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Expedition Scrambler..?

odd to me that you'd be allowed to PCS so early after redeployment.. are you not on at least a 90-day forced stabilization? Or did the first GO in your chain of command allow you to PCS early?

after 17+ years, the one thing I have grown to really hate is PCS-ing.. used to actually enjoy it, now I dread it.. but it can be a good forcing function to make you shed bullsh-t you don't need..

rocker armor looks good..
 
"Issues" in the Army...

"6",
I thought it was odd myself. But surprisingly about 2/3s of my unit are on PCS orders. Never heard of that. And since I recieved my orders/notification while still downrange I wonder if it wasn't just a SNAFU? *shrugs* I did manage a 30 extension which still may not be enough but I guess it will have to be. The Army as a whole, and Ft. Bliss in particular seem to be going through some large changes. And I doubt that they know what they are doing half the time....haha.
I think if one counted the calander days I would have been very close indeed to the 90 day window with a Feb10 report date. But for one PCSing overseas that is still a rediculously short time to do everything. Granted not every Joe has the Jeep sickness like I do but still. It really comes across as poor planing. I won't even see the personal baggage connex until mid/late Jan. How soldiers (remember, most of the unit) that are PCSing can get HHgoods picked up or clear CIF without having all their gear from deployment...well, logistically you get the point.
On a good note I made the long, snowy journey to Utah and picked up the RTT, Yippie! And I had a bitter sweet experience at CORE off road while I was in Rifle, CO. Great guys that do outstanding work. I scored some F350 front shock mounts off them as well as a good pair of taillights to replace my cracked ones. Chris (owner-former owner of M.O.R.E etc) also hooked me up with some banners for my one-day garage and some sticker swag type stuff. That was the sweet part. The bitter was I asked his guys to check the fluid level in the Dodge's T-case. Coming over the mountain it was having 4wd issues. Turnes out its not the T-case. The front Dana 60s pinion bearing is kaput. Crap! So it will have to be a 2wd for the time being and cross my fingers I don't run into any more weather needing 4x4...I hope!
Headed back to Golden now to pick up the trailer and start the long trek to Atlanta. Gonna be behind schedule no matter what but whatever. It all works out in the end, right?;)
 
speed bump or hitting the wall...?

This has been an adventure of legend...nightmare legends! After having driven all the way to Atlanta in the Dodge with no problems I have hit a wall. Had battery issues there, fixed that. On the way back to Colorado to put everything into storage the Dodge died again, this time on the side of the road. Spent 14 hours in 3* weather waiting for friends to come help rescue me. It required a flat bed and another Diesel and great friends to get me and my (over)load the last 100 miles or so to Golden. After beating my head trying to troubleshoot the issue I finally gave in and had it towed, again, to a local diesel shop. Turns out the fuel pump pressure was low and it was on its way out. Now mind you I have spent almost every dime on fuel, food, batteries, etc...and now I get to borrow the $$ to pay for these repairs. Just so I can get back to base and return to work. And as much as this really sucks, the worst part is this will likely slow or stop my expedition build. I have many parts still to install, and some will get done but money is non-exhistant now. So unless some magic windfall occurs the Expo-8 will be far more...tame(?) than the plan had hoped for. And with the costs of building anything in Europe being just SILLY...I don't see much in the way of a light at the end of the tunnel that isn't a train coming the other way. Nothing is set in stone and who knows...But I am exhausted, broke, late for work, and short on time...Sigh.
 
Keep the faith. We all run into these obstacles...but we persevere and overcome. It'll all work out.
 
I am exhausted, broke, late for work, and short on time...Sigh.

That sounds like the makings of a great country & western song.:D Hang in there man. It's just a speed bump, not a roadblock.
 
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My life as a C&W song...

