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Went wheeling this last Saturday in Borrego. Went up Canyon Sin Nombre up to Arroyo Seco Del Diablo and went down the drop off, then into Fish Creek and headed north to the 78 from there. Was a great trip and I was finally able to flex out my suspension a bit to see what it can really do!
Posing for the camera!
Gotta love getting the axles twisted up a bit.
Rear fender well stuffs a 31 like it was made for it! It looks like it touches in this pic but theres a gap all the way around.
Serious droop! Im really impressed with this flex, especially for a short arm kit. I had that spring pretty well decompressed at this point.
From the top of Diablo Drop Off. The wife and I.
One of the cave entrance areas.
There are more pics on my dad's camera and my wife's phone, as well as a video going down the drop off, just gotta figure out how to post videos lol.
For anyone considering a short arm lift kit. I'm really really impressed with the way this Metalcloak kit did, so much flex for a 3.5 short arm lift!!
My wife snapped a pic from the passenger seat while I was driving. Beautiful day out! I did learn that I need a good way to secure Denali in the back a bit more, I went over some pretty bumpy stuff and she got bounced around a little. Canine friendly back seat mod? hehe.
Hmm, not sure if it's this computer at work, but the link is going to that websites homepage rather than a specific product. What's the product called? I'll just do a search on the website.
So I figure I'll toss in a quick update.... Never do your own gears... Ever! Unless of course you do it for a living. This **** SUCKS! I currently have a seized pinion nut holding the new pinion in the rear axle. Going to take another stab at it this weekend, but if I can't get it done, I'm pulling the entire axle and taking all parts to a shop and having them complete the job.
I still haven't decided if I will attempt the front axle or not. In any case, I'm feeling a bit defeated at the moment.
Just read through this entire thread, Very nice build man. Yes, doing your own gearing sucks if you're inexperienced and don't know what you're in for. The dana 30 can be a bear if you don't have a case spreader. It's better when you have buddies that do this stuff. Drop it off and pick it up lol. I've done some gearing and prefer to stay away from it.
Just read through this entire thread, Very nice build man. Yes, doing your own gearing sucks if you're inexperienced and don't know what you're in for. The dana 30 can be a bear if you don't have a case spreader. It's better when you have buddies that do this stuff. Drop it off and pick it up lol. I've done some gearing and prefer to stay away from it.
Thank you for the kind words! It's funny because I thought I knew what I was in for. I did a TON of reading on it to try and find out what would be difficult, what would cause me problems, etc... And then I just kept having one issue after another. The center pin bolt rounded over, the crush sleeve eliminator didn't work out, parts/tools didn't deliver on time, the pinion nut that came with the install kit was the wrong thread pattern so I had to buy a new one, then the new one seized up on me and we are here. Oh and I couldn't get the old pinion bearing races out of the diff housing, so I decided to just leave them!
What should have taken a day is now on day 4 come tomorrow... I don't think it's worth the amount of time and energy I've put into it to not just pay someone a few hundred bucks to do it for me.
Just read through this entire thread, Very nice build man. Yes, doing your own gearing sucks if you're inexperienced and don't know what you're in for. The dana 30 can be a bear if you don't have a case spreader. It's better when you have buddies that do this stuff. Drop it off and pick it up lol. I've done some gearing and prefer to stay away from it.
I agree...Just bite the bullet and take the axles to the pro's to finish the job.
Well, the Jeep will be towed into M.I.T. Drivetrain Specialists in El Cajon Thursday, hopefully ready for pick up on Friday. They came in a bit higher than the other shop I looked at, but it was their estimate if it takes them the full time on the rear axle. Since I've done about half the work already, it may be a bit cheaper in the end.
Once I get it back, I need to install my ARB compressor. I got the CKMA12 compressor, and also got the tire inflation kit for it. My problem is figuring out WHERE to put it. I have the original ABS crap in the way of where it would normally go, and plan to do a dual battery so I don't wanna put it where the air box is now. I'm thinking about the little cubby area under the back seats, with hopes that it won't be too terribly obnoxious when inflating tires if I have the seat down.
Anyone have any other recommendations on where to put this thing when I can't use the airbox location, and have ABS in the way?
Camera Nerd Alert. I see an old TLR, a 1940's style Box camera. Do they work?
The TLR DID work, but I actually purchased it to take photographs with my SLR. Basically, set up the TLR and take a photo of the viewfinder with the SLR. However, it's no longer functional after a sad drop while moving. Internal parts came lose and the viewfinder broke . Now it's just a decoration.
To see what the photos look like though, Google "through the viewfinder photography"
. Now it's just a decoration.
