crazybluerider
Squirrel!
I've just been out enjoying this thing. It's been pretty flawless for the most part. Two things that have been bugging me were the steering wheel quick connect and the front drive shaft.
The steering wheel connect keeps getting stuck and wont free up, it was a ball bearing style that I got from poly performance. It relies on three small ball bearings and started acting up at the hammers. It seems to work OK in the rain but when it dries out it gets stuck again. I converted it over to an older style one that uses a slide pin, it did over 10 years in my sami buggy so I know it will work.
The front driveshaft midship flange has been moving toward the frame under decel load and hits under heavy engine braking and when I'm hard on the throttle and the tires unload. The carrier bearing is mounted using a poly bushing and I believe that as it has broke in it is moving around some. Before taking more drastic measures, like moving the entire powertrain over, I'm giving a load bolt a shot. I welded a sleeve to the frame and installed a bolt that pushes against the carrier bearing preventing it from moving toward the frame. It will still allow the bearing to move in the other plains so that it can move with the powertrain.
One other thing that I did last weekend was install a larger air compressor. This is the first rig I haven't had on board air or at least a small compressor on and I thought I would need air so rarely that it wouldn't be too big a deal to just bum it off others. I had a tire burping the inner bead two weeks ago and it drove me crazy having to find air every time it got low. I ended up with a spare ARB twin air in an ordering snafu this winter that I have been half ass trying to sell. I decided to mount it up so I'd have my own air in the future.
The steering wheel connect keeps getting stuck and wont free up, it was a ball bearing style that I got from poly performance. It relies on three small ball bearings and started acting up at the hammers. It seems to work OK in the rain but when it dries out it gets stuck again. I converted it over to an older style one that uses a slide pin, it did over 10 years in my sami buggy so I know it will work.
The front driveshaft midship flange has been moving toward the frame under decel load and hits under heavy engine braking and when I'm hard on the throttle and the tires unload. The carrier bearing is mounted using a poly bushing and I believe that as it has broke in it is moving around some. Before taking more drastic measures, like moving the entire powertrain over, I'm giving a load bolt a shot. I welded a sleeve to the frame and installed a bolt that pushes against the carrier bearing preventing it from moving toward the frame. It will still allow the bearing to move in the other plains so that it can move with the powertrain.
One other thing that I did last weekend was install a larger air compressor. This is the first rig I haven't had on board air or at least a small compressor on and I thought I would need air so rarely that it wouldn't be too big a deal to just bum it off others. I had a tire burping the inner bead two weeks ago and it drove me crazy having to find air every time it got low. I ended up with a spare ARB twin air in an ordering snafu this winter that I have been half ass trying to sell. I decided to mount it up so I'd have my own air in the future.
On the way back out to the highway on Sunday the case started making some cool clicking noises and when I got it out on to the road at about 25mph it sounded like the entire powertrain wanted to exit the vehicle. Thanks to a couple of good friends with trucks we managed to get everything home late sunday night. Monday I confirmed that the fluid in the t-case was super burnt and looked like bass boat paint. 
Took out both the driveshafts too.