dzJeepChic 2,897 Posted April 8 Cool picture K! Reminds me of the AZ flag (upside-down). On 4/5/2026 at 2:02 PM, theksmith said: 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4WLNRN 774 Posted April 9 On 4/8/2026 at 5:21 AM, dzJeepChic said: Cool picture K! Reminds me of the AZ flag (upside-down). I was thinking this is a picture I would see on a brochure trying to sell me a 1 ton steering kit or upgraded suspension. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 5,778 Posted April 12 went up near Rimrock/Lake Montezuma and then over to Pine and Payson areas looking for good trailer camp spots this morning... 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 5,778 Posted April 14 (edited) updates on misc recent issues... recurring P0369 DTC the last change i made was to replace the oil control valve for the #1 exhaust camshaft and that seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for this issue. i've put quite a few miles on her since then and have held higher RPMs on hill climbs for extended periods of time specifically to try and cause the issue again. i *think* Gadget's finally cured of this particular problem! water tank skid hitting rear pinion yoke this is all fixed up, and the water tank has been fully re-installed. i wrapped the entire tank in heat shield insulation this time, instead of just the side facing the exhaust. handling/drivability issues all the recent fixes & mods have improved freeway handling, but i think it could still be better... this weekend i noticed that my front axle-side upper control arm bushings are trashed, likely contributing to the handling issues: i've ordered Metalcloak's front weld-on DuroBushing kit to replace those. i'm hoping they're a good compromise between the ride quality of factory Clevite bushings versus the increased flex of converting to Johnny Joints. i also double checked my front driveshaft's lower joint clearance again at full axle droop. i found the u-joint straps were actually binding against the slip yoke. i thought i had this dialed in, so it might just be from those upper bushings having increased slop (allowing the axle to lean back further). i did a temporary fix by grinding on the yoke a bit: i'd still like to have more caster to improve the straight line tracking at highway speeds, but the pinion angle and this 1350 u-joint are preventing that. purchasing an entire aftermarket axle assembly to fix this is not in the cards (one where the pinon/knuckle relative angle is reduced). i've toyed with the idea of fabbing up a center limit strap that prevents the pinion from drooping too far but still allows the axle to articulate it's ends further than the strap. or, i could get a double-double-cardan 1350 shaft. there's several potential ways to fix this, but i finally decided to just replace my 1350 front shaft with a 1310 one. a 1310 joint is quite a bit weaker than a 1350, but gives over 10* more angle without binding. this article and charts from Tom Woods convinced me a 1310 front shaft will still be strong enough for my particular gears and tire-size. so i have a 1310 shaft on order now (along with the corresponding t-case and axle yokes). once i get that 1350 shaft out, and get the new upper bushings installed, then i can get back to playing around with more caster. oh, and i currently have the passenger side control arms one turn longer than the driver side to counteract a strong pull to the right (more than the crown of the road should cause). i'll have to see if that is still needed once the bushings are fixed. Edited April 14 by theksmith 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jgaz 750 Posted April 15 You’re brave Kris! I would never post I had a phantom CEL fixed. I’ve fought a slight EVAP leak code (P0456) on my 2017 Ram for about 9 months. Every time I even think I “fixed” it the code comes back. If it weren’t for our stupid, mandated emissions test I wouldn’t worry about it as it’s so random and seldom. But saying out loud that I fixed it, no way! 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 5,778 Posted April 27 back from our latest Rug Road trip, more photos here... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 5,778 Posted April 30 (edited) installed the new 1310 front shaft with solid joints from driveshaftsdirect.com. it came with a t-case yoke, but i had to buy a factory pinion flange yoke (#68004070AB) since i had thrown away my original one after going to the previous 1350 shaft. also got the old axle side upper control arm bushings replaced with the Metalcloak duroflex joint kit. out with the old: the MC driver's side one presses in just like a factory bushing: the passenger side you have to cut off the factory mount and weld in a new "metal tombstone". this is exactly the same process as for the Johnny Joint replacements, but the MC's are cheaper while offering a few degrees more articulation. in order to have room to work, i ended up with the wheels off and drooping the axle all the way down while the Jeep was up on stands. welding in there was a PITA - i could get the MIG gun finagled in between everything decently but had trouble getting my noggin with the welding helmet in close enough to see well. i think it'll hold though! now i just need to shorten my upper arms still to dial in a bit more caster. Edited April 30 by theksmith 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 5,778 Posted May 4 (edited) had a P0010 DTC come and go a couple times recently, internets said that was an open circuit detected on the bank 1 intake camshaft position actuator. kept happening even after cleaning and reseating the connector, so i replaced the connector and a couple inches of the wiring with a new pigtail and the problem seems to be solved. Edited May 4 by theksmith 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 5,778 Posted May 24 went out Friday night with the Arizona 4Lo Facebook group on an obscure trail called Last Stand in the Table Mesa area. i thought they were just going to run the Terminators, but plans changed i guess! Gadget handled everything pretty well, but did have to take a winch on the largest waterfall. a JKU before me turned his front OEM driveshaft into a full-on twisty pretzle on that one. i got home around 2:30am which isn't bad considering the size of the group and that they had to tow the JKU with the busted DS through some of the toughest parts of the trail. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
