zfinger

Found the sticky and took the measurements. Top of the axle tube to the frame/bump stop spot is about 15". Stock is 9.2", so I'm sitting about 6" over stock. How do I go about compensating for the SOA swap? The Ford 9" axle tube is 3", does that mean I have 3" worth of bastard pack leafs? Then there's the perch height and thickness of the leaf pack...?

I've been having great luck with Rusty's since about 2005. Broke a tie rod end off the top of an XJ track bar once, that's it. I could almost buy 2 sets of Rusty's leafs at the price of a custom set. The long term plan is to 4-link the rear, but that will come with the tube bed and exo cage. Right now though, I have a top leaf with a nasty groove rubbed into it from a spring retainer wrap. I want to get into the woods but I'm afraid I'll snap it. http://www.rustysoffroad.com/rustys-leaf-springs-mj-4-rear-pair.html

I'm sitting spring-over on a ford 9" with someones homemade bastard pack of mystery leafs and stock shackles. I'm looking to replace them with some Rusty's 4" leaf packs possibly. Not sure that 4" will sit the same though. Got any guess on how much lift I need? Currently on 35's, but going to 40's.

The accident report confirms my statements. USAA has stood behind their client and her statement, but they won't be able to after they read the report. The damages are consistent with accident and the report and the photos. I don't think I'll have any issues getting it repaired now that I have the report. But I leave tomorrow for a week, so nothing's getting done till I get back.

I know because it was included with the accident report. I didn't post the whole page since it has all her personal info listed. But to summarize the form, it says she violated the right of way, and upon questioning was having a difficult time understanding what she did, what she could have done, or what to do now. No pics of her RAV4, but from what I saw at the scene it took out her fender, headlight, bumper and hood. I don't think I'll have any issues getting USAA to pay up now that the police report confirms mine and my passengers statements. And her confusion puts her statement in the trash can.

The lady who hit me also got this...

Make no mistake, the accident was pretty violent. 45mph, swerving hard, cutting left across 2 lanes, only to have someone stuff the nose up under the passenger side door. When my tire caught her, we jumped and slammed down hard sideways. We slid a long ways through a mess of deep pot holes sideways. How we didn't roll is still a miracle of physics to me and my passenger. It was not minor, from inside the cab it was pretty violent. Bent radius arm and the truck sitting crooked after the accident. Before the accident the steering wheel was straight, no dash lights on, and it tracked great at 80mph on the highway. Now it's f*€ked.

Except that it kind of does... I've been through this before with an Acura that I built. Long story short, insurance company offered $2000 and I refused. We ended at $5000 and I kept the car, sold that for another $2800. $7,800 payout on a car I had $13k+ into. I keep all my receipts and records. They help a ton in getting paid what a vehicle is worth.

Update: I went and picked up a copy of the police report today. The issue seems to be the damages vs. the woman who hit me's statement. USAA always sides with their customers statement unless the police report says otherwise. A case manager told me this. Her statement says she grazed my rear tire and we pulled over. No mention of me almost rolling and being spun 180* and the truck sitting dead in the middle of the road until I went back a few minutes later and moved it. Well the police report does match my statements. The police report says exactly what I said, and exactly what my passenger said. The officers notes also state that woman was dazed and confused and didn't know what had happened. So her statement isn't worth crap. This accident report USAA claims to have not received. The plan now is to meet with an adjuster, myself, and the mechanics at Pollard and go over it all. With the report, the before and after pictures of damages, and an expert opinion on the crash, I don't see how they could deny the claim. I'll keep this updated.

I used JB Weld around the vents. Sand, clean and prep it real well. Should be fuel-safe. I made a small disc the same size as the MJ sender, used the rubber o-ring from the MJ and put it in the hole. I've filled the tank to the top and it hasn't leaked with fuel against it. The hold down tabs I made. The XJ's rubber ring is dropped into the hole and that too seals up great. I was super careful cutting the hole on top, it's as perfectly round as it could be. Still to be tested is if I get any fuel starvation when climbing/leaning.

USAA's offer is $90 to cover an alignment.. They are denying the damages are related. I don't even see how that's up for debate since I just built the truck and have sent them plenty of before and after pictures. I've finally got a manager to deal with at USAA. Trying to get the adjuster back to the shop so the adjuster, the mechanic and I can all point to what's bent and explain how it happened.

