dang thats such a sick ride. Im impressed how cool that thing looks. dang! wish i had your rig

 

from my last trip out i have discovered that i desperately needed an external tranny cooler. so i went out and picked up a schucks special cooler and bipassed the radiator with it.

 

since i put the new cooler in front of the radiator it is restricting the radiator from breathing as much. so i decided now would be a good time to try out some hood vents. i bought a set from a guy of NAXJA and started getting them mounted up.

i first made a template from the vents out of cardboard so i could figure out where i wanted the vents to be. i made sure it was a little smaller that way i wouldnt make them too big. i figured i can always cut more away but cant add more.
holes measured and cut in the hood

first vent being test fitted

both vents sitting in there final destination

here is the underside of the hood and how i mounted them. i bought a piece of 1/2"x3/4" aluminum angle from Lowes and drilled some holes for stainless steel screws to screw into thus holding the vents tight to the hood.


i havent really been able to drive it around to see if the temperature is really affected but tomorow im headed up to the hills for some snow wheelin and will post up how they work

 

a picture of it with better lighting

 

Looks good Branden I cant wait to see it this weekend. Did you run the tranny lines through the radiator and the cooler? or just one?

 

Thanks man. I completely bypassed the radiator with the lines

 

so last weekend i had her out to Evans Creek for a last chance snow run before it closes for the winter. the jeep performed flawlessy and did everything i had attempted until disaster struck.....


i was playing on the huge log at the top of 311b and blew up the ujoint in the rear driveline. driveline was fine just replaced the ujoint and went on my way. needless to say i didnt try the obstacle again

 

at least you didn't twist the drive shaft in half like my dad did.

 

please tell me your are as unimpressed with your XRC8 as am I. I have had it almost two years and have replaced almost every mechanical piece of the winch.

 

lol i had to replace the electrical box on it once after about a year. i have had it for two years now. it isnt that bad for only being $300. it does suck a lot of juice when winching though which i am not too impressed with.

 

two more i found

 

man i love this jeep! let me ask you this...if you had the chance to do it over again would you still go leafs in the front? i'm up in the air about it. i love my coils but at the same time i'm not as much of a hard core wheeler as you so front and rear coils for me would be over kill. i like the simple mechanics of leafs!

 

you know wut, so far i have zero complaints about the front leafs. yes i would do it again because it was simple and seems to work. the ride is MUCH better also. and not to mention that having leafs up front makes axle swaps way easier. so it wont take much to get a 60 up front....

 

honestly i think i'm gonna go this route when i add my full widths. no track bar needed, no sway bar, no axle brackets...just so much easier and functional! and like you said...it makes axle removal/installation great! lol

 

this might be waaaay delayed but i just found the part numbers for all the hydro stuff and thought i would post it on here

1.5X8X1 DA HYDraulic CYLinder SWIVEL EYES (1)

JIC 6M x 1/4 NPTM 45 ELBOW (2)

JIC 6M x SAE 6M CONNECTOR (2)

1/4" X 36" JIC 6F X JIC 6F 5000 PSI HYDraulic HOSE (2)