So ..... Tech Day? (1 Viewer)

[Cass007]

So I'm trying hard to get prep done for the upcoming wheeling season and am feeling overwhelmed a bit. I need to install my 1" body lift before I can mount the sliders. This means pulling the radiator, so while in there I should address several other things:

1. Radiator and hose swap
2. Find and repair whatever the fluid leak is on front side of engine
3. Remove and possibly replace (rebuild?) the AC compressor
4. Install new belt tensioners
5. Valve cover gasket
6. Distributor o-ring

I also have lying around and waiting to be installed
- 4Crawler 1" Body Lift ($500-$600)
- White Knuckle sliders ($350)
- 4x4 Labs front bumper ($350 Bumper and Winch)
- Warn VR10-S Winch

Mt Zion Offroad in Dover, PA gave me and estimates for install as shown in the brackets. I would like to do most or all of this myself since those prices seem steep to me. Has anyone installed the 4x4 Labs bumper? Does it just bolt up or is this other projects on Mud that appear easy, but turn out to be much more complicated?

I wanted to see if anyone around that has far more tech experience than myself is available to help with any of these installs in the coming weeks? I can provide pizza, sandwiches and whatever beers or cocktails someone prefers and will always be willing to return the favor when an extra set of hands is needed.

 

[Dirty Koala]

Front bumpers are as simple as it gets...not much harder than folling your own fuel tank...8 bolts.

radiator and belts are simple enough but will take a few hours the 1st time...tip, remove tge battery and battery box for better clearance.

valve cover is a pretty quick exercise, just make sire you get the torque spec and order correct.

AC compressor is easy to install, but you will need to get the system evacuated and tgen charged by a shop.

distrbutor o-ring is the most technical item on your list as you need to know how to set your timing after you remove the dizzy.

sliders are straight forward but heavy...an extra set of hand makes it a lot easier. i put my opor sliders on myself on my back in tge gravel...i dont recommend it.

tensioner is straight forward...and very accessible especially with the radiator out of the truck.

Do you really need a body lift?

 

[Cass007]

I have a plan and am working towards my end goal. The 1" body lift is part of that plan and the sliders have been built to accommodate the lift.

 

[jamarquardt22]

When where what time.

 

[Cass007]

Anytime this weekend or next, also can have Tues, Weds and Thurs open next week. Wrightsville, PA and time is whenever people can make it.

 

[jamarquardt22]

I could come help with somthing this saturday. What do you want to accomplish?

Any others able to help out?

 

[Cass007]

I haven't checked the forum lately. Been under the truck all week. Let me know if you are still around tomorrow.

The body lift is on and done, just need to put the grommets back in. Driver's side slider is installed, pass side pending. I have everything ripped down on the front end right now. Radiator is out, new radiator, rad hoses, trans hoses, power steering hoses all getting installed. Dizzy o-ring needs to be done too.

I got the crank pulley off today, was waiting on a 3/4" drive and 30mm socket. I didn't know I needed a tool to remove the main seal, so I stopped there. I have the new seal to go on. Got the oil pump cover off after a few mishaps and have the new seal, but waiting on the new screws yet. Onur says they are in transit (girl at work says package came for me today, so might be the screws). My FSM arrived an hour ago ... big ass book.

I have all the parts to do the valve cover I believe and if the oil pump screws are at work, the whole front can go back together except for the AC compressor.

I'm a bit wigged out jumping right in on all of this, but if nothing else I now own about $1k in new tools.

 

[Cass007]

A huge Thank You to Andy coming by today and helping out. We knocked out many items ... pass side slider install (all Andy), many new hoses on the engine, new crank seal, oil pump gasket, dizz o-ring and all of the front transmission hoses and clips. If all goes well, the truck should be back together tomorrow or Monday. Fingers crossed for no massive failures and an end to brown coolant.

Downside to the day. Andy confirms the drivers side axle seal is dead and a rebuild should be done soon. Balls

 

[dci blair]

Front or rear axle seal?

 

[Cass007]

Front. There is oil buildup all over the inside area. I will post a pic later. The full axle / knuckle re-build for baseline is likely needed. That way I know where it's at and can move forward from there.

Step 1 is to get the truck back on the road. Kept working after Andy left and hit a wall when I realized the radiator drop mounts I bought from 4Crawler do not work with our setup, so I need to remove the sides from the new radiator and drill some new holes.

Step 2 (assuming the truck is back on the road) is to power wash the crap out of the engine bay and the underside to see if I have more leaks or if the work done has fixed things.

There is a sensor plug on the tx case that seems to have the protective boot bulled away and has a broken wire on it. Truck runs and drive fine, so not sure what it is supposed to be doing ... soooo many questions. Reading the wiring diagrams in the FSM is about as helpful to me as reading Chinese. I just stare at it a while and then walk away like

 

[jamarquardt22]

Front or rear axle seal?

Front. It looks as if he has birf soup puking out of his felts. I suggsted a full axle rebuild kit, including new trunion bearings and marlin's eco axle seals. I know when I rebuilt my axle the cages for the upper bearings were distroied.

 

[Cass007]

Truck is up and running again!!! No leaks that I can see other than the radiator overflow hose .. how stupid is that? Have some issues though. This is from a tech thread I posted.

So after doing the 1" 4Crawler body lift it seems I have 2 small issues ... maybe 3.

1. I'm getting a bit of vibration through the steering wheel now, not a lot, but enough to notice it. It's not wheel shake since I can feel it when sitting still. I happens when put into gear and leaves when put in park or neutral. Any idea as to cause or solution? Can the steering rod be loosened and moved further down the shaft a bit?

2. People that have done the lift, how did you drop the radiator? I bought the drop brackets from 4Crawler, but they do not appear to be compatible with our setup. I'm thinking i will have to drop the mounts for the radiator side plates up top and make a new L bracket for the underside with a 1" spacer?

3. Likely fixed if I can fix issue 2. The fan is super close to the pass side trans cooler line. Twice this morning during decel from highway speed I heard what sounded like metal tapping. I'm guessing its the van just scraping that line (fan shows no signs of damage, just a hint of a clean spot on each blade). It only happened when going downhill from highway speeds on off ramps. Not at all around town. Anyone else run into this issue and have a solution?

I can verify that the truck runs ~5% hotter with no fan shroud. Used to run 175*F and is now running 181*F. New coolant, radiator, rad hoses and thermostat.

 

[jamarquardt22]

Item 1) you had soft rubber body mounts, now you have hard polyurethane body mounts. The vibes you feel are here to stay. Maybe putting carpet in would help.

Item 2) post some pics of the drop brackets. We didn't look at them when I was over.

Item 3) a fan shroud makes a huge difference. Your going to want it back on. Also the new t Stat could cause the temp change too.

 

[Cass007]

Will get a pic of the brackets asap. Bleh on the vibes, but I will deal with it.

Think I found yet another pressing project ...

180

• Cass007
• Mar 5, 2018

Was seeing some seep from the spark plug valley. Pulled the cover and found a little river. Maybe lost a plug seal?

 

[jamarquardt22]

I don' know what else it would be.

 

[dci blair]

What’s the blue box thing coming off of the pcv line?

 

[Cass007]

catch can ...

158

• Cass007
• Jan 13, 2018

 

[dci blair]

Is that a water separator?

 

[Cass007]

Mini Air Filter

Shop Kobalt Mini Air Filter at Lowes.com

 

[dci blair]

If that filter somehow impedes flow of pressure it could easily allow the oil to push out of the gaskets. I’ve seen it happen before, and that’s why I rarely advise use of catch cans. Also could be a rolled gasket as I’ve made that mistake before as well.