MJ on 42 Boggers continued

[Hdcor4whlr]

Opening up the roof made a huge difference with the heat buildup. And the UV sun screen worked great keeping the sun of our heads. Now I need t make a vinyl roof for it.

Took my mom out for her first wheeling ride, it went great. The original plan was to take it slow but it was an area I've never gone to before and the second obstacle was very steep 15' or so climb. Luckily it was pretty rough dry granite so there was plenty of traction and we were able to just slowly crawl up it. Once we did that she was ok with just about everything. Now she can't wait to go again.

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[Hdcor4whlr]

We went up to Mountain Mud Run Terrain Park last Saturday to watch the rock crawl series final and do some wheeling. I couldn't qualify for any prizes but they let me enter the event. I've done a lot of wheeling on rocks but this was the first time that I did it to this extent. I've also never had to do it for time before. I did pretty good on the first run, only hit two gates And made it through with minimal problems. The exit was pretty wild and steep and almost everyone including me took the bailout.

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]



Heres a video from a hood mounted cam, unfortunately I wasn't able to get any other photos or video of the run.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XZaZmXCAks


The second run was a different story, I totally sucked ass on that one. I had the front tires a little too soft along with the spartan locker not unlocking which made it a nightmare to try and turn. I don't even know how many gates I hit, probably most of them. I tried to take the bonus exit and got totally hung up on a bolder that the guy before me flipped up. ended up winching out. Defiantly not a good run but I had a blast and can't wait to do it again.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY-dXlwVndA#action=share

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]




The truck held up pretty good, ended up with one broken rear main leafs but that was the only thing. I probably broke it while going up Mainiac Mountain. I was having a little too much fun and started getting a little air on some of the steps.

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]




I replaced both rear mains with new springs tonight, I have some other things planned over the next week and a half. Then me and the wife are planning on going to Rocktoberfest at Field & Forest. Can't wait to check that place out.

 

[Hdcor4whlr]

Next step is a little maintenance, some repairs and a little upgrade. I found this beauty when I greased the truck and the grease broke through all the crusty junk. I wheeled it a few time like that but figured with Field & Forest coming up it was time to take care of it. Going to replace all the lower lower spindle components on at least the curb side, and I see what the other side looks like. Once I get everything else cleaned up I determine if I need anything else.

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]



After hearing some horror stories about people breaking their u-joints and taking out the alloy shafts in the process I decided it just wasn't worth the risk. So I figured wether it's bullshit or not I better upgrade the u-joints before I do the same thing. I've done a bit of research lately, as well as talked to some of the guys running full alloy shafts & u-joints on the trails and decided to go with Yukon Super Joints.

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url] by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[Hdcor4whlr]

Today I repaired the damage to the kingpin knuckle, I lucked out and only had to grind down the gouge on the front side. The other messed up part was a shredded lower bearing cap. So I installed new lower bearing, cap and all knuckle & spindle seals. The other side seems to be in good shape so I didn't tear it down, maybe later.


I broke down the front axle shafts and removed the Spicer u-joints. Since I've only got 1/2 dozen runs on them the u-joints are in pretty much perfect condition. I cleaned them up and packaged up and will carry them as spares. With any luck I won't need them.


I installed the Yukon Super Joints which was kind of a pain in the ass. The biggest pain is that they don't use grease, they use copper never-seize. I assembled the first axle and only applied a tiny amount of never-seize to the o-rings in the u-joint cups. Once I assembled the joint I realized that my little (plastic) Oregon chainsaw needle grease press doesn't produce much pressure, so it took quite a bit of time and effort to grease the cups. When I assembled the second one I liberally lubricated each of the cups prior to installation. This made me feel confident about proper lubrication but it certainly made a mess while trying to install the cups. I pressed them in but they didn't go in evenly so I had to dow some hammering with a punch and socket to get things lined up for the snap rings.


I was able to get everything on the c.side done , just need to install the tire/wheel. Ans the axle, spindle, and brake bracket are on the s.side.

 

[Hdcor4whlr]

I finished up the front axle last Sunday. I was a crappy day so I figured I'd put a little time into the rewire project. I was able to get a good portion of the FMVSS PDM wired but ran out of MP280 terminals & splice packs so I had to call it quits before I could complete it. I was hoping to at least get the tail & brake light wired but thats still a long way off. I'm definatly going to have to break this project down into stages.

