Builds Moonshine - A Build Thread (13 Viewers)

[GLTHFJ60]

Tow rig would be nice to have. Better get it now if getting married is still on the table.

Still, HighAngle Drive shafts and a rear Detroit and you are ready for anything. (I think you need a locker-at least in the rear.)

I'm thinking that Oliver's is on par with HAD. Their shafts are SUPER nice.

Locker is necessary, agreed. ARBs are what I'm thinking.

you're thinking 6bt aren't you?

Not in Moonshine

Digging the pics, looks like fun rocks to play on.

Pyro could be a simple loose wire. I had that happen to me as well on a trip and it was just a wire that had gotten loose.

Which wire got loose in your case? I found that if I jiggled the pyro senor wire it would work for a bit, then if I went over some bumps, I'd stop, then start, then stop again. Definitely thinking loose wire now. I was thinking that the sensor was broken, causing the intermittent operation.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

I was just thinking Detroit because the CUCvs all came with Detroits so there are lots of those floating around and not as much $$ as ARB, but I agree an ARB is a a better overall choice.

More spares would be cheaper than a tow rig. When you get custom anything, you should always get 2. So you want 2 driveshafts, not 1. If your front axle shafts are custom, get spares, get extra U-joints etc. Your axles are about as bullet proof as things are going to get. If you are happy with the rest of it, I'd personally put the tow rig lower down the list.

 

[hman913]

Your axles are about as bullet proof as things are going to get. If you are happy with the rest of it, I'd personally put the tow rig lower down the list.

Agreed. If you're seriously thinking about dropping money on a toterhome plus the costs to make some living space in there plus the operating/maintenance costs, use the money instead to buy lockers and front RCV's. Those alone will net you lots of insurance for being able to wheel and then still drive home.

 

[boots4]

For me it was a power wire connection I had tied into under the dash. I had bumped it loose when I was in there wiring in the switch for my front locker.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I was just thinking Detroit because the CUCvs all came with Detroits so there are lots of those floating around and not as much $$ as ARB, but I agree an ARB is a a better overall choice.

More spares would be cheaper than a tow rig. When you get custom anything, you should always get 2. So you want 2 driveshafts, not 1. If your front axle shafts are custom, get spares, get extra U-joints etc. Your axles are about as bullet proof as things are going to get. If you are happy with the rest of it, I'd personally put the tow rig lower down the list.

The CUCV I bought came with a detroit, but I sold it.

I do generally keep lots of spares. I had spare driveshafts, which is why I was able to get home. I carry spare axle shafts, spare motor components like water pump and lift pump. My concern though is that if I'm breaking yokes, then it's not crazy to think I could blow the transfer case entirely. At what point do I bring along a whole other truck just to use as spare parts? It's not like the guys I wheel with have similar vehicles anymore, so I can't say "someone else will have a birf to compliment the pares I brought".

Agreed. If you're seriously thinking about dropping money on a toterhome plus the costs to make some living space in there plus the operating/maintenance costs, use the money instead to buy lockers and front RCV's. Those alone will net you lots of insurance for being able to wheel and then still drive home.

We are talking the same thing, but then the weak point just moves to something that's more unexpected and more difficult to replace. I mean you split your novak adapter in half this past week and it was on an access section of the hard trail, not even an obstacle! What if I had broken the output shaft of my D300 instead of the yoke? Hello tow home. The more we talk about upgrading Moonshine to prevent this from happening on the hardest trails, the more it makes sense to have a tow rig. This is the drastic change in direction I was talking about. This whole build has been centered around building Moonshine up so she's impossible to break. I've now realized that it's never impossible to break. It took too long to come to that realization.

If I were to throw more money at moonshine, it'd be a set of stock front axle replacements, hub gears, lockers and an atlas.


One of the guys in my local club said he's seen breakage like this before and said it was due to a CV being bound up. I suppose it's possible that with a flexed out suspension and a little bit of axle wrap that I bound that CV, causing everything to blow up. That's not something that's easy to fix, especially when we're always reaching for more flex.

For me it was a power wire connection I had tied into under the dash. I had bumped it loose when I was in there wiring in the switch for my front locker.