Thanks for the kind words guys. I'm not surrendering, just have to re-evaluate the situation and develop a plan of attack that will work with such a miniscule timeframe and budget now. I'm enroute to the shop to see where I am with the jeep at this point and decide (hopefully) what can and can not get done now. The trick is I have to find some way to get the front axle on/installed since it is far to heavy to ship with anything else. And it will be easy enough to do the SOA on the rear but its gonna look aweful funny on 31s! Don't know if I can pony the cash at this point for the 35s and having a set shipped there would be a nightmare! Stay tuned...I will be back...:wave:
 
cleaner...

Not much to report after today as the Auto craft shop was packed! If you don't get there at Dawn's crack you don't get a spot so I was kinda outta luck. In an effort to do something I broke out the pressure washer and de-funked the truck and trailer from all the road junk and post snow icky stuff...yeesh! That was a mess!! Also had to repair the trailer tongue jack. I then turned the washer on the Scrambler and did a little engine and underside cleaning. Engine looks great...well, at least what I can see of it buried under all the emmission crap! Wish I could DX all that!
Tomorrow will hopefully be more productive. I'm gonna shoot for finishing the mounting of the rocker protection so I can start the paint on them Mon or Tues. Also need to remount the corner protection to get started on the mounting points for the roof rack that will hold the RTT. Not sure about the timeline on this but its should be do-able!?! More tomorrow I hope!:cheers:
 
Thieves and stress...

So today was day one of a 4 day weekend around here and I had high hopes of great pprogress. Well, that didn't work out. When I arrived at the shop raring to go I go collered by a friend to tow his diesel YJ and trailer back to his house for him as he was going out of town. Can't refuse friends so I lost most of the morning taking care of that. Note to self...allways ensure the hitch is locked on the trailer ball BEFORE driving the jeep up the ramps!!! Had a little uplifting experience thanks to Mr. Unnamed friend not securing his trailer...lol!
Anyway, after getting back to the shop I started to break out the tools to finish up the front bumper install and couldn't find my angle grinder anywhere. I had used it earlier in the week and as usual it was left in my Jeep. Well, it seems that someone needed it more than I did so they helped themselves to it! *Insert a long line of nasty explitives here!!!* And while the loss is my fault for not securing it correctly I needed to go buy one like I need to drive a Prius! But since it is THE tool I count on most I was without an option. So off to Lowes I went to spend some of my tire money on a new grinder...yea.
Back at the shop I learned that the hours were shorter today due to the "training holiday". I can't say how thrilled I was to have wasted my morning and now find I am very low on time to boot! So I got cracking and despite a handful of other little speedbumps I managed to make som progress on the bumper. I now have a good foothold on how the mounting will happen and it is a matter of (hopefully) a few more hours and I can cross that off the to-do list. Tomorrow...I hope! Then it will be on to the rockers and corners. Sorry no hitech pics to go along with todays limited progress. Though a pic of my face as the trailer did a wheelie would have been perfect!
More tomorrow!
 
Those "thieves" are the ones you send out front first in a firestorm...and they just go away.:wave: Sorry you had to deal with that.
 
Ah, the old "Teeter-Totter-Trailer" trick. Been there, done that.

Sorry to hear about your grinder.
 
Babies got a new set of shoes...

