MySpace.com - Kory with a k - 27 - Male - tacoma, Washington - www.myspace.com/04stiguy
You might try to see if he'll send you one via his 'space link.. I'm scared of that place.. I can email him if you want..
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MySpace.com - Kory with a k - 27 - Male - tacoma, Washington - www.myspace.com/04stiguy
You might try to see if he'll send you one via his 'space link.. I'm scared of that place.. I can email him if you want..
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2006
- Threads
- 162
- Messages
- 4,044
- Location
- Hillsboro, OR
- Website
- www.cascadecruisers.com
You've seen all I've got but I'll get those tomorrow when I update my weekly work. I've been out sniffing grinder dust again.
MMMMMM, I love pickin black crap outta my nose... and hacking black lung butter for a week!
- Thread starter
- #745
weekly update
I came back from my trip with a few things I wanted to work on but I had the chance to go snow wheeling this week so I jumped on that before I took Dora down for a week or two.
It was just two rigs and we headed out to Sunset Hills area in Camas WA. The MiniMonster is running on 46x20 (that's width) Mickey T's!
He runs tons so I basically hugged his trail but didn't pack the snow any more than he did. My 38s sure don't look that big anymore.
I started out at 15psi and after the Mini kept seeing me spinning we stopped and we dropped it to 5psi and that made a big difference on traction. I've never aired down that low on these tires and rims but I didn't have any problems.
There were a couple toyota's on the mountain but we were the only ones moving. This 4runner didn't make it as far, he did have chains on too.
Dora did alright in the snow. I didn't really break any trail but that was fine by me. I got some more seat time and some good pointers from someone who's done this quite a few times. The heater works well
.
Here's a video of that MiniMonster. I think I'll redo my other videos since I found a better setting for quality compression.
Snow Wheeling 1-2009
I got home later that afternoon and prepped for what I wanted to do the next day. Dora will be down for a week or two while I do a little rework.
The Plan:
I took my time and sat down at the wheel well and just staired at it for a while to figure out a plan of attack. I decided on cutting the well for the shock body, re-positioning the hoop, and re-position the axle mount. Out came the grinder and cut off disks for a couple of hours of sparks. Clearances are tight and while I wanted more inward angle I'll have to settle with what I could get unless I want to move the steering system. Here is the mock up of the driver side. This was more complicated and the steering joint behind the shock body was the limiting factor to inward tilt/angle.
Rear tilt is about 10 degrees. This side is dirty due to the hydrobooster leaking, keeps the frame from rusting.
Inward tilt is around 13 degrees. I'm still finishing up welding so I'll throw the angle finder on it to get final numbers once I'm done.
After I got things tacked together and looked at clearances with the steering I pulled the hoop back off and welded up the tabs, threw on some paint, and started welding it back on. I'll need to get to the back part of the hoop from inside the engine bay and I left that for next week. I'll clean up the welds and be done with that side. I'll then transfer those angles to the passenger side.
Reduced the height, moved it outward and moved it back to get the clearance up above I was looking for.
Started passenger side mock up.
I found coolant on the ground and it looks like I have a clamp that either loosened up or can't be tightened anymore so I may end up replacing it. Luckily all it looks like is a simple leak. It must have been leaking while I was driving and there was some pressure built up in the system.
I came back from my trip with a few things I wanted to work on but I had the chance to go snow wheeling this week so I jumped on that before I took Dora down for a week or two.
It was just two rigs and we headed out to Sunset Hills area in Camas WA. The MiniMonster is running on 46x20 (that's width) Mickey T's!
He runs tons so I basically hugged his trail but didn't pack the snow any more than he did. My 38s sure don't look that big anymore.
I started out at 15psi and after the Mini kept seeing me spinning we stopped and we dropped it to 5psi and that made a big difference on traction. I've never aired down that low on these tires and rims but I didn't have any problems.
There were a couple toyota's on the mountain but we were the only ones moving. This 4runner didn't make it as far, he did have chains on too.
Dora did alright in the snow. I didn't really break any trail but that was fine by me. I got some more seat time and some good pointers from someone who's done this quite a few times. The heater works well
.
