After a few local trails i put together a planned trip out to the Devils Race Track out in the San Rafael swell area. This is general not a very hard trail but the view are amazing. We went out there with a few friends from the industry. As we started on the trail is was a great day. Which i will have to tell you about the trail another time. today i wanted to talk about what we found after returning home. In fact i did not even find out. Another off road buddy pointed it out when he was admiring the JK. Which is funny to say since it was Tapply from Racing Anxiety (a Toyota Guy) who noticed the issue. While he was looking at the jeep he found the broken tie rod. It broke right in half. Which i have never seen. I knew the previous owner stretched the rear axle 3 inches but he had cut and re-welded the stock arms. They have held up for the most part but finally given in.
So with a phone call to Core 4x4 i was able to get a custom length replacement in a couple days. I Headed over to Chris's house and we threw these bad boys in. Such a difference when you put in a quality part. The bad thing is for what ever reason i only ordered the Two instead or replacing all the rear parts. Guess i have another shop night coming up. Hopefully before winter Jamboree.
If you need a solid control arm with amazing warranty and amazing owner check out Core 4x4. Build in Orem Utah if you prefer local products.
Author -
Nick Ostler
Crawler Ready
Nick@crawlerready.com
So I purchased the axles and pulled the current axles off my jeep. The new to me axles did need some work, so I started to pull them apart. The rear axle was the first to get torn into. Come to find out the Warn full float was bent, and luckily Warn discontinued the part so they became a nice paper weight. The Warn kit decided it did not want to come off and required a torch to assist in getting it off. Thanks to Chris for the help and usage of his shop!! We pulled off the full float kit and replaced it with some G2 chromoly axle shafts and pulled the brakes off the Dana 35. Which is a direct bolt on for the rear Dana 44. I was a little sad to lose the full float but not enough to lose sleep over it. Next the axle was cleaned up and we replaced one of the brackets with a Barnes 4WD bracket since the bracket on the axle was bent. Did I mention the jeep I got these from was in a wreck? The jeep rolled down in Moab Ut, heading to a trail. The jeep was parted out and as I said for the price, I took the gamble finding out only the ends bent which I believe saved the axles. Back to the build I took the rear axle back to my jeep and was able to get it installed. It hooked up great to my Core 4X4 control arms, Bilstein Shocks and Rubicon Express springs. Only thing left to do is have the drive line shorted and put in fluid.
Moving to the front axle everything is looking pretty good on the ground, but we have a couple brackets to replace. Insert more parts from Barns 4WD. Once the front brackets are replaced, I took the front axle back to the TJ and was able to get it install. Chris was gracious enough to lend a hand on the front axle which was good because there was much more of a fight compared to the rear. A few days later I finished with the brakes and decided to put on the tires. And of course, once the passenger tire was on, we noticed that the passenger side wheel is not straight up and down and has an obvious bend. I pulled off the tire and can see something is wrong but not sure where. With further digging and disassembly its discovered that the spindle is bent. At the time I was happy because you could see the bend on the part, so I felt confident the axle was fine and it was just the spindle that was toasted. A spindle is easy enough to replace I will get one ordered. But the catch is the front axle was custom built and the guy I bought them from had an idea what the parts came off of but was not positive since it had been a while since they were built. For example, here is what I know about the axles. The Housing and the short shaft side is from ‘70 something dodge. The long shaft was cut down to fit an international Scout 2 shaft. The brake backing plates and calipers are off a ‘70-80s chevy and the rotors and hubs are off a late ‘70s bronco. That way it will take a 5x5.5 wheel. So, looking up a specific vehicle to find the spindle is not really an option at this point. I have measured the spindle and searched online but have not been able to find one yet. I have also gone to a couple junk yards and tore apart a couple old truck hubs in hopes that I will find one but have not been successful yet. As I said this is my horror movie in honor of Halloween since its my nightmare to find this spindle so I can once again enjoy the trails with my own Jeep.
-NICK
Crawler Ready
Back to the mixed feelings. Things we have liked about our Power Tanks are the speed at which we can air up tires, with the bonus of not having to hear the roar of compressors as they are trying to fill up 40 inch tires. The constant pressure that is achieved from it being filled with CO2 is great and has gotten us out of a couple jams. One of the times that sticks out to me we were using a ARB dual compressor to try and set a 40 inch tire that came off the bead. Granted I know that's not what the compressor really is made for but we were in a position were we had to reset the bead on a Jeep. We had a PT with us but knew it was about empty so we were using the compressor to no avail. We pulled out the PT for what we believed was a one shot chance and was surprised when it not only gave us enough pressure to set the bead but filled the tire back up to a level we felt safe to drive it out of the trail on. Another time time the PT was there for us, our trailer we found out had a leak in one of the tires. The trailer was stored in the back of a yard no where near electricity, so while trying to figure out how to run power back to the trailer the PT was pulled out. The PT made quick work of the trailer tire and we had the trailer hooked up and moved out before a power cord was found. Over the last couple years we have filled many of tires and even ran a nail gun when the PT was our only option. Because of reason like that we keep the PT on board when we wheel or work on the house and forget the compressor.
With all the good experiences we have had why would we ever have mixed feeling. Well here are some of the concerns I have date with PT. The biggest drawback for me has to be getting the tank filled. All the time saved airing up tires was just waisted driving to a shop that can fill the tank. Then if they are busy or depending on their fill schedule you will have to come back another day to get your tank. Its really just a minor inconvenience as long as you live close but if I had to drive a long way that could weigh into the decision to purchase one. The next concern is there is the added cost. You buy a quality compressor you should be covered for years. Every time you empty your PT your will have to pay to have it filled. Its not going to break the bank but it believe the last time I filled my 10 LB tank it cost around $18 at my local welding supply shop. Again not the end of the world just things to weight out in carrying a PT. And the last concern is the space it takes up. Yes PT has some great mounting options but they still take up a decent amount of real-estate. That is a benefit for a compressor that fits nicely under a hood.
