No but there are a few around up here.
I'm sure they would like a warm sunny home.........hehe.
I'm sure they would like a warm sunny home.........hehe.
Builds Grumble Deluxe
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- #82
Ugh, been traveling a ton for work again which slows down progress here immensely.
It took a few test fits, but I finally got the winch cover tabs cut and finished. A friend of mine recently set up a cerakote system, so I experimented with that on these pieces. If it holds up well, I'll probably go through and cerakote all of the little aluminum pieces I've been making. Also, pemserts are the best
I found some plasticized canvas offcuts at work left over from an Emmy Award(tm) winning project that I think'll work great as the cover for the winchline. I'm pretty happy how this turned out, the winch is nice and low-profile now, while remaining accessible when needed.
It took a few test fits, but I finally got the winch cover tabs cut and finished. A friend of mine recently set up a cerakote system, so I experimented with that on these pieces. If it holds up well, I'll probably go through and cerakote all of the little aluminum pieces I've been making. Also, pemserts are the best
I found some plasticized canvas offcuts at work left over from an Emmy Award(tm) winning project that I think'll work great as the cover for the winchline. I'm pretty happy how this turned out, the winch is nice and low-profile now, while remaining accessible when needed.
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- Thread starter
- #83
And some overdue infrastructural upgrades: I found an old solvent parts washer on Craigslist, and finally put up better lights.
The parts washer appears to be a well loved Graymills Clean-o-matic 300A. Had to replace the fusible link and get the motor re-built, but for $200 used it's way better than any of the similarly priced junk available today. If I had known how awesome these things are I would have bought one years ago. Made the valve job so much easier, I could put the cylinder head, manifolds, and obviously all of the small parts right in and scrub them down. Even though I cleaned as much other stuff as I could in place while fixing the timing gear cover oil leak, there's only so much you can get to with all of the overlapping parts. It was great to get stuff like the intake manifold finally de-greased.
I also got an ultrasonic tank and filled it with a water-based degreaser, but it doesn't seem to do as well. I'll keep experimenting to see if it will work as a second stage clean after things come out of the solvent tank. So far though, it seems like wire brushes and the solvent tank is the way to go.
And in a fit of frustration while moving hand-held lights around the engine bay, I finally broke down and wired up some LED narrow floods now that they're relatively inexpensive. It's hard to tell in this pic, but it makes things so much easier to work on, especially at night. Oh, and the overhead paper towel dispenser is another one of those $10 accessories that every shop should have. Spend a little more to get one with some friction in it, so you can tear off a sheet at a time with one hand. So good.
The parts washer appears to be a well loved Graymills Clean-o-matic 300A. Had to replace the fusible link and get the motor re-built, but for $200 used it's way better than any of the similarly priced junk available today. If I had known how awesome these things are I would have bought one years ago. Made the valve job so much easier, I could put the cylinder head, manifolds, and obviously all of the small parts right in and scrub them down. Even though I cleaned as much other stuff as I could in place while fixing the timing gear cover oil leak, there's only so much you can get to with all of the overlapping parts. It was great to get stuff like the intake manifold finally de-greased.
I also got an ultrasonic tank and filled it with a water-based degreaser, but it doesn't seem to do as well. I'll keep experimenting to see if it will work as a second stage clean after things come out of the solvent tank. So far though, it seems like wire brushes and the solvent tank is the way to go.
And in a fit of frustration while moving hand-held lights around the engine bay, I finally broke down and wired up some LED narrow floods now that they're relatively inexpensive. It's hard to tell in this pic, but it makes things so much easier to work on, especially at night. Oh, and the overhead paper towel dispenser is another one of those $10 accessories that every shop should have. Spend a little more to get one with some friction in it, so you can tear off a sheet at a time with one hand. So good.
- Thread starter
- #84
Slightly OT, but I recently added another >2WD non-gasoline vehicle to the fleet. Here it is seeing dirt on a quick weekend camping trip at less than a week old
If you want to learn about charging etc. out in the boonies, the best way is to just get out there and figure it out..
This thing does 0-60 in less time than it takes the HJ to do 55-60
And count me as having my game changed. The low end torque and ridiculous quietness are going to be so rad for wheeling, I can't wait until the technology stack matures to the point that it's viable in expedition offroad vehicles.
If you want to learn about charging etc. out in the boonies, the best way is to just get out there and figure it out..
This thing does 0-60 in less time than it takes the HJ to do 55-60
And count me as having my game changed. The low end torque and ridiculous quietness are going to be so rad for wheeling, I can't wait until the technology stack matures to the point that it's viable in expedition offroad vehicles.
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- Thread starter
- #85
Catching up on some documentation, here's the cylinder head after cleaning and valve seat re-surfacing. I replaced a few valves that had blown out stems, as well as the guides and rocker arms.
