dreamr's finally elite

dreamr · January 31, 2005

Well, I knew this was coming, but I got sick of having that spare tire blocking my view out the back window, and killing all of my cargo space. Previously it had to lean at an angle against my tool box, and be tied down. Now things are a bit more convenient.

I usually sleep in the X when base camping so I wanted to create a false floor for the tire and all my gear to reside under. To cut cost I cleared my garage out of my many lumber scraps from reptile cage building. The walls were done with 1” thick pine and the top/bottom with ½ inch pine. There are also side pieces and a part that quickly slaps together for the front, to make a nice smooth bed.

On both sides of the box there are two heavy duty black handles for ease of removal and to be used as four tie down points. All is secured in place by tie downs running from the rear seat braces on both sides to another set of tie points on the rear of the box. The floor is also notched allowing a third strap to run from the factory tie down across the floor of the box to the other factory tie down. It does not move. Right now there is just a double coat of flat black, but the interior will be Herculined along with my rocker panels, and the outside may get carpeted and a floor mat over the top. Or just the floor mat…………..

First was a couple trial sizings to get the lowest possible box to clear my skinny spare.

Then a whole lot of sanding

Then the primer. This one got a lot as it had an under coat of deep wedgewood for cheesy reasons

Then the death by paint fumes (5 cans of paint plus 3 primer)

Now here is our finished product opened up and filled to the brim

When loaded with the packs or camping gear I still have a front access door

And for the cheesiness, but I couldn’t resist. Beside this has been my nickname for almost eighteen years (grade school teacher started it) It’s too bad I am not artistic enough to do a cool font with masking tape though.

Albino 94LTD · January 31, 2005

Now you need to build a circular water tight box to lift up where your spare tire used to be!

So you can carry even more crap.

Would lower your CG a little too, since you're drivin in the clouds now

(clouds, not smoke

)

dreamr · January 31, 2005

Albino 94LTD said:
Now you need to build a circular water tight box to lift up where your spare tire used to be! So you can carry even more crap.

Would lower your CG a little too, since you're drivin in the clouds now (clouds, not smoke )

Actually I have had plans for that space since I bought the vehicle they are just low on my priority list.........

The plan is to cut some of the tire bracketry out of there, and put either a 10 or 15 gallon auxillary fuel cell under there.

Just haven't really felt the need yet, and haven't figured out how to link them together for filling purposes, yet keep them seperated by an interior switch. Kinda like an old dual tank Chevy truck except I only want one fuel filler door.

dreamr · February 5, 2005

hee hee I think the UPS person will be visiting me soon, I think she has a crush on me

But untill then I got me some new shocks today as well as getting my exhaust re-hung. It now sits up higher due to the body lift as well as coming out on the side to avoid creek bed core samples in the future. :fire: The shop that byuilt my exhaust took care of this for free cause they're a couple nice old rednecks in there, and so am I under the city stress

Shocks were an extremely hard decision. I had it narrowed down to Rancho RSX on the top end or Pro Comp ES3000'son the bottom. I had searched and searched several boards for info, but it was all conflicting opinion. Rancho seemed to be favored by the off road crowd and Edelbrock by the street crowd. Where does that leave me. I drive 65% pavement,30% rough gravel dirt mud etc, and 5% nasty nasty play time.

Everywhere I searched Monroe were mentioned, but never really well elaborated on. Deeper research led me to discover that Rancho was actually made by Monroe. It seems that the company making these shocks developed Rancho for heavy use rigs (think super duty) And Monroe for light trucks/suv's/smaller vehicles.

Anyway still not satisfied I have made it a point to stop every time I pass a tire/suspension type shop this week. I asked what shock they would recommend based on how I use my rig. I was surprised when 10 out of 11 recommended the Monroe Reflex over my initial picks. I figure it's their job to make the customer happy, and it is what they deal with everyday. Plus they all seemed to agree, so I bought...............some Monroe Reflexes with Inertia Active Valving similar to the Edelbrock IAS, but cheaper

.

