A step in the right direction...

I managed to finally install the bearing kit that dramatically improved the steering in the Jeep.  What a huge difference it makes now.  Before, you could turn the wheel from side-to-side and not much would happen.  The kit part number is 4487696K and an be found on ebay from a variety of vendors. I purchased mine from the 4X4DUDE.

While I was working on the steering issue, I thought I'd attempt to take the slack out of the steering column.  To do that, I had to pull the steering wheel.  As it turns out, I can't get far enough into the column to see, much less fix, the looseness in the column.  But since I had the steering wheel of, I thought I'd go ahead and add a new smaller (13.5") steering wheel.  With the factory steering wheel, I can't apply the parking brake with the door closed due to having such long legs.  It is also a little difficult to get in the Jeep with the steering wheel in the way.  So I went to the local Autozone and picked up a Grant Steering Wheel.  Model number 415. It took a little of time to figure out how to install the wheel and still have the horn work.  After about an hour of struggling, I broke down and read the instructions.

Since I've installed the new bearing and steering wheel, the Jeep is MUCH more enjoyable to drive. It handles great!  Why didn't I do this a long time ago?
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Posted by Ray Shelton at 11/26/2006 7:47 PM | View Comments | Add Comment | Trackbacks
Faux by Faux?
My Dad decided that he didn't like the look of his 15x8 Street Locks that he bought for his TJ. He purchased some bigger and better wheels for his ride, and I got the hand-me-downs. Which suits me just fine as I need to keep this Jeep on a budget.  Just a quick trip to Discount Tire and the new wheels were on!

You can see what they look like here.
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Posted by Ray Shelton at 4/24/2006 9:52 PM | View Comments | Add Comment | Trackbacks
Which Winch for Which?
Today I reinstalled the winch on the Jeep.  This is the second time this winch has been on Ole Blue and will most likely not be the last Jeep it is installed on.  But for now, it is set...

What I found out is that the only difference between the CJ winch plate configuration vs. the YJ, is the end pieces that connect to the frame.  The CJ's turn down and connect to the side of the frame and the YJ's connect to the top of the frame.  The actual plate itself, where the winch bolts to, is the same.

My next step will be to install the remote winch controller.  There are already holes in the dash from the first install.  So it's just a matter of putting everything back in place.  The BIG action item is still to install the 30 spline axles and locker.  Stay tuned...
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Posted by Ray Shelton at 3/27/2006 8:48 PM | View Comments | Add Comment | Trackbacks
Playing with those other shifters on the floor
Well, I finally got a chance to get out in the dirt and put Ol' Blue through the paces.  My Dad and I went out to Gordon's ranch to knock the cobwebs off the Jeeps.  I led a small group through all the obstacles. 

First up was the crowd favorite, "The Rock".  The Rock is the staple of all Jeep outings.  Is is a very short, but very steep, loose rocky climb.  It looks really easy, but can be deceiving.  My first attempt at it, I just spun tires.  I rolled back and gave it a little more skinny pedal and managed to get up and over without much effort.  Once I got to the top, I realized that I never engaged my front ARB locker.  Which would explain the tire spin I experienced.

Then it was a trip over to "Double Take".  This hill climb is aptly named Double Take because you have to get started up with a little bit of speed.  Then at just the right moment, you have to slow down a bit for the Rock Crawling portion.  Ol' Blue made it up without so much as spinning a tire.  Which I was really impressed since I didn't air down at all.  All four tires had 28 p.s.i. in them.

We then worked our way around meandering through some really simple but fun trails.  We ended up at the the main obstacle. Gordon's Crack...  No, I'm not talking about Gordon's plumber's crack.  This is a nice little ledge notched out of the side of a hill.  I was the first to ever conquer Gordon's Crack in the Big Wheel Jeep.  I don't feel confident enough in the junkyard axles in Ol' Blue to give it a try.  But my Dad did manage to make the 'Crack with little to no effort.

Afterward, we headed back to the tank to swap lies and eat some Elgin Sausage.  I can't wait to get to go out again!
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Posted by Ray Shelton at 3/5/2006 6:51 PM | View Comments | Add Comment | Trackbacks
A light at the end of the locker...
Great news!  Thanks to my Dad, I now have a new set of tires & wheels for Ol' Blue.  Since he upgraded to 35" tires on his Jeep, he had a perfectly good set of 33x12.5x15 Goodyear MTR's sitting in his garage. I immediately took Ol' Blue out for a test drive and it drives SO MUCH better with the new rubber.  AND the speedometer is spot on accurate now!

