Builds The "Red Rocket" Troopy (9 Viewers)

[theglobb]

Good news, bad news, and of course some cool pics. The good news is my auto shop teacher said my tie rod ends are good, and well as everyone figured, it needs a knuckle rebuild kit and wheel bearings replaced. The bad news is that the Knuckle Rebuild Kit from Cruiser Outfitters is out of stock, or at least their website says so... Anyways, I've called them for 3 days now to figure out when they will have them back in stock, and no one has answered, hopefully they didn't spontaneously combust. But for now, I guess I'll just have to drive around and hope for the best. Also if anyone has a preference and a reason behind Timken VS Koyo wheel bearings I'll glad to hear it because I have no clue what's better, all the stuff I found about the 2 is that they will do the same job regardless so it doesn't matter. Anyways onto the pics, sadly I didn't get any pics of the Troopy after it got real muddy but I got a vid of it.

 

[theglobb]

I'm gonna be out of a car for a bit, the alternator is crapping out I believe and I've had to push start it 3 times now when I go out haha. My front brake hoses were also practically disintegrated I found out when I went to start my knuckle rebuild job, my auto shop teacher told me they were bad but I didn't know they were THAT BAD. So I gotta order new brakes hoses and try and figure out this alternator problem, which might just be replacing the brushes. I have no clue at the moment. I'm about 1/4 of the way through the knuckle rebuild, thanks to @Gun Runner 5 for getting me the hook up with @orangefj45 and one of his Terrain Tamer rebuild kits due to Cruiser Outfitters not responding to any of my calls :/ It's going better but also longer than I thought it would, however, any project always takes longer than you think it will... Looked a bit soupy when I pulled everything out but then again I'm no expert. I'm aiming to have everything replaced and put back together by the end of Monday... so more realistically it will be done by Friday lol. Regardless it'll be out of commission for another 1-2 weeks I bet just waiting for parts and all, plus rebuilding the alternator and figuring out how to do that If anyone has a spare 24v alternator definitely let me know! I'll keep y'all updated with anything major that happens, stay safe.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Taking my advice on any mechanical subject probably isn’t in your best interest.

 

[theferg]

@theglobb - welcome to the life of owning an older vehicle. Those knuckles def needed a rebuild--thats some soupy grease! Haha.

Glad you got hooked up with Georg for the kit, hes one of the Great and Wise ones around these parts. But thats too bad you didn't have a great experience getting hold of the guys at Cruiser Outfitters. They are way good dudes and usually right on top of things. Has to be some sort of miscommunication for sure. @cruiseroutfit is also one of the Great and Wise ones and has been neck deep in the Cruiser community for many many years. I'd recommend giving them another shot next time you need anything Cruiser related. FWIW, you can buy the Cruiser Outfitters knuckle kit directly from their online store: 4x/5x/6x/7x Series Knuckle Rebuild Kit - Fits 9/1975-12/89 4x/5x/6x/7x Series & 1979-85 PU/4RNR Disc Axle

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[FJ73Texas]

You would probably have better luck emailing cruiser outfitters as opposed to calling. I got my knuckle kit from them through email contact.

 

[theglobb]

@theglobb - welcome to the life of owning an older vehicle. Those knuckles def needed a rebuild--thats some soupy grease! Haha.

Glad you got hooked up with Georg for the kit, hes one of the Great and Wise ones around these parts. But thats too bad you didn't have a great experience getting hold of the guys at Cruiser Outfitters. They are way good dudes and usually right on top of things. Has to be some sort of miscommunication for sure. @cruiseroutfit is also one of the Great and Wise ones and has been neck deep in the Cruiser community for many many years. I'd recommend giving them another shot next time you need anything Cruiser related. FWIW, you can buy the Cruiser Outfitters knuckle kit directly from their online store: 4x/5x/6x/7x Series Knuckle Rebuild Kit - Fits 9/1975-12/89 4x/5x/6x/7x Series & 1979-85 PU/4RNR Disc Axle

Good luck and keep us posted.

Definitely! Its needed a knuckle rebuild since it came to America in 2018 or at least 15,000 miles haha, finally getting to it. As for Cruiser Outfitters I went to their website as well and that exact thing you linked was out of stock at the time haha, just bad timing. Didn't mean to bash Cruiser Outfitters or anything we got many parts for the 40, 55, and 62 last year and it was always a great experience. Plus free stickers I definitely will shoot them a shot in the future whenever something else needs a rebuild or just straight out fails lol. 2020 is a crazy year and a lot is going on so I totally understand any delay or no callbacks.

You would probably have better luck emailing cruiser outfitters as opposed to calling. I got my knuckle kit from them through email contact.

Notedddd. Makes sense and would be much easier to keep track of everyone emailing you vs calls. Thanks!

 

[theglobb]

Well, I've finished the knuckle rebuild, yet I still feel like the wheels are gonna come flying off just cause I did it in my dirt driveway vs a professional shop. Eventually, that feeling will fade... I hope. It poured rain for 2 days which caused a 2-day delay or else I would have been SPOT ON in my Friday estimate, yet I finished on Sunday instead. I do feel pretty proud though, and my confidence to tackle bigger jobs on my own has risen since my dad would only come and help hold something for me or other small things, popping in and out to check-in. Went ahead and put some OEM locking hubs on, however, I think I'm having problems engaging into 4wd, FOR NOW I'm just happy I cant drive, and I'll try to figure out whats up with that later... I also had the alternator go out right before I started the knuckle rebuild so my dad ordered an aftermarket one off of Partsouq so we got that replaced, and in the meantime, I'll figure out how to rebuild the OEM alternator. As long as anything else doesn't fail then I should be back to taking some pretty sick pictures!

