Completed Project Kirby's Navajo Next Level

So I haven't been posting much or working on the Navajo. I have been wheeling some and dirtbiking alot and just not doing much new stuff to the truck. Anyway, I have been gathering parts and need to do some wrenching and take it to the next level. I did add a new door last night! The old one wouldn't roll up due to the new dents. Partly from Independance trail, partly from an encounter with a tree snow wheeling!

Here's the new parts going in:

1) 8.8 New Axle- The old one has some ghetto brackets and the pinion bearing is toast. I paid a guy to setup the gears and he must have set the pinion preload with an impact or something. I need to do something about this soon!

2) 8.8 Detroit EZ Locker Got it cheap

3) Dana 44 Detroit Electrac Its a gear driven posi until you push the button, then it is a spool. Got it Cheap

4) New Front Bumper. Got a Warn X8000I mounted up, now it needs some tube to keep the grill off the rocks!

5) Wristed Arm- Picked one up a guy built and didn't use for cheap. I need to redo the welds because I don't trust him.

Pics:
Parts:

Winch Mount ( I think I need to make a thread For this)

Side View

Top View

 

[BKennedy]

You must be thinking of the pricey auto fab ones. $370 for a set of motor mounts and tranny mount is silly. I looked at them and I agree I should be able to build them for $20 a piece or so. If there was some bolt in ones for something reasonable I would be happy!

Speaking of.............(towards bottom of page)
http://www.autofab.com/ranger_motor_mounts.htm

These don't look too hard to fabricate. I bet you could do it for less than $10.00 in bushings / metal. Those Autofab people think their stuff must be made out of gold or something...
JC Whitney has the basic mounts for cheap.
We should all get together and buy a set of the Autobab mounts, then use them as a template for making our own mounts. Since it was my idea, I get to keep the original mounts.....HE HE.
Oh, Energy suspension makes your basic transmission poly mount, but I have one and it flexed so much I had to put in that torque arm.

 

[Kirby N.]

Got it!

I think the autofab ones are not neccessary for a template. I am thinking of getting a set of autozone ones for measurement and cutting up my old ones for the build. Then returning autozones of course

My only issue is that it seems like with that type of bushing oriented that way there is pretty much no flex. Might as well be solid mounted you know?

I am kinda considering using the idea I got from redriverranger and replacing the rivet pin thing with a hardened bolt. Then a turnbuckle and a cable.

I don't know- if I swap the motor then I will be building a new crossmember anyway so I could just build some easy mounts for the bushings while I am there. I just was hoping someone had already crossed this bridge for me! It seems like others have, but all have dealt with it in different ways then I am looking to.

I have half a notion to replace them with stock rubbers and use a cabl limiter- then see how long she lasts!

 

[Kirby N.]

poly performance sells bushings for $9-$14! I can probably get tabs for them for another $4.

 

[RockRanger]

Rock auto has motor mounts for near half the cost of autozone. Atleast they did a few months back when I was looking for some.

 

[410Fortune]

Those Autofab people think their stuff must be made out of gold or something...
JC Whitney has the basic mounts for cheap.
We should all get together and buy a set of the Autobab mounts, then use them as a template for making our own mounts. Since it was my idea, I get to keep the original mounts.....HE HE.

LOL now you know why the Autofab mounts are $370, he did the R&R and no one else has and produced them

Urethane mounts are GREAT you dont WANT FLEX in your engine mounts, at least I dont, not on my toy...

You can build a set of Autofab like mounts easily, lift the engine, design, cut, build, etc PLENTY of people have copied Autofab before, and still they manage to sell plety of product also
AutoFab may be expensive but they have a saying over there

Pay once and cry once
or dont pay and cry forever

$370 for engine mounts = STEEP but dont forget you are paying for R&R which you seem to be afraid to tackle from scratch

 

[BKennedy]

$370 for engine mounts = STEEP but dont forget you are paying for R&R which you seem to be afraid to tackle from scratch

The engine mounts are actually $240.00, the $370.00 includes a transmission crossmember mount. I still think it is very steep for engine mounts. And really...........how much R&R is involved for a fabrication shop to make engine mounts? Not much. And no way is a fab shop going to take more than three or four hours to fab up a engine mount from mostly standard bushings and tabs. I have been to Autofab and they make great stuff, but then the owner argued with me about SAS vs "his" TTB setup being better for rock crawling, which I know is not the case.
And...........I am not "afraid to tackle" the job. Even a novice like me could fabricate engine mounts.

