Builds Patch's Build Thread

[cruiserpatch]

Today’s task was simple: build a shovel mount for the spare tire carrier accessory receiver.

I bought a liquidated Bomber Products tire carrier accessory mount for $5 on ebay a while ago. It was intended to be used with traction boards but I don’t use them.

I drilled some holes and mounted two quick fists (two pack for $10 on amazon) on the mount.

I’ll switch the lock nut and bolt out for a cotter pin more than likely for ease of access to the spare tire.

Judging by the sloppiness of the welds, I can see why Bomber went out of business.

 

[cruiserpatch]

Something I’ve been working on recently is preparation for the inevitable front differential explosion. There’s a lot of mud here in Georgia and I just replaced my CVs and my bearings.

I would like to be absolutely certain that I do not contaminate my hubs upon exiting the trail after a failure.

The solutions I have seen all involve removal of the snap ring and flanges from the hub. If the inside of the hub is not sealed by the snap ring holding the CV in place, dirt could enter the hub from the back.

I used an old CV axle I had lying around and cut out the outboard tulip so that it is free from the inboard section of the axle. The idea, assuming the balance is not thrown off for highway driving, would be to remove the front driveshaft and quickly exchange the new CVs for my “2WD outboard CVs.”

I will test my theory somehow or another before committing to it on a trail, but the logic, at least to me, seems sound.

This solution would certainly save time on the trail so that stranded 100s only have to swap axles and remove the driveshaft. The front diff will be blown anyway so it wouldn't bother me if it became contaminated.

The kit needed for this would be:

22mm socket/tire iron
Wrenches/impact for driveshaft (14mm)
Extra snap rings (for best fit with "half-axles")
Hammer
Channel locks
Extra cotter pins (for UBJs)
Wrench/socket for disconnecting UBJ from spindle (for quick axle swap) - size varies with UCA setup
12mm wrench/sockets for ABS bracket

I would employ the Chowcares method of "removing the axle, without removing the axle."
See here: Chowcares YouTube Video

 

[cruiserpatch]

I just posted this write-up about the '99 and 2000 LX door props failing. I am of the opinion that it happens to trucks whose previous owners did not use the rear doors much at all (that was the case with my PO). It makes sense.

When I cracked open the spring and roller assembly, it was very rusty and the rollers didn't move very well at all. Signs of infrequent use. The front two doors have not had this problem at all.

100 Series Rear Door Prop Failure - How Common Is It?

I bought my '99 LX in 2020 right before the price spikes. When I took it home, I noticed that the sheet metal had small cracks forming around the rear door props. Unfortunately I did not address it immediately and this happened: ***Check your rear doors for signs of this. Address it...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[cruiserpatch]

Felt cute. Might delete later

 

[sammybones]

Eh, maybe.

What the **** is a skottle?

 

[cruiserpatch]

What the **** is a skottle?

damned if I know

I suppose someone referred to an off-roader as a skottle once upon a blue moon...

 

[MongooseGA]

What the **** is a skottle?

@bencallaway told me it was a metal pan thing that real overland operators keep on their spare tires.

 

[bencallaway]

@bencallaway told me it was a metal pan thing that real overland operators keep on their spare tires.

REAL over landers dont have room to carry a spare tire because off all their "skottles"

Its also the device used to attach @sammybones bones truck to the back of @MongooseGA 's truck to tow him home from Coppinger.

 

[cruiserpatch]

New favorite mod: Antenna Switch Winch Control. I've linked to these threads in a separate post, but here they are again for anyone who wants to go down the rabbit hole as I have.

rabbit hole

I first discussed this idea with Chip Rosenberger from BudBuilt (200 series guys will know this name).
He and I had been reflecting about the inconvenience of finding the controller, routing the cable up and to the driver's door, rolling down the window (if it wasn't already), then actually winching. It was just clumsy.

Offhandedly I mentioned that I had replaced my factory antenna because it had broken long before I even bought the truck. I had an unused OEM push-button switch with two functions (up/down) and nothing to lose.

