[redcorn]

Your rear aluminum panels would look killer if you did an "engine turned" pattern on them.....



Great work as always and I hope you enjoy those military OZ's as much as I did.

john

[boots4]

I like the pattern. I assume to draw out a grid but what to use to make the pattern. Any tips?

Tires are holding up well to street abuse. I ran over a curb at a brisk pace with no ill affects to the tire so I think these are stronger than the last set.

[redcorn]

I like to use a vertical mill or drill press, use a grid for spacing and grinding grease or a thick lube to keep burning to a minimum.

Google it and get the low down.

The OZ's I ran got about 23K HARD miles on them before I switched to some 35" Good Years I had.

Looking into another set of the OZ's or maybe some big Michelin's.

Either way, can't beat a big wagon ;-)

Best of luck to you and the wife for the upcomign birth

john

[boots4]

Wow, I've put in quite a bit of time getting that software setup and running different combos. I finally got some decent settings even thought I still can't get it to render in H.264. Anyways here's part 2 of the Rubicon series. There are 10 parts total and the rest will go much faster than these first two.

YouTube - Rubicon 06-09 Part 2

[Dirtgypsy]

Originally Posted by boots4

I like the pattern. I assume to draw out a grid but what to use to make the pattern. Any tips?

Tires are holding up well to street abuse. I ran over a curb at a brisk pace with no ill affects to the tire so I think these are stronger than the last set.

3m sanding discs. They look like scotch brite pads but stiffer.

I have a drill press but you can do some handy work with just a hand held drill.

Clint

[Cruiserdrew]

Originally Posted by boots4

YouTube - Rubicon 06-09 Part 2

Great! I can't wait for 3-10.

[brokenparts]

I like the vid... nice work.

[GLTHFJ60]

Awesome video.

[boots4]

With the due date closely approaching I wanted to go hit a trail before I needed to stay close. I kept bugging Dirtgypsy and our schedules lined up so we took a couple mellow trails out @ Brown's camp. The weather was perfect with the trails wet but not slimy. Only took a few pics and only two worth posting.

Dirtgypsy



We brought along our co-piolets for the day. My back seat was full of pick fluffy things since my daughter thought we were camping even though I told her we'd only be gone for a couple hours.



It was great to get out. I special ordered my rebuild kits for the steering gear box and saginaw pump. Autozone was pretty cheap so I decided to give them a try. After measuring and research I've decided what to do about my TREs. I'm going to get a tie rod kit from Bullet-Proof Steering. I'll be using the Stage 2 joints with a Race ready tie rod. It's definitely not cheap but I want to step up (if not overkill) in strength and be done. I'll be keeping my current draglink and replace the loose TRE. I'll get that stuff ordered later this week or beginning of next.

I got the rear tires balanced.

Driver side needed



Passenger side needed



Only one hwy trip so far but it feels smoother than before. My windshield wiper connection fix is holding up well and it's nice not having floppy wipers. I'll be heading out to brokenpart's this saturday to do a little tube and die action and hopefully work on his junk.

[kling-on]

Lookin good

[boots4]

Part 3 of the Rubicon trip is done, check it out.

YouTube - Rubicon 6-2009 Part 3

[GLTHFJ60]

Another excellent video!

[boots4]

Thanks, I'm still looking at other ways for shipment. Do you have a foward air near you?

[GLTHFJ60]

Originally Posted by boots4

Thanks, I'm still looking at other ways for shipment. Do you have a foward air near you?

Yes I do, but I've never heard of them before. Discount shipping service?

Forward Air
270 Buell Rd
Rochester, NY 14624-3122

[boots4]

Sent you a PM

[Cruiserdrew]

Nice video footage-props to your wife.

Any plans to do a DVD with all 10 segments? Happy to paypal a few $$ for that.

[boots4]

That's actually what I'm pulling these from. We threw all the clips on a full DVD down in Cali and I'm cutting it and grabbing chunks from it. I could burn you one if you want. There's no music on it though but we may not have the same music tastes so that may be a bonus.

The amazing thing is that she took video and pics with different cameras at the same time and both media turned out pretty good.

[CreeperSleeper]

Originally Posted by boots4

That's actually what I'm pulling these from. We threw all the clips on a full DVD down in Cali and I'm cutting it and grabbing chunks from it. I could burn you one if you want. There's no music on it though but we may not have the same music tastes so that may be a bonus.

The amazing thing is that she took video and pics with different cameras at the same time and both media turned out pretty good.

I wanna watch it!

[boots4]

Sure thing Chad, although you'll get most of the good stuff from my 10 parts since I'm cutting out the fat.


I've had a couple coolant leaks for quite some time now and have been putting off fixing it. I fixed the heater hoses (easiest) and resealed the heater core (suckiest) and had one last leak at the lower intake port on my engine block. With the cold weather getting colder I needed to run antifreeze in the system. I had only been refilling with water. This piece was pretty tricky to find since the hair line crack only leaks once it's hot under pressure and doesn't drip when I get home. Since I was going to fix it I was also going to change out the lower hose to give me some more rubber flex from engine to radiator.

