2018 Rubithon Wagon Run

My last minute pre-Rubithon project. This has been sitting in my garage for almost 2 years so it was about time to get it installed! Cant wait to see how it does on the trail. All back together now, just need to drive it a few times and do an oil change. I will never do this again without a proper transmission jack. The new low range T case gears really compliment the 5:29s. See you all in 1 week!

 

Awesome, Still on my short list of stuff to do. That tcase looks so sparkly and clean. Did you drop the entire tcase to swap gears or did you have a spare t case that you swapped the gears into at your leisure?

 

I wish I could take credit for everything but I sent it out to Marlin. Some of those snap rings looked tricky and I don't have a press for the bearings. They must have either steam washed or media blasted it (or both) because it did not look like that when I sent it off.

Long story short, it was supposed to be finished before an offroad trip in 2016 but 2 days before departure, they said they needed another week so I had to pick up a used one and swapped that in. When I went to drain the oil, water came out! But it worked just fine for almost 2 years and I will probably keep it around just in case. Those suckers seem pretty bulletproof.

 

If I had a “core” tcase, I would have already dropped it off for gears so that I could just swap the cases instead cracking mine.

 

Guys, getting really stoked to get out on the trail! Looking forward to meeting you all next Wednesday. Been prepping the truck but still feel so woefully unprepared! Items completed:

1. Front axle rebuild - all new seals and upgraded RCV 300M 30 spline axles and ARP studs
2. New cooling system, front main & oil pump seal
3. New u-joints
4. Cruisin Offroad skid plates and other under belly protection
5. Custom drawer system with sliding/tilting fridge and cooler tops
6. Dual Battery system using VSR, power to the back of the truck - overbuilt as hell and, yes Andy, properly fused
7. ARB Element Fridge/Freezer
8. Solar charging system - This is freaking awesome, don't know why I waited so long to do this.

Still to do:

1. Possible knuckle cut & turn - Been kicking this can down the road for some time. Prior to me owning the truck an alignment shop installed an eccentric bearing seat to adjust the caster on the driver side upper knuckle only. This caused a mis-alignment of the axle to the axle housing and created an open spot in the inner axle seal that screws everything up. Been rebuilding the drivers side knuckle every few years due to oil/grease contamination. I hated that eccentric bearing race for 2 reasons, one, the oil/grease thing and, two, the fact that the upper bearing is so much smaller than the stock bearing. I "feel" the weakness of the bearing when driving the truck and it's always in the back of my mind. That drove me nuts. Anyways, replaced the caster correction bearing with the stock bearing and I'm so much happier now, even with a slight pull to the right. I'm going to get a new axle but for this trip I'm contemplating cutting and turning the knuckle to see if I can get rid of that pull. Just need to figure out how many degrees the bearing moved everything and then how many degrees I need to rotate the knuckle.
2. Minor electrical wiring
3. Other stuff that I can't remember

It's been a long time since I've been on the trail and I used to run it in an open 60 with 33's and a dual t-case. Really looking forward to running the 80 through to see how it does! See you guys next Wednesday!

Jeff

 

I'm stealin' yer spot!

 

when is your arrival? and don't forget a few jars of your peppers!
-see ya wednesday. Look for Alvaro and Dave in Tahoe City on your way down Cadillac they might be manifold cooking some pork loins, just drive by smell I guess.

 

Wednesday from Tahoe side as well.

 

Pulled out my old 25 year old Yaesu FT-2200 to program the Rubicon freqs and discovered that the 805TAH has a wacky offset that can't be accessed by such old iron (which can only handle 50 kHz steps). Luckily I had picked up a FT-2800 through a Toys on the Rocks deal a few years back (2007!) and I still had it in the box. All set to go now, but double check if you have an old radio that you can access the Rubi repeaters. Son and I are getting the truck squared away. Replaced rr brake pads and adjusted the pbrake, but still not as tight as I would like. Does anybody really do the eight turns back from locked on the parking brake adjuster? I ended up at four and am still just barely getting the 40 lb pull at 7-9 clicks on the ebrake handle. Found my old tube to fit by 295-75s had crumbled to dust and having trouble finding a replacement. Any suggestions? Finally removed all the old fender flare anchor hardware and drilled out the rivets to remove the brackets. One less thing to catch yourself on now. Only took me 14 years. Lastly, decided to add some bling to the old girl and ordered a set of those Ketzal seat organizers. Now just to see if they will arrive in time....

 

My view right now Bozeman MT - San Francisco CA!

 

We pulled out our new Yaedu FT-857 to program. My god, it's like programming a space mission. My 15 year old son gave up. Took me several hours, I've got it working - I think - but I certainly don't understand it much.

I'm going to call Georg and see how everyone's rigs are doing.

 

You bringing Polly too, I hope?

 

I use a chirp ap/spreadsheat on my laptop and upload it to my cheapo Baofung and it really is a breeze. Standard Horizon/Yaesu was a PITA.

 

Flying solo on this one unfortunately...

 

^THIS^

You just have to keep notes on which channel is which.

 

I'll be BaoFang mobile... monitoring.

 

My son Quentin will be with me. Brian's son could not make it but his daughter will be joining us this year.