[imbezol]

I haven't really done any changes to the Jeep since my last post other than small things here and there. Still putting some coin together for the tire upgrade. Anyways, some friends and I went out Saturday and did some playing around. Here are a few pics. I couldn't get any higher up the hill without lockers.







And a treasure we stumbled upon..

[spyder6]

canadians....

i wonder if thats from prohibition

[DixiesCJ3B]

Your jeep looks awesome man, congrats

[imbezol]

This Christmas I got an in cab winch controller from the 12 volt guy from my bro Raskull. I'd been putting off the installation since the Hanson bumper I have requires you to drop the bumper and winch together but I wanted it done and the bumper was in serious need of a repaint anyways.



So I took almost an entire day grinding, sanding, and repainting the bumper. I love Hanson's bumpers, but I'm pretty ticked that the paint job only lasted a few months. It looks like they painted over a rusty bumper that sat out in the yard until sold.






I put three coats of primer on and 2 coats of flat black. Unfortunately I forgot to get a pic of it after it was painted but you'll see in the future pics that it looks much better.

[imbezol]

So I also got the winch control installed while I had the winch off the Jeep. It was a neat install and not too tough.

[imbezol]

2 weekends ago we went about an hour north of town for a small day trip on some easy trails with some decent hill climbs. Well, an easy day turned into a bit of an expensive day. I ripped the cables out of one of the KCs, I lost the cover off the same KC and couldn't find it, my new camera got run over (!! luckily it still works though the case is dented and the lcd is broke), and I bent my tierod up.

We got it straightened (twice) using a combination of winch and bottlejack so I could drive back to town.

[imbezol]

So that week I looked at options for upgrading the tierod. I decided to try what Stu had written about on his page and upgrade to a tie rod from a ZJ. What an easy install that was and it must be more than twice as strong as stock. Thanks Stu! http://stu-offroad.com/steering/zjtie/tierod-1.htm

Pics:

[imbezol]

This weekend we made a trip to a trail called Big Bear near Prairie Creek (no, it's not in California). It rained the entire time we were there but it made for some pretty awesome wheeling conditions. The new tie rod performed well and there was no damage to report (for me, anyways).

Some teaser pics and then at the bottom there's a link to my bro Raskull's site where there are tonnes more pics and awesome videos. They're worth checking out!

We had about 15 Jeeps come out.. everything from stock to a couple big YJs on 42s. We split into smaller groups and our group had 5 Jeeps which was just about right. We all had winches and the trip would have been hell if we hadn't had. There were some spots that took three full length winch pulls to get up because of the steepness combined with all the water, mud, and ruts.












And here's a youtube video of my climbing what's called Rut Hill, which is what the third last picture is looking up.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=gfpCKakyCIY

And finally, here's my bro's site with all the other pics and videos.

http://myjeeptj.com/wpg2?g2_itemId=10107

(Hint: the first thumbnail is the link to the videos)

[raskull]

And for those who want a full trip report, I just published it! Hot off the press.

http://myjeeptj.com/2008/05/27/ejc-big-bear

[Timmah707]

I just spent 30min. checking out this entire write-up and wow. I am impressed!!! great write-up! Great Jeep! 1 question though, what did you do about the the tire rod end hitting the steering stablizer mount??? I'm having a similar problem after my 5.5" RELA install. Keep posting!!!!!

[imbezol]

Originally Posted by Timmah707

I just spent 30min. checking out this entire write-up and wow. I am impressed!!! great write-up! Great Jeep! 1 question though, what did you do about the the tire rod end hitting the steering stablizer mount??? I'm having a similar problem after my 5.5" RELA install. Keep posting!!!!!

Thanks!

I fiddled and fiddled with the front control arm lengths to try and roll the axle back a bit to make a bit more clearance. Once I had done that it only rubbed slightly and then it sorta clearanced itself after a bit from rubbing. However, now that I've done the ZJ tie rod conversion I have about 3/4" of clearance so I think it may have been partially caused by a slightly tweaked tie rod. With this lift you really should upgrade the tie rod anyways since the stock one is so dinky (I bent it running only small 31s!). Well worth it in my opinion.

[jeepicon-com]

i too just spent a long time reading this build, very nice jeep and build diary. Your bro's site is very nice too

when are the bigger meats coming?

[Timmah707]

Originally Posted by imbezol

Thanks!

I fiddled and fiddled with the front control arm lengths to try and roll the axle back a bit to make a bit more clearance. Once I had done that it only rubbed slightly and then it sorta clearanced itself after a bit from rubbing. However, now that I've done the ZJ tie rod conversion I have about 3/4" of clearance so I think it may have been partially caused by a slightly tweaked tie rod. With this lift you really should upgrade the tie rod anyways since the stock one is so dinky (I bent it running only small 31s!). Well worth it in my opinion.

Thanks, that's about where I'm at. I'd like to get the ORO U-Turn but it's a bit out of price range right now. Heard anything about the Rock Krawler X-Factor steering kit??

[imbezol]

Originally Posted by Timmah707

Thanks, that's about where I'm at. I'd like to get the ORO U-Turn but it's a bit out of price range right now. Heard anything about the Rock Krawler X-Factor steering kit??

I don't remember what it was offhand but I remember seeing something I didn't like about the ORO U-Turn. Anyways, I haven't researched any of them very much because I plan on doing high-steer with my Waggy 44 eventually. I didn't want to drop several hundred dollars on a steering system for my D30.

[Timmah707]

Originally Posted by imbezol

I don't remember what it was offhand but I remember seeing something I didn't like about the ORO U-Turn. Anyways, I haven't researched any of them very much because I plan on doing high-steer with my Waggy 44 eventually. I didn't want to drop several hundred dollars on a steering system for my D30.

Roger that! good thinking. oh, and it was the "price" that I didn't like about the ORO!