The first step was figuring out how I was going to use the antenna switch to accomplish what I needed. I checked the wiring diagrams and quickly remembered that I am not an electrical engineer. Luckily, a phenomenal gentleman had already created a product specific for this and other use-cases of the antenna switch. His design employs two relays which are triggered independently by each function of the switch. It's a plug-and-play product and only takes about 10 minutes to install. Max of one-half banana

The ASB100, as he calls it, made this entire process so much faster and easier. At $129 it is definitely not the cheapest solution out there, but a true DIYer who wants to save the extra cash can easily buy some relays and terminals, then use the ASB100 documentation to locate the pins from the wiring harness.

ASB100 - install instructions on this thread

I will post a separate chain with straight forward instructions and a step-by-step on the install of this mod. But this post is intended for curious readers interested in how I arrived at my final destination.

I first routed three wires from the ASB100 out to the winch control box. I used a common wire (red) for both the up/out and down/in functions. I used some banded 16 AWG white wire and added a stripe onto the down/in line for ease of signal flow and troubleshooting.

Above: ASB100 with red "common" lead, green down/in run, and solid white up/out lead.

The yellow jumper cable can be removed and a switch installed to allow selectable functionality of the ASB100. I will be installing a solenoid to cut power to the winch manually from the cabin, so I will most likely forgo the additional switch.

On the right, the down/in is pinned to terminals 9 and 10 on the ASB100. Terminal 9 being DOWN1-NO (see ASB100 wiring diagram pdf) and terminal 10 being DOWN1-COM.

On the left, the up/out is pinned to terminals 4 and 5 on the ASB100. Terminal 4 being UP1-COM and terminal 5 being UP1-NO.

Above: Winch Control box to ASB100 diagram

I used 14 AWG for the red line which was a mistake. The ASB100 terminals accept 16-26 AWG wire so I trimmed a few pieces of copper off of the red line.

I routed the wires out of the firewall boot next to the AC fill port in the engine bay.

Above: new static antenna serves as wire spool guide.

Once I routed the wires through the firewall I wrapped them together in conduit along the brake line pictured in the bottom right. From there I routed them along the return power steering hose and through the opening which houses an AC line (near the grille of the vehicle). What's important here is that the wires are insulated and in a safe location somewhere on the vehicle.

With the switch wired and ready to go, it was now time to figure out how the Smittybilt 12K XRC GEN3 winch control box was wired. Thanks to a few DIY posts from @nukegoat (see aforementioned "rabbit hole") I knew I was most likely searching for a three-wire harness of some kind (one COM 12V positive lead and two NO function leads).

To be continued...

 

[cruiserpatch]

Part Two: Antenna Switch Winch Control

In hindsight I should have started by opening the control box but I decided it would be fun to short out some wires and see what happens. I blew the 3A fuse inside the control box. Oh well. Could have been worse.

Once I had finished dicking around I used my tools for their intended purposes (wow!). The control box is easy enough to open with a T20 star bit and some patience. There are four bolts that hold the cover on. Two short (rear) and two long (front).

Above: control box opened. See inline 3A fuse holder (ATM type, small blade) at rear.

There are six total pins for the Smittybilt 12K XRC GEN3 winch handheld controller. The male XLR plugs into the female XLR connector on the control box. I drew a simple diagram of the pinouts both male and female.

Above: pinouts for male and female XLR connectors.

Table at bottom indicates wire colour for female (control box end) XLR connector. The colours change for no damn reason for three of the wires. You can see that I labeled where each wire lead terminated inside of the control box. I identified a "box" and a "sm. box." The "box" houses the solenoids for winch control and the "sm. box" houses the terminals that trigger the "SM" logo on the side of the winch when it is in use.

Here are the pinouts:
1: Black (blk) = ground (grnd)
2: Brown (brwn) = light blue = up/out
3: White (wht) = negative lead for "SM" logo light (7.5V)
4: Blue (blu) = green = down/in
5: Yellow (yllw) = red = 3A 12V positive lead for solenoid control
6: Red (rd) = positive lead for "SM" logo light (7.5V)

The transition between colours of pins 2, 4, and 5 happens with an opaque connector as pictured below. The female side of the opaque three-pin connector attaches to the female XLR connector mounted on the control box cover.

