playwithit
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Fairfield, CA
Super pictures Kelly. Thanks for sharing.
-
Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.
The Frog Blog
- Thread starter rocknxj
- Start date
XJensen
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Sacramento
Cool pics, thanks for sharing. I love that area.
srmitchell
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Mckinleyville (Humboldt) CA
Wow Kelly! Awesome pics!
I'm super jealous. My big trip this year will be Deer Valley. I don't get out much!
BTW- How close were you to Blue John Canyon? (Canyonlands Natnl Park)
I'm super jealous. My big trip this year will be Deer Valley. I don't get out much!
BTW- How close were you to Blue John Canyon? (Canyonlands Natnl Park)
- Location
- Columbus, In
Dude, awesome pics. Wish we had views like that out this way! Eastern KY is beautiful but there sure are a lot of trees there! 
JOSEJALAPENO
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- SAN JOSE,CA & SOUTH RENO,NV
Sweet pic's Kelly. Looks like you have a great time...
- Location
- Seattle, WA
Great photos...really great.
Edit: do you have hi-res versions - some of those are spectacular.
Edit: do you have hi-res versions - some of those are spectacular.
rocknxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clinton, Utah (SLC area)
If memory serves, Canyonlands was not far from where we were in Moab. After some long SUV trails, we did Arches National Park and had no time for venturing into Canyonlands. Looks like a possibility during the next trip to Moab.
I have the hi-res versions, but the kid took a couple thousand pictures with his high end digital SLR and his photos blow my little cheapy digital camera away. Let me know if you want any shots.
Thanks for the kind words, guys.
rocknxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clinton, Utah (SLC area)
If you can stand a few more pics, I finally got around to pulling these down from my iPhone.
Here's Calico. Took the train around the old mines.
Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, home of the Pawn Stars. Very cool place.
Zion National Park. I forget the name of this mountain, but this is what we faced from our camp site.
Rocks! Everywhere you looked...rocks.
Bryce Canyon National Park. More rocks (hoodoos). My kid and I actually stood here at midnight and he got some amazing pics of the Milky Way galaxy. Bryce is supposed to be one of the best locations for observing stars. Truthfully, we thought Tahoe was better.
This was taken on the canyon floor as we hiked the Sunset to Sunrise trail.
Grand Canyon. Big hole with kid.
Big hole without kid.
Next few pics are from the slot canyon at Lake Powell.
Here's Calico. Took the train around the old mines.
Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, home of the Pawn Stars. Very cool place.
Zion National Park. I forget the name of this mountain, but this is what we faced from our camp site.
Rocks! Everywhere you looked...rocks.
Bryce Canyon National Park. More rocks (hoodoos). My kid and I actually stood here at midnight and he got some amazing pics of the Milky Way galaxy. Bryce is supposed to be one of the best locations for observing stars. Truthfully, we thought Tahoe was better.
This was taken on the canyon floor as we hiked the Sunset to Sunrise trail.
Grand Canyon. Big hole with kid.
Big hole without kid.
Next few pics are from the slot canyon at Lake Powell.
Last edited:
rocknxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clinton, Utah (SLC area)
OK, I'm officially sick of looking at the slot canyon pictures. Here is the trailer by yet more rocks.
Cruising with old people on Lake Powell.
Passing through Monument Valley between Lake Powell and Moab. "Piper" hanged with us during the entire trip.
Last edited:
rocknxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clinton, Utah (SLC area)
Moab Brewery - Cool place. Utah beer is not the best, but it was drinkable, especially after the long drive. It is hard to beat West Coast beers, but we tried to enjoy a Dead Horse amber ale and a Scorpion pale ale along with our burgers anyway. The rest of their crap is for sissies. I was at Stone Brewery about two weeks prior to this and that is some of the best beers around. But I digress...back to the rocks.
Ooooh, look at the crazy flex!
While at Moab, we went to Arches National Park to look at more rocks.
Another rock. This one with a hole in it.
OK, that's it. No more pictures from the rock vacation. Next pics will be of Deer Valley, Slick Rock, and the Rubicon.
Ooooh, look at the crazy flex!
While at Moab, we went to Arches National Park to look at more rocks.
Another rock. This one with a hole in it.
OK, that's it. No more pictures from the rock vacation. Next pics will be of Deer Valley, Slick Rock, and the Rubicon.
Last edited:
playwithit
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Fairfield, CA
Awesome!
100K XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Rocklin, CA
Yea Im still looking through all of our trip pics, at this point i'm sick of the rocks also. I have the high quality pics if anyone is interested.
- Location
- sacramento
by any chance does the WJ have the hydraloc dana 30? and does it have any kind of factory posi in the rear?
just wondering...
just wondering...
rocknxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clinton, Utah (SLC area)
Jon,
The 2006 Overland with 5.7L Hemi (WK) comes with the Quadra-Drive II system with Electronic Limited Slip Differentials (ELSD). At the time, Quadra-Drive II was considered the "ultimate" in off-road capability (ahem). I believe it is has a front D30 and rear D44.
