New life for an old pig... (7 Viewers)

[Lucy_FJ55]

No new developments, just been daily driving it since the lift swap.

I have, however, been contemplating the next step... I may end up selling my Trail Pig in order to focus on this pig. Since the lift and tire swap, I'm liking this pig more and more and am losing interest in my 'ol Trail Pig. I realize I will lose a 'boat load' of money by selling the Trail Pig due to the shape its in, so I plan to salvage as much as I can from it.

Beside the lift and tires, I was thinking about trying to salvage the long-slip yoke front driveshaft, but realized that will probably not work due to the differences in bolt patterns between years, etc. But, I remembered when I had a mechanic swap in new ring and pinion gears, they had to use some sort of plate to deal with the gears bolt pattern, or something like that?! So it may work? Don't know?

I guess I need to do a bit of research and perhaps go crawl under my rig again. This lead to me thinking about the 4.56 gears in my Trail Pig... I wonder if I can swap them into my Princess Pig, and how? At first, I thought I could just swap thirds, then I thought about the course vs. fine spline scenario. Honestly, I'm not exactly sure about what I'm talking about. Anyone with a clue wanna let me know if I can swap those gears into this pig easily? I suppose I could swap axles probably too, but then I would be stuck with course spline stuff in my newer rig... Hmmmm.

Good ramble!

 

[Lucy_FJ55]

So, I decided not to swap diffs from my Trail Pig to my Princess Pig. Seems I have 4.11's in the Princess and they are a good compromise of highway/off-road performance. I'll sell the old Trail Pig with the 4.56's.

I am collecting parts to rebuild my front axle and disc brakes. I am also contemplating a rear disc swap- I'll keep folks posted about that.

Not much to say, but I like to update my own thread every once in awhile. It helps me remember where I'm at!

Some recent (poser) wheelin' pics...

 

[PabloCruise]

Thanks for the pics - very nice!

 

[Lucy_FJ55]

Finally finishing up the rear end/bumper. Installed right side rear reflector and license light. The left side reflector and light interferes with the bumper/spindle, unfortunately. Need to deal with that. Bought a spare and fit the Hi-Lift. Mocked it all up for the first time today. Plan to have a bracket fabbed/welded onto the tire carrier that holds a license plate bracket and light... soon.

Pic of both pigs. Trail Pig is now a garage pig. I barely start it up anymore. I just don't seem to have the time to build both of 'em...

 

[PabloCruise]

I forget you had the other Pig, another Nebula Green!

 

[Lucy_FJ55]

I forget you had the other Pig, another Nebula Green!

Yep, I still have my original pig! Lucy.




Wanna buy her?!

 

[Lucy_FJ55]

Had some work done on my truck recently. Had a few small fab/weld projects that Graeme at G-Fab (local fab guy) finished for me. Really like the quality of work and he was great to work with.

Had a locking pull-pin mechanism installed. Locks when open and closed.

Cut off the original cam lever latch, which would occasionally come loose while wheelin'.

Installed a 2000# steel latch from De-Sta-Co. Adjustable and lockable. I dig it.

Also asked Graeme to build a bracket to mount the relocated license plate holder. It has a pull pin so its easily removable, , has a threaded stud to stop it from rattling, and has access for a lock to protect it and the spare. Still need to wire in the lights...

Rearend shot. :mrgreen:

Oh yeah, and the ARB compressor bracket/inner fender mount. Need to install and wire it...

Graeme also tack welded spacers on the inside of my bumper to give me 3/8" more room to mount both of my lower reflectors. Finishes off the rear nicely. He also welded in the studs for my rear lower shock mounts. I relocated the rear shocks higher and out of harms way because they used to hang down below the axle. However, they were double-nutted on and came loose often. Ever since I installed the lift, I have been wanting to get this one. Nothing like McGrew to get me to finally get stuff done on the pig.

 

[Lucy_FJ55]

Had a chance to button up the rear end. Bought locks for both the spare and the Hi-Lift. Primered and painted most of the rear bumper, looks good.

