My "Hero" Blog

[Jeep450r]

Well, I went wheeling again over my spring break. We camped out at hollister hills. I didnt want to do anything too challenging, because we were the only capable rig out there.

Only got a pic or two, but a few vids of the log obstacle. Nothin hardcore, but I had a good time.

The water was DEEEEEP. Deeper than at the Top Truck Challenge.
http://youtu.be/xw9M6LnK5es?hd=1

Just random log stuff:
http://youtu.be/-F9l4At3UpU?hd=1
http://youtu.be/DhoUfIAtz5Y?hd=1

Photobucket is under maintenance right now, so ill upload my few pics later.

 

[blondejoncherokee]

nice vid . as for the "grinding" id get someone to walk beside the jeep and have him/her listed if its coming from the diff or pass or driver side. maybe pull the cover , change gear oil, and look around, maybe pull the carrier and examine the bearings. look for play in unit bearing/hub bearings. thats all that comes to mind.

 

[Jeep450r]

Been doing a little bit of work with my spare time during the week.

I started off by doing a "simple" cut and fold of the lower rear quarter panels.
Started on the driver side, and kinda butchered it. See the hole vv

So I decided to patch it. Started out with some cardboard, cut it to size, and then transfered it over to some thin metal I had sitting around:

Cut it out:

I planned on welding it on, but Im not comfortable welding so close to the gas lines, so I will slip it inside, and seal it off with some black silicone caulking stuff.

Still needs to be pop riveted, sealed, and painted.

Then I started bending tube:

And thats where Ill stop until I get more done!

 

[Jeep450r]

Bumper is on hold right now, waiting on tube.

While I'm waiting, I will be rebuilding the top end of my quad engine. Its a Honda 400EX. I'm going to bore it out to a 416, 11:1 high compression Wiseco piston, stage 2 hotcam, port and polish, and grind/lap the valves. All work will be done by me as I have access to a full automotive machine shop in my auto class.

Whenever thats done (a couple weeks) ill get back to finishing my bumper.

Now for JEEP talk:

Today, I checked the compression in all my cylinders. All look good but the # 4 cylinder. While all the others are at 160-170 PSI, #4 was at 55 PSI. I squirted some oil in the cylinder to test the rings, and that brought it up to 60 PSI. Then I tried it again and got 70 - 80 PSI... No good.

The only thing I can think of is that my valves may be leaking in that cylinder. Any other ideas? I don't really wanna rebuild the top end of this too...

 

[blondejoncherokee]

i would test it multiple times, are you cranking it over until you get 160?
i dont even want to check mine for compression now...

 

[Jeep450r]

I tested it at least ten times haha. I would crank over until the needle stopped showing an increase in pressure. Did it both at WOT and with no throttle at all.

Ill check it for burnt valves either tonight or tomorrow, and then ill post a write up. But I have to get the cylinder head off the quad by tomorrow so I can grind the valves in class, so thats at the top of the list right now.

 

[blondejoncherokee]

hopefully valves only and not piston rings?!
your shackle angle sucks like mine. i plan to build a shackle drop down box soon...

 

[Jeep450r]

Yeah the angle sucks, and I even have the relocation boxes and shackles sitting in my garage. They may be for sale soon. Not sure. I want to one-link it.

Yeah hopefully it's just the valves. Even then, I don't think I'd fix it right away. I think the compression in that cylinder has been low since I got the jeep, because it's always had a nice little shake at idle.

 

[Jeep450r]

No pics from today. Wouldn't really be worth it anyway.

I riveted and sealed my cut-n-fold after school. Filling the hole I cut (see above) was a pain in the butt, but i think it will look fine when I'm done. Im considering rhino lining the entire rear quarter panel area instead of painting it flat black.

The car show at school is coming up in less than a month, so I guess I should finish some stuff on it.

Heres my list:
*Seal and rivet folded quarters (done)
*Cut up gas line cover so it fits back on
*Finish rear bumper (buy tube, cap, lower bar, supports, and some sizzle)
*Re-paint/touch up front bumper
*Re-paint/touch up rock sliders
*Fix my Amp/sub (bass from sub cuts in and out)
*Wire amp to (4) speakers
*Re-glue front bump stops for the 3rd time (ill let it cure this time)
*(maybe) touch up red paint underneath
*clean/wash (or get muddy)

Lets see if I can do it by the 3rd of June. Keep in mind I'm still rebuilding my quad and fixing up my friends 68 Lincoln Continental for the summer while he's off at college.

The quad:

The Continental:

Thats all for now!

 

[blondejoncherokee]

that continental is sick!

 

[american_zero]

I always thought the Continental would have made a great college car...only problem would have been parking the damn thing at school.

 

[Jeep450r]

I always thought the Continental would have made a great college car...only problem would have been parking the damn thing at school.

For sure. That was his daily driver during his senior year until he blew out the rear end (31 spline 9 inch) doing a burnout. Hey... It's got a 460, why not?

Needless to say, it has some problems haha.


Now for the jeep. I repainted my sliders yesterday and trimmed my flares flush with my cut n fold.

