The Frog Blog
- Thread starter rocknxj
- Start date
- Location
- Columbus, In
rocknxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clinton, Utah (SLC area)
The stock tie rod that I removed had a decent bend on the axle end, along with a nice trail scrape from a seemingly benign rock on one of the Sierra Fest trails. My toe was off by about 3/4" as well, which may explain some of my unusual tire wear and unfortunate hair loss. Well, maybe not the hair loss, but I have to blame that on something.
rocknxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clinton, Utah (SLC area)
Hey quit showing off your weiner!
My wife says weiner jokes are beneath me.
connor0770
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Cameron Park, CA/ Reno, NV
Damn those new cherokees are sexy.
Well i went to prairie chitty today. I was able to conquer that hill where you made it up fine with your spartan locker. IDK if you remember the hill. I really pushed my jeep today and had a blast! Did you install your locker yourself?? i cant remember. If so, would you possibly mind helping me install my aussie in the front?
Well i went to prairie chitty today. I was able to conquer that hill where you made it up fine with your spartan locker. IDK if you remember the hill. I really pushed my jeep today and had a blast! Did you install your locker yourself?? i cant remember. If so, would you possibly mind helping me install my aussie in the front?
rocknxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clinton, Utah (SLC area)
I had Jeff Ishmail at IH Only - North in Loomis install my gears, locker, and Ruff Stuff diff covers. Although they specialize in International Harvester rigs, he did another member's XJ in my 4x4 club and was highly recommended. IHO did a great job and I kept the $$ local, which is important to me.
Gearing my stock C8.25 and D30 axles to 4.56, along with rebuild kits, spartan locker and D30 carrier, the total charge was just under $1,900. That sounds very ouch, baby, but gears are not something I wanted to mess with so I had no problem forking over the dough to have it done right. You can install the locker yourself, but by the looks at the broken bolts in the stock D30 carrier and the pile of bearings and seals I received back, I would have been over my head for sure.
In retrospect, I sort of wished that I had just bought a set of D44's or D44/8.8 combo already geared to 4.88. I found a set like that on CL for about $3,000 (with lockers, I believe), and I could have offset that price with the sale of my stock HP D30/C8.25 axles and had a stronger set. Then again, that setup would have made me want to buy 35" tires, a long arm kit, 1 ton steering, beefier shocks, longer front DS, etc.
I suppose the best idea is to decide on what to do with the rig, stay in that class, be happy with that decision, and convince others that your chit is the best. :looney:
Edit: ...then upgrade to the next class after you wheel the crap out of it.
srmitchell
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Mckinleyville (Humboldt) CA
Ouch. 1,900!
Were you having problems with the spartan on slickrock?
Im locked with a Lockright up front now, and I finally got to test it.
I parked up on a rock near my house... It walked right up.
Were you having problems with the spartan on slickrock?
Im locked with a Lockright up front now, and I finally got to test it.
I parked up on a rock near my house... It walked right up.
rocknxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clinton, Utah (SLC area)
Ouch. 1,900!
Were you having problems with the spartan on slickrock?
Im locked with a Lockright up front now, and I finally got to test it.
I parked up on a rock near my house... It walked right up.
Not sure what the problem was. Locker worked perfectly all weekend on everything I threw at it. When I got to that last obstacle, it appeared as my front locker was not engaging. I also found it difficult to climb up some rocks on the way out of the Slickrock trail, so something is up. I was thinking that I just did not have the engine power to climb out of that predicament, but the front locker should have pulled me up regardless. Some said it was my torque converter, but I have not had any problems with that or the tranny since.
I'm still fixing small things here and there that I broke during SF, but I plan to get on the problem soon enough. I'm supposed to do Strawberry Pass in late August and that will be a good trail to find out what's up.
rocknxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clinton, Utah (SLC area)
90 more views to my first cookie.
Just watched Will Farris in The Land of the Lost. Sorry, but I cracked my arse off. Love that monkey dude.
Just watched Will Farris in The Land of the Lost. Sorry, but I cracked my arse off. Love that monkey dude.
srmitchell
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Mckinleyville (Humboldt) CA
YES!
I loved that movie. I have a crush on Anna Friel. (The main chick) She's HOT.
I loved that movie. I have a crush on Anna Friel. (The main chick) She's HOT.
rocknxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clinton, Utah (SLC area)
Today is Saturday, August 14, and another good day for the Frog. It has been about two weeks since I installed my header and I decided to get the new muffler and flex pipe installed today. There's nothing worse than running around with a weak sounding Jeep.
I wanted to keep my money in Rocklin, so I used All Muffler on Pacific Street. They did the muffler install on Old Blue a few years ago and I wanted to fling some cash there way again. Here's a good shot of the dude expressing his mad skills with his saws all.
