Mod For The Day

[Jim]

More than one crack - significant length to'm too. Good you caught them.

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Jim previously posted:

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Finished the frame repair....nothing too spiffy....I recognize I missed an opportunity to go with a shackle reversal, but I ended up just putting the spring hangers back the way they were. I really think a nicely done SR is the way to go, but just wasn't in the cards for me to do now. The paint came out a bit drippy but no big deal, cleans up easy enough...




In preparation for a big wheeling trip next week, also working on a few additional things....got the axle back under the jeep, and all new hardware for the shackle and spring hangers etc. When I originally did the shackles, I think I just used whatever hardware was included, and in some cases, I wasn't particular about bolt shoulder length etc, so this time, I really made sure to get bolts with just the right shoulder length and then cut the threaded section down to work etc:


tied the front hoop of the roll-bar into the dash/A-pillar:


checked the alignment/toe-in a bit more formally than I did this summer when doing the TRE flip...my eyeball job had a bit too much toe and maybe was leading to a bit of shimmy or minor death wobble when hitting potholes at speed.


Next up was getting the reverse lights functioning yet again....the mechanical switch mounted on the transmission always seems to have issues - this time it was smashed to pieces from what I think was just a lot of flex when wheeling and smashing it into the bottom of the tunnel cover....so this time, I just skipped the mechanical switch and put a switch in the cab. I'll have to turn them on and off manually, but at least they will work when needed:


And finally, had to find and set-up the water jug and carrier - I originally designed this to carry an extra gas can when I only had the 10gal tank, but now its occasionally used for water. Haven't used it since my first rubicon trip in 2019. Most trips there is water along the way and I find it easier to just carry a filtering device, but there won't be any water of any kind along the upcoming HITR trip. Last year, when it was just me in the jeep, I squeezed a few gallons in the passenger footwell, but with Jen potentially along this year, space will be a bit tighter. We are planning on close to 8 gal of water in the 2 jugs, plus another gallon in our water bottles to start.


So the last thing that needs addressed, after reconnecting all the brake lines, including those at the MC, the brakes are not functioning right. So back at that tomorrow and hopefully get it all good...don't like pushing things to the last minute, and brakes are kind of a big deal.

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As Jim may remember, last fall's HITR run turned my transfer case mounted parking drum into this:


I've been running without a parking brake since...instead of just replacing with a like part - the D18 mounted parking drum is pretty ineffective and made worse by typically leaky D18 oil soaking it - I am going to upgrade the rear 10" brakes to 11" brakes with internal parking brake. I upgraded the fronts to 11" drums many years ago. They'll give a bit of improved braking, although on the rear its not big advantage - although the brake size goes up, the cylinder size goes down to keep the biasing slightly towards the front. All the parts for Bendix 11" drums are available at FLAPS - they were used on lots of Ford trucks and Chevy vehicles until the 90s, as well as many Jeeps of various types. The hard part is tracking down the backing plates, especially the rear plates with parking brake cable compatibility. A connection through OWF got me these of an old wagoneer or 70s cherokee - - they were definitely 'east coast':


really they needed sandblasting, but various wire wheels etc got them looking a little better.


The shoe pads were pretty rough, so I ground them down and tried welding in and grinding new ones...sorta worked...still need a bit of work to look pretty, but hopefully functional? I have set of used but not trashed front plates that I am using to estimate the pad height....


Got all the parking brake specific pieces from Sam at Parts Dude

Add in the shoes, drums, small parts and springs etc from NAPA, some black paint, and here are the completed brakes:


So ready to go as soon as I figure out a mechanical pull system...probably do some sort of universal cable system with floor mounted pull handle between the seats....the typical OEM style straight pull handle probably doesn't give enough leverage/MA. I retrofitted this same 11" set-up on the 58, and using the OEM hand brake cables, it could use some extra oomph. If I find a good set-up for the CJ, I might do the same on the 58.

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It only took like 6 years, but I finally figured a decent rear mounting for my hi-lift.....
It mounts on the 'inside' of the swing away tire carrier so that it can be accessed and removed with the spare in place....and its fairly unobtrusive appearing. I did contemplate a slightly more complex design at the foot that would allow mounting with the base plate, but I went with the simpler mount that requires the base plate to be stored separately, but is still easy access (it gets stored in the tool box just inside the tailgate).