It has the full time NV245 transfer case with ELSD for "best in class" traction performance. The 4-lo selection is made by lifting a chrome T-handle and engaging the 2.72:1 gear ratio. The electronically controlled clutch pack is said to enable a completely open state, to completely locked, and an infinite number of possibilities in between for maximum traction control. This was a first for automatic traction differentials.
Oh, it has a trail rated badge so it's got to be good.
Last edited:
rocknxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clinton, Utah (SLC area)
I had some extra time to play with the Cherokee this weekend and I needed to do a few things to get read for trail rides in July and August. The first thing I did was get the mini skids installed.
Worth noting is the size difference between my Currie mini skids and my kid's old JCR skids. Not sure if you can see the thickness difference in the photo, but my smaller Currie Enterprise skids are the two on the left. The JCR skids are on the right. Thicker may look better, but it may increase the difficulty in welding them to the thin control arm brackets.
I wheeled for a year with this rig without mini skids and my LCA brackets were beat to hell and mushroomed. I straightened them as best I could with a BFH, a grinder, and a large adjustable wrench. I used a large C-clamp to hold the skids into position and tacked them in place with my crappy welder.
I have not welded since high school 29 years ago. I used to make cool jack stands, and I think I even turned out a few grappling hooks and rock hammers in 12th grade metal shop. I used the grappling hooks to hang from cliffs near the American River and watch the rafters float down in their rafts. Ahhh, good times.
After figuring out how to make the wire feed properly and setting the power setting on the crappy welder I bought, it seemed to work out just fine. I'll pay somebody to weld the critical stuff for now....
I found a like-new 90W mig welder in a garage sale for a good price. It came with an auto darkening face shield, which did not exist when I was in high school. Welding is fun, fun, fun, fun, but make sure you also buy some leather sleeves, cuz hot meal sucks when it lands on you. I made to sure to remove the lower control arm before welding up the skids and I ran a bead inside and outside each joint. After the sides were welded, I beat the front of the skid down to make contact with the axle tube. I removed the old paint with a wire wheel first.
I won't be showing anyone my welds up close, but they did not turn out too bad considering the last time I welded Boy George was playing on the radio. Aggressive application of my 4" grinder and a heavy coat of paint inside and out finished the job. Control arms slipped right back in with no problems. Make sure you take the time to torque everything down while you're under your Jeep. Karma-Karma-Karma chameleon. WTF?
I'm anxious to try them out on the Rubicon and Deer Valley in the coming weeks.
[end]
Worth noting is the size difference between my Currie mini skids and my kid's old JCR skids. Not sure if you can see the thickness difference in the photo, but my smaller Currie Enterprise skids are the two on the left. The JCR skids are on the right. Thicker may look better, but it may increase the difficulty in welding them to the thin control arm brackets.
I wheeled for a year with this rig without mini skids and my LCA brackets were beat to hell and mushroomed. I straightened them as best I could with a BFH, a grinder, and a large adjustable wrench. I used a large C-clamp to hold the skids into position and tacked them in place with my crappy welder.
I have not welded since high school 29 years ago. I used to make cool jack stands, and I think I even turned out a few grappling hooks and rock hammers in 12th grade metal shop. I used the grappling hooks to hang from cliffs near the American River and watch the rafters float down in their rafts. Ahhh, good times.
After figuring out how to make the wire feed properly and setting the power setting on the crappy welder I bought, it seemed to work out just fine. I'll pay somebody to weld the critical stuff for now....
I found a like-new 90W mig welder in a garage sale for a good price. It came with an auto darkening face shield, which did not exist when I was in high school. Welding is fun, fun, fun, fun, but make sure you also buy some leather sleeves, cuz hot meal sucks when it lands on you. I made to sure to remove the lower control arm before welding up the skids and I ran a bead inside and outside each joint. After the sides were welded, I beat the front of the skid down to make contact with the axle tube. I removed the old paint with a wire wheel first.
I won't be showing anyone my welds up close, but they did not turn out too bad considering the last time I welded Boy George was playing on the radio. Aggressive application of my 4" grinder and a heavy coat of paint inside and out finished the job. Control arms slipped right back in with no problems. Make sure you take the time to torque everything down while you're under your Jeep. Karma-Karma-Karma chameleon. WTF?
I'm anxious to try them out on the Rubicon and Deer Valley in the coming weeks.
[end]
Last edited:
rocknxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clinton, Utah (SLC area)
Sometime last year I purchased a set of Lube Lockers for my front and rear differential covers. With all of this extra time I had during the long July 4th weekend, I decided to replace my Dana 30 fluid with some Royal Purple to match the rear diff and engine oil, and install the Lube Locker. I used Royal Purple 75w-90 fluid because that stuff is sexy going in.
I had my gearing changed to 4.56 ring and pinion by International Harvester-Only North in Loomis, Ca. right before I lifted the Frog in January 2010. I was right at 20k miles and the fluid was nasty. I usually use a stiff paint scraper tool to pry the Ruff Stuff diff cover off.