Above: opaque female connector for winch solenoid control wires (3x). In this photo I had already spliced my runs in.

I did not wind up using the "SM" logo light at all on my truck so I wound up leaving all of that mess untouched. Red and white small wires with white connector at top right in picture below are for the "SM" logo.

The important leads are 2, 4, and 5. These three are the wires you want to splice into with your run to the cabin.

From female XLR connector to the terminals on ASB100:
2: Brown (brwn) = light blue = solid white = terminal 5 on ASB100 = up/out
4: Blue (blu) = green = terminal 9 on ASB100 = down/in
5: Yellow (yllw) = red = terminals 4 and 10 on ASB100 = 3A 12V positive lead for solenoid control

Once I knew where everything was going I added some heat shrink to the three-wire run (red, solid white, green stripe) and routed it through the bottom of the winch control box as pictured:

Above: rat's nest

I soldered the three-wire run into the existing wire harness for increased durability and strength. Crimping here is not a good call, in my opinion. When you need a winch, you need a winch. It had better work.

The best part about this mod is that I can still use my handheld controller if I so desire. I have simply added an alternative solution for ease-of-use.

Thanks to Jim @Ayune for the awesome product! If you ever list it online in a store etc, let me know and I'll push some links out
Thanks to Chip @Chippiepooh for the inspiration to do this and for letting me send you progress reports every few days

 

[MongooseGA]

I love this mod, super handy.

Glad you got it all figured out. You can come over and do mine next

 

[cruiserpatch]

I love this mod, super handy.

Glad you got it all figured out. You can come over and do mine next

Hell yeah! If you seriously want it, you've got my #

I'll probably not be able to get to it until after my CO/UT trip (should be back around August 3rd/4th)

 

[YezusLX]

This is quite interesting. I would like to suggest something here. For safety and my OCD. Please, for the love of sweet baby Jesus! Look into Tesa Tape. Butt, nonetheless nice work Patch!

Amazon.com : tesa tape

EDIT: I forgot to ask. Does this mod introduce feedback or buzzing in the radio when depressing the switch or when the winch is powered?

 

[cruiserpatch]

This is quite interesting. I would like to suggest something here. For safety and my OCD. Please, for the love of sweet baby Jesus! Look into Tesa Tape. Butt, nonetheless nice work Patch!

Amazon.com : tesa tape

EDIT: I forgot to ask. Does this mod introduce feedback or buzzing in the radio when depressing the switch or when the winch is powered?

Where would you have used Test Tape that I did not? I just learned that it exists lol.

I appreciate the recommendation.

EDIT: haven't tested it with the radio yet honestly. I'll check in a moment.

 

[YezusLX]

The ENTIRE wire thread. Keeps the dust and grim out and also eliminates the rattles you get from wires rolling around the dash. That dreaded left turn plastic-type clicking. I always use it during stereo installs to cover speaker wires and power wires (electrical tape over heat shrink then Tesa) as this will help with avoiding the introduction of electrical-based interference. BMW and other luxury automakers use it for noise and rattle reduction. If you look at a wire harness in any BMW/VW/Porsche/Lamborghini product you will see Tesa along its entire harness length. Generally, I will buy a log (5 rolls/about $30) so I can be extra liberal in its application. I did all the wiring in my LX's doors as well since it's a known water intrusion and dust point when I had to redo the actuators. I used about a roll per door. This way when the dynamat goes in the wires if they need to move do not get hung up or break with moving parts. They will be able to slide along the cotton and mat. If you want to be "super fancy" you can add different colors for easy identification should you ever need to get back into the wiring for diagnostics. Just take a box cutter open up the suspected area do your work and then rewrap it. Plus it looks much cleaner once the installation is complete. Hope that sheds some light on Tesa tape.

