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WhiteRhino's Latest Mods

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317K views 2K replies 189 participants last post by  whiterhino 
#1 ·
Sometime late last summer I was talking to Jim about modding his jeep and it snowballed and somehow I got in the middle of it. before I knew what was going on I agreed to build his jeep over again pretty much. The goal was lots of strength and a nice cushy ride while providing clearance for 40's in the future.

The entire build/arguing/problem solving thread is here: http://www.misfitoffroad.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=8991&start=0

it will be completely finished and wheelable in the next couple weeks.
here are a few pictures of the build:
 

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#1,697 ·
fill a few spline with grease and install/remove to see how much engagement? Maybe it's offset more than stock carrier? Could be really good on one side, and meh on the other.

Seems like the break would either be at the red line I drew based on internet experts, or where the splines meet the carrier. It seems like the spool would be also have to be fubar'd for a shaft to twist and break inside the splines.
 
#1,699 ·
Grease is a good suggestion which I will do. But I will also do the engineering thing of taking measurements. :d:

I'm extremely happy with the condition of the good shaft and would love to not need two different lengths. Even tho the other shaft looks good, it's getting reduced to being a spare.
 
#1,700 ·
Well this seems to be the year of dependable stuff finally showing its age. While at Silver Lake a couple weeks back I started blowing trans fluid out the trans vent. A quick phone call with TrannyTom @Tom led to pulling the trans for an inspection. As luck would have it, the Trans Master was going to be in Michigan this week. Tom tore it down and found my front pump shaft scored which was likely causing the blow by in the pump. Also, my first gear planetaries were showing some wear so he freshened it up with a new rebuild kit, front pump, input shaft and planetary cluster.

Watching Tom work on a trans is amazing. No way I could remember how all those parts go together. :confused:

Trans is back in and now it's time to button it all up. Glad it's 90 degrees and sunny. :sonicjay:

Thanks again Tom! :thumb:
 
#1,717 ·
Well over the years I have broken 3 or 4 Yukon stub shafts. Last week at the Loonie Run I broke another one. I was pretty convinced to upgrade to RCV’s until I started reading up on what a lot of rock crawler guys had to say. Seems to be mixed opinions on them. But what was very consistent was the opinions of Branik axle shafts. They come in 4340 or 300m. After talking to Brandon and Stan at Branik I opted for a set of 4340’s. Time will tell....





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#1,718 ·
Did they by chance say what the rockwell was on their shafts? I don't know much about the 300m, but if you're around the 40 Rc mark, should get some good rigidity with some shock loading capabilities with the torque loading of the 4340

Thought the RCVs might have been 8620, but they list 4340 and 300m. It appears they do not advertise hardness though
 
#1,720 ·
Yes. I’ve been gonna update but my picture taking sucks.

For the past 3 weeks I have been at the Oakland Mines ORV property staking some trails and installing boundary and feature signs. Lots of exploring. Then last Saturday @Ironman Offroad hosted the first ever event on the new site. Lots of fun.

Ironically while giving some Oakland County park staff a tour I had a bang. Turns out that after 10 years I ripped my front upper control arm bracket off the frame. What luck since I was in Harlan last month. So I limped it back to the trailer and last Sunday it went on the hoist for a preplanned mod.

The original build was 103” wheelbase. A couple years ago I stretched the rear back 3” to 106”. I’m now pushing the front end 3” forward with a target wheelbase of 109”.

As of this morning the frame bracket is repaired, bumpstops and track bar brackets are removed and the new links are made. 2 are in and the 3rd will be in within the next hour. Then I can cycle it looking for interferences and figure out the new track bar mount and what shock mounting mods are required.
 
#1,722 ·
Haven't taken any pics of value but progress is good. New track bar is mounted, upper shock mounts have been redone and the suspension has been cycled. Had several little spots to clear and I pulled out some old bracket stuff that has been obsoleted over time so it's a little cleaner underneath. This included the old limit strap mount so I had to fab new brackets and order a different length limit strap. Since the front of the frame is the original from 1990, it's 28/29 years old. I have plated a couple rotten spots in the past and I've been putting off a spot needing a patch so that was done and tied into the new frame track bar mount.

Oddly enough, by moving the front axle forward, my hydro hoses are now too long. Go figure. :confused: But since they are from the original DIY kit I can shorten them.

I hated my old Ballistic joints so back in 2013 or so I replaced them with Currie Johnny Joints. I have found them to hold up very well but never was able to get them to take grease and a couple of them were showing pretty good wear. I bought rebuild kits for all the joints and while I had them apart I discovered that there really isn't a good grease passage in the Currie bushings. So I added a grease passage on all of the bushings and low and behold, they take grease! :naughty: As a side note, I bought the Currie Johnny Joint rebuild press. Pricey but works really well. :woot:

This fall I had discovered my power steering cooler hose was seeping and had gotten a bunch of dirt and oil in the lower portion of my radiator. So I pulled my fan shroud and emptied 5 cans of brake cleaner into the radiator as I kept blowing it out.

Being longer, the front driveshaft is too short. It's been cut apart and the replacement pieces are cut to length.

Remaining to do:
- Put the front driveshaft together and weld it up.
- Charge the shocks.
- Install the front driveshaft.
- Install the limit strap when it arrives.
- Determine best solution for power steering hoses ~ cut or buy new.
- Shakedown run ~ just don't know when or where.
 
#1,725 ·
It will be the same as it was before as the ride height won't change.
However, I've never measured it so I don't know. :sonicjay
My TJ is going to end up with a 109" wheelbase and a 19" belly height. I'm a little worried it's to long and low for the wheeling here but I had to push my front axle that far forward so the axle tube is forward of the crank pulley.

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#1,726 ·
Here are a few pics. New track bar and bracket and plated frame.



Tight fit at full stuff. Note that air shocks never totally bottom out. I’ve found it hard to come within 1/2” of bottom.





A little driveshaft stretch tech. Since my current driveshaft had been modded in the past I had to cut out the old section of 2” OD tube and cut a new section. I’m a fan of piloting and also prefer a thicker wall than the standard 1/8” wall that is typical. So I cut a piece of 1-3/4 to sleeve the inner and act as a pilot. And since it had .002-.003” press, I had to use the press.



Then make sure there is an alignment line.



Then line it up with the yokes and do light tack welds on each side to keep it straight.





Then keep rotating and burning it in.



Paint makes it look professional. :sonicjay:





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