ExWrench's Oddball Mods + Sneaky Stretch

[ExWrench]

01-30-2014, 02:47 AM

Front Bumper Re-Do, Part 2


I could have made these spacers in 10 minutes on a lathe at work, but I prefer to detach from work entirely during play time

So, I scribed a guide line and ground down to it. I nailed the thickness within .003" and parallelism within .002".


Here's where those ended up: I added 2 more half-inch bolts to the 10 other bolts holding this bumper to the frame.
I tapped the frame then tacked on the spacers with oversize bores that the bolts pass through.

If I had to do it over, I would weld on the bosses with a smaller inside diameter and tap through them as well, but this will hold up fine.
EDIT: Next time the front bumper comes off, I'm going to ditch these and weld on fully threaded bosses. (20/20 hindsight: check!)


I left the bottom of the bumper intact when I made my cuts so it would span the length of its new 30-degree run.

Folded it all together.

Little welding, little grinding . . .

I mostly only had to grind flat surfaces since I reused the bottom edge of the bumper. Flat grinding = easy grinding, and easy is good.


Side-by-side comparison of the old and new bumper profiles.

Tubes tacked. You can see how much better the new bumper profile flows with the new tube work.

The flat cut-off section from the front face of the bumper fit perfectly to box in the back side.

I wish I could say I planned this, but I'll take luck any day.

A little touch of Mr. Miller’s hot glue gun.

For the 8 factory bolt locations, I welded bolts to straps (4 pairs) so I no longer have to snake a wrench into the bumper to mount / dismount it.


Brand-new, mostly old, same-but-different front bumper.

Another angle.

The grill hoop could prevent my radiator from being compromised in a rollover, and the stinger could help prevent an endo.
Far more likely, this tube work will prevent grill, headlight, and radiator damage from incidental contact with wildlife or tree branches.
If I'm really lucky, it will remain entirely decorative.


And one more angle.

I'm happy with it, and I'm happy to be done with it.
Plenty more projects competing for my time, not the least of which is breaking down all 5 wheels for evaluation.
I needed a break from that, and this was a fun(ctional) way to kill a few hours of garage play time.
Hope you dig it, not worried if you don't.

 

[ExWrench]

01-30-2014, 08:14 PM

Ringer said:
Looks great. I like the less blocky look.

AutoGuide.com Free Advertising - We Own Your Phone . . . accept the reality . . . subliminal is good . . . autoguide . . . good​

Thanks Ringer!

I really liked having made a ranch-style bumper flow well (to my eye) with the curves of the JK, but this was the intended end from the start.
It bugs me a bit going to a more common shape, but that shape is common due to form following function (great reason) so it doesn't bug me a lot.
A trail-style bumper is more appropriate to this little 1/4-ton bucket, and now I won't hang up on the corners of the plow blade.

​


NOTE: if you wanna' see someone going APESHIT (in a good way) on the custom fab, check out Ringer's build thread!
He's doing some super-sano custom work and you're missing out if you don't take a look.

edthesniper said:
Great job.​

Thank you!

​
Don't take this personally but, based on your screen name, I hope we never meet on business. :hide:
Let's go wheeling or shooting instead.

---

02-03-2014, 02:35 PM
<Posted by JKTHOMPS>

ExWrench, very nice write ups! You have given me some very good ideas, thank you! Very creative and well put. I must say, I am a little jealous
of your skills.
I was reading your thread and realized that I saw you and your Jeep at Chevron the other evening. I was in the white bmw and complimented your
jeep as you were getting ready to leave. Would love to pick your brain in the near future to help avoid more "if I knew then what I know now"
moments. :nono:
Anyways, thanks for the detailed write ups and hope you don't mind if I hit you up for some input and of course, would love to get offroad!
Cheers!

---

JKTHOMPS said:
ExWrench, very nice write ups! You have given me some very good ideas, thank you! Very creative and well put. I must say, I am a little jealous of your skills. ​

Thank you! Glad you were diggin' what I was shovelin'

JKTHOMPS said:
I was reading your thread and realized that I saw you and your Jeep at Chevron the other evening. I was in the white bmw and complimented your jeep as you were getting ready to leave.​

Cool, I wondered who the random dude in the beemer was. Now I get to find out. Small world, eh?

JKTHOMPS said:
Would love to pick your brain in the near future to help avoid more "if I knew then what I know now" moments. :nono:

Anyways, thanks for the detailed write ups and hope you don't mind if I hit you up for some input and of course, would love to get offroad!

Cheers!​

Absolutely!
As long as you're not a tweeker or some other type of shitbag, we should hang out.
PM me some type of contact info. when you get a chance.

Have fun at KOH, and TAKE A SHITLOAD OF PHOTOS, PLEASE!

---

02-03-2014, 08:07 PM
<Posted by JKTHOMPS>

ExWrench said:
Absolutely!
As long as you're not a tweeker or some other type of shitbag, we should hang out.
PM me some type of contact info. when you get a chance.​

Will do! I can already tell we are going to get along great lol... at least that is what my wife said when I read her your reply hahaha

ExWrench said:
Have fun at KOH, and TAKE A SHITLOAD OF PHOTOS, PLEASE! ​

I will have a ton of photos and video! Will post up from there and when I get back.

---

02-04-2014, 08:09 PM

Terminator2 said:
Now cut off that disco skid that hangs down a good 3" lower than your front bumper. I did that and rotated my disco motor up and I think that is still my favorite free mod on my JK ( I found the bolt I needed in my spare parts bucket :) ).​

I relocated the swaybar disconnect motor a long time ago, but I'm keeping the crossmember until I find a reason not to.
If you draw a line from the bumper through the crossmember, I don't see it affecting my approach angle significantly.

In this picture, you can just see one of the tabs that ties the bottom of the bumper to the down-legs of that crossmember via 9/16" bolts.

Also, since I notched my passenger-side frame rail for drag link clearance, a little extra support can't be a bad thing.
So, long story short: I'll keep it until it really wears out its welcome, especially since I use some of its structure to my advantage.

Uncle Sams Misguided Child said:
It looks better with the angle cut into the sides of it. Less boxy.​

Thank you! I really dug the old setup, but I think I can safely say I'm done fawkin' with it ( . . . for now :D )

---

02-08-2014, 05:27 PM
<Posted by EODtech>
ExWrench, yet another great idea. However I'm not inclined enough to build, my job training is directed more at destroying things.
As a side note I did the zip ties on the hood latches you explained to me and it has made a world of difference. I was wondering if the windshield
would end up getting smacked by the hood on a really windy day, but not anymore.

---

EODtech said:
ExWrench, yet another great idea. However I'm not inclined enough to build, my job training is directed more at destroying things. ​

Your skill set is also useful for creating things (in an incredibly fawkin' fun way!) :explode:
If you're not familiar with it, look up "explosive hydroforming" or "explosive forming".

EODtech said:
As a side note I did the zip ties on the hood latches you explained to me and it has made a world of difference. I was wondering if the windshield would end up getting smacked by the hood on a really windy day, but not anymore.​

Glad to help, and totally with you on how annoying hood flutter can be.
Even if you know the hood can't fly up, it's unnerving when it feels like it's about to come unglued. :th_pray:

---

02-09-2014, 07:24 AM
<EODtech>
I'll look into that. I do know how to do explosive imprinting, but that one is new to me.

 

[ExWrench]

03-02-2014, 09:05 PM

"New" Evap., "New" Exhaust . . .

One of my nagging re-do projects for over a year now has been the exhaust.
I've had a Supertrapp diffuser on the exhaust to get the MBRP straight-through muffler below a level of obnoxious I could accept in a daily driver.
Before my exhaust changes, the evaporative emissions canister had to move.

I disconnected and held the evap. canister up against the bottom of the Jeep’s tub, and couldn’t reach the sheet metal with a Sharpie, so . . .

. . . electrical tape and random steel rod = the “Super-Extendo-Sharpie 2000” (no, not really, call it whatever the hell you want to :D).


A little tickle with a spade bit (for wood) knocks the brittle sound deadener right out of the way (through holes were already drilled from underneath).

I had to go back with the next size up spade bit to fit my washers (eyeball calibration was off).


The spade bit spot facing let these washers and bolt heads sit flush with the sound deadener. No bumps or snags for the cargo above it.

I had my wife hammer all 4 of these bolts from the top 1-by-1 with a cordless impact wrench as I held nylon lock nuts on the bottom.

Now I have 4 studs on which I can install and remove the evap. can without a helper.


This is probably the best photo I have of the re-routed evap. can plumbing. All new hose is type A1 fuel hose. Don't use heater hose!

Not shown: all 4 bolt holes in evap. can bracket were re-drilled to land in low spots in the tub.
If you buy me a vehicle lift, I promise to give you killer pictures . . . :thankyou: <-- (RIP JKO smiley)


Another angle of the new evap. line routing.

Along with ditching a skid and a heat shield, here’s the main reason the evap. can had to move elsewhere.

Top is the factory pipe that went back to the factory pony keg of a muffler (with elephantiasis of the nutsack).
Middle is the MBRP “offroad” exhaust system with the tailpipe cut off before the track bar, and a Supertrapp diffuser clamped over the end.
Bottom is the 50-Series Flowmaster that is replacing the MBRP straight-through muffler and the Supertrapp diffuser.
Everything else in the photo is random crap that has nothing to do with the subject at hand. :D


I went with Flowmaster’s heat shield, and I had to tweak the forward edge a bit to keep it from rattling on a crossmember.

The hose clamps Flowmaster provides with the heat shield kit are . . .

SOME OF THE COOLEST SHIT YOU’LL EVER SEE! These hose clamps have a toggle built into them so you can slip them together or apart.
When the screw / toggle is in this position, it has no grip or influence on the free end of the hose clamp.

And when it’s in this position, it works like a normal hose clamp.

If these had been invented before the last 1000+ hose clamps I installed or removed, I might have an extra half-day to do something!
I first saw this type of hose clamp a year ago on some equipment that came from Germany, and I went apeshit over them back then.
It made my fookin' day to have these bastards show up with the heat shield. Kudos to Flowmaster!


One more picture of the exhaust and evap. in their new incarnations. I’m totally happy with both of these projects so far.

I'm gonna' stick an air tank up behind the rear axle, and then there's no more room to hang crap up under my Jeep.
With a little luck, that means I don't need any more crap (I wouldn't take that bet . . . )

 

[ExWrench]

03-02-2014, 10:25 PM

At just under 40,000 miles, I got serious about changing the oil in my NSG-370 6 speed (specified interval = 30K miles – D’oh!) :shitstorm:

Engine / transmission skid had to come off first, and I noticed significant rub marks from the exhaust (circled in red).

With the skid plate off, the Fumoto oil drain valve is finally visible for a decent photo.

I love this thing! Push a hose over the end, drop hose in oil drain, open valve – no spills!


When not in use, I push a rubber cap over the nipple of the Fumoto valve. Keeps dust out, and provides minimal secondary containment.

If there’s no oil in the rubber cap, I know the valve has not started leaking. Peace of mind.


Transmission oil change on an NSG-370, should be a cake walk . . . WTF?

The transmission oil drain plug points right at the exhaust crossover pipe – fargin’ genius!