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]




It would be cool to do some night wheelin', so at a minimum I wanted to get some head lights & ground lights installed and hooked up for Roctoberfest, . The headlights were easy, I just reconnected an existing circuit to power up the LED light bars. As far as the ground lights go I was able to get 5 of them installed and ran the harnesses. I ran the front harness a while ago so I didn't have to worry about that one. For the midship and rear lights I wanted to try and run as much as possible in one harness so I included the right / left turn, marker, ground lights and future rear winch wires. Unfortunately I ran out of more supplies and had to cut a few more corners but I was able to get the harnesses into the cab. I'll have to do a little more temporary work tomorrow to get them functional but they'll at least get everything working for the weekend.




.

 

[Hdcor4whlr]

Took the wife to Roctoberfest @ Field & Forest, it was her first time wheeling in a very long time. She said she would never go again back in 2000 or so. We went out for a night ride Thursday night and that was that, she loved it, or at least most of it. . Met a bunch of great wheelers and had a blast. I got to learn a lot about the capabilities of the truck. We did a few group rides but I spent most the weekend wheeling with some new friends, Vinny, Ross, Colin & Shawn. I got to explore a bunch of cool trails, some green blue and blacks and a couple of small red sections. Vinny talked me into doing a red trail, "Sucker Punch" and I was ok with that until I watched him drop into the entrance. Then I saw him navigate the first obstacle and figured "NOPE" I'm not ready for that LOL. I parked my truck and walked the trail as Vinny drove (and winched) the trail to the end. WOW the red trails are absolutely crazy. And Field & Forest is only 40 minutes from my house so We'll defiantly be back.


I didn't get much for pics or video but here are some of them.


https://youtu.be/b4-j5F2bu3E


https://youtu.be/jcAtKDjZ128


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_FEF-709gI

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[Hdcor4whlr]

Figured I'd catch up with some of the things I've been doing with the Comanche lately. After the run at Field & Forest I realized that I need something a little better for back up lighting. I ordered some cheep recessed lights on Amazon and cut them into the bumper. I re=an the wire harness to the cab but won't actually hook them up until I make the new PDM.

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[Hdcor4whlr]

I finally got around to replacing the smashed bump on the front bump stop. It didn't come out as I hoped and I ended up having to drill it out. But at least it's done.

It's pretty apparent that the 60" Hi-Lift isn't going to lift the front of this thing without strapping the axle.

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[Hdcor4whlr]

Started the tube door project last Sunday and finished the drivers door yesterday. This was my first real tube bending project so I wasn't too sure how it was going to go. Bending the door was time consuming but not as tough as I expected. The latch system proved to be a bit challenging though, I think it took me longer to come up with its design than anything. My biggest concern was I wanted it to be removable for when things get damaged, which I'm sure will happen. Overall I'm pretty happy with how it came out, I can slam the door and it will latch. It's pretty easy to release it too, and I have tons of room in the cab. I ran out of DOM so I couldn't make the passengers side but have some coming. I also need to make a door handle for them too.


It takes about a minute to change from factory door to tube door so sometime later I'll come up with a mounting system on the trailer that will hold the tube doors / factory doors. That way I can always have both sets with the truck and can swap out as needed.

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[Hdcor4whlr]

Since I didn't have enough DOM to build the passengers side door I figured I'd replace the smashed fender & nose section instead. Holy shit, I certainly didn't expect it to turn into as much of a project as it has. Once I removed the fender I realized that I needed to remove the fender flair sheetmetal too. Once that was removed it exposed the fact that the front corner of the tubing was almost completely broken off. The flair tubing was so damaged from Skinny's rollover that I could move it about an 1" back and forth by hand.

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]



I want these to be able to suport the weight the truck so next time it flops on its side it doesn't crumble again. So I'm restructure the flair tube into the main cage and frame. I've tied into the cage with some 1.5 DOM and started boxing in the lower rear attachment point. The plan is to add another tube braced to the shock mount. I'll also have to add something bridging the two cage sections over the engine otherwise all this will be a waste of time. I've been avoiding this so far because I only have about 1/2" of clearance between the engine and hood. This means I'll have to go through the hood which I was trying to avoid.