Both the piston and cam came in for the quad. And I lapped the valves today in class while watching a movie with a sub. Hopefully tomorrow my teacher will be back so I can bore the cylinder.

 

[frontman]

that continental is sick!

X2

 

[Jeep450r]

UPDATE

Heres my old list:
*Seal and rivet folded quarters (done)
*Cut up gas line cover so it fits back on
*Finish rear bumper (buy tube, cap, lower bar, supports, and some sizzle)
*Re-paint/touch up front bumper (done)
*Re-paint/touch up rock sliders (done)
*Fix my Amp/sub (bass from sub cuts in and out) (done)
*Wire amp to (4) speakers (done)
*Re-glue front bump stops for the 3rd time (ill let it cure this time) (done)
*(maybe) touch up red paint underneath (skipping this)
*clean/wash (or get muddy)

NEW List: Stage 2
*Pick up axles/carrier
*Pick up tires
*Order gears/install kits
*Order tube
*Finish rear bumper
*Cut up gas line cover so it fits back on
*Install gears
*Mount tires
*Cut fenders
*Bumpstop more

 

[Jeep450r]

So I picked up some 33's on aluminum rims today. 4 tires with ~60% tread and a spare for dirt cheap. Brought them home only to learn that a plug in the sidewall is unacceptable for street use, and that my dad won't let me use them because of it.

Luckily the seller is being really chill and is letting me return them to him.

This sucks, but could have been a lot worse. Gotta love honest sellers.

 

[Jeep450r]

So I finished rebuilding my quad... Took it out for a ride on Monday at Carnegie. That thing keeps up with my dads 450r, its insane.

It was all fun and games until I crashed it. I tried stopping after wheeling off the trail on a skinny climb but slid backwards and lost control. I was thrown off the trail down the hill and then the quad came down and rolled over me, smashing my knee and head. The quad then proceeded to roll ~75 yards further down the hill.

I'm doing fine now.. just had a nice bump on my head and was pretty beat up/sore. The atv on the other hand needs new plastics, handlebars, and steering stem... $$$

On the other hand, I spent alot of money on the Jeep today... I bought a 29 spline 8.25", HP30 and carrier off of REVROK today, as well as some 4.88 gears and master install kits online. I can't wait to tear into these axles and get them geared ASAP!

Also, my birthday is coming up, so I'm hoping my family will put a few bucks towards 33's to get me started, and ill pay the rest. :dunno:

SIERRAFEST HERE I COME!

 

[Jeep450r]

So I guess I'm due for an update..

A lot has changed in the past 2 months or so..

First, I bought a D30 and 29 spline 8.25" off of REVROK as previously stated. I immediately tore into the 8.25 and discovered that it had a trac-lok limited slip. Score!

The week before the SierraFest, I brought my heep down to Golden State Motorsports in Sacramento and helped install my 4.88's. They have an awesome shop and do great work. Geared my axles for 100 bucks a pop and I even got to lend a hand!

Just after the install I drove to some tire market down the street and picked up some 33x12.50R15 GT Radial Adventuro M/T tires. They have a nice soft and sticky compound and aren't too loud on the highway. Couldn't beat the price either.

After work that week, I spent a lot of time getting everything to clear my new larger tires. The largest problem was clearing my front bumper. The ends of the tube on each side would rub against my tire during articulation. So I ended up cutting about 3" off of each side, and made new side supports that are up and out of the way. I also added a hockey puck to my redneck bump stop.

I also finished up my rear bumper, however I don't have any finished pics of it yet... So some teaser pics will have to do for now.

Rounded end caps

 

[Jeep450r]

Then I was off to the Sierrafest! I had a great time, and met some really cool people. Id say it was one of my best wheeling experiences to date.

I came down on a rock pretty hard near the end of the deer valley trail and got high centered on my crossmember.. And bent the crap out of it in the process. This resulted in some intense driveline vibes all the way home.
I was, however, eventually able to straighten it out when I got home.

As some of you may have heard, I have been having some overheating issues. I had to pull over due to heat issues six times on the way up to Srmitchell's SR/DV run.

I am not all surprised, as I was pulling a trailer with two ATV's… with 31's, stock gears, and a 5 speed…. But I knew something was wrong when I was having heat issues on the way back from Sac (after getting my new tires) and 8:30 pm on highway 5… So I replaced the thermostat.

This is what my old one looked like when I pulled it out.

I was sure that fixed it…. until my temp gauge shot up to just before the redline twice on the way to the Sierrafest.

Im not quite sure what step to take next, but I'm leaning towards buying a new radiator. Any suggestions?


I think that pretty much brings it back up to speed. I am off at college now, so progress will be pretty slow, however I am hoping to make a little progress this weekend when I am home.

Any comments are welcome and appreciated. Feedback can only motivate me to do some more work on it!

 

[srmitchell]

Looks good man.

I cracked my radiator while i was visiting in the bay area, so I'm running just a autozone replacement. That, with 2- 97+ xj electric fans, and it stays cool.

Look here-
http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1029678&page=27

 

[Jeep450r]

Did you get rid of your fan clutch?

How many rows is the stock cherokee radiator. I've been eyeing a fair priced 2 row recently.