I wasn't sure I could reuse/fix the factory piece but that's what I ended up doing once I got it off and studied it. I found the crack with a magnifying glass. I grooved it and filled with JB Weld inside and out. Before I did that I found a 1 3/4" OD to 1 3/4" ID exhaust reducer that fit right inside the 2 1/2" original port. I really wanted a 1 3/4" OD to 1 1/2" OD reducer but couldn't find one at any of the places I went. I even went to a nearby exhaust shop only to find it had closed down. Anyways, I cut the port down, preheated the piece since it's cast in the oven, welded on the reducer and threw it back in the oven to slowly cool off.



Once cooled down I mixed up some more JB Weld and coated the weld and the inside seam. The next day I took my piece to a Baxters parts place and found a hose that looked like it would work. To get the right bend I fit the lower port back on the block and cut/bent a coat hanger to the shape I was looking for. This hose has a slight flare on one side for 1 3/4" so the size ended up being perfect, but the bend could have been just a tiny bit more. I cut it right about where the label is on the hose. It gave me 2-3 times more rubber flex than me last frankenstein adapter and eliminates half of the hose clamps.



I also was able to move the heater return to a better position so my hose doesn't have a U bend in it. Here's the lower port painted and ready to install. The port is held to the block with three bolts and uses a rubber o-ring to seal.



The port also supports the alternator and this was my main reason for wanting to fix this part, so the support lines up correctly. I'll be watching for coolant usage hoping I got that port sealed up.



Besides that I got my rear tires siped and did some weather maintenance. I replace the wipers and treated all glass with Aquapel. I've always liked the visability increase in wet weather with treatments like Rain-X but they never last very long and end up making the wipers chatter once it wears off. Aquapel came highly recommended by a fellow detailer so I'm giving it a try and am impressed so far.

My power steering reservoir cap didn't seal very well and would leak fluid on everything underneath it and is the reason my steering box looks so juice. I took the cap apart and doubled up on the rubber washer. It feels much tighter now so I hope that's stopped the leak.

My stereo stopped working and I've been troubleshooting that. I have my CB on the same power and switched leads and it would work so that threw me for a loop until I realized the CB wasn't keeping a memory. I finally checked my main fuse for that power line on the battery and found the fuse blown so even though I pulled that radio in and out 5 times it ends up being a simple fix. With the dash removal two weeks ago I thought I'd pulled a wire somewhere or the radio died.

We're in the hot zone now so the could pop anytime.

[boots4]

Sitting around waiting for some baby action. So here's Part 4.

YouTube - Rubicon 06-09 Part 4

[brokenparts]

alright... that's motivation. I just watch all them in a row.


Clint needs bigger tires.

[Dirtgypsy]

Originally Posted by brokenparts

alright... that's motivation. I just watch all them in a row.


Clint needs bigger tires.

Now now play nice. BTW did you see the video of MY truck on the Rubicon? I missed yours.

Any baby news Mike?

Clint

[brokenparts]

Touche... hehehehe.


Yeah, how bout Mike... Any new riders for Dora the "familin haulin 60""?

[boots4]

We had some contraction action the other night but it died down. She'll be calling to set up induction for Sunday in case nothing happens by then. For now I'm back at work saving vacation days until I really need them.

So what do you do while waiting...you pull your tranny! Yup I dropped the tranny to yank the t.converter to see if I can get the stall lowered. Took it to a friends hot rod shop who's got some contacts and it's getting split open to see what they can do. I really wanted to drop the stall to 1000-1200rpm but it sounds like it'll be more like 1600-1700rpm. Still that will be better than the 2200rpm that it's stalling at now. This is because I'm trying to rework my current t.converter. If I got an aftermarket one built I could probably get what I want but those are quite spendy and I've got other prioritie$ for Dora right now.

Upon removal I have decided I will be redoing the tranny mount since it is bending and I spotted a stress crack in it. It's all part of backyard engineering.

[Dirtgypsy]

Originally Posted by boots4

backyard engineering.

Is there any other kind!?!

contraction action

Clint

[boots4]

Part 5

YouTube - Rubicon 06-09 Part 5

No baby yet. Got my reworked t.converter back already and I'll see how far I can get putting it back in today. I have to fix a few wires that got yanked and redo my crossmember.

[Dirtgypsy]

Another great vid! Thanks Mike! Are you guys thinking induction junction soon?

Clint

[boots4]

Thanks.

She couldn't get in for Sunday so she's at an appointment right now to set up a day this week. That kid just don't want to leave.

Tech, I got the t.converter and tranny bolted up yesterday along with fixing a few pulled wires. I'm working on a new crossmember for the tranny today. Think I finally came up with a design I like, now we'll see how that translates to metal.

[brokenparts]

arent you supposed to be rubbing feet or something?

[boots4]

Originally Posted by brokenparts

...or something?

I definitely know what the "something" is.