The other thing this project is showing me is that I need to invest in a porta-power and hydraulic press for the garage. Of course then I'll need a dimple die set and bending brake to bring myself to the next level :roflmao:.

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[POSJ]

I've always liked this MJ, glad to see it's still getting upgrades.

 

[Hdcor4whlr]

Made a little more progress tonight. I didn't like the lower rear attachment point of the front fender flair so I figured I'd try to beef it up and spread the load out a little bit with some 1/8" & 3/16" plate.

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[Hdcor4whlr]

Added some more reinforcement to the fender flair, besides I figure I need as much practice as I can get with the tubing bender and notcher. Plus my goal is that when I'm done the fenders will be able to support the weight of the truck when I flop it. I guess only time will tell on that.

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[Hdcor4whlr]

I finally started building the passengers side tube door, I'm gonna try and copy the drivers side door the best I can, but I'm realizing that its not the easiest thing to do. With any luck I'll be done with this one by the end of the week, or so.

Then maybe I can install the new fender and see how my luck goes with re-skinning the fender flair.

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[Demonoid369]

Nvm I was hoping the http trick would get the pics to show. It didn't

 

[RynoMJ]

Really liking the doors. Nice job!

 

[Hdcor4whlr]

If the pictures aren't showing up, most of them are on my Instagram page

https://www.instagram.com/dmaxpwr/

 

[Hdcor4whlr]

Got to spend half the day in the garage today so I was able to get the passengers side tube door all welded up and I started on the latch mechanism. I also got the final trimming on the fender done and mounted it and the fiberglass nose. Surprisingly everything lines up pretty good considering the truck was flopped pretty hard on that side. I started working on the plating of the fender flairs but still have quite a bit of work to do on them. I don't have any material long enough to plate them with one piece so I'm gonna try and patch two pieces together and see how it looks. If it looks like shit I'll scrap the idea and wait until I can get the sheet metal to do it in one piece. Everything is coming out pretty nice, I don't want to start mickey mousing things now. On the other hand, I have to complete it by next Saturday because I'll be taking it out for some snow wheeling on Sunday, so one way or another it will be done. :laugh:

 

[Hdcor4whlr]

Spent most the day in the garage today and am happy to say that I was able to finish installing the new fender and flair. It certainly proved to be challenging to do though. The original set up was just tacked about every 1/4" or so between the fender and flair sheetmetal and then had body filler on it to smooth it out, which made it look perfect. In my infinite wisdom I decided that since I suck at body work and I "NEED" to make everything stronger I'd weld the whole thing 100%. Well that wasn't the best decision , I kept my welds fairly short, about 1.5" and spaced them out quite a bit and let things cool but I had some gaps to fill and ended up warping the shit out part of the fender.

I just need to remind myself that its a wheeling rig and doesn't need to be perfect, I just want it that way. I cleaned up the welds, sanded and prepped the fender for paint and figured that I'd spray bomb the fender for now and paint it right next Spring. Well after seeing it all black (& blue nose & grill) I don't think I can wait until Spring. So I'm contemplating painting to match right away, I just really hate the idea of all that overspray in my garage. And I really hate the idea of trying to plastic off everything. I still have quite a bit to do before next Sunday's run so I guess I'll wait to see how putting the rest of the nose, grill, wiring etc back together goes before I make any kind of decision.

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled by David Nichols, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[Hdcor4whlr]

Ok, the fender & nose are 100% installed. Still black & blue but at least they are on. I figured that I'd drain the front axle before I take the truck out in freezing weather because I know it had quite a bit of water in it. And yup, it was a mess, I don't have time to tear it down and replace seals at this time so it will just be getting a fluid change for now. I also figured it was time to at least research a HD diff cover. I found that Solidaxle.com is having a pretty good sale right now and I ordered a D60 cover for $65.00 :woohoo:. I only ordered it last night and didn't ask for expedited shipping so didn't think it would be here in time for this weekends run so I installed the old cover tonight. When I came in and checked my email, I found out that the diff cover will be here Saturday, I'm defiantly happy about that! I guess I'll be removing the old cover again. I'm also assuming that there will be some modification to the front axle skid plate to clear the cover too.