IH-Only North used a paper gasket and some turbo RTV to hold the heavy differential cover in place and it has not leaked a drop since installation. Same was true for the rear, although I've had to tighten the cover bolts from time to time. I also had IH-Only to install my Spartan locker and new Dana 30 carrier, which I am pleased with. I'm curious to see if the locker perform better on the road with a dose of Royal Purple, as well.
I used a gasket scraper and brass brush to clean the RTV from the Dana 30 and differential cover. Dan Fredrickson's differential covers continue to be the best parts of my rig. I'd like to eat a bowl of Wheaties from this cover.
I've used Lube Lockers on a few rigs now, and I'm sold on them. If you have to do a trail repair, you can remove and install your covers in no time and there is no hassle with cleaning off the old RTV, applying new RTV and letting it set, and attempting to install a 13 pound steel cover without screwing up your bead and having to redo the job (been there...). Lube Lockers are reusable and very easy to use.
Two passes with an Allen wrench to torque the countersunk bolts and a fresh coat of paint completes the job. My diff is ready again to smash rocks on the trail.
[end]
I had my gearing changed to 4.56 ring and pinion by International Harvester-Only North in Loomis, Ca. right before I lifted the Frog in January 2010. I was right at 20k miles and the fluid was nasty. I usually use a stiff paint scraper tool to pry the Ruff Stuff diff cover off.
IH-Only North used a paper gasket and some turbo RTV to hold the heavy differential cover in place and it has not leaked a drop since installation. Same was true for the rear, although I've had to tighten the cover bolts from time to time. I also had IH-Only to install my Spartan locker and new Dana 30 carrier, which I am pleased with. I'm curious to see if the locker perform better on the road with a dose of Royal Purple, as well.
I used a gasket scraper and brass brush to clean the RTV from the Dana 30 and differential cover. Dan Fredrickson's differential covers continue to be the best parts of my rig. I'd like to eat a bowl of Wheaties from this cover.
I've used Lube Lockers on a few rigs now, and I'm sold on them. If you have to do a trail repair, you can remove and install your covers in no time and there is no hassle with cleaning off the old RTV, applying new RTV and letting it set, and attempting to install a 13 pound steel cover without screwing up your bead and having to redo the job (been there...). Lube Lockers are reusable and very easy to use.
Two passes with an Allen wrench to torque the countersunk bolts and a fresh coat of paint completes the job. My diff is ready again to smash rocks on the trail.
[end]
Last edited:
rocknxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clinton, Utah (SLC area)
I've stated my hatred of my Pro Comp driving lights in previous pages of this blog, and I decided to change them out. I've read that some cheap 20 dollar Wal-Mart lights do a decent job so I figured I'd buy a set and check them out for a season.
Here is a photo from March showing the location of the lights when I have the winch installed. Not bad, but probably illegal and a pain to move to the upper position. (Plus, it looks like I ran over Micky Mouse from the driver's seat with the little black ears popping up over the hood).
Here's the Micky Mouse roadkill shot...
One of my largest complaints about the Pro Comp lights, aside from their relative cheap quality, is the fact that they are too large and don't fit when I run trails with my winch installed in the front receiver of my JCR Offroad bumper. I'm not a huge fan of offroad lights, so I did not want to buy some expensive PIAAs and have them ripped off by the neighborhood punks, so functionality and price were the largest decision factors during the change.
Both lights are 55 Watts, so electrical wiring did not have to be changed. A simple swap of the terminal ends and clever modification to the mounting brackets was all that was needed.
The rectangular lights are less prominent and will be fully functional should I need to throw some extra light on the trail. I don't plan to use them when I drive on the highway, but they are there when I need them.
The best part of the swap is with time savings. I no longer need to remove my lights when I run with the winch and interference with the winch housing is limited.
[end]
Here is a photo from March showing the location of the lights when I have the winch installed. Not bad, but probably illegal and a pain to move to the upper position. (Plus, it looks like I ran over Micky Mouse from the driver's seat with the little black ears popping up over the hood).
Here's the Micky Mouse roadkill shot...
One of my largest complaints about the Pro Comp lights, aside from their relative cheap quality, is the fact that they are too large and don't fit when I run trails with my winch installed in the front receiver of my JCR Offroad bumper. I'm not a huge fan of offroad lights, so I did not want to buy some expensive PIAAs and have them ripped off by the neighborhood punks, so functionality and price were the largest decision factors during the change.
Both lights are 55 Watts, so electrical wiring did not have to be changed. A simple swap of the terminal ends and clever modification to the mounting brackets was all that was needed.
The rectangular lights are less prominent and will be fully functional should I need to throw some extra light on the trail. I don't plan to use them when I drive on the highway, but they are there when I need them.
The best part of the swap is with time savings. I no longer need to remove my lights when I run with the winch and interference with the winch housing is limited.
[end]
Last edited:
100K XJ
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Rocklin, CA
Looks good!! You did a lot while I was away. Few more weeks till the run woohoo!
srmitchell
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Mckinleyville (Humboldt) CA
Looks good!
I am finally swapping that axle of your in the next few weeks.
Are you making it to my run?
I am finally swapping that axle of your in the next few weeks.
Are you making it to my run?
rocknxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clinton, Utah (SLC area)
Happy Independence Day.
Last edited:
