RLF Shop Thread

[Chris_Keziah]

Got some wheeling in the other weekend up at The Ranch as @Joe J. copilot. Didn't take many pics but did grab a few.

@Jody Treadway doing things

Joe gave it a solid beat down here at the ledge on Jig Saw, got a good ways up it but ran out of Horsepressures and it started to get a bit warm after living on the rev limiter for awhile.

Dinner Saturday night was on point, Joe and myself cooked 17 steaks and @tobaccoroad4wd made some mashed tators.

@Mulishajoe has some video of this but just know that once Joe got traction through The Squeeze we shot out like a rocket, took flight (with FAA approval of course) and finally came to a smooth landing stop 30 yards up the trail after being showered by beer from our beverage coordinator in the back seat @adamk

Cool shot Bridget (one of the razor people Justin invited) got

 

[Chris_Keziah]

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

Squatter Jeep is a roller and no longer taking up shop space

Now we wait till the customer supplies the parts that I've been waiting on for way to long.

Absolute beast of a Dana 60 (only has a tie rod for roller status, got a PSC ram for it)

Tear down begins on Big Bird

Really dig this Goat Built Bracket setup, definitely ordering one for my motor.

Did a hydro assist set up on @BigClay TJ, got PSC pump kit and ram along with a new Blue Top ported steering box. Plus a new track bar set up (old track bar was wore slap out) and power steering cooler.

Unexpected repair caused by the shop who bolted this axle in, not going to name who it is but unbelievable that shit like this is ok to them. Not sure what they reamed these brand new knuckles out with but by far the worst I've ever seen. PS was reamed about a 1/4" to deep and the nut was loose when I dropped the steering out. They also didn't move over the upper link joint from the old axle that used a 1/2" bolt (ECGS send them with the stock sized 7/16"/10mm joints) so they just put a 7/16" bolt through the link that's drilled for a 1/2" bolt. So had to swap that out for a new one since Clay had already sold his old Dana 30. So just be cautious of where you take your junk to get worked on.

Compare that to what a properly reamed tie rod end hole should look like.

Clearance is clearance

Clay's very dirty under hood shot with a few shiny new parts.

Nice large steering cooler installed, mount came out minty.

Came out really nice and drives much better having a tight track bar and basically no noticeable bump steer with the new track bar set up.

 

[Chris_Keziah]

Dodge engineers can choke on a cactus, very little room to get to the driver rear shock nut.

Re-geared a AAM 9.25 for @CarolinaHD These things really ain't to bad to do after you get done with draining every 4 letter word in your dictionary After that they are a breeze.
Driver stub shaft fought me for 45 mins before it finally came out.

Another area of difficulty, race in the freezer and a little well placed heat makes the race go in much easier. Similar process to get the driver side carrier race out since it's driven into a blind hole, just take the o ring off since the MIK doesn't come with a new one.

All back together with a fresh set of 3.42 gears and all new bearings and seals.

Now on to make a TJ with short arms flex a little better, so more pics tomorrow.

 

[gslander]

Got some wheeling in the other weekend up at The Ranch as @Joe J. copilot. Didn't take many pics but did grab a few.

View attachment 381616

@Jody Treadway doing things

View attachment 381617
View attachment 381618View attachment 381619
Joe gave it a solid beat down here at the ledge on Jig Saw, got a good ways up it but ran out of Horsepressures and it started to get a bit warm after living on the rev limiter for awhile.
View attachment 381620
Dinner Saturday night was on point, Joe and myself cooked 17 steaks and @tobaccoroad4wd made some mashed tators.

View attachment 381621

@Mulishajoe has some video of this but just know that once Joe got traction through The Squeeze we shot out like a rocket, took flight (with FAA approval of course) and finally came to a smooth landing stop 30 yards up the trail after being showered by beer from our beverage coordinator in the back seat @adamk
View attachment 381622
Cool shot Bridget (one of the razor people Justin invited) got
View attachment 381623

Looked like fun! So pissed I couldn't make that trip, I want to run cripple creek so bad!!

 

[Chris_Keziah]

Looked like fun! So pissed I couldn't make that trip, I want to run cripple creek bad!!

Was a blast for sure, I actually have a few more pics I'll post later on. Mainly just a couple of @Mulishajoe after he broke stuff.

 

[Chris_Keziah]

Just your average flex test during a hurricane.

I'll need to grab some more pics tomorrow but the sway bar tabs came out slick. Probably some of the cleanest cardboard templates I've ever made.

Enduro's added to the lower control arms plus new uppers with heims. Flexes better than it did, still slightly plagued with short arm problems but will actually flex now where before the drivers side was binding up pretty hard.

Not what I was expecting to find when I dropped the tank to install the Savvy gas tank skid.

 

[Shreddinlettuce]

. PS was reamed about a 1/4" to deep and the nut was loose when I dropped the steering out.

