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My old 1981 SCRAMBLER returns 25 years later

I’ve used an old electrician’s trick for pulling string through conduit. Tie a piece of cloth to the end of the string. Stuff it in the tube. Get out your shop vac and apply vacuum to the exit end. Before long the string will be through. And if it hangs up, a little tug and release will get it moving again.
 
I’ve used an old electrician’s trick for pulling string through conduit. Tie a piece of cloth to the end of the string. Stuff it in the tube. Get out your shop vac and apply vacuum to the exit end. Before long the string will be through. And if it hangs up, a little tug and release will get it moving again.

That is a good trick, I've used it on a few occasions, but I didn't think I would get enough vacuum through the little exit hole for the large pipe.


When I ran my boiler lines from the shop to the house it was a 6" tile that was 600' long. I used the Trac-vac on the lawn mower, a nylon string, and a 4" Styrofoam ball
 
That is a good trick, I've used it on a few occasions, but I didn't think I would get enough vacuum through the little exit hole for the large pipe.


When I ran my boiler lines from the shop to the house it was a 6" tile that was 600' long. I used the Trac-vac on the lawn mower, a nylon string, and a 4" Styrofoam ball
 
In between working on the new top. I did get the front speakers mounted to the new cage. I picked up some made in the USA enclosures. Made some aluminum backing plates. And screwed them to the top of the cage. I'm not sure if I like how low they hang..........They're above line of sight..........But I may cut the housing down and remount them to the backing plate.




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Sooooo, a couple weeks ago I took the scrambler out in the deep snow. It wasn't quite warmed up. When I turned into the 2nd field it was waaaayyyy deeper than I thought. It hadn't been worked or mowed all year so the grass and weeds held the snow in..........about 3 feet..........but very fluffy. I instinctively mashed the gas to avoid getting stuck. It did a couple shifts, and a nice big arcing power slide. Which covered the Jeep in about 4" of powder. I backed out of the throttle to get the wipers going to see.....When I got back in the throttle flashing check engine light and now power. After lots of trouble shooting......calling GM techs ..........more trouble shooting and testing. I've got a failed AFM lifter. That means it time for a cam, AFM DOD delete, and a new tune. 20210227_153850.jpg20210227_104236.jpg
 
Wasn't planning on it........but I haven't heard anything about it till twice today.

Was it a big issue?

Need to do some more research....
Just read an article in Mar'21 issue of HOTROD about how high mileage and/or upgraded cams and springs are making rocker bearing failure more prevalent in ageing LS platforms. The upgraded rocker trunnions have either caged needle bearings with snap rings or bronze bushings and can allegedly handle a bit more cam, spring and/or abuse than the OEM version. Verdict seems to still be out on the forums for all the low-buck boostie-boiz, but most of them are usually 3-4 cores in on their rigs so it's hard to tell. Seems like cheap insurance if you're tossing a new cam in...but that could just be a marketing ploy also.
 
After 9 years of easy grocery duty I found a crack in my TDk frame this morning. It's at the bracket that ties the main hoop of the cage to the frame, and mounts the rear sway bar. When I was making the bracket years ago I said to myself "you should run that all the way to the bottom of the frame "..........that was a good idea. At least it's a easy fix. Grind out the weld, reward, and add a full height doubler around it to spread the load........I figure I might as well do both sides while I'm at it.August 20, 2023 51456 PM EDT.jpgAugust 20, 2023 51437 PM EDT.jpg20230820_100106.jpg20230820_100040.jpg
 
Been a long time since I did an update on this thread..........Mainly just been driving it.

Last winter I did put the AC back in........just for those long road trips :D

This winter I decided to reconfigure my front links. My lower links were above My front driveshaft, which seemed to get bent regularly. And I've always had so wheel hop in the front under partial throttle, which got worse when I did a quick fix last summer. At that time I lowered the frame end of my upper link............that made the wheel hop worse. So I went back to the link calculator and started figuring.

Here's where I'm at today.
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The new lower links are 10" longer, which puts them below the front driveshaft. The frame end of the upper link is 6" above where it was last year.

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And some good testing in the deep crunchy snow this morning.........seems to be about a 1000% better. I only got it to hop a couple times, it was miner, and easy to get it to stop.

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After 8 years my TPMS sensors went dead..........I was dreading taking apart the beadlocks to install new ones. This week while I was searching for new ones I found some external. They didn't have many reviews, but the reviews there wear good. So for $49.95 I bought a kit with 4 sensors and a program tool. They programmed and showed up on the dash 1st try...........we'll see how they hold up. As a bonus the battery can be replaced when they go dead.

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Todays update. Skid plate is modified for the new links and back on.


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And since the silver metallic paint was out.....a fresh coat on the rear tow point
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The second project today was one that has been on my list for about 7 years. I added a bypass valve to the heater core hoses so there won't be 200 degree water in the cab all summer. I only use the heat a few times a year, the rest of the time the heater core is just radiating heat in the cab that I'm trying to cool. I used a cable operated bypass valve and a "choke" cable to my center console. It could have been in the dash next to the other heater controls............But I was to lazy to remove the center console, drop the AC, remove the gauge cluster, then drill. so I just drilled a hole below the radio. Time will tell how much it helps.


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Do you have a brand and part number for that by-pass valve? I need to do that. TIA
 
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