 

[theglobb]

I'm back with some more shots of the Red Rocket out on the beach and in the mud! All is well so far... There is some popping in my suspension whenever I steer which in fact may be the TRE's like @Onur said a couple of posts up. Everything else has been replaced by us in the front suspension besides them soooooo who knows, yet the work done to it less than a year ago by the PO said "replaced tie rods" whatever I'm just glad it's driving.

 

[Willis]

Retorque your U-bolts.


Also, Tie Rods are important so check those for sure.

 

[gilmorneau]

Try contacting Robbie re: whether he replaced the tie rod ends--I'm sure he'd remember the truck. PM me if you don't have his contact info.

Also, I see it looks like you managed to get your spare tire back under the truck where it belongs. Probably nice to have it out of the way.

 

[flx]

Nice pictures as always !

I see your spare tire found its way to the original location

 

[Honger]

Retorque your U-bolts.


Also, Tie Rods are important so check those for sure.

What's the story retorqueing the u-bolts? A common problem? I've got a recent "knock" that has formed in my suspension on the occasional sharp turn or pulling into a driveway or hitting a speed bump the right way...

 

[Honger]

I'm back with some more shots of the Red Rocket out on the beach and in the mud! All is well so far... There is some popping in my suspension whenever I steer which in fact may be the TRE's like @Onur said a couple of posts up. Everything else has been replaced by us in the front suspension besides them soooooo who knows, yet the work done to it less than a year ago by the PO said "replaced tie rods" whatever I'm just glad it's driving.

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Nice action shot there at the end! Lovely truck.

 

[theglobb]

Retorque your U-bolts.


Also, Tie Rods are important so check those for sure.

Noted... I'll definitely torque them down soon and get some pics of the TRE's for y'all to assess.

Also, I see it looks like you managed to get your spare tire back under the truck where it belongs. Probably nice to have it out of the way.

Yes! Thank you for the info about the correct tire size fitment underneath. Maybe Jamie was just mistaken or didn't have the right tool to bring the spare tire carrier up and down...

What's the story retorqueing the u-bolts? A common problem? I've got a recent "knock" that has formed in my suspension on the occasional sharp turn or pulling into a driveway or hitting a speed bump the right way...

That's exactly what's happening with me a knock when I hit a speedbump/go into a driveway at an angle! Ontop of the popping from my steering every 2-3 rotations.

 

[Willis]

What's the story retorqueing the u-bolts? A common problem? I've got a recent "knock" that has formed in my suspension on the occasional sharp turn or pulling into a driveway or hitting a speed bump the right way...

It's just been my experience that Ubolts need retorqued after a few thousand miles after a new suspension install. Especially with OME kits.

 

[coldtaco]

Noted... I'll definitely torque them down soon and get some pics of the TRE's for y'all to assess.

Yes! Thank you for the info about the correct tire size fitment underneath. Maybe Jamie was just mistaken or didn't have the right tool to bring the spare tire carrier up and down...

That's exactly what's happening with me a knock when I hit a speedbump/go into a driveway at an angle! Ontop of the popping from my steering every 2-3 rotations.

On mine it was tired front leaf springs. If you have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth and you watch from the front you may see different leafs moving right/left. Replaced the leaf springs with new and no more noise while turning at slow speeds.

 

[theglobb]

Welp, the one in the first photo doesn't even hold grease, as you can see, the rubber hole around the zerk is just wide open. Gonna go on a limb and say it shouldn't be like that.
The other side as you can see looks a bit better and that one actually holds grease in it. I'm no tie rod expert so I don't really know what I'm supposed to look at and just how bad they may or may not be. Also realizing I should've rust converted the knuckles while I had them out... Also to me the tie rods look a big aged and worn to have been supposedly replaced less than a year ago, unless they were replaced with used ones. Like I said I'm no expert so I'll happily take any advice from anyone!

On mine it was tired front leaf springs. If you have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth and you watch from the front you may see different leafs moving right/left. Replaced the leaf springs with new and no more noise while turning at slow speeds.

It can't be tired leaf springs on mine, we replaced the all leafs and shocks, etc etc back in March or April. They are basically brand new. Good advice for anyone else who is having the problem though

 

[svsisu]

Hey Johnathan, I've had really good success using Woolwax and Fluid Film for rust protection here on the outer banks. I'm pretty sure the OBX is like a salt spray test chamber. You do enough beach driving that it would probably serve you well to coat the underside of your Troopy with one or the other. Woolwax (@bob1008 ) is a mud supporting vender and offers a discount (code IH8MUD). PM me if you want some more info on either product. Your truck is looking GOOD!

 

[theglobb]

Hey Johnathan, I've had really good success using Woolwax and Fluid Film for rust protection here on the outer banks. I'm pretty sure the OBX is like a salt spray test chamber. You do enough beach driving that it would probably serve you well to coat the underside of your Troopy with one or the other. Woolwax (@bob1008 ) is a mud supporting vender and offers a discount (code IH8MUD). PM me if you want some more info on either product. Your truck is looking GOOD!

Love fluid film!! I spray it on every 4 months or so on all our cruisers. What is woolwax? Does it have any advantages or are they the same?

 

[svsisu]

Love fluid film!! I spray it on every 4 months or so on all our cruisers. What is woolwax? Does it have any advantages or are they the same?

They are pretty much the same lanolin based medium. Woolwax has a higher viscosity so doesn't wash off as easily, and it doesn't smell as strongly as FF does. I don't mind the smell of wet sheep so I grab which ever is handy or on sale.