I'll dive into the dash before getting a new probe then. This was a problem after I installed the new turbo, which is why I was leaning towards the probe. Checking connections is free though! Thanks Mike

 

[Cruiserdrew]

The CUCV I bought came with a detroit, but I sold it.

I do generally keep lots of spares. I had spare driveshafts, which is why I was able to get home. I carry spare axle shafts, spare motor components like water pump and lift pump. My concern though is that if I'm breaking yokes, then it's not crazy to think I could blow the transfer case entirely. At what point do I bring along a whole other truck just to use as spare parts? It's not like the guys I wheel with have similar vehicles anymore, so I can't say "someone else will have a birf to compliment the pares I brought".

I like the idea that you bound up the double cardan. That's probably what happened. Talk to your driveline guys about the need for maximum angulation. That's where someone like High Angle would shine.

An Atlas will only seem expensive until you buy, fix, modify, insure, and fuel a tow rig, and then the Atlas will seem cheap. Besides, with your set up, I think it's just a bolt in at this point?

And remember, Cam drove his (mildly modified) FJ60 from the East Coast, wheeled the Rubicon and drove it home with the dents to prove it. You can do the same with that awesome truck you've built!

Or you could buy an 80. Just sayin'...

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I would blow up an 80 as fast, or faster, than I've blown up my 60. My 80 would have ended up with the same drivetrain I've got now

If I had to make a list of mods to Moonshine to avert having a tow rig, I'd do the following, but even still, I'm not sure this is enough:

- Intercooler + maybe compound turbos
- Atlas 2 speed
- two sets of RCV fronts (with hub slugs)
- Lockers (going to do this in any case)
- Armor (going to do this in any case)

I already carry spare driveshafts and spare u-joints, then spare engine criticals, fluids, tools, wires, fuses, wiring tools, rear axle shafts, spare fasteners, drill and bits, small impact, sawzall (all cordless), inverter to charge them, etc. It's a fairly comprehensive list, but I'm reconsidering the whole strategy due to this yoke snapping. What if my transfer input shaft snapped?

Still, that leaves broken leaf springs, or bent links, blown struts or airbags, god forbid a rollover.

The tow rig would serve as a camper and tow vehicle, and would be built to comfortably cruise at 70-75 loaded. It would be used when going to a park where I knew I was going to wheel the hardest trails. "Easier" trips would be with moonshine by herself.



I'm sure it's happened to a bunch of you before, but it's insanely stressful to wonder if you're going to need to pay for a tow home. My buddies with tow rigs were all like "eh, I'll fix it when I get home", whereas I'm like "uh, I hope they can ship a part from CA to PA in less than 24 hours". I hate stress.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Sorry for the misfortune Johnny. Hope you figure out the casting flaw.

J

 

[hman913]

We are talking the same thing, but then the weak point just moves to something that's more unexpected and more difficult to replace. I mean you split your novak adapter in half this past week and it was on an access section of the hard trail, not even an obstacle! What if I had broken the output shaft of my D300 instead of the yoke? Hello tow home. The more we talk about upgrading Moonshine to prevent this from happening on the hardest trails, the more it makes sense to have a tow rig. This is the drastic change in direction I was talking about. This whole build has been centered around building Moonshine up so she's impossible to break. I've now realized that it's never impossible to break. It took too long to come to that realization.

Correction... I was on an obstacle, albeit not a difficult one... by time you got turned around Bird had already winched me backwards. It was a perfect storm so to speak. There was enough for the front suspension to fully droop, driveshaft fully extends, splines bind, BOOM. The only reason (I think) that all happened was because there wasn't sufficient length of the splines to compensate for the supposed mildly flexy leafs.

If you leave 1310 joints in the rear and front, those can easily be your fuses. And build an anti-wrap bar! You were also bouncing something fierce right before your yoke blew.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Correction... I was on an obstacle, albeit not a difficult one... by time you got turned around Bird had already winched me backwards. It was a perfect storm so to speak. There was enough for the front suspension to fully droop, driveshaft fully extends, splines bind, BOOM. The only reason (I think) that all happened was because there wasn't sufficient length of the splines to compensate for the supposed mildly flexy leafs.

If you leave 1310 joints in the rear and front, those can easily be your fuses. And build an anti-wrap bar! You were also bouncing something fierce right before your yoke blew.

I completely agree that if your splines had been longer, since you have a SR front suspension design, that you would have not had that problem.

