ExWrench's Oddball Mods + Sneaky Stretch

[ExWrench]

2020-05-21 <THIS WAS MY FINAL POST IN THIS THREAD ON JKOwners.com>

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Well, I believe I gave it enough of a chance, but I'm calling bullshit: this chick has a dong.
It was semi-tolerable-ish (only 50% fucked) 'til they did the same "upgrade" bullshit to PBB.

The way I see it, I didn't leave JKO - Pirate and JKO were taken away despite the members.
Not happy about hanging it up here, definitely not gloating, and I wish all of you the best.

For anyone with Pirate4x4 caliber of sensibilities (thick skin), I'll be on irate4x4.com.
For anyone who's easily offended - at all - be honest, just stay right here (please).

May still post here, but making no promises because the JKO I joined got murdered.
TL/DR: the changes to JKO and PBB made me . . . irate. Fuck this noise - I'm out.

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Thread reconstructed on IRATE4X4, DGAF if the Canooks fawk my JKO thread further.

Got some new shit to post, but I'm burned dafook out on posting, so . . . not today

 

[gt1guy]

Any updates?

 

[Will Scarlet]

This can't be the end?

 

[ExWrench]

Any updates?

This can't be the end?

You . . . fahhhrrrkin' . . . assholes!



Here's a teaser -

I have the TB / ram brackets & CA skids welded on, guts swapped over & setup - just need to press in BJs & swap it into the Jeep.

10-year-old POS JK fought me along the way & nothing went "fast", but I should be able to wrap up next weekend.

Once the Jeep is back in service, I'll write up here what I dun did. Until then . . . fawk all y'all


. . . assholes!

 

[gt1guy]

I'm just fucking with you..............................cause I know EXACTLY how much of a pain in the ass you just went through. I'm glad you did though.

Your attention to detail is amazing. A person really needs to read the thread with a pen and paper close by, there's so many "damn, that's a great idea" points.



Oh, that little roller seat in the above pic looks awesome and comfy. I have a cheapo from Summit that I use all the time. Very handy.

 

[Will Scarlet]

Now where would be the fun in not messing with you

 

[Rob50lx]

Thanks for bringing this over from JKO. It's been a great resource for me.

 

[ExWrench]

I'm just fucking with you..............................cause I know EXACTLY how much of a pain in the ass you just went through. I'm glad you did though.

Your attention to detail is amazing. A person really needs to read the thread with a pen and paper close by, there's so many "damn, that's a great idea" points.



Oh, that little roller seat in the above pic looks awesome and comfy. I have a cheapo from Summit that I use all the time. Very handy.

You can definitely talk shit - your shameless good example (just getting it done) made me jump into it, so FUhhh . . . er, um, THANK you

Glad you dig the details, I try to take the mystery out of crap I write up (or "spill my purse", so to speak ).


I wore out a cheapinese creeper seat, so it became "necessary" :rolleyes: to make a lifetime replacement.

Now where would be the fun in not messing with you

Dunno, but why find out?

Thanks for bringing this over from JKO. It's been a great resource for me.

Doood, thank you! :D

That was a raging pain in the 'taint to re-construct so I really appreciate knowing my bullshit helps you

 

[gt1guy]

I wore out a cheapinese creeper seat, so it became "necessary" :rolleyes: to make a lifetime replacement.

What is the actual seat from? It looks comfortable even though it has no padding. If I had to guess, I'd say an old tractor seat.

The one I have from Summit is comfortable enough, just because it's padded. But the casters are smallish, so little shit laying on the floor act like curb stops. They're also not spaced far enough apart so it can get tippy sometimes.

 

[ExWrench]

What is the actual seat from? It looks comfortable even though it has no padding. If I had to guess, I'd say an old tractor seat.

The one I have from Summit is comfortable enough, just because it's padded. But the casters are smallish, so little shit laying on the floor act like curb stops. They're also not spaced far enough apart so it can get tippy sometimes.

Yep it's an old-school tractor seat pan, but I bought it new at . . . you're never going to believe this - Tractor Supply Company.

The creeper seat I killed was from Summit (nothing against Summit) and I had all the same problems (plus catastrophic failure).

Only problem with my setup is the caster stems are loose in the stem pockets - will fix eventually. Considering bigger casters



OK, after I get my Jeep back together with it's new "front rearend" , I'll work on updates for this thread.

