Posts by JeepSahara

  • Trail Report for May 8th Paragon Trip

    Our May 8th trip proved to be very exciting and a great challenge. We had 7 total jeeps in our group which consisted of Andrew (BlueJ) with Chris (Quadna71) as passenger, Donnie (DCC), Stetson (dmaster) with his girlfriend as passenger, Brian (mopartech) with his wife as shotgun, Ed (2000Sahara), Kevin (UrbanCrawler) with his Minnesota friend Mark as passenger, and myself (JeepSahara) with Dave (DaveH) as passenger.


    We started out on Rabbit Run which consisted of a long, very rocky, downhill section along with a curvy rock garden with body damaging trees. From there we hit Sleepy Hollow. Donnie showed everyone that he can do anything with his jeep, sporting his new 4" lift with 30" tires. He attacked those rocks like it was his job, keeping up with the 33er's. Then we hit Headless horseman and made our way down to the Spring for lunch. After lunch we made our way over to Rocky Meadow and Laurel. When we entered Laurel there was a group of slightly smaller Jeeps making it through a technical section of the trail. Brian, Andrew, and Chris gave them a hand spotting them through, then stuck around to spot our group through. After that, we headed up Turtle to hit all three legs of Chicken Run. Everyone had a blast on the big rocks, off-camber positions and huge downhills on these 'legs'. We still had a little time left so we decided to Drumstick which is a black 1 rated trail. Donnie decided to sit this one out since some of the ledges were not 30" tire friendly. This trail seemed to prove challenging for everyone. Brian started everyone out and chose the hardest line possible. He made it all the way up but decided to try this last rock that was the size of a small house. He got the front tires up but seemed to get lodged between a tree and a rock with no way forward or backward. After tons of effort he decided it would be best to winch the rest of the way up. Stetson, Kevin and myself all seemed to end up with some sort of body damage on this one. Andrew finished up showing us how to "Krawl" up it :laughing: . We finished up and headed to the Exxon to gas up, air up, and connect.


    There was no mechanical damage on this ride, a good thing. Some minor body damage on most of us. (par for the course). Everyone seemed to have a blast. Donnie amazed all of his traversing all of the blue 2's and 3's with his newly lifted jeep. Chris (Quadna) did a great job doing the majority of the spotting. And thanks to Andrew for giving me another opportunity to lead a great group.


    Can't wait for the next trip.


    -Chris


    Here are the pictures: http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4286922017

  • changing rear oil/diff fluid

    Definately take the plug out before you pull the cover. I made that mistake the first time and had a hell of a time trying to get it out with the cover was off the diff.


    After you unbolt all of the bolts, the cover may not come right out. I found its best to leave the very top bolt on but loose and tap the cover with a rubber mallet. This will break the seal but won't let the cover just fall into your drip pan.


    Once it is all drained, scrape off all of the old RTV on both the cover and the diff. Spread an even bead of new RTV on the diff, not the cover. Carefully put back on and bolt it up in a crisscross pattern (like wheel lugs)


    HTH


    -Chris

  • May 8th Paragon Weather Updates


    And the temperature keeps going down. No fair. :sniffle:

  • Locker for d30

    Ed, I saw an ARB on ebay the other day for a dana 30 but it was still pretty expensive. I think it was around 500. If you need an open carrier call up Performance offroad center or http://www.porc.com. I got a used carrier for my dana 30 for around $50. Now I just need the gears to go with it.


    If not ARB, what about an Aussie Locker. I have heard pretty good things about them. If not, I would go with a lockrite. That is what I will probably go with when I have some more money.


    -Chris

  • SYE/CV driveshaft question

    As Falcon said, I ran without one for about 3 months but I was still getting some vibes at 35mph even with the t-case dropped 1.5". But every Jeep is different so you may or may not get vibes. Also the t-case drop is a definate disadvantage on the trails.


    -Chris

  • Control Arm Question

    I am about ready to purchase some front lower control arms and am undecided. The two I am looking at are the RE Superflex Adjustable control arms and the RE Superflex fixed control arms. I know the adjustable ones allow you to adjust the caster (or camber, I can't remember which) but are there any other benefits of them? The fixed are significantly cheaper and money is always an issue with me. Both have the heim joint and the beefiness.


    Help make my decision easier. :spinrhead:


    -Chris

  • varooooom

    Glad to hear it Tony. Now you just have to get it on the trails :rollsmile: . Well.....as soon as you can get it on the road first.


    -Chris

  • Fixed!!! - Tie rod end

    Glad we could finish it all up before we lost the light. Had a blast wrenching as always and really happy it came together so nicely.


    After we got the Alumaflex tierod on, I asked Andrew if we could grab a bottle jack and see if it could really flex and go back to straight. He just gave me one of these looks :folded: and didn't think we should test it before the rocks had a taste. Oh well. :laughing: Still had a blast.


    -Chris

  • Fixed!!! - Tie rod end

    Use a pry bar between the tierod end and the axle and push the tierod end as far as you can into the drag link. This will force the tappered end of the bolt into the hole so that the bolt won't spin.


    It took me 2 hours to figure that out when I put on my new tierod.


    -Chris