Big Blue 62 (6 Viewers)

[dad4x4]

I used a slide hammer and bearing puller that I had. It was very easy knocking out both bearings this way. The driver side bearing fell apart after a few hits of the slide hammer. The second axle had a pitted rust line all the way around the shaft where the bearing rides. I was refunded my money but they didn’t want the shaft back so I do have a spare that would get me off the trail. The rear flange is also mangled too. Here is a pic of it.

I also took the bell cranks completely apart and cleaned them and greased the pins and re-installed. They were stuck in place and packed full of dirt and grease. @g-man Thanks again for your help with this one. I owe you one.

 

[g-man]

That's a knarly axle....can't believe they sold it to you. Glad you got refunded.

Yeah. I also took my bell cranks apart and cleaned them up. Might as well while you're in there!

 

[Skniper]

Found this less expensive option.

Robot or human?

The description of these Wally World terminals says they come with Red/Black protective covers. I may give these a try.
I don’t love my mil-spec terminals limited connection options.

Ideally would like to add a fuse/connection block but real estate on the 62 passenger fender is very limited. These are a decent quick fix.

@Spook50 did you ever give these a try?

 

[dad4x4]

The description of these Wally World terminals says they come with Red/Black protective covers. I may give these a try.
I don’t love my mil-spec terminals limited connection options.

Ideally would like to add a fuse/connection block but real estate on the 62 passenger fender is very limited. These are a decent quick fix.

@Spook50 did you ever give these a try?

I actually ordered these and haven’t taken them out of the package yet. I’ve been meaning to check them out and report back but been distracted by other projects

 

[Skniper]

I actually ordered these and haven’t taken them out of the package yet. I’ve been meaning to check them out and report back but been distracted by other projects

Ahh...didn't see you mentioned that later in the thread.

 

[Skniper]

@dad4x4 @cruisermatt Man that is disheartening to hear there are no new axles available for the 60/62 SF rear ends. Seems a finite supply now given the age and wear and tear on these. My d-side got chewed up several years ago, those bearings get grumbly, I'll bet that one was making some noise!

 

[dad4x4]

@dad4x4 @cruisermatt Man that is disheartening to hear there are no new axles available for the 60/62 SF rear ends. Seems a finite supply now given the age and wear and tear on these. My d-side got chewed up several years ago, those bearings get grumbly, I'll bet that one was making some noise!

I’ll keep an eye out for another good set to have if I were to need one again.

 

[dad4x4]

So I’ve put about 60 miles on it now and it seems to be running good. One thing I’ve figured out is the rear drums are hard to adjust with it being a spring over. The springs and plates are right in the way. It can be done but just more difficult.
next will be the front axle.

 

[dad4x4]

Finally remembered to look at these battery terminals from walmart and I’d say they are good quality, especially for the money. I just installed a new battery in my 40 and stuck these terminals on. They definitely clean up the look of the cables and allow more room for more connections. I’d buy another set.

 

[dad4x4]

I’ve been working really hard on the 62 to get it ready for our trip out west. I removed the fuel tank to replace the fuel pump and sending unit for preventative maintenance. I had no idea if it had ever been changed out before even though It was running great this wasn’t something I wanted to have crap out on the trail. This is what I found in the tank:

 

[dad4x4]

I found a shop somewhat close that boiled it out for a couple of days. It’s cleaner than it was but not great. I wasn’t expecting to have this problem and didn’t have time to send it off and have it back before we left.
I packed a couple extra fuel filters and will get it cleaned properly after the trip.
The next item was a knuckle rebuild and ARB air locker install.
Knuckles were leaking badly and in desperate need of an alignment.
The locker install went well but time consuming. balancing work, family and shop time has been very difficult lately. I only took a few pictures of all this.

 

[dad4x4]

Here’s just a few pics and also one of the Driver side steering arm that @cruisermatt helped identify my problem. The inner bearing race was stuck on the pin of the arm.
wrapped up the locker install with Chromoly longfield shafts and knuckles then got it aligned. It drives much better than it ever has. I got everything installed just a couple days before leaving for the trip. I’m also needing to figure out if my steering bump stops will stop the steering arms from hitting the shocks. They are both crushed in from them turning lock to lock

 

[dad4x4]

On Thursday June 10th around 10pm a couple buddies and I hit the road setting out for Lake Tahoe California. Approximately 2400 miles... We took turns driving and the one in the back seat slept while the other 2 were up. It worked great and we arrived on Saturday June 12th around 3pm.

there were so many great views of this great country like this one one and so many more that I didn’t get a picture of.

This was a very normal occurrence.... We averaged 9-10 mpg’s.

 

[dad4x4]

We finally got parked at Harrah’s casino in South Lake Tahoe and caught up with the rest of the group that had been traveling from Ohio and Deleware.

We hung out in the casino and drank some beers, catching up from the last time we were all together. The following day we drove over to Georgetown where we had an absolute blast at the Georgetown Hotel and Saloon. We were given a tour of the place first then settled in at the bar for some local brew IPA’s. For those that don’t know, there was a bell hung in the saloon and it was tied to the bed frame in the Honeymoon suite. It is still there today but tied to a post under the bed. My buddy and his wife paid $20 for the Honeymoon suite for a half hour to ring the bell! It was hilarious. You can see it hung near the fan.

Saw and spoke to the owner of this 40 and got some more insight on the Rubicon Trail. One of my favorite days of the trip.

 

[dad4x4]

The next day we made the approx 70 mile trip over to the Loon Lake side of the trail and hit the last gas station to top off.
The trail started out really good as we met up with a couple local cruiser guys and several Jeep groups. We stopped as often as we could to take pictures and take in the scenery. We don’t have views like this in Georgia.

the first trail fix was a bent wheel on the inside. We beat it back in until the air leak stopped.

 

[dad4x4]

Random pics of the trail. We ended up camping at Arnolds Rock the first night and Rubicon Springs the 2nd night.

Then at some point the grill that I had ratcheted down became loose and slammed into the glass and shattered it. I taped it up as best as I could but it didn’t last long. One off camber trail shoved it the rest of the way out.

 

[dad4x4]

Just before we got into camp on the 2nd night my passenger front tire started to rub the fender when I was on flat ground. After a quick inspection it was obvious that the spring pin had snapped and allowed the axle to shift. The only picture that was taken was this one. Luckily we had a spare set of pins and within an hour we were back on the trail.

From observation point

 

[dad4x4]

By the way, both jeeps by this point were not running very well. The one with the hood up lost oil pressure while we were climbing up Cadillac hill and the red one was having computer issues and not wanting to shift correctly. The trip eventually was cut short for him.
Here we are at the end

Then we enjoyed one more night at Harrah’s before making the trip to Moab

 

[dad4x4]

The next morning we headed out early to pick up my wife in Salt Lake. She flew in around 2 so it worked out good for her to meet us at the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum. Then off to Moab. We didn’t get in until late but what amazing views the next morning.

 

[dad4x4]

Moab was absolutely beautiful and we are definitely going back. We only got to ride trails:
Hells revenge, top of the world, fins and things and poison spider. All were a lot of fun and amazing views the entire time. We are definitely going back to hit the rest of the trails.