Driving technique is another component of my breakage, yes. However, I've bounced her much, much harder before without similar problems. Axle shafts, yes, but not transfer case flanges. Besides, the 1310 joint should be the fuse, right? That was the whole idea and I did bring a spare driveshaft

Looking at the broken part again, I see nice sharp edges on the yoke portion that was still bolted to the shaft, but the edges where the u-joint mounts to the yoke on the side where the bolt sheared are rounded. I think this problem may have been started by my driveshaft bolts being loose, even though I thought I tightened them on Tuesday. Maybe they stretched through towing, maybe not, I don't know! I can't yet explain the stress fractures on the sharp side, but I they are a result of the loose bolts, or joint binding, somehow.

I suppose if the driveshaft bolts being loose caused the problem then lockers, beadlocks (forgot that on my list above) and chromo fronts would have fixed every problem I had and the tow rig would be a moot point. Something to save for in the future................

 

[GLTHFJ60]

100% sure I collapsed my air filter during this trip. Not sure if it got clogged due to the dusty trails, vacuum produced by the turbo or something else, but it's been replaced with a larger filter today.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Bouncing? There's 1/2 your problem! We always joke that you get 2 hops, and you break on the 3rd.

http://highangledriveline.com/42cv.html

There is some good info on Pirate about driveshafts and 1310s are a bit small for your application! 1350s seem the rage. But it doesn't sound like that's what broke though. So we're back to castingflaw + heavy truck + bouncing + not enough flex angle.

 

[robustbambi]

Great pictures and report Johnny! Sorry about the driveshaft though, that would definitely put a slight damper on my day. And I think you should go right out and buy yourself a tow rig if you want to!

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Bouncing? There's 1/2 your problem! We always joke that you get 2 hops, and you break on the 3rd.

http://highangledriveline.com/42cv.html

There is some good info on Pirate about driveshafts and 1310s are a bit small for your application! 1350s seem the rage. But it doesn't sound like that's what broke though. So we're back to castingflaw + heavy truck + bouncing + not enough flex angle.

Yeah, I need beadlocks and lockers. That'll help reduce the bouncing a ton. Not getting up an obstacle is not really an option for me though

1310 is supposed to be the fuse, that's the point! I do really like those CVs from HAD though. Need to talk to Oliver's and see what they think before anything else.

Great pictures and report Johnny! Sorry about the driveshaft though, that would definitely put a slight damper on my day. And I think you should go right out and buy yourself a tow rig if you want to!

Driveshaft is small potatoes. Yoke was a bigger problem. No worries now though, I have a spare

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Some videos:

 

[GLTHFJ60]

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

I like it. It reminds me of the East Texas ROW's/ access roads I had to travel on a regular basis in Marley.

J

 

[Elbert]

my truck (60) is not near hard core....but I have a tow rig/trailer for the reasons you mentioned. (1) I can get to the location to wheel (2) and I can get my @$$ home no matter what happens to the 60..within reason. Of course all of this is more $$ on top of whatever else you have in your trail truck. So far the only issues I've had towing have been a ST tire blow-out for no apparent reason. I then went to E-Rated LT type tires on the trailer and have been good so far. Go 1ton or 3/4ton with the truck flavor of your choice..or at least that's my path/advice.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I like it. It reminds me of the East Texas ROW's/ access roads I had to travel on a regular basis in Marley.

J

I should have taken more videos. I was the tail gunner in the group and most of the time was spent helping the trucks in front of me get through. The trails we ran are more difficult than those videos really show

my truck (60) is not near hard core....but I have a tow rig/trailer for the reasons you mentioned. (1) I can get to the location to wheel (2) and I can get my @$$ home no matter what happens to the 60..within reason. Of course all of this is more $$ on top of whatever else you have in your trail truck. So far the only issues I've had towing have been a ST tire blow-out for no apparent reason. I then went to E-Rated LT type tires on the trailer and have been good so far. Go 1ton or 3/4ton with the truck flavor of your choice..or at least that's my path/advice.

That's the way I'm leaning Elbert, except 1.5 or 2 ton, so I can incorporate a sleeper. I'm thinking of either converting a school bus or buying a 24' box truck / cab and chassis to convert.

 

[cruisermatt]

What about an old flatbed?