I took advantage of the waterjet to draw up some manifold gasket and valve cover masks and cut them from some scrap aluminum - I find drawing to be easier than screwing around with masking tape for all of these repeated shapes.
Some dense closed cell foam worked well to mask all of the freeze plugs, and I had it left over from plugging all of the cylinder head ports for cleaning.
Future search engine food, since the other threads on mud on the topic are largely inconclusive: Duplicolor Chrysler Blue engine enamel is a decent match to the stock 2H color. It's a bit brighter, but it's also not filthy yet
I took advantage of the waterjet to draw up some manifold gasket and valve cover masks and cut them from some scrap aluminum - I find drawing to be easier than screwing around with masking tape for all of these repeated shapes.
Some dense closed cell foam worked well to mask all of the freeze plugs, and I had it left over from plugging all of the cylinder head ports for cleaning.
Future search engine food, since the other threads on mud on the topic are largely inconclusive: Duplicolor Chrysler Blue engine enamel is a decent match to the stock 2H color. It's a bit brighter, but it's also not filthy yet
- Thread starter
- #86
Note to self, be careful with deck galley plugs when cleaning the block - I accidentally blew one of the foam plugs into the coolant galley while cleaning out the head bolt holes with compressed air. Took a stressful 30 minutes of fishing around with various picks, tweezers, and hooks bent out of cotter pins to get it back out again; I thought I might have to figure out how to pressure flush the block to push it out again.
- Thread starter
- #87
Not sure if this was a change between the 84 and 86 body, but the 84 is missing a nut where the throttle cable attaches to the firewall. It was a pain in the ass to keep reaching through the wiper access port to hold the nut on the back, so I finally rivnutted it.
More fun with solvent tank cleaning, it really does work well for cleaning up old parts.
And after fighting with the turboglide aftermarket kit on disassembly and reassembly, I'm not sure I'd do this again. Yes all the parts eventually fit, but the collisions are awful and it seems like they really didn't think the serviceability of the design through very thoroughly. Lots of shortened studs, thin nuts, and other shenanigans need to be used to get this together. Also no gasket from the manifold to the turbo, or the turbo to the down pipe?!?
More fun with solvent tank cleaning, it really does work well for cleaning up old parts.
And after fighting with the turboglide aftermarket kit on disassembly and reassembly, I'm not sure I'd do this again. Yes all the parts eventually fit, but the collisions are awful and it seems like they really didn't think the serviceability of the design through very thoroughly. Lots of shortened studs, thin nuts, and other shenanigans need to be used to get this together. Also no gasket from the manifold to the turbo, or the turbo to the down pipe?!?
- Thread starter
- #88
Finally it runs again, and way more smoothly than I could get it with just a valve adjustment before. At least it's strong enough to go get tacos! Whew, what a mission.
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NeverGiveUpYota
Dare me.
Tacos are a necessity after all that work! Looks nice! Love the blue.
OK. So I am flying back out so we can go get tacos in that rig. 
That really is a sexy truck Ritchie.
That really is a sexy truck Ritchie.
gregnash
Anal Retentive Analyst
Awesome job dude!!! Painting the head is one thing I completely forgot to do while I had it off, two years later and she has a nice patina to her that drives me insane. But alas, the rest of the engine bay is pretty nasty so its all good.
- Thread starter
- #92
OK. So I am flying back out so we can go get tacos in that rig.
That really is a sexy truck Ritchie.
Heck yeah Onur, tacos on me any time you're in my hood
And @gregnash I know what you mean, I'm trying to scrape off as much 'patina' as I go, but it always seems to come back from somewhere
beautiful truck, that..
- Thread starter
- #94
Some snaps from a quick trip up PCH to shake out any issues; I sprung a leak in the air system somewhere but the head rebuild seems to be holding well. This thing is as underpowered and heavy as I remember her to be
gregnash
Anal Retentive Analyst
Looking real good!
- Thread starter
- #96
Finally got the cargo side panels iterated enough to cnc router them out of 1/4" hexaply to match the cargo deck. Forgot that I meant to cut some dovetail pockets for a little shelf where the quick fist clamps are so I guess I'll have to make these again. As usual if anyone wants dxfs of the pattern let me know! $50 worth of material and $50 of cnc time was well worth it to get the cargo area cleaned up. I also have enough wood left over for another set if anyone just wants to buy some.
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- Thread starter
- #97
Well I finally got my s*** together enough to join @WideAngleWandering on one of his epic Baja trips. We set out with the intention to spend just over two weeks exploring down as far as Loreto, and ended up staying for a full month to cover the whole peninsula.
Route map.
Route map.