 

[YezusLX]

Here is an example. My techs at a shop I used to work for in Alpharetta taught me about it. This is a 2015 Aventador we installed a laser jamming device on. Since this is right in front of the air intake and below the windshield we still protected the wiring even though it was inside the fuse box. We also included on any wires that went from the exterior to the interior of the vehicle.

 

[cruiserpatch]

Some folks wanted to see this from the facebook groups so here’s a detailed look at the Ironman 4x4 front bumper for the 100 series

“
A few days ago I mentioned that my Ironman front bumper broke on an obstacle during my trip to Colorado.

Here’s a closer look at what happened so that you can prevent the same from happening to yours.

First three photos show the LHS of the bumper crumpling up above my fender. The RHS stayed underneath because the bumper actually fit under the fender (I complained to IM about a manufacturing defect - too big of a gap on the LHS - but honestly don’t care anymore, obviously).

The bumper hit the ledge and sheered two of the pinning bolts clean off. I wasn’t going fast, just a love tap. Notice the flex in the antenna, (photo 3).

Because only one side moved above the fender, the entire frame of the bumper bent under the load. In photo 4, you can see that the RHS is still flat with the bottom of the fender but the LHS is tilted forward about 15-20 degrees (notice the antenna and top of the bumper surface).

The final two photos show the multiplied damage (corner light displaced - it doesn’t really fit anymore, antenna cable ripped out, small fiberglass chunk missing (see photo 2 - it’s flying through the air).

As soon as you can, I recommend you drill out the holes for the through-bolts and add bigger hardware to prevent this from happening. I will be welding my bumper to the frame-mount (not to the frame) so that it all works as one piece. I’m tired of adjusting it after every outing.

In summary here are some ironman bumper pros and cons:

Pros:
cheap ($1,000)
looks good
comes with roo bar
works with LX grille/hood
antenna mount
winch mount

Cons:
horrible install instructions
terrible approach angle
made out of butter (not really, but the hardware is)
very heavy
pinning bolts are too small - m8s

“

 

[MongooseGA]

Yikes

 

[cruiserpatch]

Here's an addition/update to a previous post about an emergency 2WD conversion when the front differential explodes on a trail.

As some of you may know, I blew my '99 2-pinion front diff on Poughkeepsie in Colorado this summer. I went with the traditional route of pulling the front driveshaft and the flanges. However, I noticed when I arrived home that my cv's were walking themselves out towards the diff away from the hub.

This created some potential for disaster as I just replaced my bearings etc, etc. If the back of the hub is exposed, water, dirt, and grime have the chance to enter from behind.

Previously I posted about some 'half axles' that I wanted to try out. (see post #22)

I am happy to report that this idea worked perfectly!

For those who may be forced to run 2WD for extended periods of time or for long road trips, I highly recommend finding some spare CV axles to chop up, sealing the hub from the back.

Ben's 3D builds makes a pair of emergency plastic covers in the event that the front diff goes out, but this method does not seal the rear.

The best part of this solution is that the user need not remove the flanges for it to work. Even better, one can completely remove the front differential assembly and still use the vehicle while it is being repaired or replaced.

For the diff-side, I threw in-board side of the axle into the diff to seal it from the elements until I can remove the diff assembly.

Notice below, the flanges are still in place.

On a trail, the driver needs to decide what the best way forward will be, but I would say that pulling the CV axles alone and replace them with half-axles might be easier than pulling the flanges. Disconnect the UBJ and TRE for enough flex and you're home free.

It might be safer to pull the flanges, however, so take this into account when on unstable ground.

Just a bit of friendly neighborhood Patch advice.

EDIT: I tested this at 85 MPH with no problems. I'm doing a 600 mile road trip today and will report back.

Additionally, if you run spacers, this is a great way to avoid removing them for a 2WD conversion. It might be easier this way...

 

[cruiserpatch]

Just added some parts to the big spreadsheet for the oil pump job.

See here: 1999 LX parts

I found a leak that I thought could be attributed to the crank seal or tensioner pulley bolt (but I knew I sealed it).
Turns out I think the oil pump o-ring is leaking.

Thanks to @Wermz for the assistance in the diagnosis.