unstoppable lol we'll see...
get to try her in the mud Saturday, gonna explore a local spot called the 'slate pits'
Major awesomness! My nephew did Moab a few years back. He still grins when he talks about it.
If you ever get a chance to check out Harlan Ky, they have a ride park that is, well let me say.....uh.....you not only need a lot of power, but you better have grippy tread and good brakes! I was there on a three wheeler about ten years ago, they have got some of the steepest longest trails I have seen. Not a place for the faint of heart, they air lift people out who make mistakes there.....that is, if they can find them!
wolf, just some local hole everyone has gone to for the last 30 yrs or so at least. i've never been even though i've lived here all my life. guess it's city property here in delaware & used to be an asbestos dump or something so they can't build on it. cops don't mind people going & having some fun. dirt bikes, quads, jeeps, whatever. guess there's a little bit of everything. mud holes, hills, we'll see tomorrow...
More testing completed yesterday. We had rain all day so our test track was slippery and sticky all at once.
Driving across the wet clay is fun and funny in a Jeep, not a serious problem like on the bikes. The tires went from 38.5" to at least 50" before it started chunking off. We did not get pictures because of the rain.
I have been running it harder and harder every time I go out to find breaking points. All in preparation for taking it to some 4x4 events. I sure don't want to tow 200 mile round trip only to have it break on day one.
Going up and over our biggest mound, that now has some deep holes and ruts dug in by my son's truck, has become quite rough. I kept sliding back down off the wet mud and grass attempting a slow climb, so on the fourth attempt I chose third gear and honked on it. The Jeep bounced over the bumps and jumped up to the top when I heard a big "SNAP".
It broke the front drive shaft universal joint straps on the transfer case side. The transfer case and transmission are about the only original Jeep parts under there. I have a Transfer case out of the chevy truck the axles came from, so if it explodes it is not a big deal.
I have a '99 Wrangler TJ that I dropped the gas tank out of to replace the rotted out stock gas tank skid. While I have it out I want to replace the filler neck as that is very rusty also. Problem is, the filler neck is discontinued (WTF!?!) and I can't seem to find any aftermarket suppliers that have them. I am hesitant to head to the local parts yard to pull one because it would likely be just as rusty as mine. I found some used ones on fleabay but I don't know how good they are. I may go that route but I wonder if any of you have any other ideas?
UPDATE: One I found on fleabay appeared to be in very good condition. I called the seller and they bead blasted it to inspect it for leaks/cracks, then shot it with primer to protect it. For $40 + shipping hopefully it will be a good one. It can't be any worse than the very rusty one that is on there at the moment!
hmmmmm, mine doesn't even have a skid plate out back. maybe i'll get one? woo hoo!! we recall modified vehicles. unless there are parts missing at the recalled part etc