Mikes Build

[Mike]

blew up a drivers side hub today i think, but its snowing like am other fucker out and im not taking it apart today.... Its a warn premium hub though with a life time warranty so ill just send it in and get a new one...

[Mike]

wheeled @ crozet, va all weekend....

was running a red trail when my power steering cooler return line ruptured and started a fairly big fire. Thank god I have a fire extinguisher in my jeep and close by. Everyone else in my group also had them but their jeeps were at the bottom of the hill, and it would have been 30+ seconds of a raging fire if I didnt have mine handy.


Ripped the steering box off the frame. Worst fucking thing ever, was almost enough to make me want to quit wheeling, but im sure that was just the emotions getting the best of me. I installed my bumper and tie ins a few weeks ago. I torqued the steering box bolts down as hard as i could by hand. In retrospect, shoulda hit em with a impact and i guess you are suppose to locktite those..

Well i guess one of the three bolts backed out at some point in the day... I was working on another obstacle and someone said my pitman arm looked fucked up. Come to find out the two remaining bolts has stipped out the box and the third was discovered to have backed out somewhere... Was fucking pissed so i backed off the rock i was on and smashed my hatch into a tree and took out the window also.

It was pouring, we were up in the mountains miles away from parts stores hours to the nearest junkyard, so I tried to ghetto rig something up.. Found bolts slightly bigger and longer so I reamed out the 3 holes in the steering box to 1/2" and tried to bolt that bitch back to the frame but there is no clearance for nuts on the back side of the box...

I said fuck it and resorted to drinking / sleeping for the rest of the night... The next morning i was taking a ride from a dude headed back to Virginia Beach and just as I was leaving some dude comes up to me and tells me hes parting out an XJ and has a box I can have for free... Fucking sweet, so the dude drives me to his house, lets me use his tools, gives me a free steering box, drives me all over central virginia to get me to a parts store to get a new high pressue line for my box, and brings me back to my jeep and lets me use his tools. Awesome guy.. Needless to say I made it home after a frustrating weekend.

Plans are, Durango box, send it out for a rebuild and to get tapped for hydro assist from west texas offroad.

Also, WJ power steering box, hydro assist. Buying a steering kit from completeoffroad and rebuilding my draglink and tie rod.

Gotta look into plating my inner frame rail where the steering box mounts. I have a crok plate in there but not sure if thats enough.


Gonna try really hard to make it to rausch in april.

[CumminsJeep]

Looks like im gonna want to buy some steering box bracing and tie ins.....


That sucks man I hope you get it all figured out

[Bigbike]

holy shit dude that sucks.

[LittleD]

Thank god you ran into the other person, that would have been a looooong weekend

[Mike]

Thank god you ran into the other person, that would have been a looooong weekend

if I didnt run into that guy, I was just gonna leave my jeep there until I found time to go back. Would have been hella expensive in gas + parts, man i got lucky. I guess god felt bad for me.

[Ktmracer419]

almost enough to make me want to quit wheeling,




.

dont pull a geno.

and bam

yea, reinforce that sum bitch. i have a tnt plate chillin inside the rail, and hd offroad stiffeners on the outside. bottom of the rail is plated with 3/16"

trackbar bracket is welded to the stiffys

shit aint moving anymore

[Mike]

not quitting wheeling, but when you are ankle deep in a steam covered in mud, and its pouring and you are dropping tools in the water and bolts and nuts are everywhere and your jeep is destroyed and its your only vehicle, its hard for that thought to not cross someones mind.

Im probably gonna leave that Crok plate on the inside unless i find something better.

Are my bumper tie-ins good enough to reinforce the outside ?



pretty sure the are 3/16" and pickup the steering box bolts, bumper, and one extra.



also sam how do you not get pissed with your steering box? With the same setup as you,and in the rocks if there is bindage i cannot turn the wheel really, I have to give it some movement forward or back to actually turn the wheels.... One reason im looking into hydro assist.

[Ktmracer419]

Are my bumper tie-ins good enough to reinforce the outside ?

also sam how do you not get pissed with your steering box? With the same setup as you,and in the rocks if there is bindage i cannot turn the wheel really, I have to give it some movement forward or back to actually turn the wheels.... One reason im looking into hydro assist.

i thought my bumper mounts would be sufficient.... they werent, and it cracked all up over the place.

no matter what you have for steering, if you are really bound up you wont turn anyway. but sure it helps in many situations. i used to want to do teh hydro assistorz. but now i have the mindset of keeping things simple. less things to go wrong. and if the steering gets bound up. i just back up and take a smarter line

[Mike]

maybe ill just do durango box and WJ power steering for now and see where that gets me..

Adam with a stock box said it was a major upgrade for him to go with a WJ steering pump.

Alex with a stock pump and a durango box said it was an incredible upgrade for his shit..

so maybe doing both these upgrades will make one super upgrade? Ill probably try this and if all else fails and im still not happy ill get my box tapped for hydro assist.

[Mike]

first thing i need to do is get a spare vehicle so im not relying on the jeep to be my one and only.

[crosbike]

Sorry to hear about all the shit hitting the fan on your jeep. Tis a major reason i never wheel without all my braces in place. Maybe look into a brace coming from the other side of the unibody as well.
I also have the WJ pump and it seems to have an easier time turning in tough situations and I definitely don't need to pull on the wheel to get it to turn.

[XJLI]

WJ pump ftw. mine gets whiney bc i ran it dry for like .05 seconds but its still much nicer offroad and on.

[CumminsJeep]

I jus ordered a set of hdoffroadengineering stiffys for the front and middle and it was 247 shipped. pm him on naxja he gave me like 5% off or something. not much, but its something. I think your best bet is doing this. they tie into the front bumper too. I say spend the extra cash and go all out. IMO

[Burton58]

Maybe look into a brace coming from the other side of the unibody as well.

he has my brace from the passenger frame rail, inner crok and outer bumper supports. looks like plating is in order