A little aluminum foil shaped properly will keep oil off the exhaust . . .

. . . but is there room for a hex bit?

NO! My stubby 17 mm socket will not fit into the transmission drain plug even without a ratchet . . . fawk! This just keeps getting better.

So I made a tool by cramming a nut and bolt together, and cutting the bolt off flush with the nut.

Laid a little MIG glue over the nut and bolt, then did a little clean-up with a file.

Jed Clampett work-around for the transmission drain plug since a reasonable “professional” tool could not be used.

If I was doing it over, I would have put a washer between the nut and bolt head. That way, the “tool” wouldn’t want to fall through my box wrench.
I split the difference between the 2 sets of 6 points, and it falls right through a 12 point box end wrench. 20/20 hindsight? Check!


Exhaust pipe rubbing on the top of the skid had already self-clearanced a lot in both places, but luckily did not rub through the pipe.

The only 4 washers this size that I had on hand gave me another ~.050”, and now it’s considered a non-issue.

Black silicone RTV was the glue of choice. I may re-make the spacer plate out of 3/8" aluminum and ditch the washers, but not any time soon. :D

 

[ExWrench]

03-31-2014, 09:39 PM

STILL NEEDED FOOKIN’ WITH: SKID PLATE AND OBA SYSTEM

The exhaust still knocked on the engine / trans. skid some, so I bought a chunk of 1/2” aluminum to replace the 1/4” plate and washers.
Here’s the old spacer sitting on top of the material for the new spacer.

Add hole saw, hack saw, countersink, scuff pad, Windex, etching primer, and engine paint and . . .

now it looks like something I could have bought . . . if I wasn’t a cheap bastard :D


Put a little tweakage on the shroud on top of the skid plate so it wouldn’t gnarf the nipple on the oil drain valve from its new lower location.

I gave up another 1/4 inch of ground clearance to keep the exhaust from rubbing through. Good trade, I think.

Only regret I foresee having is hanging up on this lip backing up on an obstacle.
When that happens, I’ll be pissed off enough to pull this back off and weld on a 45 degree lip to the back edge.


Ditching the OBA tank up front was necessary to facilitate the hydro assist hose routing.
However, without any reservoir volume upstream of the air regulator, the compressor cycled on and off when a tire was full. This is bad.
The compressor is rated for continuous duty, but cycling it on and off will kill it with a quickness. So . . .

2.5 gallon tank with oddball mounting out back supersedes 2 gallon tank no longer welcome up front.


I made U-bolts out of threaded rod, padded them with fuel hose, and hung it all on the crossbar of the Synergy rear upper shock mount setup.

I’m hoping the rubber mounting will help this tank wiggle out of the way if/when it contacts something solid when I’m backing up.

Only thing that hangs down that worries me is the drain valve. If I snap it off, I’ll plug it or just replace the broken drain valve.
The tank makes airing up one tire a little faster, airing up 4 not appreciably so. I'm not running air tools off this setup (for now).
However, the tank will keep the compressor from eating shit from excessive on/off cycling, so it is needed in my current system.

WITH A LITTLE LUCK, THESE 2 PROJECTS ARE DONE FOR AT LEAST A YEAR

 

[ExWrench]

04-01-2014, 09:28 PM

CALL ME IMELDA MARCOS – I LOVE MY NEW SHOES!

The bead breaker worked exactly as planned.

It took good effort in about 4-5 places to get each tire moving. Not fast, but I changed all 5 tires in my garage.
Bead breaker’s paid for itself, as far as I’m concerned.


Rims had no crud, corrosion, or any adverse effects from containing propylene glycol and water for 9 months and 7000 miles.

I decided to combine checking the wheels (good to go, kudos to Trail Ready) with a change of shoes.


MTR/K 70% worn next to BRANG FAHHRRRKIN’ NOO Nitto Trail Grappler

I stuck with 35s for what I consider to be all the right reasons. Feel free to give contrary opinions about which no fooks shall be given.


Flat washers come in handy to hold the portion of the tire you have pushed into place so that portion does not become un- pushed into place.

If you're not mounting tires on similar beadlock rims, this photo does you absolutely no good.


35x12.50 R 17 MTR/K at 30% tread on TrailReady HD 17 weighs 95 pounds. New same size Nitto TG on same rim weighs 115 pounds. Ouch.

Regearing to 4.88 this Friday at Shaffer’s in Alameda. Thanks in advance, Mike! Don't fawk anything up.


Staun tire deflators were set to 11 psi, and this just wasn’t going to cut it with these load range E tires. All the tires are down at 11 in this picture.

Thaaaat’s more like it . . .

Tire deflators are now set at 8 psi, nice and squishy.


(Hopefully) LAST CHANGES TO TIRE CARRIER!

I finally got a good photo to illustrate the old and new tire swing link angles. In retrospect, my first setup was almost as bad as it could be.

No biggie, this is play time. I have a killer seat of Solidworks on my computer at work, but that would take all the fun out of fookin' around in the garage.


Two-bolt flange to hold tire mount to swing has always been a temporary deal (only 3-1/2 years).

Also, since I have my “final” rims, 2-1/4 inches needs to come off the mount to bring it back to my designed location (Rubi rim BS = 6.25”, new = 4”).


Removed: 2-1/4” of 2x3 tubing, 2 sets of 1/2” bolts, washers, and nylock nuts.

Added: 2 gussets and a couple feet of MIG beads.

OVERALL STATUS OF "BUILD"
4.88s go in Friday, I slam Ten Factorys and RCVs in on Saturday, and I'm hopefully done dicking with the Jeep until after my summer vacation.
This fall, I''m thinking Poly (Synergy) cage and then maybe I'm completely done. :nono: Yeah, I didn't believe it either . . .

 

[ExWrench]

04-20-2014, 05:25 PM

I swapped all 20 Gorilla lug locks for normal lug nuts to make it easier for Shaffer's to swap out my gears.

Can you guess the shape of the magnets under the pan?

Big thanks to Mike Shaffer and crew. I'm almost through my break-in 500 miles, and nothing's grenaded yet.

This is the only time anyone except me has had my Jeep apart. I would have confidence in Mike to work on my Jeep again.


While hanging out at Shaffer's, I checked out last year's UA Super Duty.

40s on tons with portal boxes. This toy has ridiculous ground clearance (even if it's a little tall for comfort)


Felt really good to toggle this change into my Superchips programmer.

I've been waiting to do this for about 33,000 miles now.


Recently pulled out my OBA setup to move some crap around to make room for an sPOD in the future.

And swapped out the Viair 450C for a 400C.

Smaller, lighter, and faster. It's not continuous duty like the 450, but the 400 should air up comfortably before shutting down.


When I first installed the Viair setup, I moved the plug on the front of this bracket down around the corner and away from the heat of the compressor.

Just pulled the steel bracket, drilled two holes, shot a little paint, and reinstalled.


SHOP TIP: cheap, disposable soft jaws are easy to fake out of aluminum angle.

Takes all the guilt out of thrashing 'em, because new ones are like a buck and 5 minutes away..


OBA setup back in.

It'll be a close race, but I think the sPOD will fit in there without re-making the copper coil. Everything else is out of the way.

 

[ExWrench]

04-20-2014, 05:47 PM

More Oddball Quirks . . .

I just couldn't handle the loudness of the RCV orange. :massey:

It's too damned flashy for me. I'm not looking for anything to stand out.


Few light coats of SEM urethane bumper coater, and RCV orange is now hidden by semi-invisible black.

I like my junk to look as stock and/or uninteresting as possible.


Stainless steel 7/16" slam latch: disassembled, reversed, and misapplied.

This will engage the tire swing link when the door's opened fully, latching the door open.


I've never seen a setup like this before, but I had to try it.

Glad I did - this works great!


A quarter's worth of paracord and a wasted golf ball give me a toggle to pull to release the door and let it swing closed.

I'm pretty proud of this little innovation, especially since it worked. I would have shared my failure if it hadn't, but this one's a winner. :thankyou:

---

04-21-2014, 08:03 AM
<Terminator2>

ExWrench said:​

35x12.50 R 17 MTR/K at 30% tread on TrailReady HD 17 weighs 95 pounds. New same size Nitto TG on same rim weighs 115 pounds. Ouch. ​

Wow those are heavy. I guess the E load rating adds a lot of weight. My 40x13.50 17 Trail Grapplers on 17x9" alloy wheels (non beadlocks) weigh only 116 lbs each but they are C load rated. I am sure your beadlocks are heavier than my wheels though. Mine are 26lbs each so that makes the tires 90 lbs each.

---

04-21-2014, 09:00 AM
<ExWrench>

The 35" Nitto TGs are 80-ish pounds (maybe a few more), the TR HD17s are 35-ish pounds (maybe a few less), and the bathroom scale is accurate-ish (maybe a few pounds off).
If the 35" TGs were available in a load range C or D, that's what I would have bought.

I'm not digging the weight, but it's a good compromise because the TGs are round and stout. Overall, I'm happy so far.
Still breaking in the new R&Ps so I haven't hammered on it, but the 4.88s put the scoot back in this little scooter. :D
In 8 weeks, I'll know how the Nittos really do in the rough stuff. Hope I love 'em as much or more after "testing".

---

04-22-2014, 07:30 AM
<Terminator2>

I do love my Trail Grapplers on and offroad. They grip really well, ride really well and are nice and smooth and any speed. 1st time out I left them at street pressure (20 psi) and they did very well in the sand, clay, mud and some limestone we have here. I was surprised at how well they conformed to and gripped the limestone rocks at 20 psi, and I never needed 4wd in even the deepest sand we have (I have been driving in sugar sand my whole life mostly in 2wd trucks so I know how to keep from getting stuck in it normally). I only needed 4wd in the rocks and one steep clay hill climb.

 

[ExWrench]

06-10-2014, 11:10 PM

SO I WANTED TO CARRY AN EXTRA GALLON . . .

. . . OF AIR :D

I wanted to add a little tank volume to my OBA system, and wanted to see if a size “E” aluminum oxygen cylinder would fit where I thought it would.

I bought a Powertank mounting bracket designed for something different because I knew I could bastardize it into what I needed.


The toggle valve just unscrews from the cylinder, and there are no other ports or fittings, so an SAE o-ring boss to NPT adapter put me into business.

The fitting will be at the bottom of this tank, so condensation will always drain – no need for a second hole in the pressure vessel.


RANDOM:
Have you ever bought more fittings than you needed on one project, then forgotten you had extras later when buying for a similar project?

Apparently, I’ve done this 3 times so far. :D


Needed to change the radius on the cradle to hold the cylinder for which the cradle was never intended.

Times my contour gage has paid for itself via time saved: eleventy gajillion and threeve (approximately).


Didn’t feel like dicking around with power tools that day, so high-leverage dykes
(powerful diagonal cutting pliers, not politically connected lesbians)
were chosen to perform the needed material removal.

A little smoothing with a Dremel-ish tool followed (ended up dicking around with power tools after all).


This location isn’t really used by me for anything else, so the real estate was “free”.

Only immediate drawback I see is having to rip this out if I want to run a Trektop NX. No biggie, worthwhile sacrifice if I get the NX.


Tubing from the tank snakes around under the carpet, through a 90, and down through a hole I popped into the grommet nearby.