Of course they all wanted like 150 plus shocks to install

, so I went to the auto parts store and have a project for the weekend.

I'll post back when the UPS girl ( I'm tellin' ya it's always the same girl and MMM........my lips need moistened

) comes (no pun intended) and I have had a chance to test out my new shocks for a few days (Hmm I've got a good test in mind........miss ups lady can you help me with something

)

It will be interesting as my shocks are the originals with 93,000 miles on them (they are shot). I wouldn't worry yet, but they started squeeking and I hate that :fire: . I thought it was in the suspension, but Les Scwab shook it all down and it was all sound. Well except the obvious exhausted shocks.

Anyway till then............................................

dreamr · February 6, 2005

The Ups Girl still hasn't came for a visit, but I had the chance to take the truck for a bit of mountain driving, and am very pleased with these shocks!

On road and on the highway they have a very smooth ride. They are definitely a bit stiffer than my worn out originals, but they are not at all rough or choppy.

Cornering is greatly enhanced as is sudden stopping. Basicly the body roll and nose-diving is significantly reduced :roll: :thumbdwn:

On weather beaten forest service roads they were a real pleasure, as they seemed to just absorb all of those little bumps and washboard areas that used to really beat the piss out of me in the cab. I assume that this is the hallmark of the Inertia Active System these shocks use for valving. Now I understand why they are held in good regard be they Edelbrock, Gabriel, or Monroe, etc......... It's all in the valving.

So far I am quite pleased! They have yet to be worked really hard, so I have no idea about durability. But they showed me today that they are comfortable in a variety of terrains and that is a huge plus for an all terrain, all purpose vehicle.

While I had the tires off I re-hung my rear mud flaps to get them away from the tire, and also finished cleaning up my fender trimming so I could re-mount the front mud flaps. Just maybe I can keep away from the herculiner, but I think it is still coming anyway.

Till Ups day............................

dreamr · February 12, 2005

Well, my girl had quite the day today! She started out by heading out in the cold frosty morning to a strange, dark shop. She was slightly fearful as the smell of automotive blood (grease) filled the air. Her owner soon disapeared in a little black car, having abandoned her to fate. As a blood covered surgeon pulled her into the garage and her eyes adjusted, she glanced around. Her fear grew as the amputated members (axles) of many vehicle filled the gloom. She shed a quite tear as she resigned herself to the end. After all her sacrifices to meet his needs. This is her fate.

As time passed she noticed people crawling around beneath her. Here fear rose as she felt her sensitive inner workings poked and prodded. Soon though excitment set in as she saw the new shiny gears and the silver mechanism that could only mean one thing. With a giggle of joy she settled in for the long process and the promise of her owners return. The bliss of a summer spent in Alpine Meadows filling her day-dreams.

Finally the time arrived and she was pleased to feel the ease with which those feet got moving. As she arrived home she found that though her owner keeps pounding, cutting, and bending on her he has not forgotten that she is beautiful. In her own garage a sparkling white lens awaits her as her reward for being so patient with the car doctors.

Well the details rather than my ramblings right

.

Gears:
The 33's sucked with 3.73's so I bit the bullet and took her in for new ring and pinion's. I picked the Yukon Gear 4.56 sets to get her roling a little better, and hopefully to recover overdrive and a bit of fuel mileage. So far they feel much better, but I have to baby them for the first 500 miles, so we'll see how they are under heavy acceleration in a few weeks. Plus I need to get my tuner out to Bamachips for an update before I can really enjoy these gears.

Locker:
While they were in there I decided to have them install an Eaton E-Locker in the rear differential. I figured that I should need it rarely so the rear will be sufficient for the time. I have not got the wiring harness installed yet to check the operation, but the install looks pretty good. They put a small hole in the top of the dif to accomodate the wires. They seal it all back up and send you home with this huge harness to wire in

Oh well a project for Saturday I suppose.

I did get a bit of a spook as I was driving home though. My 4x4 lights started flashing, and when I tried the front end would not get juice to engage. I figured they had probably just for got to plug a sensor in so I started looking. I Found Nothing. I decided to pull the applicable fuses to check them. They were fine, but when I tried the truck again the front end was getting juice. Guess they put a fuse in screwy or something.

To read more click here

And Lastly the UPS girl finally payed a visit, though I only got one of three boxes. I'll forgive her for a few moments of her time though.

Clear Corners:
What she left was a little dress up piece for my truck. I felt bad after spending the whole winter cutting and hammering on her, so I had to get her a few pieces to pretty her back up. Anyway here's a pic of her new clear corners. I still need to get a hold of some of those silver bulbs, as the orange looks icky in there. I would have done it sooner but I could only find them for 30 bucks a pair and that seemed a little on the steep side. Maybe I can find them cheaper soon.

Untill the next installment take care and happy explorations.

Albino 94LTD · February 12, 2005

ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You're killing me, you're really killing me!

j602 · February 12, 2005

Damn, this project is moving right along. Nice work dreamr.

dreamr · February 12, 2005

LOL
It is almost time for me to start spending all my time in the mountains rather than the garage.

That's the m.o. Fish and hike all spring, summer and fall.
Build the rig for next year all winter.
I am just making up for lost time

I really am about done for the winter, and this last bit with the gears kinda bit into my funds. I financed it as I couldn't come up with 2,350.92 at once. Sadly though that means 50 bucks less a month play money

Premier · February 12, 2005

Damn.. Susan Spears is your UPS girl!? Hit that ****!

Since you regeared, do you have to change the speed sensor? Or does it not throw your shift points off?

dreamr · February 12, 2005

Premier said:
Damn.. Susan Spears is your UPS girl!? Hit that ****!

Since you regeared, do you have to change the speed sensor? Or does it not throw your shift points off?

Lol I couldn't resist when I saw the pic on that................ uh..........one thread...............

Doug of Bamachiops will be reprogramming my tuner to acomodate(sp?) the gears.

Odd that you mention the speed sensors though as my 4x4 lights started flashing again today and I lost the use of the front end. A quick search suggested the speed sensors on the t-case. I have yet to go look, but I hope Randy's just failed to plug in a connector there. I have no $ for repairs.

Premier · February 12, 2005

****.. I want to regear, but I dont know what it all entails with an auto tranny

I dont want to have to buy a chip.. For my '96, there are some teeth that you can buy for the speed sensor. Just pull it, and and get one with one more tooth(you geared higher). Might be a couple dollars is all.

If that doesnt work, call randys.

EDIT: I have a vss sensor, and need a chip(####). What kind of chip do you have?

dreamr · February 12, 2005

Premier said:
****.. I want to regear, but I dont know what it all entails with an auto tranny I dont want to have to buy a chip.. For my '96, there are some teeth that you can buy for the speed sensor. Just pull it, and and get one with one more tooth(you geared higher). Might be a couple dollars is all.

If that doesnt work, call randys.

EDIT: I have a vss sensor, and need a chip(####). What kind of chip do you have?

On my 99 the shifts, speedometer, and all that good stuff are controlled by the computer. I purchased a SCT Microtuner, so that I can have someone like Bamachips reprogram the computer to allow for any changes I make. I should have waited a bit before I had the program adjusted to correct my speedo with the 33's, but I thought the gears were further in the future than this

I suppose I should add to this a couple pics of the locker installed. Oh yeah, I can't it's in the dif and I ain't opening it after they crushed the first wiring harness, so here's all the pics you get.

The wires come out of the top side of the dif and follow my extended breather up into the tailight housing.

From there they pass through the grommet for the taillight wiring and run under the drivers side trim untill we were able to drop them into the wire channel along the floor. The leads come out under my dash for easy acess, and the relay is mounted behind the radio bezel.
The button I stashed away in my accessory 12 volt outlet. utilizing the power and ground already in place to power the locker. This put it on an isolated circuit with a fuse in the factory location. In addition to that a second fuse is in place on the hot lead to the locker.

bmxking5 · February 12, 2005

Nice lookin UPS girl

Let us know how the gears and locker do for you.

dreamr · March 3, 2005

Hmm I realize I never did post back with what else the ups girl brought me.
Guess I got occupied with 4x4 problems.