Here's a video of that MiniMonster. I think I'll redo my other videos since I found a better setting for quality compression.
Snow Wheeling 1-2009
I got home later that afternoon and prepped for what I wanted to do the next day. Dora will be down for a week or two while I do a little rework.
The Plan:
Re-position front shocks
Relocate Ram assist and make new Tierod mount
Check front locker clearance
The way the shocks were set up helped induce sway. At the time I didn't want to cut into the fender well but I'm passed that now and want better control. I never felt it was unsafe but I'm trying to reduce some of the operator requirement of the rig to be a better driver. Relocate Ram assist and make new Tierod mount
Check front locker clearance
I took my time and sat down at the wheel well and just staired at it for a while to figure out a plan of attack. I decided on cutting the well for the shock body, re-positioning the hoop, and re-position the axle mount. Out came the grinder and cut off disks for a couple of hours of sparks. Clearances are tight and while I wanted more inward angle I'll have to settle with what I could get unless I want to move the steering system. Here is the mock up of the driver side. This was more complicated and the steering joint behind the shock body was the limiting factor to inward tilt/angle.
Rear tilt is about 10 degrees. This side is dirty due to the hydrobooster leaking, keeps the frame from rusting.
Inward tilt is around 13 degrees. I'm still finishing up welding so I'll throw the angle finder on it to get final numbers once I'm done.
After I got things tacked together and looked at clearances with the steering I pulled the hoop back off and welded up the tabs, threw on some paint, and started welding it back on. I'll need to get to the back part of the hoop from inside the engine bay and I left that for next week. I'll clean up the welds and be done with that side. I'll then transfer those angles to the passenger side.
Reduced the height, moved it outward and moved it back to get the clearance up above I was looking for.
Started passenger side mock up.
I found coolant on the ground and it looks like I have a clamp that either loosened up or can't be tightened anymore so I may end up replacing it. Luckily all it looks like is a simple leak. It must have been leaking while I was driving and there was some pressure built up in the system.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2006
- Threads
- 162
- Messages
- 4,044
- Location
- Hillsboro, OR
- Website
- www.cascadecruisers.com
do tell! do tell!
- Thread starter
- #751
It's nothing really exciting but it was mostly about lockers and mounting the front ram assist.
I've been considering gearing to 4.56 and doing a detroit in the rear but he suggested if I can't afford an ARB right now to just grab another aussie for the rear. I can save up and always sell the aussies later. Why gearing, I don't really have a good reason since I really don't need a lower crawl (really haven't played around with stupid low yet). The only thing I could come up with is that the tranny warms up when offroad and I could see a small increase in mpg. I've gotten used to it staying around 165-170F so when I see it at 190F I start thinking it's hot when I really know it's not. Whenever I'm offroad I keep the tcase in low to relieve some stress from the t.converter and run a single fan to pull air through the tranny cooler to keep it from heating up. When I turn up the 4bt some more I imagine I'll only produce more heat when slipping the t.converter. 4.56s would take a little stress off and help it from heating up. I still have gears to play around with so it's probably not necessary. Anyways if I regeared I could throw in a detroit but Desmond ran a detroit before and had it chipping ring gear teeth. He obviously likes the selectability of the ARB but the cost of the locker is not the total cost, I'd also need air and then setup. So long answer is I'll probably pick up another aussie and grab some PP axles before I head out to Rubithon.
I'm going to redo my ram tierod mount and had been thinking about different designs since mine is failing in the testing phase. He shared a simple design that I originally thought wouldn't work but he never had a problem with. So I'll probably go that way. On a side note I'm actually going to move the entire ram so I don't have clearance issues with the leaf spring.
