poopypants Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Nice...I've had tons of people stop me and question how I can possibly plow snow in that tiny truck ha...btw if your controller gives up the ghost I had a buddy who wired up an old Atari? Controller and it worked awesome saved $150 easy....still waiting on the big snow we are supposed to get tonight Pic from this summer...I changed some stuff around and did a test run Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88mjblue Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 All set for the Blizzard of 2015 coming Tuesday!! Both of you guys be sure to take lots of pics of the plow in action! This should be some good snow to really put the comanche to the test! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickmiata Posted January 26, 2015 Author Share Posted January 26, 2015 Ha I like the idea of an Atari controller! I've become very familiar with the MM1 controller in the past month and I'm pretty sure I could fix anything that went wrong with it (short of actually catching fire) but if I am ever without, that would be a cool project. Maybe I could rig one of my Nintendo 64 controllers to control the plow and lights. Plenty of action shots coming soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopypants Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Brickmiata looks like you're gonna get killed up there! Yeah in low range with the tires around 20psi or so it's pretty tough to stop I was gonna suggest airing down but things in New England seem to be losing air on their own lately ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickmiata Posted January 26, 2015 Author Share Posted January 26, 2015 :clapping: I see what you did there. I've got a pump and pressure gauge so I can play with the pressures if need be. I'll have the snowblower and a few 5 gallon buckets of sand/salt mix strapped in the bed also for some extra rear end traction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88AKChief Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Nice...I've had tons of people stop me and question how I can possibly plow snow in that tiny truck ha...btw if your controller gives up the ghost I had a buddy who wired up an old Atari? Controller and it worked awesome saved $150 easy....still waiting on the big snow we are supposed to get tonight Pic from this summer...I changed some stuff around and did a test run are those sahara wheels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopypants Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 we got like a half inch out of the 4-6 forecasted :( have you run around town with the plow on? highway speeds? I've moved it in all directions/angles and it runs right on the red at the coolest fan blasting...not sure how to combat that yet 88AKChief they are stock jk rubicon wheels/tires on adapters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickmiata Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 we got like a half inch out of the 4-6 forecasted :( have you run around town with the plow on? highway speeds? I've moved it in all directions/angles and it runs right on the red at the coolest fan blasting...not sure how to combat that yet 88AKChief they are stock jk rubicon wheels/tires on adapters Around town, I have no problem with temp. Highway speeds, I do have a problem with sustained climbing with the plow on. After maybe 1/2 mile of continuous climbing, it creeps to the red. I just have to take it easy (50-55) and it won't get any hotter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickmiata Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 Well the last 36 hrs have been nuts with almost 3' of snow hitting the ground in about 24hrs. Just waking up after my first couple hour nap to go back out. Getting ready Monday night The trusty rav4 is actually in this picture if you can believe it About 18hrs in. 100 miles of driving during the storm at this point. Countless driveways plowed and still averaging over 10 mpg. Not sure if that's good or not but with all the time spent pushing heavy things back and forth, I'll take it. Parked her in the snow bank so I could dig out the rav when I got home. The rav didn't actually require digging though. New tires on it and I just rammed out of the pile with 3 ft of snow still covering it. Last, a shot of the wife and dog bundled up and attempting to sit nicely in the snow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickmiata Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 52" in 7 days. The truck is runnin great after over 50hrs of plowing in a week. The front end is holding up just fine although the 3.07 gearing requires too much clutch play. I'd like to swap to 3.73s which should net a nice change in drivability while plowing and hopefully still allow reasonable highway travel on relatively stock tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjy_26 Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Awesome shots! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickmiata Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 Yesterday started well and ended poorly for the MJ. After work, I met up with a friend and we fixed the blinker issue altogether. Also tested the wires for the washer pump and found I have power so the pump is the problem. Last but not least, I rewired the old a/c fan to come on with the ignition until I get a temp switch to run it. I am hoping this helps with the cooling on the highway with the plow up. Unfortunately, for the moment, it will not. After running wires and testing everything, I found the fan itself isn't operational so I'll be on the hunt for a new one.. This is where the day started to unwind. From there, I went to do a few small leftover plow jobs and I was rewarded with a badly sticking front caliper, no reverse lights and a missing bolt from the drivers side of the plow mount which caused some good clunking noises for a while before I found it. More repairs to come... and I better hurry or ill be stuck driving around with my snow blower to take care of my regular customer's driveways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickmiata Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 I haven't sorted out the reverse lights yet but I slapped on a new caliper and tightened up the plow mount. Other than the fact that the pads and rotor are down to metal on metal on that corner, I'm all set to get back out there and do it again. Here comes another 12"-18" tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickmiata Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 Ran through the rest of the front brakes early this morning and replaced the following:Then I went right back out for more of this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackBeast Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Wow,Your rotor is toast! Nice seeing a plow on a Mj! I also love the pictures! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjrev10 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Wish we'd get some snow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickmiata Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 I'd gladly donate some of ours. I believe Worcester MA is now the snowiest city in America this year (90.1" thus far) and we have two more impending storms to round out the week. I'm tired and the city plow guys are even more so. The truck has had its issues but for a 28 yr old vehicle that sat for over a year before this winter, she's been a real trooper and continues to clear any amount of snow with a little effort and a few tricks. Mechanical update: u joints in the front axles are the latest victims with plenty of play and some good clunks when going from forward gears to reverse while plowing. They'll be on order today and replaced within the week. Supervisor at home making sure I get all the snow out of his way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickmiata Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 Copilot and I on our way to sand/salt a few driveways. We haven't seen bare pavement in our driveway in 3 weeks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopypants Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Nice! So far we have gotten enough snow to maybe make a snowcone :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickmiata Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 Here we go again. 8-12 tonight and some potential for midweek too. I'm getting cold and tired this month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickmiata Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 Well, as usual the storm was not without some equipment drama. I had some bolts shear off at the front driveshaft to transfer case yoke connection. This cause a hell of a racket while I pulled over and also dented the floor and tore apart the t-case shift linkage. The bolts were extracted, the rear u-joint in the double cardan was replaced and the driveshaft was reinstalled (all done in the 14 degree snow yesterday).I am still waiting on the front axle u-joints which are about to let go also and the shift linkage is missing a piece and is basically unrepairable so I'm stuck getting under the truck if I want 4wd for the time being. Luckily, todays snow is light and won't require plowing so I have until Saturday to get the truck back to 100%.I have ordered the Boostwerks 231 HD linkage to get myself back up and running and from what I can see it should do a great job of that. Now I'm just hoping all the parts get here in time to throw it back together and get back out there making money!Of course, the obligatory mid storm shotAnd I got around to digging our 4.5 ft tall mail box out of the snowbank.. If you can't tell by the picture, it's not just shorter than the snowbank but the road has thinned over 8ft since all this started so the post was also set back inside the snowbank over 3ft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JENSSEN Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 I want a plow,... don't need it but I want one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickmiata Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 Well, the new linkage will be here tomorrow and I'm picking up new u-joints for the front axles tonight. Now hoping to have her back to plowing health by Saturday. Maybe I can eve get the reverse lights working again while I'm down there!Fixed a pinhole in the gas tank that finally turned from a wet spot on the tank skid to a steady drip. Turns out it was a pretty steady leak from the tank but was being mostly caught by the plastic skid. This will be the first tank I go through with a dry gas tank so who know, maybe it will result in a noticeable increase in mileage. The patch consists of a fuel resistant putty that I spread around the hole, an epoxy/resin and a fiberglass sheet. The epoxy is pretty similar to jb weld and seems to have adhered very well and dried hard as a rock. It should be a long lasting repair. That said, I will be replacing the tank as soon as warmer weather shows up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poopypants Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Nice...still jealous as I've gotten only a couple inches We got about 4-5 this week so I got to make a pass over the driveway Went out last night and the plow lifted but froze (need to change the fluid which is fun) since it's -3 outside Barreling down the road and I didn't realize I left it in float Plow hitting the pavement at 55 is interesting Don't do that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickmiata Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 I had to flush mine twice before I totally got rid of the icing problem. First time I used atf and the second time I got fischer fluid from napa. I didn't notice any difference in operation except the fischer stuff hasn't frozen up yet and we've been down at -7 once or twice. Plans to make all 4wd repairs tonight in the -3 degree garage :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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