Well,
I pulled the trigger. After much internal debate I decided that tires were a "must get" item before it heads to Germany. Money being almost non-existant I dod some deals with the devil. I sold the 33x10.50 BFGs off my full size Jeep and the tires off the scrambler. That combined with my meesly paycheck was enough to get me a set of 35x12.50-15 BFG KM2s! I may be eating Ramen noodles the rest of the month (if not selling body fluids!) but at least baby has some new shoes.
Now I gotta make em fit...LOL! The rear is almost a no-brainer and the front is not that bad either. The front 44 from a waggy/FSJ was made into 5 on 5 1/2 using some knuckles I have yet to identify. Both sides have 3 holes for steering!?! WTH??? One set is likely tie rod while the other is likely drag link...but what would the 3rd set be for?? There is no parts there so I am kinda unsure how to figure out what to do here. My guess would be that the knuckles are late 70s Ford but who knows how to find out?? If thats the case I will be heading down to the Pull-a-part to scrounge. Sad that I just threw away a set of steering stuff from the 78 bronco HP44 I screwed up...UGH! Does anyone (Randy??) know how to make this work? Also it is set up for SOA already so that is how the big shoes will fit. What I don't know is how I will make the steering work. At least not on my miniscule budget and tiny timeframe! Even a temp. fix just to make it movable would be helpful. I will likely get Parts mike to machine the 77 FSJ knuckles I have in storage eventually and go hy-steer...but for now.?.?.?
Also, I have a set of YJ shackle hangers. What do I need (other than the shackle and springs) to put YJ springs up front? Tricks and tips please!
I spent today sorting through my storage looking at all my junk. There are a LOT of parts and doodads that will have to wait and be shipped to Germany but I do have a few useful items I can put into play for now. I found my Tads fabworks SOA/Shackle flip kit which will likely give up its U-bolts and braided/extended brake lines. Also found some F350 front shock mounts so I will be mounting those before trading the RS9000s for the correct length ones.
One advantage of being in the military is the oops stuff. Things which most normal folks discard as trash or "junk" (Gasp!) that I see instant use for...and thereby,uh...acquire! THings like recovery straps, clevises, snatch blocks...etc. Iraq is like a giant dump now days so a man with a sharp eye can be well set up...ahem. Needless to say I have put together a decent little recovery kit, neatly packed into a pelican case!
This week will be interesting for the build as the 4 day weekend has thrown some odd hours at the shop. Not sure how much wil happen before thursday but we shall see...
Stay tuned! ;)
 
Post some good clear pics up of the knuckles and we'll try and identify them. Once they're identified, we'll work on figuring out how to hook it all up.

Does it look like this? These are Scout knuckles.
ss10-1.jpg


Now if you're describing something like this, you're already set up for high-steer, which makes a soa a lot easier.
attachment.php
 
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Double tappin' the board...

Without double tappin' this I will post the pics on my "help id" post. You may have hit it on the head Randzzzzzzzz....Maybe?
To that end I am left in a quandry. As usual related to money and time and the jeep. So here goes th issue, maybe you guys can help steer.
The front is a waggy 44 as far as I can tell. Maybe with scout knuckles...? And will bolt in with nothing other than the steering as mentioned. Having the 5 on 5 1/2 knuckles I can retain the wheels I currently have though I would need to source a 5th for a spare at some point. That would also let me keep the AMC 20 (CJ version) that has the Warn FF kit in it and need little more than spring perches welded for SOA. So here are the options
-figure out the steering as is and hope it doesn't contact the spring in SOA configuration. Have the 4.10/Detroit installed in the rear and hope it all works out.
-find a Waggy model 20(HD) and have the 4.10s/detroit installed in it. Then pull the flat top knuckles off the "spare" 44 I have in storage and hope I can get them machined etc in time to have a hy-steer together in time for the boat ride. This is without a doubt the most expensive of the options but would give me a correct steering set up and a maybe stronger rear axle. It would also require me to find some 6 on 5 1/2 wheels which is More money I don't really have.
Any ideas.?.?.?.
 
Just my thoughts, but your steering will not just work out and there's all kinds of stories of woe out there where people looked to an SOA as the cheap, quick, easy, etc fix for lift.

I know you are short on time and funds, but I had to say something or I'd never feel right if it went bad later.

I'd do a used sua lift and body lift to get what you need, but with 35s, that's going to be rough.

I hate to be a pita, but that's what I'm thinking honestly.
 
Eric's right. SOA steering isn't an easy proposition, but it can be done. Too bad you're not closer...I have an extra HD20 rear, a set of GM Flattops, and a complete D44 setup from knuckles out that came off a 79 Bronco, for converting to 5 on 5 1/2. That still doesnt help with the Waggy rear, although I also have a set of 6 lug wheels....