From there, it drops through the taillight area and ties into my 2.5 gallon tank underneath.


NOS!(LOL)

This $2 sticker saved me 12 bucks in shipping from Summit Racing (put me one penny over the free shipping threshold).
I stuck it on my air tank because it made me and a few others laugh, ‘cuz you know at least one idiot will take the sticker at face value.
I may remove it soon because that same idiot might be a tweeker who tries to kleptomize my “nawss bottle”.


Just one more picture to show you the area this bottle is taking up.
It was just dead space before, maybe a place to stuff an overshirt. Gotta love a free ride!

It misses the inside of the hard top by about half an inch vertically, but it's a clean miss, so I say it fits "perfectly".

---

06-11-2014, 08:20 PM

06-11-2014, 02:26 AM
<Posted by 2Door>

I love reading this thread. You have some of the coolest ideas, I must say. Which is rare, because of the aftermarket support of the JK, most
people would opt for the bolt on, easy way. But I l like your way more. Keep thinking of cool shit to do :D​

Thank you! It's nice to know I'm not the only one who believes the crap I come up with was worth doing. :D

As I said in my first post in this thread, "There are 10 as-good ways to do anything I did here, and I'm sure there are a couple of better ones . . ."
I just like adapting or making shit from scratch, sometimes just to see it done or see if it'll work, and sometimes because I think I have a better idea.

I can rarely allow myself to pay for something I can make. It doesn't always save me money, but it's satisfying to make what I need when I can.
Added benefit: if some tweeker/shitbag strips my Jeep, there ain't shit for resale value because 90% of the non-stock stuff is hand-made or modified.

Most of all, I just dig unique. Thanks to Pirate, JKO, a diverse work history and a good education, my unique crap is rarely regrettable.
I try to share the cool shit and the failures, hopefully to inspire others or save them from shedding blood over the same lessons.

​

06-11-2014, 05:24 AM
<Posted by Cavallini03>

Definitely keep the NOS sticker on it.​

Yeah, I'm gonna' leave it on for now because it makes me giggle a bit every time I look at it. Laughter cannot be overrated.
It seems most tweekers I encounter get the impression that fookin' with my junk has consequences that outweigh the benefits (which is true ).
I at least need to leave it on until some poser kook in a Fast/Furious Civic inquires sincerely about my "naahhs" :cwm13:.

I guess that, as long as I'm rocking poser crap ironically, I'm only a poser to the people who don't get the joke? :dunno: I'm cool with that.

 

[ExWrench]

06-11-2014, 09:48 PM

MORE RANDOM/ODD MODS


There was a limiting tab I needed hiding in this worthless piece of 3/16" scrap left over from (I honestly don't remember what).

I love it when I can make something from a scrap I saved. Makes me feel like a genius possessed of excellent foresight . . .
. . . instead of a cheap bastard hoarder. :D


That little chunk of garbage (ahem, now a piece of engineered material) will keep my tailgate hold-open latch thingie happy under a load.

The rod wanted to climb over the latch and break free, so I penned that muhfugger in! Now you'd have to break something to override the latch.


I'm totally happy with my MileMarker hydraulic winch but, honestly, the plug they provided for the winch controller was a cheap piece of shit.

I substituted a flat 5 trailer wiring plug set, and have never had a problem. To be fair, the MM plug set never broke (but it would have).


I had my cowl off recently, so here's a decent photo of my low-tech, no-glory cowl vent screen.

This thing has kicked ass! Even keeps pine needles out.


Headlight adjuster screws! I got a pair of these to my door for $5.84. Chrysler could have put 'em in our Jeeps for less than 2 bucks for the pair.

Now my headlights have elevation and windage adjustments. Dear Chrysler,
However; when you think about it, they saved a couple bucks a JK, sold a million JKs, and we (dumbasses) still bought 'em, so there's a cool $2M profit just from fawking us out of fully adjustable headlights. Genius! (EVIL genius ).


I missed having yellow fog lights but I like the KC slimlite format and wasn't about to buy new lights, so . . . SPRAY PAINT! :shitstorm:

Seriously, this is legit. I'm not fookin' widcha. I used Duplicolor Metalcast yellow, about 2 light coats and 5 loaded ones.
Painting risers/stands courtesy of Ovaltine.

I fook up about half of what goes in our recycling bin (somewhere, there's a sorter who'd pay ten bucks just to know WTF happened).


The bootleg yellow fog lights are the exact same color as fog lights born yellow.
The yellow filtering only cuts some blues out of the spectrum, and reduces visible light by approximately . . . jack shit.

If I have paint chipping issues, I'll bake the lights apart and coat the insides. For a test run, the outside surfaces will suffice.



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Ten bucks says I never bake these lights apart . . . any takers?

 

[ExWrench]

06-13-2014, 12:23 AM

INSTALLING A BOLT-ON BIKE RACK: 10 MINUTES OR A DAY?

I needed a bike rack, and the Yakima SpareTime got my vote. Overall a good setup, but I found it needed improvement (believe it or not :D ).

The universal base plate goes onto the studs of the spare carrier and is clamped on by the spare.
The square tube "adapter" slips over a block on the base and is held in place by a single bolt in shear.
The rack slips over the square tube and is cinched down by a single bolt in tension, pulling it tight against the spare tire.

Not a bad design, but . . .


The base plate costs ~6 threads of lug nut engagement, spaces the spare away, and reduces the strength of the spare carrier a bit.

Also, I didn't like the 1"x1"x1" block that had a somewhat loose fit in the 1.25" square tubing to which the bike carrier attaches.


I decided to ditch the base plate and the 1" cube spud for a 2" long receiver made from 1.5" square tubing that fit like a glove.
This wasn't flash out tubing (like a receiver hitch), so I had to do a little chisel and file work on the inside to remove the welding flash.

For those who don't know, all square and rectangular steel tubing is formed from sheet/plate and electrically welded. This leaves flash inside.
Receiver hitch tubing (a.k.a. "flash out" tubing) has had a broach shoved or drawn through it to remove the seam of welding flash.


Instead of plate gussets, I cut some 1.25" round tube in half and made a big oval for a smooth part with a lot of welded length at the base.

EDIT: I just realized that this ^^^ looks funky without some explanation, and wanted to assure y'all that I'm not huffing glue.
The right side will be the top, and it needed a huge chamfer to get the weld to lay down under the profile where the rim would sit.


Did a little CAD (cardboard aided design) . . .

. . . so I could make the other ends of the halves of round tube dive into the square tube. Smooth, slick, and sexy!

I positioned the receiver such that the spare rim rests on it, taking the vertical load off the wheel studs holding the spare.


The white flag peeking out of the rack-to-tube junction above is a piece of .025" polyester shim stock (same as below).
The Yakima tube-to-receiver interface had .050" of slop/play, enough to let the bike rack rotate as viewed from the top (about Z axis).
This shim I made takes up .025"/side x 2 sides = all .050" of slop. Rack fits like a glove with no sway or rattle.

Then nothing bothered me about the rack, except . . .

My third brake light is blocked by the bike rack, so I added a fourth brake light ("this one goes to 11" :D ).

Made a pigtail off the wiring harness to the 3rd brake light to feed the 4th. Quick and easy to connect/disconnect the polarized plug.

This little 3/4" light has 3 LEDs and is bright as HELL! FYI, it's a Maxxima M09300R Red 3/4" Round Combination Clearance Marker Light.
I tried 2 similar LED markers that were no more than half as bright. This little bastard is a BEAST!

That should be enough to get their attention.


I painted the rack (blue, of course) so it blends in and so it's obvious that it's mine.
Left the arm tips red for visibility/safety, but shot the 2 loud red knobs black with flexible urethane coating.

With the arms folded down, the rack is pretty unobtrusive. It can stay on the Jeep when not in use, no problem.

WOW, THIS BOLT-ON SHIT IS TIME-CONSUMING! I'M GOING BACK TO MAKING SHIT FROM SCRATCH!

---

06-13-2014, 08:13 AM
<rbuckenmeyer>

Originally Posted by ExWrench

Nice license plate!

Seriously though, great build thread.

I recently referenced your experience with bb balancing as my justification for having my own go at it... in short, my success rate was MUCH lower than yours, like somewhere around NEVER BALANCED! :suicide: Back to traditional stick on weights .:thankyou: But thanks for all the great info.

---

06-13-2014, 06:20 PM

rbuckenmeyer said:
Nice license plate!
​

Yeah, another blurred or blotted plate seemed boring, and that made me laugh when it popped into my head. :D

rbuckenmeyer said:
Seriously though, great build thread.

I recently referenced your experience with bb balancing as my justification for having my own go at it... in short, my success rate was MUCH lower than yours, like somewhere around NEVER BALANCED! :suicide: Back to traditional stick on weights.:thankyou: But thanks for all the great info.
​

Thanks! I'm glad you found some of my random crap useful and that you didn't take my word for all of it, either.

Re: the dynamic balancing - sorry it didn't work for you. It's worth giving a shot, but frustrating as hell when all that work doesn't work, huh?
If you had zero good results, tire or rim runout may likely be the culprit.

I wish Centramatic would make a set of their balancers specifically for the JK wrangler. I'd buy a set, for sure.
Later this year, I want to take some measurements and contact Centramatic about making me a set of custom units.

Thanks again for your feedback. It's nice to know some people are benefitting from this collection of oddball projects.

 

[ExWrench]

06-14-2014, 02:01 PM

OK, TIME FOR SOMETHING THAT DIDN'T WORK:

In the old days, I used a couple different Coats M-76 Micro Precision static balancers, and they are excellent tools.
Unfortunately, Coats stopped making the M-76 when dynamic balancers took over.
Even more unfortunately, the static balancers still made are smaller and less capable.

Some day when I have the room I want get a good used M-76, but I decided to try a static balancer currently available new.
What I got was a Ranger RWS-1B, which as far as I know is the same as the Coats M-61 Static (the “replacement” :cwm13: for the M-76).

Bought a pack of Motion Pro nickel plated steel stick-on wheel weights, and used blue masking tape to mock up the weighting.

3 strips X 12 weights/strip X 1/4 ounce/weight = 9 ounces of weight = more than I expected this tire to take.

The balancer says this rim/tire is happy-happy with the 9 oz. of weight.

A little aluminum foil duct tape to keep mud/ice from ripping the weights off, satin black paint for camo, and paint pen for records.

Repeatability check: FAIL. :nono:
The imbalance displayed is not in line with the added weights, so this is not a simple operational fookup.
Therefore, the repeatability of this gage fails to meet my requirements on a 115 pound rim/tire.

This balancer would probably work well on small car tires that weigh less, but I have no use for it. Bummer.

I'll keep looking for a good deal on a Coats M-76 in good condition so I can be fully self-sufficient.
Until then, it's store balanced or unbalanced for me.

---

06-14-2014, 02:03 PM #108
<LeftHandRubi>

I enjoy this thread. Very cool.

---

06-15-2014, 02:45 PM
<ExWrench>

LeftHandRubi said:
I enjoy this thread. Very cool.

​

Thanks! Glad you dig it. :D I have to tell you that "The Adventures of Rex"

• Entertains me greatly
• Amazes the heck out of me at times :bow:
• Gives me a lot of cool ideas :koolaid:
  and
• Wrecks the budget for my next build

Seriously, thanks for pushing the boundaries. You're an inspiration.

