reson46 Posted September 24, 2014 Author Share Posted September 24, 2014 So where do you guys get the lumber for these projects? Is this public, private or park land? Regardless it's awesome work you guys do, we should all commend your group for your hard work. 95 percent of the people in our sport take and never give back.... very few would put forth the effort..... nice work. Thanks. This is public, national forest land. The materials are provided by the forest service using state grants. We've also got a great ranger to work with who was there each day. He even joined us on Saturday, his day off. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted September 24, 2014 Author Share Posted September 24, 2014 I switched photo hosting sites and fixed a lot of the links in the trip reports on pages 34 to 37. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted September 29, 2014 Author Share Posted September 29, 2014 Our club spent the past weekend volunteering as campground hosts at Evan's Creek. For the second year in a row we had a really good turnout. Saturday I think we had 13 rigs show up and four stuck around for Sunday. I was solo so I only got a few MJ pics. Saturday was foggy almost the entire day. We had a YJ rip the shackle hanger off the frame. After years of abuse I finally put a small hole in a sidewall. Ron and I squeezed into one camp site. Sunday turned out to be beautiful and clear. We ended up with a great view of Mt. Rainier before packing up and heading home. More pics here. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 Spent yesterday at Elbe Hills for our monthly club run. We had a good turnout and a really good time. Deb drove the first half of the day. Mt. Rainier in the background. After lunch we hit the Swamp Trail. Somebody had been having some fun with a backhoe and we were the first group through. A lot more pics here. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbain Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Always look forward to seeing you beat on that MJ.... :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Share Posted October 27, 2014 We made one last trip to the Fortune Creek area before the snow closes it until next year. It was wet, cold, and it even snowed on us, but we had a great time and found a couple more mines. This mine was in great condition. We were told about it last year but weren't able to find it. For a mine this large there was no discernible tailings pile that made finding it difficult. It split several hundred feet in. Looking back towards the entrance. Much of the ventilation ducting was still intact. The view from near Van Epps Pass. This is another mine we found near the old Van Epps town site. I was able to identify the tailings pile and a trail leading down to it on Google Earth. This time we were able to find the beginning of the trail. This was the mostly caved entrance. It connects to the old ventilation shaft at Van Epps that was filled with foam by the forest service a couple of years ago. Water was pouring out of it. Sunday morning Rob's starter decided not to work, so out came the strap to get him lined up with his trailer. Three of us decided to run the Fortune Creek trail. We ran into quite a bit of snow the higher we got. Gallagher Head Lake At the end of the Fortune Creek Trail. More pics here. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted October 31, 2014 Author Share Posted October 31, 2014 Got a delivery yesterday. The parts are starting to pile up. Besides the new tires I also picked up a Flex-a-Lite radiator this summer. I've got a few winter projects ahead of me. :yes: Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbain Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Did you get a 6 or 8 inch ram? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted October 31, 2014 Author Share Posted October 31, 2014 It's an 8" ram. I took measurements before ordering. The ram that comes with the PSC XJ/MJ kit is 6", but I am far from stock. :D Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbain Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 I read that Dana 44's with Highsteer or over the knuckle used a 6 inch but a stock 44 used an 8... I measured mine at 7.6 inches but after getting my beadlocks bolted up the offset cuts me down to about 6.... so I'm going to weld up a better set of steering stops and go with that. I priced that very set and gotta say I'm seriously Jealous.... is your trackbar in the stockish location? (on your 44 axle) Post up picks so I can see where you mount it.. I'm hoping to put it on top of the Trackbar mount but I'm not sure if I'll have enough room Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted October 31, 2014 Author Share Posted October 31, 2014 It all depends upon the length of your pitman arm and where your drag link attaches to the knuckle in relation to the ball joint. I'm running a Wagoneer pitman arm which is longer than stock and results in the tie rod/drag link travelling further, hence the ram with more travel. No, my trackbar is mounted above the axle tube. It is integrated into the TNT truss. There are lots of pics starting on page 15 of the D44 build. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbain Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 Ok thanks, I'm also running the Waggy pitman arm and my draglink ties into my passenger TRE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted November 10, 2014 Author Share Posted November 10, 2014 Ron stopped by Saturday to help me mount the new tires. :banana: I've got some work ahead of me making sure everything clears when flexed. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbain Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 37 stickies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted November 10, 2014 Author Share Posted November 10, 2014 They are just regular Creepy Crawlers. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 It has been a while and the MJ has been through a lot of updates the past couple of months. First up was revising the front bump stops. After a year of wheeling the previous bump stops did their job, but were not left in very good shape. The studs had bent and one bump stop had completely separated from its molded in mounting bolt. I also needed to cycle the suspension with the new bump stops to make sure everything cleared the new tires. The old bump stops. My original plan was to go with something that offered a more progressive stop to the suspension. I picked up a set of rear bump stops intended for late model GM trucks. They were nice and soft like I was looking for, but only worked effectively when contacting a completely flat surface. With one tire at full bump and the other drooping the axle and contact pad on the bottom would then become angled in relation to the bump stop and they would completely deflect off to the side resulting, in metal on metal contact and way too much up travel. What I ended up with was a different style of Daystar bump stop on top and UMHW pucks on the bottom. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 I swapped out the front 3/4" coil spring spacers for 1 3/4" spacers to help level the truck. While working on the front suspension I noticed that pretty much all of the polyurethane bushings were sloppy. After a couple of frustrating circles with TNT I didn't get the exact replacement bushings I needed for the upper control arms, but I at least had some that were close enough that I could make work. I also found a crack in one of the upper control arms. I ground it out. And welded it back together. Then put the front suspension back together. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 The larger tires required some fender modifications. I opened up the tube fenders and took a sledge hammer to a few strategic areas on the inner fenders. Patched over the openings I created. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 Then I pretty much dismantled the front clip. I took the opportunity to do a little maintenance by replacing the timing chain and gears, harmonic balancer, alternator, thermostat, TPS, and radiator hoses. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 Then it was time for a few upgrades. I picked up the Flex-a-Lite aluminum radiator and triple fan set up last summer. The fan controller. I also replaced the cheesy, generic parts store coolant reservoir with a much nicer Napa universal reservoir. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 Empty Post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 With the steering reservoir now taking the space of the old air box I knew I needed to come up with a new air filter set up. I picked up a 3" AFE cone filter, some 3" exhaust tubing, some fittings, and built a bracket to support everything. The 3" exhaust tubing fit perfectly in the filter and the swedged end was the right size to fit in the stock tubing. I welded on a bung for a place to mount the vent from the valve cover and the line coming from the charcoal canister. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 Yesterday I was able to put it back together and drive it for the first time in months. Just in time to go wheeling this weekend. :banana: Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89eliminator Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 looks good! can't wait to get hydro assist on mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reson46 Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 Got to test out the upgrades this past weekend doing some trail maintenance in the Fortune Creek area. We had great weather as we installed sign posts and explored the mining history. We were running ahead of schedule Friday so we stopped in Roslyn on the way. It is a pretty interesting old mining town. We took a nice walk out to the cemetery. It was much larger than I expected for a town this size. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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