I bought an Xj from a teen in South Carolina. Drove it to Arden with the worst death wobble at 30and when I got under it I spun the pitman nut 1/8 turn and the drag link dropped on me. There was a 1 ton insert with the hole drilled too large and the dude just wedged a nail into it like it was an axe head

 

[Chris_Keziah]

I bought an Xj from a teen in South Carolina. Drove it to Arden with the worst death wobble at 30and when I got under it I spun the pitman nut 1/8 turn and the drag link dropped on me. There was a 1 ton insert with the hole drilled too large and the dude just wedged a nail into it like it was an axe head

I'm not a big fan of the drop in inserts, unless they're welded in but most on the market are not suited well to be welded in.

 

[Chris_Keziah]

Not very often I get to work on my own stuff. Got the shop cleaned up from this week of seeing how many tools I can scatter across the shop. Then decided to tear into the np241c for my Jeep so I could get the sye installed, 32 spline input installed and the case cleaned up and paint. Basically just got it all tore down then went and picked up two TJ tub halves so I can fix the massively fucked up corners on my Jeep. Gonna scab them in at some point and pick up some Motobilt 15" YJ corner armor or maybe some LJ armor. Need to take some measurements and see, currently my tub is ~14.5 longer than a stock YJ.

 

[jyaks]

Just your average flex test during a hurricane.
View attachment 381851
I'll need to grab some more pics tomorrow but the sway bar tabs came out slick. Probably some of the cleanest cardboard templates I've ever made.
View attachment 381852
Enduro's added to the lower control arms plus new uppers with heims. Flexes better than it did, still slightly plagued with short arm problems but will actually flex now where before the drivers side was binding up pretty hard.
View attachment 381853
Not what I was expecting to find when I dropped the tank to install the Savvy gas tank skid.
View attachment 381854

Best pictures I could get right now of the antirock shock bracket.

Got to test out the flex at work today. It's very smooth now.

 

[rcalexander105]

Updates...

 

[Chris_Keziah]

Updates...

I'll do it this weekend because there def are a few updates, been meaning to update it for the past few weeks.

 

[Chris_Keziah]

Had a CJ3A in shop awhile back, oldest thing I've ever worked on. Was running right and needed some tune up TLC so @Joe J. and myself got to work.
Carb needed a touch of a rebuild, was straight dumping fuel like a top fuel dragster.

We're just going to act like I knew what I was looking at while taking this apart.

All cleaned and back together, just overlook all those extra parts and know they weren't needed.

There were many "test drives" with this thing, was stupid fun to rip through all 3 gears at a blistering 40 mph

Small little update on my dads Jeep, should be making more progress on this thing finally.

 

[Chris_Keziah]

Some Brute updates. Got the 4L80 back today and should be getting the trans stabbed back in tomorrow assuming UPS comes through and delivers the torque converter.

I'll never enjoy working on rusty vehicles or cutting off TJ coil buckets.

Cleaned up the truss ends, going to move the upper link over to the drivers side for a bit more driveshaft clearance and more room for the exhaust on the drivers side.

Just a touch of hand machining for the new steering shaft to fit the factory TJ stuff at the firewall.

Also re-did the support bearing as it was more than a bit worn out and janky. Also gonna try out these headers, pretty confident the passenger side will be easy to route, drivers side looks like it'll be a pain but possible.

Did a bit of work on @DonYukon rig, built some sliders, tire carrier and cleaned up some brackets that were more than a bit janky.
Little bit of "cad" first for the end cuts.

Sliders welded on

Upper link bracket before, pay close attention to the utter lack of weld that was holding this thing on.

And fixed, welded in a plate to fill the massive void then super glued a new bracket on.

Just a look at the before on the track bar and upper link mount.

Upper link bracket was hanging off the tube quite a bit on both sides and looked like turd.

 

[Chris_Keziah]

Ran out of pics to attach, so continued.

Tire carrier time

Touch of gusseting

Just checking some new tires for a project when we went and picked up @adamk new to him 2.5L

It's amazing how out of hand tear down gets sometimes. Shoutout to @rcalexander105 for helping me get that bed off considering it weighed about 8,000 lbs. Should have some more updates on this thing in the coming days.

 

[Croatan_Kid]

Definitely wish I lived closer. You'd have a hard time keeping me out of your shop, but at least I'm handy to have around and can do machine work

 

[Chris_Keziah]

So now for the major update that I've been meaning to drop in here for the past couple of weeks. I started back a full time job at my old work (Endura Products in Colfax) 2 weeks ago as a Testing Engineer. As much as I have enjoyed working in my shop full time it's also took my hobby which I enjoyed doing and drove it to a point that I was not excited to get out into the shop. That coupled with the fact I've done very little wheeling and much less actual driving as most trips were riding in a passenger seat helped sway my decision to step back into an office setting. One of the largest deciding factors was family time, my work life balance was actually better when I was full time and doing the shop on the side.

With that said I'm very grateful that I've been able to stay busy and I can honestly say I regret nothing. The opportunity presented itself for me to give the full time shop life a go and it was an experience that helped me learn alot about myself and also helped refine some of my skillsets in even more so than what they were before. So if you're in a position where you can give a business venture a go, do it. Better to do it and fail than be 40-50 years old and wonder what might have been if you had given a dream a shot.