---

06-15-2014, 06:50 PM
<LeftHandRubi>

Thank you! I learned a heck of a lot with Rexy of what is possible and what isn't in a jk.

I just wish the time and talent to do builds myself.

 

[ExWrench]

07-05-2014, 11:17 PM

Full-on Zip Tie Technology! (Hood flutter blows goats!)

I had a zip tie break right before my summer vacation, so I took a few pics to fully explain the cheap ass’s remedy to hood flutter.
I'm guessing someone has written this up somewhere, but I'm assuming this will help someone, so here goes . . .

Here’s the zip tie that broke (probably about a year old = acceptable lifespan by my reasoning) laid next to the hood latch to show how it is routed.

Notice also the 2 bends on the tail of the new zip tie – just fold over and pinch – this makes the next steps much easier.

Feed zip tie tail between latch handle and rubber link . . .

Wiggle shit around, pull some through, and shove the curved tail down between the rubber link and the mounting base, then rotate the latch upward . . .

Wiggle shit around, pull some through, and get it to where the latch of the zip tie ends up at the bottom of the rubber link when hood latch is latched.
Then latch the hood latch and zip the zip tie.

Flush-cutting dykes will leave no sharp plastic nasties to cut you open . . .

. . . especially if you don’t hold them crooked like the eediot taking this picture.

---

07-26-2014, 10:02 PM #112
<Medisch>

Looking at payout front bumper build, your winch is mounted on the face right? Has that worked out fine? I'm planning on building a bumper and had thought of that as a way to know I couldn't mess up a weld and have it fly off down the road. But it seems almost no one does it that way, and I only found mention of it on a couple super heavy duty warn units. Thanks for the awesome thread.

Simon.

---

07-27-2014, 12:21 AM
<ExWrench>

Hey Simon,

Originally Posted by Medisch
Looking at payout front bumper build,​

WTF does that mean? (Either auto-correct kicked in, or I'm not hip to the new jive. :D )

Originally Posted by Medisch
. . . your winch is mounted on the face right? Has that worked out fine?​

Yes, my winch is mounted to the inside of the front face of the bumper (which is 3/16" like the rest of the bumper).
This setup has worked perfectly so far, and I can't think of any problems that I could have with it.

Originally Posted by Medisch
I'm planning on building a bumper and had thought of that as a way to know I couldn't mess up a weld and have it fly off down the road.​

PLEASE DON'T THINK ANY DESIGN WILL NEGATE POOR FABRICATION.
If you don't trust your welds, practice more before securing a winch or tow points.

True, my winch would have a hard time ripping through the front face of my bumper.
However; if the welds on my bumper brackets were for shit, the whole bumper would rip off the front of the Jeep.

I'm all for increasing safety by design, but not for relying on it.
Don't let me scare you away from making your own bumper, but please be safe.

Originally Posted by Medisch
But it seems almost no one does it that way, and I only found mention of it on a couple super heavy duty warn units.​

I mounted this winch the same way in a Shrockworks bumper on the front of my 2007 Taco, so I wasn't blazing new ground here.
I'm not sure why most people mount winches to a horizontal surface instead (ease of installation or operation, theft resistance? :dunno: ).
One benefit of this mounting scheme: the fasteners are in tension only, rather than in shear (shear strength = ~1/2 of tensile strength).

I used stainless (not super strong) button-head socket cap screws to mount this winch. If they were in shear, I'd worry about 'em. I don't.

Originally Posted by Medisch
Thanks for the awesome thread.

Simon.​

You're very welcome, and thank you for your appreciation
Also, thanks for reminding me (by bumping this thread) that I have stuff to drop in here. (Maybe tomorrow . . . )

---

07-29-2014, 06:44 AM
<Medisch>

Thanks for the reply. I'm pretty sure I meant to type in starting a front bumper.

As far as the welding, I'm feeling better about it, just picked up a millermatic 200 and been practicing. But originally was going to start with a piece of angle or channel and use the factory bolt on points so there wouldn't have to be a weld at all.

I thought the face mount seemed like a good idea, keeps it low and less reliance on bolts for strength. Did you have to cut the horizontal support bar thing to make it fit? Originally, you had this set up, and you eventually chopped the front right?

Thanks!
Simon.

---

07-29-2014, 03:31 PM
<ExWrench>

Medisch said:
I'm pretty sure I meant to type in starting a front bumper.
​

I never would have guessed that (wasn't fookin' witcha, was really at a loss).

Medisch said:
As far as the welding, I'm feeling better about it, just picked up a millermatic 200 and been practicing. But originally was going to start with a piece of angle or channel and use the factory bolt on points so there wouldn't have to be a weld at all.​

That could work for the front, as long as you don't mind fasteners protruding through the front face. Bolt-on shackle tabs are a great solution for that design (two birds, one stone . . .)

Medisch said:
Did you have to cut the horizontal support bar thing to make it fit? Originally, you had this set up, and you eventually chopped the front right?​

Nope, and . . . nope.

The Prius-saver bar is still intact. I don't see it significantly impacting my approach angle (but I are not wunna' dem dare extreem krawlorz :D ).

BEFORE YOU START CUTTING / WELDING: either get your winch, or get enough information to mock it up.
Notice in the first photo above, my winch is inside the front face of the bumper, which is most of 2 inches ahead of the frame ends.
With my hydraulic winch, I have just enough room to actuate the controls I need to reach.
If I hadn't rotated the swaybar disconnect motor to a non-stupid location, it's possible this winch could sit back 2" more.
I have no idea offhand what electric winches (if any) would fit in the same cavity.
If I had started building based on what I thought I knew or guessed, I can guarantee you shit would have needed re-doing.

---

08-02-2014, 07:22 PM
<Medisch>

Thanks again for the good information. Yeah, auto correct can really make stuff sound goofy sometimes. I'm not sure what winch I'll be getting
but I'll make a mock up of some average measurements when I get going. I only have a sport so I don't have to worry about any cool sway
bar motors.

Simon.

---

08-02-2014, 09:19 PM #117
<NascarRubicon>

Fun read

---

08-05-2014, 01:38 PM #118
<White13JKUR>

thanks for the headlamp adjuster part number. I was wondering about that. my cibies will love them.

---

08-05-2014, 02:37 PM
<ExWrench>

Medisch said:
Thanks again for the good information. Yeah, auto correct can really make stuff sound goofy sometimes. I'm not sure what winch I'll be getting but I'll make a mock up of some average measurements when I get going. I only have a sport so I don't have to worry about any cool sway bar motors.

Simon.
​

You're very welcome. Have fun making your bumper!

NascarRubicon said:
Fun read
​

Thanks! Glad ya dig it. Even if you already knew all the mechanical tricks, hopefully you picked up new ways to misuse some words. :D

White13JKUR said:
thanks for the headlamp adjuster part number. I was wondering about that. my cibies will love them.​

You're welcome!

One note: measure distances before disassembly (I used digital calipers) so you can set your adjustable baseline right at the stock fixed "setting" :rolleyes: . From that baseline, I had to back the passenger side out most of 10 turns to adjust the headlights correctly . You don't have to start at the stock baseline, but I found it ridiculously informative that it was 10 fookin' turns out! Driver side was spot on (maybe by accident? :dunno: )

One more note: all the plastic "structure" in there is made of recycled yogurt containers and peanut brittle (as far as I can tell, just guessing based on material properties). Be careful, it's crispy crap!

 

[ExWrench]

08-16-2014, 10:06 AM

A Few Vacation Pics, and a Tiny Bit of Tech . . .

We spent a week in Graeagle, CA and took day trips in the Jeep most days to fire lookouts, mine ruins, and fun casual wheeling.
There’s no “extreme” wheeling in the area for rock humpers, but there are some technical stretches among breathtaking scenery and 100s of lakes.

This is up behind Gold Lake, on the way to Summit Lake. Photos don’t do justice to the beauty of the area.

The load range E Nitto Trail Grapplers gave us a super-cushy ride and flawless traction at 8 PSI.
9 PSI would probably be fine, but I'm not dicking around with re-calibrating my deflators, so 8 it is.

On the way from Summit Lake to Snake Lake, you'll find Snake Lake Hill. It's time to wake up and make deliberate moves.

Here's what's just down the hill and around the corner from the last photo. As you know, pics make shit look easier.

NOTE: the trails in the Gold Valley are maintained by the Grass Valley 4-Wheelers.

• If you're a member of the Grass Valley 4-Wheelers, THANK YOU!
• If you know a member of the Grass Valley 4-Wheelers, please thank them for me.
• If you visit this area, please leave it at least as good as you found it (same for any area - don't be a shitbag)

This is Snake Lake, and every lake in the Lakes Basin area is pretty much this beautiful.

About a quarter mile from the last stretch, we decided to "park" and strategize.

No second vehicle, wife 6 weeks into recovery from knee surgery = we were unapologetically over-cautious.

Just another pic of our "parking spot". Beautiful, rugged terrain that needs a little respect.

Tech-ish tip: We were skidding a deadfall off a trail using our tree strap since we didn't have a drag chain.
Only one tree strap, so I used a couple of trees to take up the slack in my tow strap to put the snatch block where needed.
I have since purchased a drag chain, ~16 feet of 5/16" grade 70 chain with a pear link at one end and crevice hook at the other.

Detail of how my Jerry can mount keeps the tweekers out of my gas can. Locking strap prevents cap from rotating.
This is all changing soon since this can's worn out and the same can is no longer available. "Thanks" C.A.R.B. <-- dipshits.

The SEM flexible bumper coater held up OK on the RCV boots. That orange is just too "look at me" for me.

The mini-mudflaps I made when I lifted the body are caveman-simple: 1/4" conveyor belt rubber and wide-flange pop rivets.

Inside, it's just a few 3/16" washers. Simple, effective, and dirt cheap. Wouldn't change a thing.

I waxed the Jeep before our trip, not to shine the paint but to lube it.
This stick rub has ~1/4" of depth (dent, crease) for the first foot, but the paint is not even rubbed through the clear coat.
EDIT: make that ~1/8" of depth - I was too lazy to go check when I was typing. Let's say it "felt like" 1/4 inch.
Also, if we had been doorless, this same mark would have been on/in the passenger's thigh or maybe kidney. Doors are good.

Just a little more trail pinstriping, and re-iterating that lubing the paint with wax paid off.
The wax kept the scratches from making it through the clear coat into the base coat. I don't want to pay to paint this thing - ever, if avoidable.

 

[ExWrench]

09-06-2014, 09:06 PM
<ExWrench>
.

Originally Posted by tonytiger
Wow I feel so inadequate after reading this thread. I have been worried about drilling a few holes in the floor of my JK to mount my rechargeable flashlight..........you da'man !​

Well, sincere thanks for the compliment but I hope you're kidding about feeling inadequate as a result of reading my crap.
I've tried some new stuff here but I've tried to make it clear when different was not always better.
I only take risks on things that won't cause injury upon failure, and I try to err always on the side of caution.

I assure you that, just like most everyone else, I learned a lot by fookin' up a lot of chit over the years.
I also try to learn as much as I can from others' successes and mistakes so I can accomplish the former and avoid the latter.