 

[uglyoinker]

I'm diggin' on your piggin'. I'm also a little jealous. Pig envy. Also thought I should mention that it's a good thing you squiggle out your license plate. Otherwise I would track you down and steal 2 piggy's

 

[JackA]

Bumper mods look good.....piggie looks good. Graeme is a cool dude. Tell him he needs to come back to AZ to wheel.

 

[PabloCruise]

Glad you kept the Pig sticker intact on the bumper!

Unfortunately, I cannot buy your other Piggy

 

[Lucy_FJ55]

uglyoinker- Ha! Now I know who to look for!

JackA- Thanks for the kind words. I'll let Graeme know he has to head to AZ to wheel.

Pablo- I wanna contact Piggly Wiggly to get more stickers... No worries about buying the pig.

 

[PabloCruise]

Lemme know about stickers, I would like to partake!

 

[Lucy_FJ55]

Lemme know about stickers, I would like to partake!

You got it!

 

[Lucy_FJ55]

Drove the pig Sunday morning before McGrew for a shake down run, and it started to spew coolant. I stopped a couple times on my way out of town while driving up to the Edison trail system. I noticed the leak and assumed a hose or something simple had come loose. Things looked tight and it seemed to stop leaking when I was stopped. I was a little baffled...

We finally figured the radiator must have a leak in it. Anyhoo, things progressed throughout the day and the truck ran well, but a little hot. I dragged my radiator into the shop and the guy looked at it and said he was unable to save it, but he could re-core it. The header plate had burst at the seam and was un-repairable. So, I had to wait on the radiator to get finished so I could put the pig back together by the McGrewTrail Run.

Check out the beautiful butterfly and other interesting critters.

 

[Lucy_FJ55]

For those of you wondering, I did get my radiator fixed before McGrew.

I picked it up the first time the day before I was going to McGrew. I grabbed the radiator after work and finally got around to installing it later that night. It was late and I was having trouble installing the radiator. It did not want to fit, the bolt holes no longer lined up. So I decided to go ahead and take the drill to it to make the holes larger. Well, I let the drill skip across the new radiator and it nicked/damaged the new core. It was about midnight and I was freaking out. Finally went to bed.

Called the guy at the radiator shop as soon as they opened the next morning. He said to bring it right in. They fixed it for free and got it done quickly. I was stoked. I picked up the radiator the morning I was planning to head down for McGrew at about 10:00 AM. The radiator turned out great after the repair. I finally installed it and everything went smoothly.

 

[Lucy_FJ55]

And then I drove the Princess to McGrew...

 

[Lucy_FJ55]

The Pig drove real well on the McGrew. The highway miles were not as bad as I had feared either. It really did quite well. However, I have been putting off some maintenance for a while. I have now gathered the parts/supplies needed to rebuild the steering, front brakes, front axle, and now the clutch master/slave cylinders.

My rig blew the slave cylinder the other day on the way home from work and I fortunately, literally coasted into the driveway after I was unable to put the truck in any gear. I have read that many folks recommend swapping both the clutch master and slave cylinders at the same time. So I'm doing that and upgrading to a SS braided line between 'em.

I am also replacing all four TRE's, the draglink (with TRE's), and rebuilding the center arm. I am rebuilding the entire front axle with new bearings (wheel and knuckle), seals, gaskets, etc.

I also have new pads and an install kit for the front brakes.

Still taking stuff apart! thumbup

 

[Lucy_FJ55]

Mas...

 

[PabloCruise]

For those of you wondering, I did get my radiator fixed before McGrew.

I picked it up the first time the day before I was going to McGrew. I grabbed the radiator after work and finally got around to installing it later that night. It was late and I was having trouble installing the radiator. It did not want to fit, the bolt holes no longer lined up. So I decided to go ahead and take the drill to it to make the holes larger. Well, I let the drill skip across the new radiator and it nicked/damaged the new core. It was about midnight and I was freaking out. Finally went to bed.

Called the guy at the radiator shop as soon as they opened the next morning. He said to bring it right in. They fixed it for free and got it done quickly. I was stoked. I picked up the radiator the morning I was planning to head down for McGrew at about 10:00 AM. The radiator turned out great after the repair. I finally installed it and everything went smoothly.

Great pics!

Why the heck would the radiator not fit?