Completed Project 98 Mountaineer SAS...

[Stang5lgt]

Thinking blue...

 

[jfiato]

Ohhh now that Is sick

 

[Stang5lgt]

So Yesterday I adjusted the caster, beefed up the sway bar links, and added a steering stabilizer. No more death wobble. I took it down the highway at 70 mph and it does just fine. Still pretty soft ride in the rear but not too bad. Took the family cruisin put about 160 miles on the Merc around town.

 

[TarHeel085]

are you not concerned with the added weight of the locks? thats the only reason i havent gotten any yet, as i feel like im already maxing out the 30 with 35's and steel wheels. and are those from DIYBEADLOCKS?

 

[Stang5lgt]

are you not concerned with the added weight of the locks? thats the only reason i havent gotten any yet, as i feel like im already maxing out the 30 with 35's and steel wheels.

My buddy just ran Carnage Canyon BV with his HP Dana 30 4.56 locked with Yukon alloy shafts. Trail is rated in top 3 in Colorado. Pretty sure it is in the top 10 in the US. His axle is not trussed he is running beadlocks, 35 inch MTR. He aired down to 6 psi.

Here is video of him climbing to V notch I ran out of battery before he reached it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPsGuNBt0xM
I was going to follow him up but didn't want destroy the Mercs body going through the V Notch. He pulled cable 3 times on the trail took him 2 hours. This is pretty much the reason I decided to keep running the little 30.

Here he is on Rock pile on Chinaman. If this doesn't make you a believer in the 30 I don't know what to tell you. This kid is running tough trails and embarrassing guys in buggies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB6DWckf-hI

I know the XJ is not as heavy as Explorer or Merc but he has an internal cage, skids, and other parts that add weight. His rig has to be pushing 3500lbs +. So I think I will be fine with beadlocks.

 

[mounty71]

What rear axle is he running? He also seems to be pretty smart with the throttle.

 

[Stang5lgt]

What rear axle is he running? He also seems to be pretty smart with the throttle.

He is running the factory 8.25 29 spline with no slip lunchbox. 4.56 of coarse I set up his gears for him. Yeah he is a lot better on the throttle then he used to be.

 

[Stang5lgt]

So already put 1500 miles on the Merc. Love this thing. Sounds good, runs good, and gets a lot attention. I get thumbs up, and guys yelling across traffic asking about it. Never had a rig that got this much attention even the cops point and smile. Soccer moms look in horror as there kids smile and point(pissed off soccer moms are the best means I did something right). LOL my boys love riding in it. Have not picked up bolts for the beadlocks yet just have not had time been busy.

Only thing I plan on adding at this point is a rear sway bar. The rear leafs are just too soft and at 70 mph tend to make the truck bounce back and forth when hitting large bumps. So far MPG seem to be holding around 13 in the city. And about 16+ on the highway.

 

[Stang5lgt]

Ordered one of these bad boys for the Merc...

Dana 30 Truetrac

 

[Stang5lgt]

More goodies today...

 

[gmanpaint]

Oh Lordy.

 

[turboexplorer]

I believe he installed it this afternoon

 

[Stang5lgt]

Yep she was in before lunch. I had some spare time in between jobs so I threw it in real quick.
Can't even tell it is there in 2 wheel drive. Smooth as silk and no noise.

 

[Stang5lgt]

Well this is interesting. I am getting vibes(75 mph) from the Truetrac. Installed one for a customer last year with 4.88 gears at the same time. He said he was getting vibes so I checked the gears again. They were perfect. He also tried different drive shaft and all kinds of pinion angles. Didn't help so he gave up. Cause we thought no way it was the TT doing it. Been driving the Merc for 3,000 miles now no vibes at all. So I swap TT in and set the gears just like they were before. I start driving home first day notice on the highway I feel something, thought must be tires or something. Same thing again the next day. I get vibes and faint noise at 75 mph. I can feel it in the steering wheel. And before you think drive shaft or something it is not even installed. I have a new one I have not installed so there is no front drive shaft in right now.

So I did some searching looks like this has happened before to other TT owners (not real common but has happened). Guys say something about running thicker gear oil so I might try that when I change the oil. The Detroit no spin is smooth as silk in the rear. So having this vibe is very strange.

 

[Turdle]

I assume your hubs were locked "on"? It seems strange that the front locker would make any difference at all with the hubs unlocked, as nothing would be rotating other than the front tires.

 

[Stang5lgt]

The Dana 30 has no lockouts on it. So the shafts spin all the time. I agree is strange. But I know this rig very well now. It is my DD now. Drive it 60 miles a day same road everyday. So I knew right away when something felt different.

 

[turboexplorer]

Have you found any new news on the TrueTrac? Still vibrating?

 

[Stang5lgt]

Have you found any new news on the TrueTrac? Still vibrating?

It is about the same. I just have gotten used to it.

 

[Stang5lgt]

Got them done today. My buddy Mike helped me knock them out. Took us 3.5 hours total. I painted steering and long arms to match.

Sway bar is hooked up so didn't get much flex.

 

[turboexplorer]

Looks great! Turned out real nice. Have you gone on any runs with the TT?