Fortunately, most of the stuff we're looking to do has already been done, so (re)search is your friend.
Search on JKO, search on Pirate, search on Google - I'll kill hours researching things that I haven't tried before.
If you don't understand something, ask questions here on JKO (but SEARCH first, PLEASE! :th_pray: )

I encourage you to assume that you can do anything you need to on your Jeep, but that you just need to know how.
Don't risk causing injury (e.g., don't learn to weld while installing a roll cage) but, by all means, attempt what you can.

If you can't learn on JKO how to do what you want to your JK, you can most likely find some helpful folks here who are local to you.
Your fellow Jeepers are a resource that cannot be overrated (remember, just like web pages, some will have bad info).
Critical thinking also cannot be overrated. :D

WELCOME TO JKO! Best of luck to you. YOO KEN DOO EET ! ! :koolaid:

 

[ExWrench]

09-15-2014, 10:01 PM

Odd Mods for the sPOD and OBA

To pave the road for my cage installation, I was faced with abandoning my $5 "accessory lighting master control station". I'll get over it.

I took this as an excuse to huck an sPOD in, and I'm impressed with the product and happy with my purchase.
However, I had to change a half-dozen things to optimize everything to my satisfaction (believe it or not . . . ).
Here's some weird crap I did for one reason or another :cwm13: :

My copper cooling coil was sharing airspace with the sPOD box, so it had to move.
I tried bending the existing coil gently, but it kinked before moving enough. I knew it would, but tried anyway - nothing to lose.
Also, notice how perfectly the Viair control relay blocks the engine oil dipstick - this setup was sub-optimal and marked for death.

New coil made out of fresh copper tubing. It looks less F'd up in person than it does in this photo, and seems to cool better than the "prettier" one.
Unless anyone else in the world went "Full Moonshine Jacket" on their OBA lines, these (^v) 2 pics probably did nobody any good .

Got an sPOD that'll hold a gage. I've been wanting to add a vacuum gage, and the sPOD made for a clean installation.
Since resale value is of no concern, I decided to make routing the vacuum tubing simple and pinch-free.
Hole Saw! Fuck Yeah! I love mauling plastic. :D

A vacuum gage is deeper than whatever dafook you're supposed to put in that spot, so I used an Auto Meter angle ring to tilt the back of the vacuum gage down and to take up some of the gage depth in front of the switch panel face. It just clears now - a miss is a miss!

I could have made another angle ring out of ABS pipe (I've seen me do it) but this time around the AutoMeter ring got the job.
I had to shave the sides to fit the angle ring in between the Carling switches, but it all worked out and the angle's perfect!

Also, I just realized I never explained my ultra-trick rearview mirror: it's a clip-on panoramic that wouldn't fit between the JK's sunvisors.
So . . . glass cutter to cut glass, whatever to cut plastic, and a length of slit fuel hose glued on with Right Stuff gasket maker (permanent-ish).


That dipstick-blocking OBA control relay fits OK under the sPOD, so I laid it over sideways with a handful of brass bits.
Recently, I ditched the regulator and went back to unregulated air pressure for tire filling (faster = better).

Slotted the screw hole that supports the front of the OBA manifold bracket so it'd be much easier to install and remove as needed.

Here are all my switches labeled up. #'s 5 and 6 are just posers . . . for now.

NOT PICTURED (DEAL WITH IT): I divided the power wire to the sPOD switches and sent it through a relay hooked to key power.
This way, my Jeep is electrically dead when I pull the key. Except for this, I kept all of the sPOD wiring intact so the LVCO is functional.

OBA intake used to be under the dash, but my firewall pass-through conflicted with the cage. This spot seems to be OK.

I'm way behind on chit I gotta' throw in this thread (but you don't know that so I'm not gonna' sweat it

).
To be continued soon unless I get hit by a fawkin' bus, or get distracted . . . fuck it, it'll happen when it's meant to happen.
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.
THE END!.............................................. .................................
.
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JESUS! THE POST'S OVER ALREADY!
.
.
.
NOTHING TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG NOW!
.
.
.
DON'T YOU HAVE SOMETHING BETTER TO DO?!!
.
.
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Seriously, even the Ninjas packed their shit and are leaving now . . . turn the lights off on your way out, if you don't mind.

 

[ExWrench]

09-16-2014, 09:31 PM

:D "Feeling Isolated, Needed to Vent, and Was Desperate to Understand People . . ."

ISOLATION: NOT ALWAYS A BAD THING
Noticed the rear suspension sagged by almost 1/2 inch, so I finally reinstalled the factory rear coil isolators over the Teraflex coil guides.

RAISED FRONT DIFF VENT - YOO KEN DOO EET ! ! !
If you haven't raised your front diff vent yet, here's a functional upgrade that's cheap, quick, and simple.
Find the top of the hose running up behind the left front shock tower, pull the vent cap out, and shove in a barbed hose elbow.
Put a couple of feet of hose (OK, maybe three) on the other side of that barb elbow and route the end up high in the engine compartment.

And, of course, put your hose back where you found it . . .

Then shove the breather into the end of the new hose. Silver Sharpie optional.

If you haven't done your rear diff vent either, suggest doing that too. Cheap insurance and peace of mind.
Run it up into the right rear corner of the tub from underneath. Pull right tail light to make it a cake walk.


PSC RESERVOIR VENT HOSE UNSUCKIFICATION - I LOVE THIS MOD!
Gonna' use all the crap in this photo to change the breather hose connection to the PSC reservoir cap.

Here's the point where I really hoped I had all that shit figured out.

Clear tubing may not be physically imposing, but add a little dust and vibration and it may win a war of attrition (rub spot above hood ground stud).

Waaay better at de limbo, Mon!

Improvements:

1. Lower - no rubbing
2. Swivel fitting - no hose bind
3. Quick-release push-to-connect fitting
4. No more vinyl tubing zip tied to a 1/4" spud (zip tie was needed)

1/4" of wax = 1/4" of air = not fookin' widdit 'til sump'n don't work = DONE! :D

DAFOOK DID THAT GUY SAY?
I had an external CB speaker by Barjan named (ironically as shit) the "Loud Mouth". Let's just say it was "subtle", more so than the regular CB speaker.
Replaced with Uniden amplified external speaker - LOUD AND CLEAR! Totally happy with this speaker.
Lesson learned: non-amplified external speaker = waste of time & money.

Existing 6mm stud sticking out of tub (approximately enough) where needed = WooHoo! This was a cake-walk. Folded carpet back up behind speaker.

Loud little SOB, and not quite in the way of the passenger's feet. Win, win, and DONE!

 

[ExWrench]

09-21-2014, 12:22 PM

Carrying Maps & Gas (no, not Mapp Gas)

LET'S TALK ABOUT MAPS FOR A MINUTE . . .
The map pocket behind the driver's seat holds a pretty complete first aid kit, but the map pocket on the passenger seat gets used for its namesake.
Depending on the trip, it'll smuggle a few (6-10) road and offroad maps, maps/directions printed from online, and a book or two about the area.

EVERY LAST DAMNED THING I KNOW ABOUT JERRY CANS (ALMOST :D )
To use my current gas can, I remove the lock and rotate the anti-tweeker strap to either side to allow gas can filling or removal.
If you notice the silver Sharpie markup near the pivot of the strap, I was planning on making the strap a quick-disconnect deal when unlocked.

A Super Siphon was less than ten bucks when I bought it a few years ago (prob'ly 15 now), and it has paid for itself in un-spilled gasoline alone!
I recently emptied 5 gallons into the Jeep without spilling a single drop. To me, it's worth ten bucks every time I don't reek of 91 after gassing up.

The best method I've found is to set up the siphon discharge in the gas tank filler neck, then set the Jerry can up on the left rear fender.
I do pre-open the gas can on the ground in case it's going to geyser from trapped pressure, then re-seal, set up on fender, and re-open.

The Effed up paint on this can is not why I consider it worn out (by now, I think it's obvious I go for function over form).
Floor of can bulged from pressure (temp and elevation changes) and rubbed itself thin on the stainless button head screws below it before I noticed.

Many pressure / vacuum cycles without opening it twice a day allowed this can to crack paint at the sucked-in sides, and rub thin on the bulged floor.
This can is pretty sad, but the can design was fine. I had a great system all planned out to overcome its only problems, but it's no longer available.

To get one more trip out of this unit, I emptied it, knocked the bottom back into shape, and filled the nest in the can carrier with a floor mat scrap.

As previously mentioned, a Blitz jerry can identical to my current one is no longer available, and I assure you that this is for zero fookin' good reasons.

Many aspects of living in California kick ass over most other states, but being subject to idiotic C.A.R.B. rules nuzzles musty donkey taint, no doubt.

So, since what Ace Hardware is allowed to sell me these days is just a steaming handful of monkey shit, I decided to go a different direction . . .
Fortunately, I was able to locate excellent-condition ("like" new

) NATO style metal jerricans that were :cwm13: "made before they were banned in CA".
EDIT: I'm "lucky" the new can only holds 5 gallons, or I'd probably have to register it as a "high-capacity fuel magazine". Is 91 octane "assault gas" yet?

If I could have gotten another can like my faithful Blitz can above, these two widgets would have been sunk into the can lid - easy, simple, transferrable.
In my new gas can format, this is the location currently winning the race in my head for perfect placement. One is pressure relief, one vacuum relief.

Here's a side view of those vents, showing that they should be out of harm's way during conscientious normal handling. Not bulletrproof, but OK.

Here's an impromptu exploded view of these pressure/vacuum relief valves. Ball position above or below spring determines which type of valve it is.
Fully adjustable - plan is to adjust each to a level that prevents can distortion while minimizing the amount of traffic through the valves.

I have the carrying system for the new can roughed out in my head, but haven't gotten serious about prototyping it yet.
Rough plan is to make a cradle / cage the can slides into from the back, with a rear / top strap hinged at the bottom and locking on top.

---

09-21-2014, 12:32 PM
<JKCTAZ>

I might have to look into that super syphon, I went to the gas station last night and decided to exchange the fuel in my Rotopax for some fresh
fuel by dumping the older fuel into the tank. When I went to use the CARB compliant fuckface spout, it was all screwed up, bound up, and
barely opened. In fact, one of the lock mechanism springs was sticking out broken in half. Needless to say, even now as I type the, my hands
smell like fuel.

---

09-21-2014, 02:08 PM

JKCTAZ said:
I might have to look into that super syphon, I went to the gas station last night and decided to exchange the fuel in my Rotopax for some fresh fuel by dumping the older fuel into the tank. When I went to use the CARB compliant fuckface spout, it was all screwed up, bound up, and barely opened. In fact, one of the lock mechanism springs was sticking out broken in half. ​

The Super Siphon has served me well - it's just 6' of tube and a copper end with a marble in it, but it works great.
You need your gas can above the tank inlet for the siphon to work (like all siphons) but just jiggle the end up & down to start flow.
There's no funky pump to wear out after one season, and you don't have to fellate a fuel hose. Best way to avoid swallowing is not to suck at all.

JKCTAZ said:
Needless to say, even now as I type the, my hands smell like fuel. ​

You just reminded me of a trick from the "old days" (single) when hands reeking of fuel needed to be de-reeked in short order.