- Thread starter
- #98
On this trip I clicked over 345678.9km.
I also forgot to note that somewhere in 2019 I blew the head gasket again, and changed it out at the beginning of 2020. Getting to be decent at that, although it's still a terrible job on this thing with the aftermarket turbo making it a huge pain to get at everything. Hopefully it holds this time, not sure what I did wrong last time.
Misc notes-to-self from the trip for vehicle things that would profitably make the next one more enjoyable:
* The new Baja atlas released just after I got home, it's amazing. Get one before they get discontinued again.
• To add: awning, fridge, roof solar, Milwaukee m12/m18 charger, shelves on rear panels + always on usb ports, phone cradle on front of cup holders, GMRS radio for convoy comms, design tighter packing wooden totes that lock into bed frame, curtain rails around rear 3/4, camp saw & bypass pruners, utility rope, 2x addl seatback molle pouches, charging station in glove box?, Gopro + smallrig mounts, aluminum glove box
• Finish truck AC install: rebuild compressor (?); fab hoses; charge system
• Fix onboard air: replace failed contactor; replace smashed vibration mounts; replace cracked reed valve
* Fix various steering rattles and issues
• Known issues:
• dash lights intermittent - sharp tap near fuses to reenable;
• low oil pressure engine cutoff switch disconnected as oil pressure is too low for stable operation; heavier weight oil for hot conditions? Pressure is ok at start but not after warm up
• front windows can fall out of their tracks if aggressively bounced when in fully lowered position;
• spurious "triple" (battery, parking brake, filter) error light condition; usually triple lights at <25V until the voltage regulator kicks in and turns off at >25V, but sometimes this combo comes on while driving. can often resolve by a hard smack right above the temp/fuel/oil/voltage cluster
• transfer case shift knob rattle at 1500 to 1700 RPM under load
• Maintenance: lubricate exterior container ratchet; replace wiper blades
I also forgot to note that somewhere in 2019 I blew the head gasket again, and changed it out at the beginning of 2020. Getting to be decent at that, although it's still a terrible job on this thing with the aftermarket turbo making it a huge pain to get at everything. Hopefully it holds this time, not sure what I did wrong last time.
Misc notes-to-self from the trip for vehicle things that would profitably make the next one more enjoyable:
* The new Baja atlas released just after I got home, it's amazing. Get one before they get discontinued again.
Baja California Road & Recreation Atlas - Benchmark Maps
Since 1995, Benchmark Maps has been driving and mapping the American West, publishing award-winning recreation maps and atlases. The first edition Baja California Road & Recreation Atlas showcases the diverse recreation opportunities found along the full length of the Baja California Peninsula...
www.benchmarkmaps.com
• To add: awning, fridge, roof solar, Milwaukee m12/m18 charger, shelves on rear panels + always on usb ports, phone cradle on front of cup holders, GMRS radio for convoy comms, design tighter packing wooden totes that lock into bed frame, curtain rails around rear 3/4, camp saw & bypass pruners, utility rope, 2x addl seatback molle pouches, charging station in glove box?, Gopro + smallrig mounts, aluminum glove box
• Finish truck AC install: rebuild compressor (?); fab hoses; charge system
• Fix onboard air: replace failed contactor; replace smashed vibration mounts; replace cracked reed valve
* Fix various steering rattles and issues
• Known issues:
• dash lights intermittent - sharp tap near fuses to reenable;
• low oil pressure engine cutoff switch disconnected as oil pressure is too low for stable operation; heavier weight oil for hot conditions? Pressure is ok at start but not after warm up
• front windows can fall out of their tracks if aggressively bounced when in fully lowered position;
• spurious "triple" (battery, parking brake, filter) error light condition; usually triple lights at <25V until the voltage regulator kicks in and turns off at >25V, but sometimes this combo comes on while driving. can often resolve by a hard smack right above the temp/fuel/oil/voltage cluster
• transfer case shift knob rattle at 1500 to 1700 RPM under load
• Maintenance: lubricate exterior container ratchet; replace wiper blades
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NeverGiveUpYota
Dare me.
Low oil pressure while driving is a bad sign. At least if memory serves....
Whats w/ the pic of the power steering gear box? Leaking?
All the other pics and too freaking awesome for words. Also I’m curious about the cargo side panel plans? A shovel is a necessity for me... I’m an avid forager of plants etc.
Whats w/ the pic of the power steering gear box? Leaking?
All the other pics and too freaking awesome for words. Also I’m curious about the cargo side panel plans? A shovel is a necessity for me... I’m an avid forager of plants etc.
AussieHJCruza
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Disconnecting the oil pressure cutoff isn't a good idea. What oil are you running and what ambient temperature range do you get where you are?