 

[410Fortune]

yes but John makes mounts for your application, when nobody else would touch it, so he can charge whatever the heck he wants!!

and I am with you, that does not mean I can afford it! LOL but we have to give him Kudos for always willing to support our platforms and for making TOUGH as nails parts, he refuses to cut corners and sell out like some other shops do, stingy ol timer for sure, but credit due where its due

 

[BKennedy]

yes but John makes mounts for your application, when nobody else would touch it, so he can charge whatever the heck he wants!!

and I am with you, that does not mean I can afford it! LOL but we have to give him Kudos for always willing to support our platforms and for making TOUGH as nails parts, he refuses to cut corners and sell out like some other shops do, stingy ol timer for sure, but credit due where its due

If I was a pre-runner or racer, I would go to him for sure. I like his TTB Dana 44 install in the ranger.
But, back to Kirby's build up.

 

[Kirby N.]

From what I have gathered I think maybe I am getting "blow by" on the rings instead of a head gasket??? I need to do a comp check. I am trying to figure out if it will be neccessary to do anything about said "blow by". :scratch: If it is not a reliability thing and only a sign of the 190K on this engine then I am not too concerned. Need to do some digging. I am thinking the getting hot and the oil leak may not be related.

 

[410Fortune]

Kirby are the upper and lower intake gaskets leaking?

Hows the PCV valve?

190K is nothing for a OHV

 

[Kirby N.]

No idea. I did see that the intake gaskets are common.

Basically, here are my symptoms (in my mind they don't point toward intake gasket- but what do I know!?!):

-Running hotter
-Leaking oil like a siv seamingly out of the new rear main seal I just installed (Third one to do this)
-super high oil pressure
- When I leave the crankcase relief hose out of the intake tube (you know that hose that runs from the valve covers to the intake) it blows oil all over the place.


SO I don't really know!


On a side note, my clutch hangup issue seems to be resolved. It still shifts hard if I push in the clutch and try to shift right away from a dead stop, but if I hold it in a split second, then shift- it is fine. I believe I fixed it by doing a few things: New flywheel, New clutch master and slave, bench bleeding the master, and sanding/ grinding with wire wheel the splines on the tranny to be sure the clutch disk moved freely and evenly. I think this combination is what finally resolved this issue.

 

[410Fortune]

nice! about the clutch

check your PCV valve, sounds like its BAD

your rear main may not be leaking it could be the O ring for the oil filter mount and/or the valve cover gaskets

190K miles = time to re-fresh the top of the engine, new lower intake, valve cover, and upper intake gaskets if you want to go a step further new head gaskets... the OHV upper gaskets LEAK LEAK LEAK around 200K especially after its been run hot, new gaskets = another 200K Miles

 

[Kirby N.]

Thanks for the response Jaime! So you think the oil pressure and oil leak is related to the pcv?:scratch: I will swap that out.

What are the symptoms of the intake gaskets leaking? I have no CEL and there is no sputter or running issues to speak of.

 

[slammer67]

Just buy a rebuild kit, pull the motor and git er done

the 4.0 isn't all that hard to rebuild. I did mine in about a week. but I didn't have any machine work - stock rings, just honed the cylinders.

 

[410Fortune]

it could be, PCV = + crankcase ventilation

if its not venting, what do you think happens to your crankcase? pressure builds up

if you shake it and it rattles, just clean it and put it back in

you can use carb cleaner around the intakes to find air leaks, but oil leaks are common on the back of yor engine around 200K miles, a quick and simple re-fresh did wonders for both of my 200K mile + OHV's, one afternoon, $35 in gaskets = seals it all back up!

 

[Kirby N.]

Just buy a rebuild kit, pull the motor and git er done

the 4.0 isn't all that hard to rebuild. I did mine in about a week. but I didn't have any machine work - stock rings, just honed the cylinders.

The last engine I rebuilt took me a year and a half!!