If you absolutely have to get the gas smell off your hands quickly, scrub 'em with Comet (Boraxo may work, but I can only vouch for Comet).
Besides fuel smells, Comet will take stains out of deep cracks in hands (you usually run out of dirt before you run out of skin).

NOTE: New diesel may require a few scrubbing sessions. Old Diesel definitely does.

After the Comet scrubbing, return (or change) hands to non-gnarly status with application of hand lotion (Lubriderm works great).

Not suggesting that anyone start doing this if not needed. However, hopefully at least one single dude will benefit from this trick.
In general, the hands your (potential) woman allows under the hood of her car differ from the hands she'll allow on her . . . undercarriage. :D

 

[ExWrench]

09-22-2014, 09:47 PM

Yard Sale on Pics and Info! (mostly cage related, but about as random as it gets)

RANDOM:
Here's another angle of the ball-lock pin I use to keep the lid of the Tuffy deck from shooting off the front of the tracks when using the prop rod.
I remembered to snap a picture of this from the side when I had the hard top off to put in the front sport cage.

CLAMPETTS:
I made the driveway look like a hillbilly flea market for the day with spare Jeep parts piled all over our F250. Good incentive to get the cage done.

RANDOM:
This picture illustrates how my "NOS" bottle would get in the way of a Trektop NX. (Meh, rich people's problem - no danger of a Trektop tomorrow.)

I'M FEELING A LITTLE "CAGIER" THAN I WAS BEFORE
I decided on an OR-Fab sport cage for the front and a Poly (Synergy) cage for the rear. Once the Poly rear is in with a few mods, I'm calling it good.
I was going to write this up all at once, but the Poly rear cage has been on semi-permanent-fawkmee backorder for better than 8 weeks now.
UPDATE 11/11/14: Still no Poly rear cage joy 3-1/2 months after order was placed - WAT DA FOOK IS SYNERGY'S ISSUE? - FAWK ME!
UPDATE 12/14/14: Rear cage parts FINALLY shipped after just under 5 FARGIN' MONTHS of backorder. Now we wait for good weather.

OR-Fab "discontinued" this cage to avoid being sued out of existence by litigious douchebags who would sue over a sport cage not preventing AIDS.
I like this design, and I wish OR-Fab the best, but my experience was less than ideal. All shit I could handle, but none that I should have had to.

So, since installation of this cage has been covered (and because you probably can't get one anyway) I'm only going to hit on the "extras" I did.

BOOO! to OR-Fab - tapped holes were clean, but the clearance holes were undersized (or they should have tapped all the way through). BOOO!

I brought the clearance holes up to size, then chased the tapped holes with a tap and a thread chaser, followed by testing each with the bolts.

BOOO! to Summit Racing and OR-Fab (team effort to fook me this time) - my carton had been previously opened, and was missing nothing . . .
. . . except the destructions and the drilling template :suicide:.

Maybe this is uninteresting, :dunno: but here's how it went down:

Chat Transcript 08/03/2014 06:30 PM
Hi, my name is Kayla. How may I help you?
(ExWrench): I purchased Or Fab roll cage #ORF-82300 on order 1145XXX.
The box had been opened, but all the components present are in good condition.
The instructions and a template are missing from the box.
I don't need printed instructions, but I need the steel template which does the drilling layout
Kayla: Hello (ExWrench), let me see what we have for that
Kayla: Can I mail them?
(ExWrench): Yes, that would be fine.
Just to be clear, what I need is the steel drilling template.
I have already downloaded the instructions in PDF format, and I'm not worried about missing stickers, but I need the template.
Kayla: Ok, I will try to get the template, I will have to call them tomorrow to get it if I cannot find it but either way it will be mailed tomorrow for you
(ExWrench): Thank you! Summit Racing is the best, as always.
Kayla: Thank you, Have a great evening!
'(ExWrench)' disconnected ('Concluded by End-user').​

Response Via Email (Kayla) 08/06/2014 04:12 PM
(ExWrench),

I was finally able to get ahold of the manufacturer and they discontinued that line of roll bars and they are not allowed to give me a drilling template. I do apologize for the inconvenience.


We appreciate your business.
Thank you,
Kayla
Summit Racing Equipment​

​

Customer By Email 08/07/2014 12:41 AM
Wow, Summit has never dropped the ball on me before. This is totally unacceptable. Summit Racing needs to make this right ASAP, and you should know this.
If this is beyond your level of authority, please escalate it immediately. You have my $600, please complete your end of the deal.

The box I received did not break open during shipping, so I believe I received it as it left your Ohio warehouse (previously opened and missing instructions and drilling template).
If you cannot get the template from Or-Fab, please have someone go grab it out of one of the remaining kits in your Ohio warehouse - you still show them in stock.

Either THIS ^^^ OR THIS vvvv - pick one, I'm trying to help you do what you need to do to make this right.

The manufacturer discontinued this item but did not recall it or ask you to purge your inventory, so you could get them to give you the template.
Try telling Or-Fab / Performance Accessories that discontinuing an item is no excuse to not support it for people who paid good money for it.

Either way, I expect Summit Racing to make good on their screw-up. You've never let me down before. Please don't start now.

Thank you,
(ExWrench)​

Response Via Email (Kayla) 08/07/2014 08:22 PM
(ExWrench),

This is was the best I could get. He said to make sure it's printed at 100% and also to be mindful that it is a scale 2:3.


We appreciate your business.
Thank you,
Kayla
Summit Racing Equipment​

Fri, Aug 8, 2014 at 8:15 AM
Thanks for following up and getting me something, which is much better than nothing.

I now have the bare minimum needed to get this done without finding someone from whom to borrow the actual template.

I will use the paper "template" to lay out the drilling, or to make the steel template I should have received.

At least I now have something, so thank you.
(ExWrench)​

​

​

[/DRAMA]
If it wasn't discontinued, I would have returned/exchanged, but I didn't want to lose the cage I had in hand in case OR-Fab recalled this "death trap". :D

OK, so what I got was a 2:3 scale PDF image (that could not be scaled for printing) with no useful dimensions or scale on it. Almost helpful.
The fix was to save the PDF as an image, scale 150%, and print out on 11x17 paper - thank Buddha I had access to high-end Adobe and an awesome printer!
After that reach-around of a clusterfook, the paper template actually kicks ass! I had my wife tape it while I held it, then I center-punched through it.

"Custom" touches: OR-Fab logo cut-out on side plates filled in, most of cage painted blue, and side plates shot with grey urethane to blend into dash.

GO FLEX YOURSELF - YOU MIGHT LEARN SOMETHING <-- NINJAS DO NOT FIND THIS OFFENSIVE.

While wheeling Niagara Rim with some new-found accomplices (thanks White13JKUR for setting up the trip!) I parked in a notch for testing.

All the theoretical / mockup expectations in the world can't compare to real-world results. The close-up pic following this one illustrates my point.

I have 1" of clearance to the sheet metal in the rear fully stuffed, and I could run 37s with my current chassis setup.
This pic shows that the flares are maxed out with 35s. I built this rig for 35s (that was the plan) and it should stay that way. . .

. . . for now. :D

 

[ExWrench]

11-03-2014, 09:07 PM

Jerry Can Holder, ExWrench's Oddball Version . . .

OK, whether you dig it or hate it, this oughtta’ peg about a 9.8 on your weird shit-o-meter (I've never seen anything like it).

BACKGROUND:
Blitz jerry can wasted, not worth repairing, and not available new. New gas can format needs new can carrier format.

THE REPLACEMENT:
Built like a "Shick Brithouse" or something like that. :D Mid-process photo, ignore the Partridge Family bus color scheme (not on acid, just not done).

Top plates are 3/16", side skirts are 1/8", and the rest is either 1/8" or 3/16" depending on the burliness I deemed necessary.

Floor plate is 1/4" UHMW PE, and the sides and back are sheeted inside with 1/8" UHMW.

Drilled some big-ass speed holes in the bottom rib to "bolt on lightness"

Stainless De-Sta-Co toggle clamp modified to accept 5/16" rod end. Male and female 5/16" rod ends joined to make a link for the lid.

Lid linked to clamp makes it a breeze to open with no extra steps or dickin' around. And no, the toggle clamp can't be unbolted when the lid is closed.

Bent up and welded on some 1/4" rod for a couple of guides for the spiral-wrapped CB antenna coax. cable and ground cable.

Here's the payoff from those cable routing guides. No snags, no pinching - done!

Slit a scrap of push-lock oil hose to make the CB wiring tree-resistant and visually uninteresting.

Buried it all in flat olive paint . . .

Then shot over the flat olive with satin clear so the paint will last longer before going to shit. The result makes me want to shoot the whole Jeep this color.

05/2016 EDIT: Even with the satin clear over, this paint went to shit in a little over a year (always parked outside).
VERY GLAD I didn't paint the whole Jeep with those rattle cans - it would look like a total shitbox right about now.
Rattle-can paint is great but will not last like catalyzed paint. It's fine if you're OK with re-shooting about 1X/year.​​

TWEEKER RESISTANCE:
Body of lock prevents lid from raising enough to get in to the goodies. I might make a shackle guard to foil bolt cutter-toting shitbags.

Well, I think I broke some new ground with at least half of this. Y'all think I struck gold, or caved in the top of a septic tank?

 

[ExWrench]

11-10-2014, 10:05 PM

Gas Can Weirdness Part 2, Shop Tips, Tie Rod Notes, Jeep Falling Apart

To finish the Jerry can holder, I took a scrap of 1/8" UHMW and lined the top. It's kinda' like a gas can "holster" now - I dig it.

It's a bit freaky drilling a 3/4" hole in a gas can that's airtight, but it had to be done to accommodate this 1/4" NPT tank bulkhead fitting.

SHOP TIP:^^^ Put a chunk of fuel hose around a retrieval magnet, and it's only "sticky" on the end - no more sticking to every wall along the way.


Bulkhead fitting in place. It has a nitrile o-ring inside the tank, captive in a groove in the head of the fitting so it won't squish out.
Out of pure overkill / paranoia, I put an Earl's sealing washer on the outside and topped it with a washer before cranking down the nut.

Adjusted the pressure relief valve to 9.5 PSI (GAGES NOT CALIBRATED TO NIST STANDARDS - DON'T SUE ME IF YOU BLOW YOUR FARGIN' NUTS OFF).
I went with 9.5 PSI because the can started getting a little bulgy at 10 PSI, and gasoline has a vapor pressure of ~7 PSI at 100 degrees F.
This pressure relief setting should keep the can from venting reasonable gasoline vapor pressure, but will not let the can go all Fat Albert on me.

Vacuum relief valve set to open at 4.5" Hg. Gas can started to go all Sarah Jessica Parker at 5" Hg. I used my Moeller fluid extractor to generate vacuum.

Here's the finished assembly: a Jerry can that doesn't need to be opened unless you want to add or remove fuel <-- I really dig this feature!
One side of the handle is blocked so this vent design would suck for fire-bucket-brigade style passing, but I'm OK with that one particular drawback.

Most importantly, all the bullshit that I added to the Jerry can is within the profile envelope of the can. When it's "holstered", it's unbreakable . . . -ish.

