What did you do to your rig today?

[Lichen 110]

I picked up a pair of Baofeng GMRS radios since it seems to be the latest fad.  Arrived from Amazon within 6 hours of ordering!  Maybe I can figure out how to use them.

[4x4tographer 2,929]

1 hour ago, Lichen said:

I picked up a pair of Baofeng GMRS radios since it seems to be the latest fad.  Arrived from Amazon within 6 hours of ordering!  Maybe I can figure out how to use them.

 

Nice pickup! I like those little radios. Always got a pair in the glove box.

 

Speaking of - this is a nice thread that helps address a common issue that can happen with these. Hopefully you won't need to deal with it, but good info to have on hand

 

 

 

[shellback91 1,851]

2 hours ago, Lichen said:

I picked up a pair of Baofeng GMRS radios since it seems to be the latest fad.  Arrived from Amazon within 6 hours of ordering!  Maybe I can figure out how to use them.

 

Nice! There's a dude on the YouTube that has a channel named "Not A Rubicon Productions". He has a lot of videos and some specifically for this radio that may help.

[Curly 973]

Finally finished the projects I started last month. After replacing the exhaust manifold and freeze plugs, I found that I had a short circuit in the fuse box wiring.  That took some time to track down. All good now.

Engine with the new exhaust manifold and the intake painted Ford Blue.  I'm hoping the F.O.R.D. paint will help the Jeep be First On Race Day and not Found On Road Dead. 

 

Replaced the ignition and turn signal switches and fixed the Horn Button.

 

[dzJeepChic 2,565]

8 hours ago, Curly said:

I'm hoping the F.O.R.D. paint will help the Jeep be First On Race Day and not Found On Road Dead. 

Or that you have to Fix Or Repair Daily.  

[WILL E 427]

For. Off. Road. Duty!

 

 

[WILL E 427]

Old school hot rodders often have a big thumpy cam that creates poor vacuum at idle.  And cars with turbo's create positive pressure in the manifold.   One trick used with vacuum assisted brakes is to add a vacuum pump and/or reservoir.  My old jeep has decent  vacuum at idle but there have been occasions where the engine dies on a hill and while I get one more pump of the brakes, after that it is no longer assisted. 

 

So I added a reservoir which did adda couple of more pumps, but I decided to also add in an electric vacuum pump.   I can turn it off and on at will, mostly I just leave it off.   The idea is if I die on a hill or am getting dragged for miles off of a trail, I will have excellent brakes.  

 

The pump is attached between the reservoir and the brake assembly.  I left the check valve on the brake assembly reservoir and there is a second check valve on the tank where manifold vacuum is attached.  

 

 

Edited December 29, 2021 by WILL E

[theksmith 4,150]

20 hours ago, WILL E said:

Old school hot rodders often have a big thumpy cam that creates poor vacuum at idle.  And cars with turbo's create positive pressure in the manifold.   One trick used with vacuum assisted brakes is to add a vacuum pump and/or reservoir.  My old jeep has decent  vacuum at idle but there have been occasions where the engine dies on a hill and while I get one more pump of the brakes, after that it is no longer assisted. 

 

So I added a reservoir which did adda couple of more pumps, but I decided to also add in an electric vacuum pump.   I can turn it off and on at will, mostly I just leave it off.   The idea is if I die on a hill or am getting dragged for miles off of a trail, I will have excellent brakes.  

 

The pump is attached between the reservoir and the brake assembly.  I left the check valve on the brake assembly reservoir and there is a second check valve on the tank where manifold vacuum is attached.  

 

 

 

so modern!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 30, 2021 by theksmith

[WILL E 427]

Today I replaced my Optima batteries with a pair of Odyssey batteries.  I have been using optima's for years.  I knew a guy decades ago,  well into the last century, who was a dealer for the original optima batteries.   The original optima's were hard to kill and lasted years.  But my enthusiasm for the brand has lowered over the years and I thought I would give the Odyssey's a chance.    

 

Of course there were issues.  I had bought a battery box that was specifically made for the optima.  The Odyssey is a bit bigger and didn't fit.  A friend with a plasma cutter helped fix that problem. 

 

But the Odyssey is also taller.   Letzroll did a custom battery enclosure for the aux battery.  The taller Odyssey fits fine BUT my circuit breaker setup which I mounted on the top of the battery hold down was now interfering with the hood.    Great. 

 

So  I redid the what was originally a very graceful mounting of the circuit breaker and replaced it with something that is less graceful.     This makes me a bit sad because I was very enamored with myself for the original mount.  It was just one of those rare fabrication moments where it all fit perfectly, looked good, was super functional, etc. 

 

Then I went to replace the primary battery and, of course, there were issues.   The Solenoid that is used to manually connect the two batteries together was in the way.  It wasn't a problem with the Optima, they have the coil design so they are not 'flat' on the sides so my solenoid mount was fine.   The interference wasn't too bad so I took a file to the plastic part of the solenoid and created just a bit of space. 

 

So that was my day.  Overall a good day working on the jeep in reasonably nice weather.   Only one trip to the hardware store and I escaped there only spending a few bucks on longer bolts and other stuff. 

 

  

[Cullen McCarthy 42]

I guess I will add to this thread.

I am doing a kinds bigger project on my 2019 ZR2.

I am adding a 1 inch level kit on the front, putting on 35inch tires, cutting the fenders and adding flares to clear the 35's, re-gearing to 4.10's from the factory 3.42's, added a hidden wench to the factory front bumper(control box is located under the hood), adding good set of under armor, and changing the bed rack to a lietner, It will raise my tent but allow me to stand the spare tire up in the bed.

I hope to be done by Saturday, or early next week.