As I said, mixed feeling on carrying a PT but taking into account the space, and refilling its a solid add to your tool collection with endless possibilities where you can use it. In the future we look forward to seeing what usage we can get running tools like an impact wrench. Competing in events like W.E Rock we don't always have access to power so unless we bring a generator we are limited to battery tools which let us down this year when batteries died. It would have been nice to have a PT on deck to help when we come across issues of that nature.
-Nick
CRAWLER READY
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But Jeep TJs are getting up there in age so every once in a while you will need to refresh different parts to help prolong the greatness of your TJ. I have replaced quite a few parts already and plan to talk through them and explain what I have learned installing the different parts and what I think about them.
In this article I wanted to talk about the "Rubicon Express Springs" that I installed. The Jeep when purchased had a lift on it. What lift you might ask I have no idea. It was pretty rusty and was absolute garbage. So needless to say I was really excited to put on the new springs. And don't worry I did replace the shocks but that will be covered in another post, (I just wanted to address that before some felt inclined to point it out).
The springs I put on were supposed to add 4 1/2" to stock and I felt I was close to that when I started but after realizing how bad the springs were it almost felt like i did not have a lift on it at all.
As you can see it was overdue and the ride was even worse then what the old spring looks like.
And on a weird side note I would also like to take a second to thank California for Proposition 65, because these springs now come with a cancer and reproductive harm warning..... I don't know what to say to that, but almost fell over when I saw it on the springs for a Jeep. I can see it now, be careful going over rocks, through puddles, and any other questionable terrain, because having fun with family and friends causes cancer because you put new coil springs on.
Sorry for the side bar what I really wanted to talk about is the coil springs. Installing them was fun, see I have proof below. Since I was not in a race I did it over two days after work. I was able to get them switched over without the loss of too much blood or offending neighbors with expletives.
I have had the springs on for most of the summer and have one trip to Moab plus a few closer off road trips. What I have noticed is they are so much better than what I had but would have to give them an ok-decent rating. They seemed quieter than what I had and I am not getting air over bumps like I was before. The issue I think is that my TJ is just too light. It has the 2.5l motor and has smaller bumpers, no winch, and a soft top. I had a few buddies jump in a was able to instantly tell a difference with the extra weight.
On the trail I did feel that it had good movement and improved flexibility from the previous set up. It allowed me to go over obstacles and not get beat up on some of the quicker sections. I have definitely felt smoother springs but for the price and quality I think they were a good choice.
Thanks for reading.
Nick Ostler
Crawler Ready
nick@crawlerready.com
- Remember we are here to enjoy not destroy!
#crawlerready #crawlerreadynation #jeeptj #jeepbuild #jeeping #moab #rubiconexpresssprings #tjjeep #tjbuild #rockcrawling #rockcrawler
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-Always remember we are here to enjoy not destroy
Nick
]]>I am not sure how many of you had the chance to enjoy this latest snow storm but it was nice to see some snow since we have had an extremely warm winter.
Right away I learned that they are going to do exactly what they are designed to do and that is keep dirt and grim off your carpet. I normally would do everything I could to make sure my feet were a clean as possible, but I dont think I every lost a habit faster then knowing the interior of my ride it protected. That included new years gym resolutions :)
The Weather Tech floor liners managed superb and I could not be happier. They fit well they look good and I do not even mind how they feel under my feet. There are other options out there I just want to say this is a good one.
Now I do not have any affiliation with Weather Tech besides selling them so if you have any questions or would like a quote let us know. We will be happy to help you out.
Here is a little picture of what the day had for me as I tired to get to my truck.
Always remember were here to enjoy not destroy!!
Nick
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A few the weekends ago we had our annual SNOWBALL RUN and wanted to share the experience with you!!
For the last few years in January we prep for the cold and head up Highway 6 to a ghost town called Thistle. Thistle was a town that thrived by servicing locomotives before the change over to diesel engines. In April 1983 a landslide blocked the Spanish Fork River which flooded and destroyed the town(geology). After we got off the main road we have to take a minute to let people air down and disconnect their sway bars. We then drove on up Lake Fork Road headed to Smith Reservoir which is our goal but that is always determined by how much snow there is.
The last few years we have not been able to make it to the frozen reservoir because the deep snow but this year we succeeded!!
After returning to the staging area we were able to pull out our Power Tank and effortlessly fill up our tires for the return trip.
We would like to thank all those who were able to join and make it another great offroad trip.
-Always remember we are here to enjoy not destroy.
Nick
Here is a little treat from past trips to the Smith Reservoir during the summer.
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Today we embark on a new chapter in Crawler Ready. First off, I want to say thanks to all of you and to Tyler! He has built an amazing brand in the off-road industry, and has devoted a lot of time, effort and passion to get Crawler Ready to where it is. We are honored to take over Crawler Ready and we will strive to bring the passion that Tyler has brought. We are excited to take on this new chapter and hope we can provide awesome new products that everyone will enjoy. We are currently working on designing a new website and getting some new gear available, so please be patient with us as we work on this. Our plan is to give you all the best clothing, gear and swag possible. We know that we wouldn’t be where we are without the support from all of you!
We look forward to many fun years,
Chris McKenzie & Nick Ostler
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