[RANGERROD]

Awesome update. How has the front axle seals holding up?

 

[gtxracer]

Awesome update. How has the front axle seals holding up?

Thank you sir

I think they're doing well, but the passenger's side is leaking. However, I did not fully weld the plates in fear that I'd be redesigning these again :laughing:

They use standard D60 axle seals, so I'll yank the third out soon and check it out. Fully weld the plates if it's the RTV leaking at the edges and push in a second seal so I never have to pull the third again for this. I think the RTV was pushed by pressure prior to installing the diff cover vent that's on there now. Live and learn.

 

[Dookey]

Good :flipoff2:

One more, bought the girlfriend a TJ. She's been learning to wrench and loves to wheel. EDIT: She also stole my soft top. Rude.

Sounds like a keeper.

 

[gtxracer]

Sounds like a keeper.

She's pretty impressive. Painted her fender flares first thing. Wants my rear bumper when "I cut off the frame to tube that shit out like the front" and keeps encouraging me to buy parts :laughing:

Working on cloning her...

 

[Grewe02]

Are you going to use a different material for the hinges? I expect the PLA to melt / deform after a few minutes in the sun. I've lost prints in my car while it's in a parking garage on an 80 degree day.

Keep the updates coming, everything looks good so far!

 

[gtxracer]

Are you going to use a different material for the hinges? I expect the PLA to melt / deform after a few minutes in the sun. I've lost prints in my car while it's in a parking garage on an 80 degree day.

Keep the updates coming, everything looks good so far!

Yep! Exactly, PLA is garage-test only. I have Carbon Fiber Nylon and Carbon Fiber ABS to test out. I prefer the nylon, but we'll see. I also plan to CNC machine a few aluminum hinges just in case. These are more temporary and a "see if I could do it" project.

Thanks! I'm sure I'll have one after this long weekend. 5 days for me

 

[Osofast33]

Any update on the link mount system ? I'd be interested in one.

 

[gtxracer]

Any update on the link mount system ? I'd be interested in one.

Mostly small changes. Track bar was proofed and laser cut, same one you see on the Jeep now. Steering box has worked very well, few of those floating around and all of the owners are very happy with them.

I was pushing this off until winter, if I even do it to my own rig. It would be a lot of work to cut off my old mounts but I may do it. The girlfriend's TJ will get this system when it's ready as well.

If you're serious about it, I can finish the remaining CAD models and send them out for laser cut. I'd like to have a couple guys install the kit to see how it fits and what needs to be changed. Basically would be paying cost for the material and cut time only but would need to have 3-5 guys dedicated before I could pull the trigger. Let me know if any of this sounds feasible.
:smokin:

 

[gtxracer]

Apologies to anyone trying to view the older pics, Photobucket has become a massive ad burst every time I login. They also want money just to keep the pics going with a tiny amount of bandwidth. I use imgur now, much better. Also tend to attach the pics here since I pay for the membership anyway.

One of these days I'll start saving the pics in each post and attaching them manually.
EDIT:

I started uploading them today since apparently Photobucket wants $400/year to keep hosting. They can go fuck themselves. Sorry for the ass pain, let's keep PBB alive and kicking with threads like these. You can still right click and open the image to see it until I update them all. I'll do the first page then move onto the latest pics and update them in reverse order.

 

[Jeepinpickel12]

Yeah that's a bunch of horse shit. I wouldn't pay it either. It's pretty easy to post pick from and I phone with Tapatalk too


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JKTweak]

Apologies to anyone trying to view the older pics, Photobucket has become a massive ad burst every time I login. They also want money just to keep the pics going with a tiny amount of bandwidth. I use imgur now, much better. Also tend to attach the pics here since I pay for the membership anyway.

One of these days I'll start saving the pics in each post and attaching them manually.
EDIT:

I started uploading them today since apparently Photobucket wants $400/year to keep hosting. They can go fuck themselves. Sorry for the ass pain, let's keep PBB alive and kicking with threads like these. You can still right click and open the image to see it until I update them all. I'll do the first page then move onto the latest pics and update them in reverse order.

You arent the only one my friend. My build thread is gone too.

I have probably one of the highest end computers on this board and a 250mb connection and photobucket rapes my computer. It's just a terribly designed website. They just drove the nail in the coffin. I switched to flickr 2 or 3 months ago, thank god.

I understand you gotta make money, but if 50% of the screen space has ads, you are doing something wrong.

 

[gtxracer]

Yeah that's a bunch of horse shit. I wouldn't pay it either. It's pretty easy to post pick from and I phone with Tapatalk too


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Maybe I'll check out Tapatalk finally. Thanks!

I think Photobucket will disappear altogether in about a year. No point in keeping them around if it's $400/yr. Basically makes 99% of their customer accounts useless and this is a desperate business strategy on their part.

You arent the only one my friend. My build thread is gone too.

I have probably one of the highest end computers on this board and a 250mb connection and photobucket rapes my computer. It's just a terribly designed website. They just drove the nail in the coffin. I switched to flickr 2 or 3 months ago, thank god.

I understand you gotta make money, but if 50% of the screen space has ads, you are doing something wrong.

