4x4tographer 2,847 Posted May 2, 2021 Just an updated Flex Shot on our latest trip to CK! 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4x4tographer 2,847 Posted May 16, 2021 (edited) Rolled out to Lake Pleasant to explore a little side canyon area with @theksmith and to grab some "commercial" photos. It's been a LONG time since I've played around with some strobist photography. I've forgotten how much I enjoyed it. I've still got a few more to look at, but dropped a few of my favorites from the day below: The shade of this small canyon wall helped keep direct sun out of the equation and let us play with a mix of ambient light and remote flash. Of course, you need to add in your own headlights for a little extra drama! 😬 The lower to the ground you get, the better. I was crawling in the dirt most of the morning. Here's a nose to nose shot with Gadget, and below are a few of my favorite captures of Kristoffer's rig. Edited May 16, 2021 by 4x4tographer 4 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shellback91 1,836 Posted May 16, 2021 12 minutes ago, 4x4tographer said: Rolled out to Lake Pleasant to explore a little side canyon area with @theksmith and to grab some "commercial" photos. It's been a LONG time since I've played around with some strobist photography. I've forgotten how much I enjoyed it. I've still got a few more to look at, but dropped a few of my favorites from the day below: The shade of this small canyon wall helped keep direct sun out of the equation and let us play with a mix of ambient light and remote flash. Of course, you need to add in your own headlights for a little extra drama! 😬 The lower to the ground you get, the better. I was crawling in the dirt most of the morning. Here's a nose to nose shot with Gadget, and below are a few of my favorite captures of Kristoffer's rig. These are awesome Ryan! Oki & Gadget are lookin' good! 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dzJeepChic 2,517 Posted May 17, 2021 Bravo Ryan!! They're awesome! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4x4tographer 2,847 Posted June 30, 2021 Some minor updates on the JL: Just hit 39,000 miles Performed an oil change (Mobil 1 full synthetic) + filters. With the lift, oil changes are a breeze now! Drove my first "major" road trip - 850 mile wine country trip from Phoenix to Oceanside/Fallbrook/Temecula A full-size wine barrel fits in the rear of a JLU with the subwoofer option 😅 1 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stacey and Scott 1,219 Posted June 30, 2021 You're not fooling anyone, we were at Cracker Barrel yesterday and sat in those chairs waiting for a table! 12 hours ago, 4x4tographer said: Some minor updates on the JL: Just hit 39,000 miles Performed an oil change (Mobil 1 full synthetic) + filters. With the lift, oil changes are a breeze now! Drove my first "major" road trip - 850 mile wine country trip from Phoenix to Oceanside/Fallbrook/Temecula A full-size wine barrel fits in the rear of a JLU with the subwoofer option 😅 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4x4tographer 2,847 Posted June 30, 2021 5 minutes ago, Stacey and Scott said: You're not fooling anyone, we were at Cracker Barrel yesterday and sat in those chairs waiting for a table! 😄 Good eye! I bought that chair for Michelle about 5 years ago. Couldn't fit it inside of my Cherokee, so I had to strap it to the roof! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jgaz 587 Posted June 30, 2021 1 hour ago, 4x4tographer said: 😄 Good eye! I bought that chair for Michelle about 5 years ago. Couldn't fit it inside of my Cherokee, so I had to strap it to the roof! Cue the Beverly Hillbilly’s theme song. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4x4tographer 2,847 Posted September 13, 2021 A little update on Oki - going in for our first troubleshooting service appointment for the Jeep since we purchased it back in October of 2018. We're currently sitting at 41,700 miles. On the way up to the 2021 ORP Gala, @Yodamom noticed a new dash indicator was flashing that she'd never seen before. Essentially, the Jeep was indicating that the rear was suddenly locked while driving on the highway in 2HI, which isn't possible to do by accident as the Rubicon's computer prevents locking either axle in anything other than 4LO (you can't lock either diff in 4HI on this model). When she arrived, I saw that both the dash indicator and the rear locker switch were flashing. Interestingly, it behaved throughout our entire trail ride on Saturday and didn't act up again until our drive home on the highway on Sunday - likely due to the high heat of the rear diff oil. The Jeep behaved normally despite the lights. Long story short, it all comes down to an interesting problem/engineering with the hall effect sensor in the JL's differentials. This sensor is located inside of the differential itself, and is responsible for telling the Jeep if the lockers are engaged or not. What can happen is that gear oil can intrude into the sensor itself or into the wiring harness and cause a ground fault. Likely this happens due to the high heat of the oil bathing the sensor until there is a failure of the seal on the unit. At first, this will cause "locker engaged" messages to appear intermittently. Overtime, if allowed to persist, the Jeep will flash up a "Service Locker" error. What can happen is that you might successfully lock the rear while out trail riding, but the Jeep will not disengage the lockers when asked due to the faulty sensor. This could leave you stranded and unable to drive home on pavement. Below shows a sample photo of a bad seal that allowed oil into the sensor with oil covering the interior-side of the cover. Photos are NOT mine, but pulled from a similar thread on this issue over at the JL Wrangler Forums. This sample image shows oil coating the surface of the circuit board. Some owners have taken to cracking open their sensors and noted that there was no "potting" of the internal components with an electrically non-conductive material to prevent damage from fluid intrusion. Some have taken it upon themselves to pot their sensors themselves using an oil resistant material like RCV to help stave off this issue. The interesting part of this story is that the sensor and its components are "OEM only" and are not available for purchase by dealer service departments or by "civilians". The reported solution so far is for dealers to order an entire new Dana 44 axle to obtain the part - so they're doing full axle swaps for a failed $15 part. There's hope that someday the sensor will be available for sale in the future, but there's no word on that happening anytime soon. A current workaround has come in from ZAutomotive through the use of a pigtail that plugs into the Jeep between the differential and the Jeep's computer. It sends feedback to the Jeep to trick it into thinking that the lock/unlock was successful - bypassing the problem of no feedback from the faulty OEM sensor. Companies like DOETSCH Offroad have been using it successfully on Jeep's here in the Valley. It's a good little insurance plan, but $180 for the unit seems a little steep - many are picking one up and keeping it in their tool bag for when this type of failure occurs in the future. Right now my 5 year / 50K mile powertrain warranty should cover it, but I'm not really looking forward to the potential 6 week wait on a brand new axle to show up. More updates to come as I get it to the dealer for diagnosis. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dzJeepChic 2,517 Posted September 13, 2021 22 minutes ago, 4x4tographer said: so they're doing full axle swaps for a failed $15 part. THAT'S INSANE! The drive up must have been nerve-wracking for @Yodamom, I would've been freaking out. Hope the dealership treats you nice and Oki is on the mend soon! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