 

[gt1guy]

Yep it's an old-school tractor seat pan, but I bought it new at . . . you're never going to believe this - Tractor Supply Company.

The creeper seat I killed was from Summit (nothing against Summit) and I had all the same problems (plus catastrophic failure).

Only problem with my setup is the caster stems are loose in the stem pockets - will fix eventually. Considering bigger casters



OK, after I get my Jeep back together with it's new "front rearend" , I'll work on updates for this thread.

Awesome. Just ordered that same seat from..........................you guessed it..............Tractor Supply Company. Also ordered 4- 6"casters. I think I'll just use some all thread for making it height adjustable.

 

[snout]

That "V" section looks like it sure could give a scrotum hell on a hot day.

 

[gt1guy]

Awesome. Just ordered that same seat from..........................you guessed it..............Tractor Supply Company. Also ordered 4- 6"casters. I think I'll just use some all thread for making it height adjustable.

They delivered it about an hour after I ordered it. Just waiting on the casters.

 

[TomH]

Great thread! A lot of good information here. Thanks for taking the time.

TomH

 

[flatlander757]

AWESOME build! Love the attention to detail, this is the shit I loved when I originally joined Pirate something like 13 years ago. I'm getting back into the offroad world and this is the stuff that is highly motivational. Bookmarked to steal some ideas for future use

 

[mastadon]

Surprised I am just now finding this thread, but I read the whole thing and love the little projects. Glad to see it seems like you decided not to sell the jeep and truck. Such a compromise to have one vehicle to replace both.

 

[CDA 455 II]

Any updates?

 

[gt1guy]

Ya, spill the beans mofo.

 

[ExWrench]

Any updates?

Ya, spill the beans mofo.

Fuckers

I can honestly say I've been in 4lo w/ the rear locked at least once a week for the last couple months

. . . but not in the Jeep; rather, in our self-propelled wheelbarrow while schlepping firewood

Jeep's only seen ~2k miles a year since we moved 3 years ago to a "new" house that needed a lot of work we chose to DIY.

Only 1 or 2 trips a year in the Jeep lately; otherwise I drive it 25 miles round trip to work most Fridays to keep the battery charged & tires happy.

OK, fawk, where were we 3 years ago? Oh, yeah - here:
Dynatrac housing is good stuff, I cut off the TB bracket/ram mount & welded on a Poly/Synergy one like I ran on my old housing.

What I worked out last time was perfect & held up well, so . . . copy/paste. Also added the Synergy LCA bracket skids again - good stuff.


Everything needed a little reach around to adjust brackets for stock housing to clear the beefy Dynatrac stuff.

Tube OD was bigger, too, so everything got cut/ground to tube profile.

That reminds me, Magswtich clamps kick ass.

Had to file a bearing cap tab that keys into the locker, not a huge deal, whatever.

Had to grind the other bearing cap to clear the carrier, that did surprise me.

Now I remember being a bit pissed about that

Diff setup was routine, I'll spare you a dozen pattern pics - just assume you'd tell me it's wrong

This was my entire workspace at that time

So swapping out the axle housing looked something like this

I'll follow up with more of the story, and CDA 455 II , gt1guy - fawk you guys for making me do it

 

[ExWrench]

Got Teraflex ball joints for the new Dynatrac housing because that's what I could get at the time that was greasable w/ the RCV shafts in place.

New "front rearend" in, cycled everything every way to see what got pissy at full compression or extension

After everything was moved, massaged, clearanced, etc., my worst spot was raised TB kissing the frame right when the bump stop is full solid.

Called that a tie. Bump stop was removed for cycling, and I'm OK w/ TB rattling on frame if I hit hard enough to compress the bump to zero height.

In case anyone missed it the last time, having a hydro. assist ram perfectly parallel to the tie rod is how to prevent tie rod rotation:

Dynatrac housing has been solid and the added caster has been awesome.
Front locker died 2 years ago & LF RCV axle shaft stripped out at the beginning of our trip last summer
Currently a 2WD sitting in my shop - got a bad flu that hospitalized me twice & cost me a month of shop time.


Other random crap as I look at photos from the last few years:

Flanged idler pulley cured my belt-throwing problem during deep water crossings.

ChiCom Toro mower deck belt idler pulley (only flanged pulley that size I could get) has held up (all 6-7k miles since installation ) much to my surprise.

When I added some LED strips to my rock lights, I didn't expect them to hold up, so I literally just zip-tied them to some tubes

They work great & none have failed, so now I should replace the 4 year old zip ties ghetto-mounting them

Random pic, summer 2020, somewhere in Plumas county:

We rarely go out in groups, so our pictures are taken while the really cool-looking stuff isn't happening.

The Nitto TGs have chunked out a lot worse than I expected

Boo^!

Taligate vent flappy thingy failed again in summer 2020, second time I've replaced it.

Damn, I'm almost afraid to look - it's probably due again.

Random: floor jack Lego-style extension

Ope, hit a 10 pic limit - please hold . . .

 

[Will Scarlet]

You've gone 3 3/4s of a year since you posted anything on this thread and now you updated it twice in one day after being prodded...

 

[ExWrench]

Floor jack extension^ . . . was a good excuse to "repurpose" a cracked impact socket

Since it already failed once, it should last forever now (just like lightning striking twice), right?

Random Jeep stuff from 06-2022: gas can holster has held up well - totally happy with that oddball design

Anti-tweeker combo. lock died of dust and vibration, decided to go with a keyed lock this time around

OBA setup is still doing great with the Spal cooling fan, won't change a thing until it breaks

Never found a good way to keep mud from shitting up the back of the Jeep, pretty sure I've given up on that quest

June 2023 trip, to add insult to injury of not having a front locker (didn't have time to fix because house stuff), our LF RCV axle stripped out, leaving us with a 2WD on 37s so we did roads and "trails" I'd run in a rented Honda


Flashback forward-ish, talking about the past . . . OK, now I'm confused

So . . . end of 2020, we bought a new (to us) house and most of my spare time has been donated to house / yard projects.
No major Jeep mods, mostly maintenance and such. Jeep sees about 1 trip a year, + commuting & bombing around town.

Like I said in that first catch-up post, I wheel our freakin' Mule 100x more than our Jeep lately.

. . . and all that "wheeling" occurs in our yard . . .

I often consider selling the Jeep but would likely regret selling something I have $40k+ and thousands of hours into, which would take $60k+ and shitloads of hours to replicate new. On the other hand, if I'm not using it, I'd rather find it a home with someone who'd use it for all the cool exploring I built it for. Pro, con, WTF,

If I did sell the JK, it would make room at home to drag my Baja out of storage & get serious about rebuilding it.

It's been in that container for . . . over 20 years now - holy crap

If I sold the Jeep, would likely get a newer 4WD pickup & buy a couple Talaria MX4s for wifey & I to go adventuring.
Random innanep photo so you know WTF I'm talking about (it's a 60V e-moto that weighs ~150 lbs):

Throw on riser bars, decent pegs, and moto tires, then leave 'em the hell alone except for maintenance.
Like 150 pounds each, they would be easy to carry in any pickup for vacation exploring on 4WD trails.
Dreaming is free, so that's how far I've gotten toward all those ideas

New house has taken most of my spare time for the last few years, but we've gotten all the "emergency" shit done.
On a positive note, I have room to pull a vehicle inside now and work on it or other shit - I appreciate the hell outta' that.

Pretty sure that's most of the Jeep and shop stuff that's occurred since I left off . . .

CDA 455 II , gt1guy -

- we good now?

 

[ExWrench]

You've gone 3 3/4s of a year since you posted anything on this thread and now you updated it twice in one day

No, I was in the middle of updating it once (in a few installments) when you fucking interrupted

 

[gt1guy]

Thanks for the update.

Will check back in a week.

 

[ExWrench]

TomH , flatlander757, mastadon - I know this is severely overdue, but thank you!
I didn't want to bump this thread without taking time to add updates, and that took me a few years
Excuses aside, I have replies . . .

Great thread! A lot of good information here. Thanks for taking the time.

TomH

Much appreciated, and you're welcome

AWESOME build! Love the attention to detail, this is the shit I loved when I originally joined Pirate something like 13 years ago. I'm getting back into the offroad world and this is the stuff that is highly motivational. Bookmarked to steal some ideas for future use

Thank you! I hope some of my bullshit helps you out

Surprised I am just now finding this thread, but I read the whole thing and love the little projects.

Glad you dug the little details

. Much of what I do differently is for a reason.






Maybe not a good reason, but a reason

Glad to see it seems like you decided not to sell the jeep and truck. Such a compromise to have one vehicle to replace both.