Look closely at my Brown Dog engine mount in the photo below and you'll see a black line. That's the melted poly bushing caused by heat from the cracked stock exhaust manifold. Brown Dog Offroad is such a cool company that they sent me a replacement bushing free of charge.
Here's a better shot of the engine mount and location of the new flex pipe.
A full cat-back system would have set me back more than I wanted to spend, so I opted for just the flex pipe and Magnaflow muffler for better performance and sound. One thing that I was able to do was cut out the restrictive down pipe by the collector.
^^ This piece of worthless pipe will be a nice souvenir for the garage wall.
This hand crafted piece show above replaces the stock downpipe. The flex pipe shown below was welded directly to that and the pre-cat.
I don't have a pic of the Magnaflow installed, but here it is waiting to be welded in place.
Total cost was $300 but I'm totally happy with the installation and sound. Hopefully I gained a few HPs and better performance. Sounds great!
I wanted to keep my money in Rocklin, so I used All Muffler on Pacific Street. They did the muffler install on Old Blue a few years ago and I wanted to fling some cash there way again. Here's a good shot of the dude expressing his mad skills with his saws all.
Look closely at my Brown Dog engine mount in the photo below and you'll see a black line. That's the melted poly bushing caused by heat from the cracked stock exhaust manifold. Brown Dog Offroad is such a cool company that they sent me a replacement bushing free of charge.
Here's a better shot of the engine mount and location of the new flex pipe.
A full cat-back system would have set me back more than I wanted to spend, so I opted for just the flex pipe and Magnaflow muffler for better performance and sound. One thing that I was able to do was cut out the restrictive down pipe by the collector.
^^ This piece of worthless pipe will be a nice souvenir for the garage wall.
This hand crafted piece show above replaces the stock downpipe. The flex pipe shown below was welded directly to that and the pre-cat.
I don't have a pic of the Magnaflow installed, but here it is waiting to be welded in place.
Total cost was $300 but I'm totally happy with the installation and sound. Hopefully I gained a few HPs and better performance. Sounds great!
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rocknxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clinton, Utah (SLC area)
I want a cookie.
- Location
- Columbus, In
So, I had some pictures of the weekend wheeling in Hannibal, MO. Unfortunately my camera disappeared! The hotel manager is getting an earful because nobody else was in our room.
american_zero
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- San Jose, CA
No pics of the finished flex pipe install? Was that 2.5" pipe you used? Just curious. When I eventually put on my APN, I hope to do something similar.
rocknxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clinton, Utah (SLC area)
I lost my camera in early December during a Christmas Toy 4x4 run. Found it 5 months later while packing for a camp trip. It was wedged in my drink holder in my folding chair.
Hope you find yours.
Last edited:
- Location
- Columbus, In
I lost my camera in early December during a Christmas Toy 4x4 run. Found it 5 months later during a camp trip. It was wedged in my drink holder in my folding chair.
I looked in my folding chair but I will check again!
american_zero
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- San Jose, CA
^^That's pretty funny!^^
I wish I had went with a Magnaflow but I couldn't pass up the $70 Dynomax catback deal. It's too mellow sounding and it hides the good 4.0 sound. Let us know what kind of results you get when you get more time driving around with it.
I wish I had went with a Magnaflow but I couldn't pass up the $70 Dynomax catback deal. It's too mellow sounding and it hides the good 4.0 sound. Let us know what kind of results you get when you get more time driving around with it.
rocknxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clinton, Utah (SLC area)
I did not go with the 2.5" exhaust pipe, mainly due to funds. I figure I can always do that later when I find an extra Benjamin in my wallet.
I'll post pics later this week. I spent the weekend tearing out my master bath for the first phase of the bathroom remodel and I was very busy. I did manage to spent 30 minutes under the Jeep re-torquing the header bolts. There are a few underneath that suck and I cut a Craftsman 14mm open end wrench so I could slip it in a deep socket and lie under the Jeep while torquing those bolts down. The rest are accessible with a ratchet or Gear Wrench, but two of them will kick your butt. Now I'm thinking of cutting my Gear Wrench for the same purpose. I'll post pics later.
rocknxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Clinton, Utah (SLC area)
I just spent another hour tightening the manifold bolts in effort to eliminate the intake whistle. There's something oddly satisfying about twisting your arms into unnatural positions and cramming your hands into impossible spaces to torque the lower manifold bolts. A PITA for sure, but oddly satisfying.
I also put hose clamps on the vacuum lines on the manifold that I mentioned earlier. Cranked it up and no whistle. Hmmm purrs like a sick kitten.
I also put hose clamps on the vacuum lines on the manifold that I mentioned earlier. Cranked it up and no whistle. Hmmm purrs like a sick kitten.
