The Black Hole

[Turdle]

Yeah warm and fuzzy is nice but this is ridiculous. Hot and prickly is what it is--hot and prickly with too much chili.

 

[MrQ]

Gman, about the shifter plate. There are 4 dimples in the plate. Draw straight lines to all of them and cut it out. I have a pic handy somebody gave me for when I cut my xfer case shifter hole.

Hope that helps.

 

[rookieshooter]

It's been many years when I've last done a clutch, but the ones I did you had to make sure the proper side of the clutch disc was facing the flywheel. Some of these discs have springs that stick out further on one side.

Just noticed you have the exact tires I have, except mine are 33s and love um.
Over 4 years on them.
To bad you can't use my American rims. They are Black spokes that I can't use anymore since I'm going with a 5 on 5.5 pattern. 2 are off now and later in a couple weeks the others will be off, might even have a spare also.

 

[gmanpaint]

Gman, about the shifter plate. There are 4 dimples in the plate. Draw straight lines to all of them and cut it out. I have a pic handy somebody gave me for when I cut my xfer case shifter hole.

Hope that helps.

Can the dimples be seen from under the rig looking up at it? You are referring to the trans shifter correct?

If you have a picture, that would be great, thanks!

Edit: For some reason the pic didnt show when I replied to you...weird....lol

I see it now.

 

[gmanpaint]

It's been many years when I've last done a clutch, but the ones I did you had to make sure the proper side of the clutch disc was facing the flywheel. Some of these discs have springs that stick out further on one side.

The clutch I have is put together somewhat already, hopefully it is the right way as is. I will look at it further. Thanks for the tip! Mucho Gracious!

Yeah, I have been looking for a set of affordable used wheels for the newer tires. No luck yet. I would love to have the 058 eagle alloys. After having these around they have really grown on me. Too bad they wont work...ah well.

I did happen upon a killer deal for a set of 35x14.5 boggers on 15 x12 alloys for $350 about 2 miles from me, if anyone is interested. Trail tires only though, as one of them has a few knobs worn off.

 

[gmanpaint]

Yeah warm and fuzzy is nice but this is ridiculous. Hot and prickly is what it is--hot and prickly with too much chili.

And I love chili, but not today :

 

[gmanpaint]

UPS truck pulled up and dropped off 4 new STEEL shock bearings with retainer snap rings!

Trans swap should be buttoned up soon, and then the front can be torn down to replace the bearings.

Here's to wheeling in the next couple of weeks!



Summit must have felt bad for me, they sent along a care package with coupons, summit decals, new catalog, a Schick 5 blade razor (wtf?), and a note saying they are sorry for the mix up.

 

[MrQ]

summit must have felt bad for me, they sent along a care package with coupons, summit decals, new catalog, a schick 5 blade razor (wtf?), and a note saying they are sorry for the mix up. :d

lol

 

[Turdle]

Well, if that's your facebook picture maybe they figured you had whiskers to hide

 

[gmanpaint]

Hey! That's my secret disguise I use for my Morocco vacations!

 

[gmanpaint]

Question time.

I have been thinking of how the stock steering rack is going to handle the 35" tires. The tie rod ends are already a bit small/weak for oversize tires. This rack is relatively new but, most of us know that when wheeling with a stock IFS set up, the rack is weak.

Does anybody know of a direct bolt on Heavy duty rack for our 2nd gens?

I searched for hours it seems. There are some very nice HD tie rod conversions made for FJ's, Chevys, and others.

This is leading me to believe there is someone out there that has done this before on our racks.

The steering is already stiff with the 33", it is just going to be worse with the 35". I want 2 things out of this.

1st) Stronger steering for tight spots and at idle. (Hydro?)

2nd) Stronger tie rod ends.

Here is a HD tie rod set up I found for an FJ.

If the tie rod end breaks inside the rack out on a trail, it is almost impossible to repair or tow in a situation like that. The rig would have to be abandoned until a new rack and the proper tools are retrieved to do the repairs. I really don't like that option.

 

[techieman33]

http://www.dixonbrosracing.com/content/view/5/2/

 

[gmanpaint]

DOH!!

Why I didn't think of DB is beyond me! Thanks Techie!

That will solve the weak tie rods, now to find a HD rack.

 

[John_Rock]

Yeah, I did this once...

What I did to keep that from happening again was to make some protectors that would keep it from being able to bend. I don't have any pics of them, yet...
I made some new ones last year that I've procrastinated getting installed. I think they are at my storage unit. I'm heading there after this post to go look for them so I can photograph them for you. And of course I need to finish installing them on my truck.

 

[gmanpaint]

That is a sad tie rod for sure. Good thing it just bent and didn't break at the ball inside the rack. That is my fear. Even so, that is a not a fun fix on the trail. I feel for ya John.

 

[John_Rock]

Ok, this is a crude design and I still need to drill the bolt holes, grind down the sharp edges, and paint them. But this is a much cheaper functional solution than buying the Dixon Brothers tie rods.

My solution is just some angle iron and flat iron welded together to surround the stock tie rods and keep them from being able to bend.

Top side

Bottom side

Together

 

[John_Rock]

That is a sad tie rod for sure. Good thing it just bent and didn't break at the ball inside the rack. That is my fear. Even so, that is a not a fun fix on the trail. I feel for ya John.

That was on a trail near Las Cruces, NM. We got it bent back in place and I drove home to Houston before replacing it. The CV joint was toasted from the extreme angle. :

 

[gmanpaint]

Hmm, that will stop them from bending, but wont the stress be transferred to the connection in the rack? I really think that is a cool idea for the rods themselves. They just clamp on the rods?

 

[John_Rock]

Hmm, that will stop them from bending, but wont the stress be transferred to the connection in the rack? I really think that is a cool idea for the rods themselves. They just clamp on the rods?

Yes, they just clamp on.

Well when you stay with IFS and run 35" tires you just have to accept that certain things are going to wear out faster than normal, right? I'm already on my 2nd rack. My original rack developed a crack in the housing. But, I actually drove it a year or 2 with the crack. It just leaked fluid sometimes. I kept a quart of fluid under the hood in case it got low.

 

[gmanpaint]

LOL!
I'm on my 2nd rack as well...:

Everyone screams SAS, and I am understanding why more & more. But I am still not swapping over on this rig yet.

I can live with C/V axles and hubs going out more with the 35", but the fear of the rack & tie rods going out, I can't live with.