I've been considering gearing to 4.56 and doing a detroit in the rear but he suggested if I can't afford an ARB right now to just grab another aussie for the rear. I can save up and always sell the aussies later. Why gearing, I don't really have a good reason since I really don't need a lower crawl (really haven't played around with stupid low yet). The only thing I could come up with is that the tranny warms up when offroad and I could see a small increase in mpg. I've gotten used to it staying around 165-170F so when I see it at 190F I start thinking it's hot when I really know it's not. Whenever I'm offroad I keep the tcase in low to relieve some stress from the t.converter and run a single fan to pull air through the tranny cooler to keep it from heating up. When I turn up the 4bt some more I imagine I'll only produce more heat when slipping the t.converter. 4.56s would take a little stress off and help it from heating up. I still have gears to play around with so it's probably not necessary. Anyways if I regeared I could throw in a detroit but Desmond ran a detroit before and had it chipping ring gear teeth. He obviously likes the selectability of the ARB but the cost of the locker is not the total cost, I'd also need air and then setup. So long answer is I'll probably pick up another aussie and grab some PP axles before I head out to Rubithon.
I'm going to redo my ram tierod mount and had been thinking about different designs since mine is failing in the testing phase. He shared a simple design that I originally thought wouldn't work but he never had a problem with. So I'll probably go that way. On a side note I'm actually going to move the entire ram so I don't have clearance issues with the leaf spring.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2006
- Threads
- 162
- Messages
- 4,044
- Location
- Hillsboro, OR
- Website
- www.cascadecruisers.com
Thanks again for making the journey out here again Mike. Just seeing your rig helped alot... not too mention your tech knowledge with the springs.
and for everyone else.... Mike let me drive Dora.
Its even better than it looks for those who are wondering. I enjoyed every last second driving that thing. I can't imagine what it'll be like when you get the boost where ya want it.
Dora wanted bigger shoes too:
and for everyone else.... Mike let me drive Dora.
Its even better than it looks for those who are wondering. I enjoyed every last second driving that thing. I can't imagine what it'll be like when you get the boost where ya want it.
Dora wanted bigger shoes too:
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2006
- Threads
- 162
- Messages
- 4,044
- Location
- Hillsboro, OR
- Website
- www.cascadecruisers.com
anytime my friend! Hopefully next time it wont be so crazy around here... I thought Vance (the guy with the runner) just had few welds he needed done today.
Seriously man... thanks.
- Thread starter
- #758
update
Wow, it's been two weeks since I've done an update. Work has taken a few twists lately and I don't seem to have any extra time. With what's going on I may get more time but we'll see what plays out.
Lets see, so the last thing was starting the repositioning of the front shocks. I did finish that and here's how it turned out.
This is the passenger side. 11 degrees tilt towards the back.
And 12 degrees tilt towards the center of the rig.
Driver side has the same 11 degrees back and 12 degrees in.
I slapped some paint on there to keep the rust away and plan to paint the whole thing in spring or summer. I hope to be done working on the frame by then.
With the well's cut for the shocks, the passenger side comes partly in underneath my air filter. I cut out a piece of rubber to close in the hole.
The reason I adjusted the shock positioning was the sway I was getting when taking curves on the highway. It would kind of bob one side to the other which would influence the driver to overcorrect for it. I wondered sometimes if I'd get pulled over for driving under the influence and I don't even drink. It wasn't that bad but again I wanted to reduce some of the operator feel to my rig. My trip out to Brokenpart's place on Sunday was the first trip I took in it after the adjustment and it did make a handling difference. The front end feels tighter and more stiff. It drives better. I do have some issues though and they are with clearances. I really wanted to get more tilt towards the center but as it is right now I already have clearance issues particularly with the driverside shock and the steering joint.
It doesn't touch during normal driving for the most part but as the axle starts to flex away from the frame the joint and shock body contact. What I will try is to find a smaller joint that I can fit in there so if any of you already know of one please drop me a line. I won't really be able to wheel it until I can get that taken care of so I don't trash my shocks. The wear marks are from me lifting the front up with my engine hoist to look at clearances and turning the wheel.
When driving it I could feel the rear end bobbing a little so I decided to adjust those angles too. They were originally at 4-5 forward tilt and 25 degrees inward tilt. I adjusted the angle by redoing the axle mount. I extended it forward another 1 1/2" to get me 0-1 degree forward tilt and 17-18 degrees inward tilt.
Passenger side
Driverside
Moving the lower mount on the driverside also helped gain more clearance with the exhaust.