Thanks to THIS THREAD (gotta' love JKO!), I bought a set of Synergy low-misalignment tie rod boots and installed 'em. Old boot is on the right.
If you have Synergy tie rod ends, this modification is a good one (ONLY ON A TIE ROD - NOT FOR DRAG LINKS).
The drag link needs room to misalign so don't try it, please. On a tie rod, however, this is awesome: My TR now sits level and is further from the rocks.

EDIT: --> SOME PEOPLE CAN'T RUN THESE BOOTS AS-IS. READ THE THREAD LINKED ABOVE STARTING AT POST #29 <--
EDIT2: A dude had sealing issues with these boots as well: LINK - do your research before you buy.​​

In the thread I linked above, the OP was complaining that his tie rod flopped when his hydro. ram moved. I didn't have that problem, so I looked for why:
Turns out that my ram and tie rod are parallel when the steering is centered. What made this happen is the ~15 degree layback I put on the ram clevis.
I did this when setting up the ram because it minimized the angles (parallel are gooder than not parallel) but never thought about what I gained.
By the way: at full steering lock, the clearance between that bolt head and the Riddler diff. cover is 1/8". No more, no less.

4-1/2 years, 50,000 miles - welcome to the Fall-Apart Shitbox Show!
Gawd, I hope not ^^^. But a few minor things are falling apart (not counting the shit I've broken - I'm being realistic here).
Tailgate exhauster lost one flap, so I pinched another one and tugged lightly - it came off like peeling a tired Post-It note. Time to replace.

Chrysler ditched some unnecessary holes in the revised part, so I put those holes back in because I zip-tie the 3rd brake light wiring to those holes.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I have 1 or 2 exhaust manifolds that couldn't say "no" to crack. Will prob'ly fix those this weekend, time allowing.
I seriously hope this little 1/4-ton bucket isn't headed to Shitboxville any time soon - I'm almost done fookin' widdit, it's time to just enjoy it!

For now, it's only on the edges of the hood hinges, but the paint is starting to go to shit - bummer - the rattle-can solution is looking better all the time.

OK, Jeep decay is a downer - let's talk SHOP TIPS
That vise and everything to the left of it are covered in steel particles and bits of worn cutting discs and flap wheels from the 4-1/2" destruct-o-matic.
See all those drawers and stuff to the right of the vise? It would ruin my day to have all the stuff on the right fouled like the stuff on the left.

Plywood door with a piece of floor mat stapled to the inside edge of it keep the abrasive nasties out of my hardware, cordage, hydraulic fittings, etc.
The blue masking tape square is where I figured out I need to make one more "clean box" (only took me a few years to figure that one out).

Thank Vishnu (Buddha?) I saved most of the Altoids cans I generated before burning out on Altoids for ~the rest of my life.
Haven't had an Altoid in a decade, but these little tins will last me my lifetime. Easy to store, easy to label, great way to organize for ~free.

---

11-11-2014, 07:49 PM

Blackout said:
Wow looking at that drawer setup and what not...

​

Its one of those times when I think to my self " I should really get my chit organized"

But it goes away quick , and I am back to hunting for stuff I need for an hour befor I start the actual work.. But I am ok with that :shitstorm: I work alone and am never in a hurry.​

As long as your system works for you, and doesn't cost me time, to hell with my opinion and everyone else's.

​
Besides . . . some people pay to go on scavenger hunts. You get to do that shit for free .

​​

Blackout said:
Looks real good tho and your write ups are one of the best to read..

keep them coming..

:th_pray: for you that you arnt entering the down hill on Jeep failure :th_pray:​

Thank you, thank you, and thank you!
Thank you, thank you, and thank you!
Thank you, thank you, and thank you!
Thank you, thank you, and thank you!​

 

[ExWrench]

12-27-2014, 10:43 PM

:( So I had this exhausting dysfunction . . .

My pet exhaust manifold couldn't say "no" to crack. Instead of giving rehab a try, I chose to go the elective surgery route.

My health care provider was Rock Auto, and Dr. Dorman looked like a winner. I found out that Dr. Dorman was not the same as Dr. Mopar.
I expected they were both Chinese, but I did not know that Dr. Dorman was from a shittier part of China with lower standards. Now I know. :suicide:

Dr. Dorman's clothes were not as nice as Dr. Mopar's, but they covered his junk and I decided to not be shallow and judge him based on his clothes.

Looking below the surface, Dr. Dorman was even less attractive and a little rough around the edges, but basically functional and worth giving a chance.

At his core, Dr. Dorman did not fully understand the need for a pet exhaust manifold to not obstruct the family dynamic. This new pet needed training.

Training any new pet can be a bit of a grind, and this exhaust manifold was no exception.
With a bit of massaging, this bastard at least learned to get out of the way, so he found a home under the hood of my Jeep.

New pet manifold had female anatomy that relied on a bolt to hold its codpiece on. This was impractical, and transgender surgery was required.
A quick addadicktome gave my pet exhaust manifold ("Chaz Bono") the required "outie" to sport the codpiece with only a nut showing.

To clarify: I ran a bolt and lock washer through the Dorman manifold from the back to make a stud upon which to secure the lower heat shield. :thankyou:



Sorry, no animal / doctor analogy here, but this fooked-up contraption allowed me to torque the rearmost driver-side exhaust manifold bolt. :D

I did all my exhaust manifold monkeying with the fender ripped off, and I wouldn't do it with the fender on for a hundred bucks (Fawk that )

While the exhaust system was under the microscope, I looked for any other dysfunction that needed a hug, kick, etc. . . .
An expensive, dedicated, specialized tool (that looks surprisingly similar to a big-ass Crescent wrench ) moved some skid plate steel away from a cat.

---

01-15-2015, 01:14 PM
<White13JKUR>

Originally Posted by ExWrench
Headlight adjuster screws! . . .​

thanks again for this. finally got a round tuit and ordered up a couple of these along with some oil filters, drain plugs and your average BR6 front brake setup.

FYI.... The parts guy said that this screw was only in stock in Detroit which he said means that nobody orders them (well, apparently, other than a couple of ex mechanics on some jeep bbs, perhaps).

 

[gt1guy]

Damn you've done so many cool things it's impossible to count.

I got a question. You said you used UHMW PE on your gas can rack. Is that the stuff that works for skid plates? I did a quick search of it and there's both UHMW and UHMWPE. Is one better than the other for a skid? Is it something you would skin a skid with or with it thick enough, could it be used AS the skid?

 

[ExWrench]

03-29-2015, 06:51 PM
"Fender Skirts" (if you properly misinterpret the definition)

White13JKUR said:
thanks again for this . . .​

You're very welcome! Nice to know some of my bullshit helped someone.



OK, so "Fender Skirts" . . . Manly, Manly Skirts . . .
Was lacking round tuits with regard to writing it up, but in November I put on "fender skirts" :cwm13: because:

Smallish rocks kept getting kicked up by the tires, through the window at the 6 o'clock in this photo, and wedging between the rock rail and the body.

So I grabbed some UHMW scraps left over from another project (I love using up scraps!) to plug the gap that was causing me great inconvenience.

Assembled with 2 clamps and went to town with a drill bit . . .

Followed up with a pop rivet gun . . .

I used pop rivets designed for soft materials. The rivet has 4 segments that open up and curl back around, similar to a pre-scored hollow-point bullet.

Here's a side-by-side shot, showing the relatively minor difference I fooked around for over an hour to make.

Before: door's wide open, tire is invited to huck a bunch of crap on through.

After: sign says "no solicitors", move along . . . :D

Random #1: reversing Mile Marker hydraulic winch rotation
After smashing my fairlead, I replaced it and relocated it up from the bottom to the top of the front face of the front bumper.
To do this, I had to reverse the rotation of my winch so the line would spool off the top rather than the bottom.
Since the winch is mounted to a vertical surface rather than a horizontal one, I could ignore all the admonitions to only spool off the bottom of a winch.
The wiring was a quick swap, but I had to pull the valve block to switch this flow restrictor disc (forceps pointing to disc) from one port to the other.

Random #2: Fender Clips
Just putting this up because I always have to look it up, and now I don't. Hope it saves a few of you a minute or two as well.
Au-ve-co #21528 is a perfect replacement for Mopar #68039280-AA (if not identical - they probably make the OEM clips).
You can get a box of 25 Auvecos for less than a half-dozen OEM clips from the dealership. <-- I suggest doing that.

Random #3: Those fawked-up tubular plastic nuts that hold the inner fenders up
Few years ago, one of those screwy tubular plastic nut thingamachinguses fell off and I threw on an aluminum one made for furniture.
That worked OK, but nowhere near great.
Recently, I grabbed this handful of crap from my miscellaneous hardware drawer and created the final solution. This is great, and Done!

 

[ExWrench]

03-31-2015, 09:46 PM

New CB Stuff, New Light Stuff, and Random Stuff


Changed from RG-58 to RG-8X coaxial cable for my CB, and didn't want to fish it through the tailgate again, so . . . fuel hose makes homos!

Wanted to get the center stack panel out without removing the cage. Half day of sunlight and judicious prying = top cap popped free!

Here's what justified prying the dash apart: Motorola HLN9073B. I'm no snob, but all the other microphone clips I've seen are junk in comparison.

The Cobra 75WXST was a great space saver, but I never loved it. I replaced it with a Midland 1001LWX and an Astatic 636L microphone.

New CB radio mounted as high as possible on the front cage stringers, all wires and cables cruise down through the passenger A-pillar plastic cover.

CB mounting 100% custom, CB bracket is re-purposed scrap of stainless. Mount clamps to both cage stringer tubes. Plenty solid so far.

Another angle of my CB mount. Big-ass zip ties prevent metal-to-metal contact up top, and a couple chunks of slit hose do the same below.

4 eye bolts + 2 motorcycle tie-downs = hard top hoist that was quicker to install than the Harken hoister I bought a couple years ago.
Was in a pants-on-fire hurry to ditch the top, because the weather finally got good enough to weld in and paint up my rear cage tubes.

Cracked a fog light, so the Ovaltine painting riser was called into action one more time to make the new fog light more "fog light-ish".

Was trying to decide if an offroad light would work between the fog lights, delicatessen pint container was the best piece of random crap for mockup.

Here's what that deli fruit salad container was the stand-in for in the "proto-faking" photo above. This looks way cooler, but costs a lot more.

Had to make a mounting widget for the Baja Designs XL-R Pro. This, along with some obscure hardware, will make the XL-R very tweeker-resistant.

Random: QC Fail at Bondhus :nono:
I love Bondhus tools, especially USA-made stuff like this. The indicated wrench missed a machining operation and QC, the replacement did not.

NEXT UP to WRITE UP: Synergy rear cage tubes! I will say they were worth the wait, but the wait was re-DICK-ulous.

 

[ExWrench]

04-03-2015, 10:41 PM

Synergy Rear Cage Install . . . Oddball Version

There are good writeups on installing this cage kit so, as usual, I'm just gonna' touch on the notable, unique, or odd crap I did while installing mine.

Mocking up the Synergy B-pillar reinforcement plate, and marking the things that need a bit o' fookin' wit' before "hot glue gun" time.

I never was comfortable with the 5/16" self-tappers holding the Or-Fab front stringers to the B-pillar. This was my solution.

