FJ40 I call Shipwreck

[SuperBuickGuy]

but wait, there's more
first, they made it back late last night

however,

wait, you'll say, that joint was brand freaking new when you left. How many miles did you put on it before it failed?
1

Summit came through and replaced it - and I'll void the warranty by tacking the caps on... this is BS. I was under the impression (obviously wrong) that going to u-joints was the stronger option....

yeah, the caps just fell off

and for the record... this is who to avoid

the old joint
note the screws holding the caps in place?

lasted 4000 miles v. 1 mile
in other news, panduit ties are not what they used tobe


and in yet other news.... occasionally the rear signals would stay on dimly. Couldn't figure out why - obviously a ground issue but from where?
the steering column. Over time there wore a bare spot so it ended the problem - but moving the column around and suddenly the light issue was back.....

[SuperBuickGuy]

1400 miles, 3 days, 1 day on the Rubicon.... and I broke it. There, the tl;dr.
home

much fresher when I left. I put the top on, mostly because it was supposed to rain - which it didn't at South Lake Tahoe, but pretty much the Oregon border and north... wet.

met up with my friends in California... if the Jeep looks familiar - look back, I wheeled in the snow with him pretty often.

but he moved to California - so here we are.
while I haven't convinced him to get a FJ40 (he'd love one) he does have a sweet ZR2 diesel Colorado - which is the unrecognized hero of all of this... 100k miles so far, 13 mpg average and I think the slowest I pulled a hill was 45 mph....
Got there Friday afternoon, died on their couch for a couple hours, went to BBQ in downtown Folsom. Outside of the Johnny Cash song - I had no idea where it was... cool little berg.
...
Unloaded at the parking lot at Ice house dam.... really wish I didn't park below.... because it's like a mini-Rubicon getting your tow rig and trailer out of the lot....


met up with John's soon-to-be son-in-law... really really cool SAS Colorado

onto the trail


just before things started going pear shaped

think the SIL is going to fit in just fine (more on that in a bit because the story there isn't over)

got some nice shots of me trying to stand it on its front bumper

it does look good

and flex


Luigi is a good lab, but I think he was trying to find a new owner after bouncing on the trail

mind you, this is before the tough stuff starts.... and he's at 99% to get through this

random pics

John standing his TJ on its bumper

more pictures in a bit of the damage, but in a stupid simple spot the need for a welder and a mistake I made in assembly ended my run in... 2 miles... that's what I did.... took 5 hours

this is fix one, later pictures will show with Gorilla tape

so I turned around and another guy from another group was going out and offered to help if needed... he's there in the front... this is me trying to pull at tree over because I had to winch off a rock

I couldn't have hit this rock and more wrong

the trail fix

with gorilla tape

the problem


as it was, it almost came apart again
so... high lift handle to brace the cross shaft, zip ties to hold it to the shafts, then a ratchet strap to hold it all together.... what was really cool and a shout out to all the people out there, I basically got to stand and watch in my "we are welders" (irony, love it) shirt. the guy said he'd done it before and I believe him.... neat people, nice weather.

the broken parts - the weld literally pulled apart

what I did wrong was I should have drilled and plug welded the adapters in place

why didn't I? simple, some bungs you cannot do that with

if you weld the one on the right, it'll foul the threads.... not just that but it will almost instantly rust then fusing the threads together and ending any adjustability you expect
but still, I didn't plug weld, and I should have. whoops.
with that said, the fixes, also the steering column started moving in the shaft - so I need to resolve that issue for once and for all (read, weld that bastard)

and there's a hitch in the steering - so figure that out (thought I'd fixed it)

what's to come is an onboard welder (which is kind of dumb since I've never needed one and have wheeled for 40 years).... ah well, whoever buys it from my estate sale can take it out of its box
so it's fixed... this time, it'll break something else


I'm also going to complete the hydro-assist steering. I know how, need to order the ram - and that will help with this as well because it'll put less stress on the cross shaft/box/frame.


and the last bit.... their phone is still going to voice mail.... they may still be on the trail.... to be continued

[SuperBuickGuy]

Leave him (her?) at your buddies place.

there's a bird trapped in the shop tonight.... only one leaves.

[DanStokes]

So far, the score is Sticky traps - 3, Turbo - 0

Leave him (her?) at your buddies place.

[SuperBuickGuy]

Is it harvesting vermin? If so, I'd vote to keep the little devil. If not........

So far, the score is Sticky traps - 3, Turbo - 0

[DanStokes]

If I could figure out how to leave it at my friend's house in Folsom, it'd happen.

Is it harvesting vermin? If so, I'd vote to keep the little devil. If not........

[SuperBuickGuy]

With the amount of work the cat has done on that thing I think you should take it along, a way to say thanks.

If I could figure out how to leave it at my friend's house in Folsom, it'd happen.

[65RHDEER]

With the amount of work the cat has done on that thing I think you should take it along, a way to say thanks.

[langleylad]

Bon Voyage !

[SuperBuickGuy]

finally got the parts

it drives fantastic, runs better then it ever did.... sure, there's a transmission noise but it's not all the time so it's fine... F I N E.... I'm going to send it. I have a spare
before I moved, I replaced 2 trailer tires - one of the old ones was losing air so I simply got 2 new tires and now have a decent spare

worth the peace of mind.... anyway, Thursday I head out

[SuperBuickGuy]

it's like I have every heim EXCEPT the one I need... Fudge Barnes 4wd

It doesn't rattle but I know it's loose so need to wait for the right heim

I've been meaning to make the gas cans held with more then hopes and dreams

[SuperBuickGuy]

oh good grief.... so I tightened up the steering and now have death wobble.... turns out one of the panhard heims is worn.... so next day some parts... I wish I could trailer to/from trail but there will be road driving back from the run and I do not want to drive it like this...

[SuperBuickGuy]

You were distracted by the new shop lion.... Luigi told me....

this is what I get because I feed everybody's dog.

[silver_bullet]

You were distracted by the new shop lion.... Luigi told me....

[SuperBuickGuy]

and it is. there was a set screw that was too exposed and was catching.... love it when it's a cheap fix