What Did You Do with Your 80 This Weekend? (114 Viewers)

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Did the s***ty job of rebuilding the knuckles. Was excited this time because I installed some caster correction bearings from Cruiser Outfitters @cruiseroutfit and used an Absolute Wits End @NLXTACY seal driver to drive the seal further in to get some of that virgin axle surface. Still sore as hell and hands are full of cuts and scrapes though.

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Got a week off.. getting things going

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Did the s***ty job of rebuilding the knuckles. Was excited this time because I installed some caster correction bearings from Cruiser Outfitters @cruiseroutfit and used an Absolute Wits End @NLXTACY seal driver to drive the seal further in to get some of that virgin axle surface. Still sore as hell and hands are full of cuts and scrapes though.

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I've been torn about caster bearings. Don't see anything "wrong" with them at all. One thing that I actually think is a cool thing about them is setting them to tweak camber a bit too. If you like driving fast in the dirt, setting them with a small amount of negative camber can eliminate a lot of understeer that is normally present. I drove Darren McRae's 80 that was setup that way and was surprised how much a liked it. Truck actually goes where you point it much better when driving fast in the dirt.
 
First outing towing the popup was a success. Trailer brakes, air bags and associated mods done over the course of many weekends make for a pretty comfortable tow rig. The 80 did pretty well on the interstate cruising at 70 but was slower than I expected on the steeper hills towing the 3k ish pounds load. All in all it's a great setup and we are looking forward to many more camping trips in the future.

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Front locker and 4.56 gears in, front axle rebuilt with 100 series pads, which are Huge btw.
 
Which Smittybilt?
Amazon product ASIN B00390RLLY
Sorry, they were Rugged Ridge. It says for a Jeep :censor: but they are the same bolt pattern as the Smittybilt. Worked Great under $30.00 beefy and better than washers. Keep in mind you need to clock the winch (Read the instructions carefully on how to do it...ask me how i know) also you will need ot make a custom mounting plate for the control box. A sheetmetal or Fab shop can mke you one out of Stainless.
 
I've been torn about caster bearings. Don't see anything "wrong" with them at all. One thing that I actually think is a cool thing about them is setting them to tweak camber a bit too. If you like driving fast in the dirt, setting them with a small amount of negative camber can eliminate a lot of understeer that is normally present. I drove Darren McRae's 80 that was setup that way and was surprised how much a liked it. Truck actually goes where you point it much better when driving fast in the dirt.

Yeah I am in the same boat on how I feel about them. Time will tell how they hold up. I went with them because I have a very small lift ~1" and my caster was reading .4° - .5°. These should put me at about 3.5° or so theoretically. The truck drives better now. Not a huge difference, but I think just right. It definitely returns to center quicker and the steering wheel feels a little bit heavier when turning.

One thing I learned installing them is that you need to be careful knocking them back out because you can damage the "adapter" portion where it is thinnest. Ask me how I know. My advice is to line them up very carefully and try to avoid having to redo them.
 
Not bad for $1.32 plus tax.

I'd been wanting a super simple fishing rod rack. It's not perfect and will require a little adjusting to get right but should work well for the price. You'll see in the second picture I had to flip the front hook. I'm going to widen the opening of the back hook and add extra material if necessary so it balances right.

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I've been torn about caster bearings. Don't see anything "wrong" with them at all. One thing that I actually think is a cool thing about them is setting them to tweak camber a bit too. If you like driving fast in the dirt, setting them with a small amount of negative camber can eliminate a lot of understeer that is normally present. I drove Darren McRae's 80 that was setup that way and was surprised how much a liked it. Truck actually goes where you point it much better when driving fast in the dirt.
I'm afraid that would just make me want to drive faster.

:eek:
 
I'm afraid that would just make me want to drive faster.

:eek:
I have had the caster correction bearings in my rig for about 40,000 miles and had zero issues.
 
I have had the caster correction bearings in my rig for about 40,000 miles and had zero issues.
I was saying I already drive WAY too fast on nice, graded dirt roads. I don't need any more encouragement.

:lol:
 
@voodu3 at that volume of mulch you're much better getting a delivery, or even renting a trailer and getting it from a bulk supplier. Still impressive but that's missed savings for gas and cruiser parts…
 
Not this weekend but added a Delta rear panhard bracket and Delta spring retainers along with Slee 4" heavies and Hitit66 bump stop spacers. 2" for the front frame mounted and 2.5" for the rear. The fronts needed a little grinding to fit.
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