I had ordered some fancy new tailights when I ordered the clears, but after weeks and weeks of backorder I cancelled it.

She also brought me a box full of silver/amber bulbs and generally new bulbs all around where they were useful. I have both blue and white lighting in the cab now

. They are on seperate circuits so I have dim night lights for camping as to not wake the wee one. And brighter white lights for whatever you need more light for.

The silver bulbs sucked!! After 2 weeks the coating began to crack and blacken a bit. They were promptly replaced with Sylvania Silverstars amber /blue ionized bulbs. They still have a bit of orange, but at least they are not all speckled and black when off. It looked like I forgot the bulbs or something LOL.

More to come if Ford doesn't take all my cash...........

Plus in a week there will be a welder sitting in my garage. Once I remember how to lay a bead.....................................

Time for skids, sliders, and bumpers if I get brave enough.

Now for those gears. They are finally all broken in.

Sadly it feels about like it always has, so I can't tell the difference. You see I spent only 2 tanks of gas on 33's before regearing. That was not enough time to get used to the sluggish acceleration. Now it accelerates and launches the same as it did on 30's w/3.73. I don't know why I expected anything else, but it just isn't nearly as gratifying to mash on the throttle like I thought it would be after 500 miles of babying it.

The locker has yet to be tested off-road. I do look at the button occasionally and get all teary eyed over my lack of 4x4 right now.

FROADER · March 10, 2005

dreamr said:
And Lastly the UPS girl finally payed a visit, though I only got one of three boxes.

I know you're married with a kid but I couldn't help wonder which "box" you were talking about with that picture you posted?

dreamr · March 10, 2005

Fenderguy said:
I know you're married with a kid but I couldn't help wonder which "box" you were talking about with that picture you posted?

Well

I had to test the new shocks and tool box/ bed posted above somehow right

Crankcase · March 10, 2005

LOL! Your thread view count went WAY up after you mentioned the UPS lady was in this thread.

FROADER · March 10, 2005

dreamr said:
Well
I had to test the new shocks and tool box/ bed posted above somehow right

I would think so.

dreamr · March 11, 2005

Well since you are all mooning over my UPS girl I figure I should show you the goodies she brought today. See it's not about the UPS girl It's about my Mistress parked in the garage. Don't let her think otherwise or she'll fry a sensor or something

Of course many of you all ready saw my newest toy. It doesn't really belong to my blue lady, so you'll have to follow the link. It will however help her to protect that skin she is so proud of......once I remember my high school welding classes from a decade ago. clickity

Now I thought I was actually getting a friendly visit from UPS today as she was just here yesterday, but alass she left with only a smile and a present for my mistress. What was it? Well I felt the need to get my cornering ability back after the body lift so I picked up an Explorer Express rear sway bar of the recent group buy. The plan was to turn my end links into quick disco's, but why? It is only two bolts. I think I can manage that when I do my rare trip to a ORV area. We'll see how bad it beats me aound on my every weekend journey up forgotten fireroads and main FS roads to trails and lakes this spring and summer though.

On the Street this prety black bar makes all the difference. I think that it honestly handles better now with 5" of lift, 33" tires, good shocks, EE sway bar, and Energy Suspension bushings throughout than it did the day I purchased it bone stock. Well if you excuse the poor road manners of Mud Terrains that is

Notice how much thinner the stock bar is. The weight difference was quite significant.

Oh yeah I forgot to mention my other little side project while practicing my welding. I am not sure if I will use it cause it may look tacky, but possibly not as dark as my paint and tint are. First I need to get the paint to lay right. It isn't agreeing with my borrowed paint gun. Should have just used the rattle can I suppose. Well whatever that's why I got a junker to practice on and left my interior alone.

I should have another project soon, but again the mail delays me, so stay tuned. But it better hurry cause spring is here.

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