Yup, I went to Imgur a few months back. Very little ads. You're right, that many ads means they pissed away their capital and they're relying on those clickbait ads to keep their revenue stream.

I'll have an update for you guys soon!

 

[tjjared413]

Maybe I'll check out Tapatalk finally. Thanks!

I think Photobucket will disappear altogether in about a year. No point in keeping them around if it's $400/yr. Basically makes 99% of their customer accounts useless and this is a desperate business strategy on their part.



Yup, I went to Imgur a few months back. Very little ads. You're right, that many ads means they pissed away their capital and they're relying on those clickbait ads to keep their revenue stream.

I'll have an update for you guys soon!

Im shock that they did this my self and your right ... I need to look in to a new way to up my upload and save my photos.

it really sucks that sooooo many treads are going to die

 

[gtxracer]

Im shock that they did this my self and your right ... I need to look in to a new way to up my upload and save my photos.

it really sucks that sooooo many treads are going to die

I heard there's a hack to getting the images to show up anyway...still looking to see if there's truth to it. Hopefully I can get it working for a little bit and switch over all the images.

 

[AlxJ64]

I heard there's a hack to getting the images to show up anyway...still looking to see if there's truth to it. Hopefully I can get it working for a little bit and switch over all the images.

Since I've been a paying member for a hot minute they were "kind to me" and mine will work for a little while longer, so longs as I keep my account status up. Then I get an email that says my account level is no longer an option so I need to upgrade to a currently offered account by my next billing cycle, and the only currently offered account for hot-linking is the $400 on time bill jam. I say :flipoff2:, I'll backup everything tonight and shut it down.

 

[gtxracer]

Since I've been a paying member for a hot minute they were "kind to me" and mine will work for a little while longer, so longs as I keep my account status up. Then I get an email that says my account level is no longer an option so I need to upgrade to a currently offered account by my next billing cycle, and the only currently offered account for hot-linking is the $400 on time bill jam. I say :flipoff2:, I'll backup everything tonight and shut it down.

Great business strategy for them. Bait and switch always works out. If they had this much bandwidth going out, then they just screwed up their advertising and capital control. No other way around it. Unfortunately there are people and businesses that would rather pay $400 than deal with it. Hopefully they still go under :laughing:

I paid for their membership for a few months but it wasn't really worth it. I should have attached my images here more often. Lesson learned, trust the PBB :grinpimp:

 

[gtxracer]

Sway bars are done, fronts had a small bend added to clear the bump stops and achieve the length I wanted. I believe the arms are around 19" eye to eye now up front and 17" in the rear. Rear bar is slightly longer than the front by about 4", so this should leave a higher spring rate in the rear by a small margin. Hopefully this allows the rear end to break loose and give me a small amount of oversteer.

The steering feels amazing on the road and the Jeep drives like a sports car now. It's a fantastic ride. A new valving job, 2-3" lower ride height, and V8 power should make this Jeep a whole new vehicle. The steering is still the old PSC box with tie rod, I don't have the time to devote to the new steering system yet. I'll dive into it this winter.

Unfortunately, I'm burnt out on wheeling and wrenching. I still enjoy making things, but I just don't have the drive to put this thing on a trailer and drive to the trails right now. I hate the off camber trail systems and find myself wanting more desert, open rocks, and go-fast stuff. I may not touch the Jeep much until KOH 2018. We'll see.

 

[gtxracer]

Couple more shots of it outside. I like the rear corner lines the more I see them.

I'll be kayaking and camping this weekend instead of wheeling. Maybe the weekend after, we'll see. Like I said, just burnt out on wrenching all the time and the constant maintenance, fuel, and parts purchases. I'll tinker on this thing all winter and see how I feel in February.

 

[gtxracer]

Selling my camper and truck if anyone is interested. Moving to a 1/2 ton so I can use my tow rig as a DD again. No more commute, so I won't need my car anymore, 2008 BMW 135i if anyone here likes fast blue things with twin turbos and a 6 speed

Tow rig-
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/vehicles-trailers-sale/2555505-2001-chevy-silverado-2500hd-8-1l-allison-pnw.html#post41619497

Camper-
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/vehicles-trailers-sale/2551169-2002-fleetwood-angler-truck-camper.html

Yeti XL is also for sale since I don't use it much-
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/misc-stuff-sale/2546633-axial-yeti-xl-tamiya-trf801xt-rc-cars.html

 

[gtxracer]

Been making progress. Designed an aluminum box for the center console because the previous unit was about 5" too tall. New one can be cut from a single sheet with plenty to spare. 6061 will be used for panels with a couple strip welds and I'll add a provision for a typical console lock.

Harness for LS swap will be sent out, I don't see myself having the time to do it. Axle seals in the Eaton front have been replaced, plates welded fully, ready to rock and roll. Ram is back up front and a "new" PSC box has been ordered. Big bore and tapped for assist, I'm hoping this solves my previous issue with blowing up seals.

Suspension is next, gonna do 2" hydro bumps for now, no bypasses for me this winter. Going to change coil rates as well. Lots of cool stuff coming!

Oh, ditched my Silverado and DD for a Raptor