She was cited for failure to yield. I kept pushing the cop to make note that she was leaving the eye doctor but thats not in the paperwork. I talked to USAA again, and its her statement thats become the issue. She said she grazed my back tire and we pulled over. Grazing my tire doesn't damn near roll a truck over and leave it backwards in the middle of the road. I do have a ton of receipts. Not for the radius arms since they were custom made and on the Jeep when I got it. But I do have pics of them being straight before the accident and them being bent after. The rental... USAA put me in the rental, it was their deal. Nobody from USAA or Enterprise called to tell me I was paying for it. It wasn't till 3 weeks later with no contact that I went into Enterprise and asked what was going on. They said I was paying for it, I laughed, dropped the keys on the counter and walked out. Because I only had liability on the truck, Allstate is being helpful, but aren't taking on the case. I was going to pay my Allstate deductible, have them fix it, and let them go after USAA for their money. But liability...

My recent dealing with USAA insurance have been an absolute nightmare. Since they are refusing to take care of the damages to my truck, I'll take to the internet for some good old fashioned negative PR. I have Allstate (liability only on the MJ), the woman who hit me has USAA. Here's the link to my build thread so you can see the truck. http://comancheclub.com/topic/43653-1990-comanche-build-little-big-truck/ On 3-13-15 (Friday the 13th), an elderly woman leaving an eye appointment tried to make a right out into traffic. She ignored the raised crosswalk, the yield sign, and pulled right out. On top of that, she cut blindly left, across all 3 lanes. I was going 45mph, in a 45, and saw it coming. I braked and swerved as hard as I could left, across 3 lanes, but she still stuck the nose of her Rav4 under my rear tire. The truck jumped, turned sideways and slammed down, I had the brakes locked, we went sideways through a bunch of pot holes, and came to rest backwards in the middle of the road. The first thing she said when I approached her was "I didn't see you". Lady, I'm driving a monster truck! I saw she was leaving the hospital, so I asked her right away if she was on drugs. She said "No, I'm leaving the eye doctors". She had just had work done on her eyes. She should not have been driving. We got slammed hard enough that my passenger injured his shoulder and had to put in a medical claim. My knees slammed together and hurt pretty bad. I didn't make a medical claim thinking it was just a bruise and would go away, but it hasn't. I had my truck towed from the accident to Pollard Off-Road, one of the best in the country. The steering wheel is crooked, the airbag light is on, the chip in the windshield turned into a giant spider. They came back with an estimate for $3200. They found both radius arms to be bent, and 2 bent rims. Sounds pretty consistent with what happened. I took the truck for a test drive, she's crooked for sure! Use to do 80mph down the highway without issue, I wound't do 40mph with it now. USAA is claiming that these damages are NOT related to the accident, because the truck was hit in the right rear tire and our statements don't mention any secondary impacts. I just built this truck. It wasn't even on the road for a month. Got maybe 500 miles since the build. I've provided before and after pictures of the parts that were damaged. Pollard has explained to them that these damages are certainly from the accident. Yet they still want to deny me all of the repairs. The truck has been sitting at Pollard for 2 months now. I've since bought another truck because I need one for work. USAA is also refusing to pay a $730 rental bill for a truck I had for 3 weeks while they went over things. I've called a lawyer, they're not getting out of this. I'll add the pictures tonight so you all can see the before and afters.

You turn your MJ tank into an XJ tank. Swap over the vent and the rollover valve. Trim the inside pan down a bit. I haven't tested this tank off-road yet, no idea how it'll handle an incline. And I've been refilling at 150 miles.

I used the MJ tank, cut a hole in the top, and dropped the XJ pump down into it. There's a little more to it than that, but I didn't use a Dakota or TJ tank. The Integra... A pedestrian ignored the signs, traffic did a panic stop, and I wasn't quick enough. Stuck the nose down under the @$$ of a Grand Prix. Not even a scratch on his car, but it got my hood, headlights, bumper, fenders, and radiator support. Car ran and drove fine with no leaks, but Allstate opted to total it out.