I have not driven it yet with the rear adjusted since I got that done today but I plan on taking it to work tomorrow so I'll have some impressions after that.
Unfortunately I woke up Monday to a completely flat driverside front tire. It was on the rim. I filled it back up and tried looking for any punctures and have not found anything obvious, no nails, screws, or large gashes. It lost 15psi in the last two days so I still have a leak. I filled it again and put water on the nicks I thought had penetrated but nothing bubbled. I may grab a can of green slime and see if that will plug it. For now I'll be checking it freqently until I find where it's leaking from.
While I was messing with the front end I figured I'd fix the tierod mount for my ram and move the ram to a better spot. I cut off the axle mount and moved it as far to the passenger side that I could get.
Moving it this far over would get the tierod mount away from the spring and plate I had clearance issues with.
To get the most out of that move I took out the axle side joint from the ram and reduced it's length so I could screw it in further as it was bottoming internally.
This was my first tierod mount that has failed during testing with the base plate bending. I used 1/4" stuff but did not distribute the clamping force. I had to cut the ubolts to get them off since they were tweaked pretty good. I do not recomend this style for mounting your ram to your tierod.
I wanted to make a clamp that would have more surface area to hold onto the tierod. I started with a tube I cut into halfs and massaged it to fit. Worried about the thickness of these parts I abandoned them and looked for something thicker.
I found this piece in the scrap bucket at the local hardware store and it cost me $2. The inner diameter of this piece was close to the outer diameter of the tierod. I then picked up a group of grade 8 bolts (1/4" x 3/4").
I made it 6" long, cut it in half and tacked some flanges on it.
I originally put the flanges on at 90 degrees to the surface of the tube.
Fitment showed me this wouldn't work with my holes already drilled. The idea was that the flanges at this angle would clamp the tube more onto the tierod.
Instead I removed the flanges and put them in line with the cut and not the tube surface by putting the tube half on a flat surface, then put the flanges flat next to them and tacked them on. This fit much better and still allow a good clamping action. I was having battery issues with my welder. One of the batteries was not getting a good charge due to a dirty terminal so I had to weld and inch and wait a minute for a decent surface charge and hit it again. I've cleaned the terminal so I shouldn't have to do that now. That's just my excuse for why my bead didn't turn out looking better.
Final design (all welding was done outside on a very windy day with frequent fresh air breaks since this tube was galvanized)
The axle mount for the ram required a notch out for the ram to fit so I cut and ground that for clearance and put it all together. The ram is now perfectly level with the tierod and in a straighter line with the tierod. This should help disperse the force between the two TRE joints better than with the tierod mount closer to the driverside.
I got the front tires grooved as well. I think that about catches me up with what I've done lately. What ever they put on the road down to California on the snow is not metal friendly and I have surface rust starting. I wanted to wash off the cruiser today but I had just painted some parts and with it being in freezing temps over night I didn't want to thaw out the hose. Maybe I'll just hit one of those DIY car washes and at least get that stuff rinsed off.
Wow, it's been two weeks since I've done an update. Work has taken a few twists lately and I don't seem to have any extra time. With what's going on I may get more time but we'll see what plays out.
Lets see, so the last thing was starting the repositioning of the front shocks. I did finish that and here's how it turned out.
This is the passenger side. 11 degrees tilt towards the back.
And 12 degrees tilt towards the center of the rig.
Driver side has the same 11 degrees back and 12 degrees in.
I slapped some paint on there to keep the rust away and plan to paint the whole thing in spring or summer. I hope to be done working on the frame by then.
With the well's cut for the shocks, the passenger side comes partly in underneath my air filter. I cut out a piece of rubber to close in the hole.
The reason I adjusted the shock positioning was the sway I was getting when taking curves on the highway. It would kind of bob one side to the other which would influence the driver to overcorrect for it. I wondered sometimes if I'd get pulled over for driving under the influence and I don't even drink. It wasn't that bad but again I wanted to reduce some of the operator feel to my rig. My trip out to Brokenpart's place on Sunday was the first trip I took in it after the adjustment and it did make a handling difference. The front end feels tighter and more stiff. It drives better. I do have some issues though and they are with clearances. I really wanted to get more tilt towards the center but as it is right now I already have clearance issues particularly with the driverside shock and the steering joint.