Haven't sold the Jeep yet . . . still riding that fence

- dunno

Currently, I need to pull the front end apart & fix the locker and stripped axle.

Once it's a 4WD with 2 lockers again, I'll see how much I enjoy it when it's not pissing me off

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

All caught up, OK . . . welp, I'll see y'all in 3 years

 

[Will Scarlet]

No, I was in the middle of updating it once (in a few installments) when you fucking interrupted

Now don't take almost 4 years to update again...

 

[RunningProblem]

Having ridden a Surron (eMotorcycle) I can see the appeal of cruising one around. I just can't get past the smell and sound of a gas engine for off road adventures.

Why not sell the Baja and put the money into the Jeep, or some eMotorcycles? Could you trade the Baja, or sell it for the cost of an eBike?

 

[gt1guy]

Jeep mo betta than bug. If the bug has be sitting for 20 years, it's free money to get rid of.

 

[CDA 455 II]

Thanks for the update.

Will check back in a week.

 

[ExWrench]

Having ridden a Surron (eMotorcycle) I can see the appeal of cruising one around. I just can't get past the smell and sound of a gas engine for off road adventures.

Yabut, I can ride that MX4 in our yard

That would be next-level of yard foolery, and I think it needs to happen

Unlike a gasser, I could rip around (well, for me ) and not piss off the neighbors.

If we had more than an acre, a MegaMoto 212 minibike or ideally a Yamaha TW200 would replace the DR650 (that I really need to get off my ass and sell ). The thought of maintaining another intermittent-use carbureted small engine in a world where assholes put ethanol in gasoline make the MM or TW seem like more hassle than it's worth. Remember, I'm 2-4 hours from places I want to get offroad.

I looked into the closest thing to an electric version of a TW200 (Volcon Grunt Evo - yeah, nah), then went down the rabbit hole of e-motos (Surron LBX, Talaria Sting MX4, E-Ride Pro SS, etc.) and I'm 90% sure I'll get a Talaria MX4 (Sting R) to try out after I sell the DR. The E-Ride Pro SS is badass, but Talaria's gearbox where everyone else uses a belt it a strong plus in my book. So, rough plan = sell DR650, buy MX4 & throw bars, pegs, and knobbies on it, rip around yard to see if it's what I want, have wife rip around yard, possibly buy a 2nd . . . maybe

Why not sell the Baja and put the money into the Jeep, or some eMotorcycles? Could you trade the Baja, or sell it for the cost of an eBike?

Jeep mo betta than bug. If the bug has be sitting for 20 years, it's free money to get rid of.

The Baja honestly means a lot more to me than the Jeep because it's more unique. I don't want to build the Jeep to a next level, it's basically done, and I only enjoy it a couple times a year. The Baja has always been something I wanted to build further, and I finally have the shop space to take it to full-retard land (

. . . just not the budget).

I have 10k 1990s dollars into it & I doubt I could get more than $2k out of it as it sits (dunno, haven't looked into value in a decade or two). AFAIK, I keeping it stored is a better economic move than selling it. Besides, it's 10x the fun as a runabout.

Around town, it's like being a kid getting away with riding your go-kart on the street.
Off road, anywhere it can go, it's faster than the Jeep (but not more comfortable).
On the freeway, or really anywhere above 50 MPH, it flat-out sucks

. . . . but I can flat-tow it with any car or truck we have ​

The Baja has been in storage waiting for an opportunity to rebuild it.
Most likely cut out & scrap everything I did 30 years ago

& clean-sheet build something a little different, likely one of these two routes:

1) Cheaper but less desirable option, maybe the short-term rebuild:

2) Fuck it, let's make a steet-legal go-kart:

Like that^ but at least $100k less nice

My wish.com version would likely be more along the lines of:

I've always wanted a dune buggy, and a smog-exempt VW chassis with known issues is the best start I can afford.

So . . . long story short:

• Jeep's staying around for now, maybe longer, but can't make any promises.
• Selling the Jeep would make room to bring the 428CJ F250 home & use it.
• Baja is staying around forever, even if I don't get around to it, just because.
• DR650 needs me to get off my ass & find it a good home (or pile of cash).
• 50/50 chance I'll be ripping an e-moto around in our yard later this year.
• Yes, each of these 6 sentences was slightly shorter than the last