I have a 4.0 in the corner with 87K on it and it purred like a kitten when I pulled it out of an explorer and put it there for just such an occasion
Every once in a while I plan ahead...

 

[Kirby N.]

it could be, PCV = + crankcase ventilation

if its not venting, what do you think happens to your crankcase? pressure builds up

if you shake it and it rattles, just clean it and put it back in

you can use carb cleaner around the intakes to find air leaks, but oil leaks are common on the back of yor engine around 200K miles, a quick and simple re-fresh did wonders for both of my 200K mile + OHV's, one afternoon, $35 in gaskets = seals it all back up!

Sweet. PCV gets checked asap!!

I was unaware that oil could leak out of the upper intake. I would not be surprised if it were comming from somewhere above the tranny in the back of the engine though. $35 and an afternoon- NOW YOU ARE SPEAKING MY LANGUAGE!!

Thanks for the advice Jaime!

I will post up on progress!

 

[410Fortune]

is the O ring at your oil filter mount leaking???? very common leak source there too, as is the oil dipstick LOL

 

[Kirby N.]

So sometimes things just do not go as good as planned. Monday I hoped in the ol ranger for work and the clutch no worky. So the explorer has to be the commuter for a while! I am forced to drive it as is until I can figure out the ranga.

UPDATE: Ranja has a poopy clutch slave cylinder. I should have changed it when I did the clutch last fall. Yes I am a cheap skate. The truck only cost $200. Anyway, 2 hours later the tranny is on the floor, new slave is in and I discovered the pilot bearing is so completely toast. Parts stores are closed so maybe I can have it going by the weekend (pending a dirtbike ride to: (you guessed it) Moab!)

 

[Kirby N.]

So... the explorer has not gotten fixed yet! WOW it has been a while.

I traded the ranger for another ranger, so that isn't a time waster anymore. The new one is though!

I added a new PCV valve, but I don't think the old one was clogged. It was cheap enough that it can't hurt! I am going to look into some of those other things that Jaime mentioned could cause the oil leak. I am also going to pull the fan/ clutch off my spare motor and throw it on. Hopefully that will fix my cooling problem. In Moab it overheated and blew antifreeze all over the slick rock. I figured out that the stupid fan had stopped spinning. So I gave it a spin by hand and it took off on its own and it cooled right down.

It has been fine for running around town with the exception of the oil pressure soaring every once in a while:scratch: The temp has even been pretty good. Still leaks like a siv though!

I did make some progress a few weeks ago. We had been wanting to try my 7" BC Broncos springs out on the other SAS I built- my buddy phil's 95 Bronco. So broken Radius arm bolts were the perfect excuse to do a spring swap! We ended up having to replace the entire Radius arm. I couldn't get the broken bolts out for anything. I even broke off 2 more taking it apart. I replaced all the bolts with new Grade 8 9/16" bolts. I have seen that breakage before on Radius Arm setups. Hopefully this is the last time I have to mess with it. On a side note, we ordered a set of 7" BC coils for the Full size bronco. They were plush an flexed like crazy with his long radius arms. All the full size guys run cage arms. They are like 300 lbs/ square inch. The BCs are near 180#s I read somewhere. They made his bronc work incredibly well. Balanced, soft. lower. NICE! Those springs should be here this week sometime.

I am planning on running Carnage Canyon in Buena Vista, CO this weekend so I need to get the motor mounts figured out and weld up the engine member where moab cracked it!

I got this idea from redriverranger. I spoke to my friend who owns company that builds comp chasis and specializes in land rovers. He said rovers don't have much aftermarket support either by way of motor mounts and he fixes them like this too. Hopefully this will eliminate the over extending that comes when the chinsy rivet breaks.

Step 1: cut the head off the stock rivet and remove it:

Step 2: Replace the rivet with a 1/2"x 3" Flat head Allen Bolt and lock nut. Tighted it down nice and tight!

I used cheap Advance Auto motor mounts. Kinda wish I would have gotten motorparts ones. I had a credit at Advance so I used it. I also got a new tranny mount. My old one was toast too! We will see how they hold up to one of the harder trails in colorado this weekend Redriverranger suggested welding the nut on. I am tossing that around