The adventures of a Jeep and its driver.
I wanted something the would prop the Tuffy deck open when I needed to get into something in the back. Got this idea from a Jeep forum.
A little aluminum angle iron, a hinge and some super lock velcro.
Tuffy sells some material to go on the deck for a non-skid surface, but it is uber expensive. This is tool box shelf material I picked up from Harbor Freight.
Took it to Rausch Creek for the 5th Annual JK Freak Fest.
Love the flex on this lift! This is going up Yellow Jacket. Pretty happy with how the Jeep is functioning these days.
Took it to Nella Enterprises in Streetsboro and got it up on the lift. The owner/mechanic was pretty cool. Listened to what I had to say.
Discovered why the seals failed. I installed them perfectly, so says the mechanic. But the pinion bearing was worn and loose. Found a not-so-nice present on the end of the drain plug.
That’s a lot of shavings!
Which meant these were all junk.
Replaced all of the bearings with a set from G2 @ Summit Racing. My driveline vibration is gone!
It was money I didn’t want to spend, but money well spent.
Finally put on it’s name tag.
Getting ready to head to Tennessee for the first Jeep Jamboree of this year. This will be my third Jamboree and I have 2 others scheduled this year.
My wife bought be a GoPro for Christmas a while back so I could video my trips. I have a few batteries and typically use an app on my tablet or my phone to monitor the video and to start and stop. But the bluetooth/wifi connection drains the batteries pretty fast, so I wanted to get something that was wired in and waterproof.
Put a water proof USB port under the hood. This is meant for a motorcycle, but works for Jeeps, too.
Also bought a waterproof back for the GoPro case that has a connector for a wire that plugs into the back of the camera where the LCD screen would normally plug in. This provides power to the GoPro. Set up some connectors for the window mount.
Also made a setup for the front bull bar. I used a handle bar mount my son bought me for Christmas last year, plus a BUNCH of connectors to get the GoPro horizontal again.
All of that setup, I can run the GoPro app on the tablet in the upper console location.
Can’t wait to get some good video this year!
Order a Tuffy Security Deck for the rear. This model is discontinued, but I wanted one sooner than I would have to wait for the new one to be released. Thanks to Fusion 4×4 for the quick ship!
No install pics. But it went in pretty easy. Took about 90 minutes. I had to loosen it up and readjust it a couple times.
I like the fact I now have a secure place to put things, especially when the top is down. It has some weather stripping on it, but I wouldn’t call it weather proof.
Took it to Southington for a dry-run. Everything seems to work as planned. I didn’t go too rough on any trails. Just enough to see how the lockers were working – and they did great! Can’t wait to push it even more.
The paranoid part of me was feeling a slight vibration at around 65 Mph after installing the lengthened driveshaft with the conversion u-joint on it. So I took it off and took it back to Cleveland Clutch. They rebalanced the shaft. Put it back in and I still feel the same, very slight, vibration. It may just be in my head, or it could be something else. Not sure. The front pinion angle looks OK, but I don’t have an accurate enough angle finder to trust it. I know it should be a couple degrees off from center, and my bubble gauge seems to read just that. It’s a double cardan joint at the t-case, so I know that input/output angles do not need to match. My mechanic seems to think that it’s OK. It could be a tire ever so slightly out of balance, pinion bearing, or my imagination.
Leaving for Tennessee on the 27th. If my t-case doesn’t explode, I guess I’m OK.
I finally installed my Ace Engineering door hangers I bought last July. These things are really nice. I mounted a couple of sections of 2×12 to a couple of the studs, then mounted pieces of 2×4 to them vertically. I lagged the hanger into the 2×4’s. Without the 2×4’s I wouldn’t be able to flatten the doors against the wall without the mirrors hitting. They’re pretty much going to stay here 90% of the summer. For longer trips, the doors go back on. The soft doors are too damn noisy.
New ABS/wheel speed sensors installed (no pictures). Pretty easy to swap if you don’t have that stupid dust shield in place. So glad I didn’t put those on. The hubs were so new that taking the old sensors out was a breeze. The new wires are a full foot longer than the old ones. I zip tied them to the brake lines and they are the same length. If I’m popping one, I’m likely to lose the other.
The remaining to do items list is getting shorter. I need to check the front diff fluid again. I’m not 100% sure I have the right amount in there. I checked the level this morning and it was darker than I expected it to be. Not sure if I need to be concerned about this or not.
Trying to get this axle swap buttoned up. A few small details remain.
Painted the drive shaft yesterday. Went to put it in this morning. Did you know you can’t mate a 1310 U-Joint on the end of a drive shaft to a 1350 yoke on the pinion of the axle? Of course, I did, but what I didn’t realize was that the pinion yoke on the axle was a 1350. Oops. I have no idea why I didn’t pay attention to that. Of course, I realized this AFTER I had attached the shaft to the t-case.
Got lucky and Summit Racing had a Spicer 1310/1350 cross over U-Joint and a set of 1350 U-bolts. I’ve never replaced a U-Joint. YouTube to the rescue! Found a video that explained it very well and gave me the confidence to take care of it myself.
I am a little disappointed that they only had a greasable joint. The other u-joints are all solid.
You can see the size difference here.
Got the front locker wired up so I could put the dash panel back together. I put the locker power switch in the lower dash panel where my lights are controlled. I put the locker switches in the dash panel to the left of the steering wheel. All parts came from OTRATTW, minus the blue locker indicator LEDs.
The locker power switch is fed by a switched 12v supply, so it can only be powered when the ignition is on. This energizes a 40 amp relay which feeds, through a 15A fuse, the front and rear locker switches themselves, which in turn supply power to the lockers. I did not add a relay between the locker switches and the lockers. I felt that was redundant and unnecessary. The indicator LEDs are powered from the battery directly and get a ground from the locker indicator plungers in the diff housing.
So the lockers cannot be engaged with the power switch off or the ignition off. But, if something is wrong, the indicator lights should still light up if the locker is stuck on. I’d like to say that the LEDs are purposely off centered. Maybe one day I’ll fix them. It’s just a blank panel in the middle that’s removable. Next time I order from ORTATTW I’ll replace it. I’m in no rush.
The last detail is to replace the ABS wheel speed sensors. The cables that came with the new hubs were only 24″. The stock ones are 36″. As much as my axle droops, I’d rip out a sensor on the first wheeling trip.