35's will fit with a RE4.5 extreme SUA lift and a 1" body lift. That's the easiest. With the Waggy front axle you also have to get different brake lines, I haven't looked into that yet on mine.
 
not an option...

Thanks for the concern BW. And I agree that SOA has pros and cons but to be done right is no more or less expensive than a spring lift. But I'm in it already and thankfully this isn't my first SOA build. Just the first one using preowned parts and no budget or time. It will work out I just gotta pay attention. Which, thankfully, is one of the few things I can still afford! LOL!
 
Wheel thought...

I wonder if the slot mags off my FS Cherokee would work...hmm. I bet they would be to narrow. I think they are 15x7 or something....where I think a 15x8 is minimum for a 12.50 tire...?
 
I'd say 15X8 is probably the minimum. 15X7 would mount up, but it's really a bit narrow.
 
The head bangin' continues...

After a difficult day at work I headed over to the shop to try and loose myself in some wrenching only to find it closes at 1700 due to a training holiday last friday. Crap! So I spent a little more time looking at the axle and seeing if the waggy NT steering stuff would work. Now I am prob. even more confused than before. Here is what I have found...
The sxle I bought that was supposed to be a cut down waggy WT 44 is in fact not a Jeep axle. The design of the pumpkin on the short side is one that shows it was originally an SOA and as far as I know, Jeep has never used a front axle in the FSJs as SOA. I gave Parts Mike a call to see if he could shed a little insight into the situation and maybe offer a remedy. He confirmed that the outter knuckles are indeed from International Harvester as they have 8 bolts holding on the spindle. Which IH is unknown and before I could ask much more I was asked to be called back...I'm not holding my breath. The Waggy steering stuff off my NT axle is close in reguards to width but the tye rods are far to big to fit into the IH knuckles. If I could locate a shop with a reemer I could make them work but to what ends.?. I could also play the parts store look up and see if a TRE exists that would work in both situations but I doubt it. So I am now going to start thinking of other alternatives.
I did manage to install the Wipeboy wiper kit to allow the wipers to sit flush when parked (not very thrilling I know) and I took the Jeep for a spin around the parking lot just to remember what driving it is like.
While I was pondering I noticed just how much I need to do something about the front springs. It seems that while it sat and rode fine before...well, I guess I added a little weight.?. Haha. The ARB and Warn 8274 (without cable, no less!) make the jeep sit about 1-2 inches lower up front now. Crud. Even if I had the money and they were not back ordered I doubt the RE 4.5" springs would help. Not with 35s anyway. I have almost everything needed to swap to 2.5" springs up front and a pair of unknown springs that I think were either CJ 4" or XJ somethings....I may have to spend a little time playing trial and error. If I could mount some lift springs up front that would clear the 35s, not require the SOA, and not ride and flex like an M715 then I would. Then I could do the rear as SOA and move along...Maybe.
If I had the money I would likely go a different route alltogether. I would take the NT waggy 44 I already owned and swap in the ARB/410 (if even THEY are what I was sold! I will be finding that out tomorrow!!) into it from the strange/IH axle. I would nab an AMC 20 from a junkyard and swap in the Detroit/4.10s and call it done. I would still need some 15x8 wheels for 6 on 5 1/2 but hey...its only money, right!?! And time...Don't have much of that either so why not dream BIG!!!
I'm gonna call it quits for tonight. Shut down the mental jeep processor and start again tomorrow....
 
Originally SOA? Chev axles came like that, passenger differential with soa perch cast in. If there is a BOM number roll stamped in the long axle tube, usually about 10" from the pumpkin, it might give a clue as to the original donor.

Just enter the BOM in the blank, and let Dana's archives do the rest! (The BOM is a "610812-2" type number)
http://www2.dana.com/expertforms/deabill.aspx

Did you see my pic in your other thread of my 36" w/4" lift? Call around on the RE springs...someone's bound to have some.
 
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