It doesn't touch during normal driving for the most part but as the axle starts to flex away from the frame the joint and shock body contact. What I will try is to find a smaller joint that I can fit in there so if any of you already know of one please drop me a line. I won't really be able to wheel it until I can get that taken care of so I don't trash my shocks. The wear marks are from me lifting the front up with my engine hoist to look at clearances and turning the wheel.
When driving it I could feel the rear end bobbing a little so I decided to adjust those angles too. They were originally at 4-5 forward tilt and 25 degrees inward tilt. I adjusted the angle by redoing the axle mount. I extended it forward another 1 1/2" to get me 0-1 degree forward tilt and 17-18 degrees inward tilt.
Passenger side
Driverside
Moving the lower mount on the driverside also helped gain more clearance with the exhaust.
I have not driven it yet with the rear adjusted since I got that done today but I plan on taking it to work tomorrow so I'll have some impressions after that.
Unfortunately I woke up Monday to a completely flat driverside front tire. It was on the rim. I filled it back up and tried looking for any punctures and have not found anything obvious, no nails, screws, or large gashes. It lost 15psi in the last two days so I still have a leak. I filled it again and put water on the nicks I thought had penetrated but nothing bubbled. I may grab a can of green slime and see if that will plug it. For now I'll be checking it freqently until I find where it's leaking from.
While I was messing with the front end I figured I'd fix the tierod mount for my ram and move the ram to a better spot. I cut off the axle mount and moved it as far to the passenger side that I could get.
Moving it this far over would get the tierod mount away from the spring and plate I had clearance issues with.
To get the most out of that move I took out the axle side joint from the ram and reduced it's length so I could screw it in further as it was bottoming internally.
This was my first tierod mount that has failed during testing with the base plate bending. I used 1/4" stuff but did not distribute the clamping force. I had to cut the ubolts to get them off since they were tweaked pretty good. I do not recomend this style for mounting your ram to your tierod.
I wanted to make a clamp that would have more surface area to hold onto the tierod. I started with a tube I cut into halfs and massaged it to fit. Worried about the thickness of these parts I abandoned them and looked for something thicker.
I found this piece in the scrap bucket at the local hardware store and it cost me $2. The inner diameter of this piece was close to the outer diameter of the tierod. I then picked up a group of grade 8 bolts (1/4" x 3/4").
I made it 6" long, cut it in half and tacked some flanges on it.
I originally put the flanges on at 90 degrees to the surface of the tube.
Fitment showed me this wouldn't work with my holes already drilled. The idea was that the flanges at this angle would clamp the tube more onto the tierod.
Instead I removed the flanges and put them in line with the cut and not the tube surface by putting the tube half on a flat surface, then put the flanges flat next to them and tacked them on. This fit much better and still allow a good clamping action. I was having battery issues with my welder. One of the batteries was not getting a good charge due to a dirty terminal so I had to weld and inch and wait a minute for a decent surface charge and hit it again. I've cleaned the terminal so I shouldn't have to do that now. That's just my excuse for why my bead didn't turn out looking better.
Final design (all welding was done outside on a very windy day with frequent fresh air breaks since this tube was galvanized)
The axle mount for the ram required a notch out for the ram to fit so I cut and ground that for clearance and put it all together. The ram is now perfectly level with the tierod and in a straighter line with the tierod. This should help disperse the force between the two TRE joints better than with the tierod mount closer to the driverside.
I got the front tires grooved as well. I think that about catches me up with what I've done lately. What ever they put on the road down to California on the snow is not metal friendly and I have surface rust starting. I wanted to wash off the cruiser today but I had just painted some parts and with it being in freezing temps over night I didn't want to thaw out the hose. Maybe I'll just hit one of those DIY car washes and at least get that stuff rinsed off.
Last edited:
Incredible build and write-up. Being a young father with two kids and no garage myself, I find your work an inspiration. I have the ability to use shop space at work but it is only during lunch and for a few hours after work one day every other week. Anyway, good work and keep the posts coming!