I went a bit overkill and laid down fatter beads than needed to hold the lock nuts in place (forgot I'd have to make bigger clearance holes). F.I.S.H.D.O.

Not a great picture, but this is a great subject. It says, "MADE IN USA". Thanks to Synergy for using American steel in their American product.
This makes their American product fully worth my American dollars (even though I had to wait 5 gawddam American months for said product to ship).

I just didn't feel like screwing with a tarp or masking paper, so aluminum foil out back and a $1 space blanket covering the whole front worked great!

Blue VHT caliper paint isn't an exact match for Deep Water Blue, but it's close enough. No flake or clear coat but, on average, very close color-wise.

Working alone installing the rear cage, I dropped a tube a time or 2 and dinged the shit out of the tub. Just scuffed and shot over with the VHT blue.

Overall shot showing finished product and level of paint (mis)match. I don't need a show-car match, just enough to look intentional. :cwm13: Done!

Roll bar padding cover zipper (obviously) stops at the newly added tube. Punched a few holes with an awl and stitched the cover together with zip ties.

Notched the sound bar to fit around the new cage tubes. C-pillar gussets limit how far the Tuffy deck lid can lift, gotta' shorten the prop rod I made.

Painted the size "E" oxygen cylinder to unbling / camouflage it, and moved it here. As before, it's occupying space that's not otherwise super useful.

Aaannnnd . . . done (I hope).

---

09-12-2015, 05:59 PM
<geberhard>

BTT this thread has so much WIN!!! Great ideas thanks!

---

 

[ExWrench]

09-13-2015, 01:02 PM

geberhard said:
BTT this thread has so much WIN!!! Great ideas thanks!

​

Thank you! It's always nice to know some of my oddball shit makes sense to other people (and maybe even helps some).

Searching Google for tech in the past, I've actually landed on all 3 threads you have linked in your signature and a few of your other tech threads on Pirate.
You've built some killer toys and done a boatload of helpful writeups on Pirate, so please let me sincerely echo the

Great ideas thanks!​

OK, since you already knocked the dust off this for me, I'll get off my lazy ass and add the few things I've been lagging on updating:

Pick a card . . . any card . . .
Got a pack of cards you don't mind trashing? This absolutely kicks ass to mask off the rubber gasket on the hard top come rattle can time.
A few months back, I realized that my white Krylon job (good for 2 years in the sun) was 3+ years old.
That pretty much explained why the white area of the top was looking beat to shit and whitewashing the sides of the hard top.

Brang fahhhrrrrkin' noo!3 coats of satin bright white and (I went fancy this time) 2 coats of satin clear over the white part of the top.

Shoulda' just turned the fawkin' top inside-out:
At the same time part of the factory black was re-painted white, the factory white was painted black (I wasn't just bored, there is a reason)

The inside of the top was better looking finished in white, but with the satin black I don't end up seeing it when driving. <-- SAFER ARE GOODER

Paint inside the top is the same SEM flexible urethane I use on the rims before every trip to indicate what needs a-checkin' after rocks kiss them

The next 2 pictures just make me really happy, and I'm the one dropping photos into this thread so . . . deal widdit

These are in Sierra County, just outside Plumas County, between the Four Hills Mine and the A Tree. I'd be there right now if I could.
Maybe I dig these pics because I was there and I still smell the mule ears on the breeze coming up from the Lakes Basin. Also, I really dig blue.

Shop Tip: RCV Care and Feeding
I only use the RCV grease on my RCV axles, so I set up this grease gun with a needle tip on a long enough pipe to reach the axles with the wheels on.
Also, a paint pen keeps me from having to taste test or otherwise waste some grease to figure out what's in that gun.

Although I liked the look of the KC Slimlite fogs, replacing cracked lenses and burned out 100W bulbs was starting to piss me off.
Baja Designs Squadron Sport LED lights with Wide Cornering lenses and amber covers are my new fog lights.
I went with Sports rather than Pros because I "may" use these on-road as fog lights and don't want to endanger people or talk to cops.

"Honey, I've been cheating on you . . ."
I've been bikeless for few years, so I fixed that recently by picking up a new Suzuki DR650. Keeping it 100% stock . . .

Well, almost . . .

Aww, fookit - if you've read through this whole thread, you know the "keeping it stock" was bullshit.

 

[ExWrench]

12-29-2015, 05:57 PM
<Jeep Momma>

Very cool!!! Your build is a lot more complicated than mine.
I do however LOVE your organization!

---

12-29-2015, 08:40 PM
<Tumbleweed44>

Great workmanship and thinking outside the box.
Keep up the good work.

---

06-09-2016, 08:16 PM
<ExWrench>
Knockin' the dust off this thread . . .

First, Thanks Tammy 'n' Tumbleweed! ^^^
Didn't want to bump this thread without adding stuff, and I'm finally getting off my ass to do just that.

So, I've done a few things to my Jeep in the last 9 months . . .

Bought some el cheapo 30 degree LEDs for auxilliary reverse lighting, and briefly considered making a mud flap setup I've been noodling over.

Then said "fuck it", mounted the reverse lights here, and postponed the mud flap pipe dream until I get bored (or ticketed)

Lights are aimed down and a bit out, to light up directly behind and off to the side, removing a blind spot that's always bothered me.

Mounting was stupid-simple: drill 2 holes for bolt and wiring, assemble with 2 stainless fender washers and a nylock.
New auxiliary reverse light wires are just tied in with posi-taps for now (honestly, probably forever).
Ignore the bullet connectors (just rock lights, and packed with dielectric grease).

In case it helps anyone, here's the business end of my rear diff vent hose. Scrap of heater hose zip-tied around it so it doesn't rattle.

My RallyLights / Susquehanna headlight harness failed me, but it was just this fuse holder. Replaced with an automotive circuit breaker. :rockon:

Added some dirt-cheap LED strips in 4 places up front: 1 each centered on cross bars shooting straight down, and the other 2 kicked slightly forward.

The added strips are on my rock light circuit - makes sense that I need to see to walk around the Jeep if I need to see my winch controls.

Oh, and scrap of 1/8" UHMW + 2 zip ties to keep the sun off my winch rope ^^^ after a buddy asked me if I worried about sun damage.
(Thanks Geoff :rolleyes:, I wasn't worried about it until you gave me one more thing to worry about).



Ordered Dynatrac big brake kit, had half of it stolen, got replacement, then waited a month for my arm to heal before I could install it.
Everything is great about the Dynatrac kit, except that they painted the brake drum surface - D'oh! I removed the paint inside.

Dynatrac big-ass rear discs for reference. They fit, but . . .

I had to relocate a strip of wheel weights to the outside of the rim, after the caliper relocated them to the garage floor.

 

[ExWrench]

06-09-2016, 09:09 PM

. . . but wait, there's more . . .

My Rock Hard engine skid needed a reach-around with a sledge to unfawk where it was pushed up and touching the exhaust.
While checking for other needs, I obsessed on this spot where the crossmember was gouged (no worry) and wiring was endangered (worry).

I fucking love making shit out of scraps! The scrap from the piece of tube I used to plate my notched front frame rail fit with no modifications.

Here it is lookin' all purdy and painted up. Now I won't worry about the wires running to the transfer case.

Hard to see in the photo but, after pounding the skid back to straight-ish, I hammered in some relief pockets for the ends of the exhaust crossover.

Speaking of hammered, I finally (2-1/2 years later) knocked some sense into the driver's footwell:

The floor liner had a tiny gap before, but most of that space is from a few gentle taps (with a nine pound hammer ).


One of the mounting tabs on my Tuffy security deck enclosure fatigued and failed - shit happens, but I only want to fix shit once.

I fucking love making shit out of scraps! Scrap of galvanized steel strip required a little vise/hammer love to shape it, but zero cutting.

I got way lucky to reuse the big hole, but I did have to drill 2 holes for 1/4-20s to mount it to the Tuffy deck. Still, scraps FTMFW :rockon:

Very recently hacked dafook outta' my hood to ventilate for heat reduction. Hyline Offroad makes a nice product, and their drilling template kicks ass!

Here's a front view of the louver panel

And a front quarter view

Aaannd . . . a rear quarter view

Unapologetic admission from a lazy-ass toucher-upper
Overspray on tires is not a problem for me because the SEM flexible urethane coating I use matches the tires - so, why mask?

 

[ExWrench]

03-09-2017, 09:50 PM

Stuff that's worked well . . . and, not so much . . .

Tires have not let me down
Nittos are about halfway gone at 25,000 miles – not bad, considering I hook corners in this thing.
If I didn't do 5-tire rotations, the tires would be this worn at 20,000 miles (of “spirited” driving).

One light cover gave up sooner'n it shoulda'
Baja Designs snap-on amber covers for Squadron lights: 50% failure after about 1 year – bummer.
I’m pretty sure these were from their very first run. They’ve probably / hopefully sorted this out by now.

The failure started where the gate was ground or sanded – probably left a stress raiser.
If that’s the case, trimming the gate and/or heat-polishing this area probably would’ve prevented this.

Here’s the same area on the cover that did not fail.

The lights are great, but no bueno on the street because they don’t have a sharp vertical cutoff.
That’s not BD's fault – the Squadrons are not sold as on-road fog lights. (I wish BD would offer some).


Third fog light choice = "third bowl of porridge"?
So . . . the BDs are on a shelf in the garage, and I’m giving Rigid’s SAE J583 fog lights a shot.
I wanted to hide blingy bolts but didn’t want to open lights and void warranty, so . . .
masking tape + X-acto knife = 1-minute paint prep.​

Both painted, one unmasked, ‘nuff said:

Third fog light set, third connection type . . .
I’d wired the fog light harness with Weather Pack connectors, and Rigids use Deutsch connectors.
Easiest solution (that I expect to last) was making an adapter harness. I’m calling it done.

Carrying extra water . . . not on purpose . . .
Hmmm . . . there’s a tiny little bit of moisture in the carpet in the back of the Jeep . . .

OK, let’s update that tiny little bit to a fullsize little bit of water.
Jack well and contents were in a kiddie pool, but the cubby was dry – fawk yeah!

The runoff should give some indication of the amount of water. Not a ton, but enough to cost time.

Ripped out as little as possible, moved air over the rest, and was thankful for a non-rainy day to work on it.

Finally used the factory jack for something
Having the jack out for a little TLC (= time, labor, & cash) got me to thinking (a good thing in this case).
My jerry can “holster” was a little too tight, so I finally used the factory jack for something. Win?

The gas can holster has been a 95+% winner. Only problem was lid falling down when loading/ unloading it.

Drilled a hole in the stainless DeStaCo and shoved in a ball-lock pin – DONE, wouldn’t change a thing!

Resisting temptation paid off for me
I’m glad I didn’t paint the whole Jeep with that flat olive, because it went to shit in about a year.
I picked up a can of light charcoal SEM urethane bumper coater (since the parts obviously want to be grey).
EDIT: to clarify, that ^ pic is not the grey SEM, it's flat olive with satin clear over, faded to shit.
As much as I dig blue, I want a light color to keep the heat out of the gas can.
This time, we'll try grey. If that sucks, some other color is only a rattle-can away.






(1,2,3 . . . 14).

15 images is the limit in a post, so . . .







(15. DONE!)​