It just so happens that he also had a 27 spline Detroit locker leftover from his Super 35 upgrade. So I took that locker and set it beside the broken 30 spline that I have.  It looks like the only thing that I am missing is the spacer bar and the screw that sheared causing the other spacer bar break. So I took the pieces from his locker and made one good locker out of the two.

Now I just need to put the new "Super 35" kit back into the Jeep. The only part that I am not sure about is how to check the backlash.  I've seen plenty of information on this online, so it's just a matter of doing it. I will do my best to photograph and document the whole procedure.
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Posted by Ray Shelton at 2/26/2006 9:11 PM | View Comments | Add Comment | Trackbacks
Sadness in my Happy Place
I was out in the garage tonight trying to figure out why the steering is so loose on Ol' Blue.  There is a bearing at the end of the steering column shaft that has slipped down a bit and was causing a wobble.  I managed to press that back a bit and get it more into position.  It will ultimately have to be replaced I'm sure.  There is still a pretty good amount of play further up the column.  I don't know how to get into the middle of the column to fix that.

The really sad news is that I pulled one of the rear tires off to take a look around and found that the previous owner's mechanic actually downgraded the axles in this Jeep.  Somehow, there was a broken pin in the old Detroit locker.  So his mechanic offered to fix it, naturally.  He replaced the locker with a 27 spline Detroit and two junkyard axles.  Luckily, I had the previous owner keep the old parts and provide them with the Jeep.  So I have two Superior Super 35, 30 spline axles and one broke Detroit.

I will have to look around on the web and see if I can find a 30 spline Detroit locker for cheap.  The lugs on the junkyard axles are not even long enough to come completely thru the lug nuts.  This is not safe and I'm sure that these big tires would shatter the junkyard axles with little to no effort.  In fact, I am surprised they didn't give way when I drove up the trailer.

This could be a huge deciding factor on which Jeep to keep...
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Posted by Ray Shelton at 2/22/2006 9:25 PM | View Comments | Add Comment | Trackbacks
Goof Off and plastics...
I stopped by the Home Depot today to get something to remove the leftover adhesive from some stickers that I peeled of.  I also wanted to clean up the GPS mount that had some double sided tape stuck to it.  For years, I have been using a product called "Lift Off" Which works great. It is a very mild formula and has never damaged any surface that I used it on.

Well tonight I used a new product called "Goof Off" and it really screwed up the plastic.  It sure took the adhesive off with no problem.  But when I added a second application to really clean it up nice... it started to eat away at the plastic.  So I washed that crap off asap and tried to salvage what I could from the mount.

I thought that I'd try attaching the GPS with Velco this time since I seem to be moving it around a lot lately.  I got it all in place and must say that I don't like it.  After having it firmly glued in place on my roll cage for so many years, it just bugs me watching it bobble around on the dash.  One day I hope to install a Poison Spyder roll cage.  That will allow me to reattach the GPS the way it was before and give me a nice firm placement.

The Goof Off did a great job on the thick adhesive that I had on the front fender.  It took that crap right off. So now the body looks a little cleaner.  The fumes were a little intense in the garage tonight.  I had to call it quits before I killed too many more brain cells.
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Posted by Ray Shelton at 2/16/2006 9:14 PM | View Comments | Add Comment | Trackbacks
Loose wires and steering
I happened to have some free time today so I naturally went out to stare at the Jeep(s) to see what I can tinker with.  There was a loose wire on the amplifier that I tightened up to hopefully stop the stereo from cutting out.  I also noticed that the steering column is really loose.  I need to get with Gordon to compare columns and see why mine is so loose.

I still have antifreeze leaking into the passenger floor mat.  I need to see about getting that replaced.  However I can't even figure out how to remove the dang heater core to replace it.

I guess I need to get another repair manual and dig into it before it bleeds all the anti freeze out.
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Posted by Ray Shelton at 2/15/2006 7:39 PM | View Comments | Add Comment | Trackbacks
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