Now this does not mean that I'm quitting all shop work but it does mean my timelines are priorities are being shifted drastically. For the time being I'm not planning on taking in anymore work till middle of next year outside of what I've committed to for my close knit band of Misfit bros. So I'll still be posting updates and I still plan to keep most of my wholesale accounts which since the 4 Wheel Parts buy out I'm not exactly sure what's happening with that. The main thing I'm hoping to push is wheels, super easy for me to sell and generally can pass some of my savings on to the customer so if you need any wheels take a gander at DirtyLife's or any of the other brand thought TWG (Link here: The Wheel Group) I'll likely make a post about this in the vender specials here soon as this is likely to be glossed over in here.

 

[UTfball68]

As much as I have enjoyed working in my shop full time it's also took my hobby which I enjoyed doing and drove it to a point that I was not excited to get out into the shop. That coupled with the fact I've done very little wheeling and much less actual driving as most trips were riding in a passenger seat helped sway my decision to step back into an office setting. One of the largest deciding factors was family time, my work life balance was actually better when I was full time and doing the shop on the side.

Better to do it and fail than be 40-50 years old and wonder what might have been if you had given a dream a shot.

Kudos to you for being able to recognize that. It’s really not easy to pour your heart in to something, then decide it’s not the right path. From my experience, while the residual cash was nice, we went 2 years too long. It just generated a lot of resentment, for the hobby, within families, and 2 of us no longer speak with the other who was once a best friend.

 

[justjeepin86]

It's awesome you stepped out and tried working for yourself. It's something I've never had the guts to do. It's even better that you were able to land back at your old place of work. That shows your work ethic.

 

[gslander]

So now for the major update that I've been meaning to drop in here for the past couple of weeks. I started back a full time job at my old work (Endura Products in Colfax) 2 weeks ago as a Testing Engineer. As much as I have enjoyed working in my shop full time it's also took my hobby which I enjoyed doing and drove it to a point that I was not excited to get out into the shop. That coupled with the fact I've done very little wheeling and much less actual driving as most trips were riding in a passenger seat helped sway my decision to step back into an office setting. One of the largest deciding factors was family time, my work life balance was actually better when I was full time and doing the shop on the side.

With that said I'm very grateful that I've been able to stay busy and I can honestly say I regret nothing. The opportunity presented itself for me to give the full time shop life a go and it was an experience that helped me learn alot about myself and also helped refine some of my skillsets in even more so than what they were before. So if you're in a position where you can give a business venture a go, do it. Better to do it and fail than be 40-50 years old and wonder what might have been if you had given a dream a shot.

Now this does not mean that I'm quitting all shop work but it does mean my timelines are priorities are being shifted drastically. For the time being I'm not planning on taking in anymore work till middle of next year outside of what I've committed to for my close knit band of Misfit bros. So I'll still be posting updates and I still plan to keep most of my wholesale accounts which since the 4 Wheel Parts buy out I'm not exactly sure what's happening with that. The main thing I'm hoping to push is wheels, super easy for me to sell and generally can pass some of my savings on to the customer so if you need any wheels take a gander at DirtyLife's or any of the other brand thought TWG (Link here: The Wheel Group) I'll likely make a post about this in the vender specials here soon as this is likely to be glossed over in here.

That's awesome!

But selfishly, damnit I was going to reach to you about an exo cage on my tacoma soon LOL!!

 

[Chris_Keziah]

Kudos to you for being able to recognize that. It’s really not easy to pour your heart in to something, then decide it’s not the right path. From my experience, while the residual cash was nice, we went 2 years too long. It just generated a lot of resentment, for the hobby, within families, and 2 of us no longer speak with the other who was once a best friend.

Yeah the resentment is/was very real. Really helped remind me that my passion for the offroad/fabrication was founded from working on mine and my buddies stuff and then getting to take the rig out and enjoy it. Which is the direction I'm heading back towards, little to early to say for sure but looking like there will be an order placed in the next few months for a big piece of my next rig.

It's awesome you stepped out and tried working for yourself. It's something I've never had the guts to do. It's even better that you were able to land back at your old place of work. That shows your work ethic.

I'm grateful for Endura giving me the opportunity for me to come back. Was my first real job out of college and spent 5 years there and now that I'm back I don't plan on leaving again. Honestly if it were for how covid affected the work environment I would've never been able to convince myself to leave.

 

[Chris_Keziah]

That's awesome!

But selfishly, damnit I was going to reach to you about an exo cage on my tacoma soon LOL!!

Yeah it'll be a good little while before I take on any work. Could prob reach out to Chris at Buckeye and see what his availability is.

 

[WARRIORWELDING]

Better to do it and fail than be 40-50 years old and wonder what might have been if you had given a dream a shot.

This 100%. Because waiting til your 46 ish like myself to make a all in up to your neck step can be very frustrating, if not damn near crazy! My only hindsight is not doing it at 20 something without family and real life changing responsibilities mixed in the equation. If my kiddos weren't grown and my wife extremely on board....or at least understanding I may have folded.
Much respect and props for you to put your head down and push your personal envelope. Lessons learned will carry you through many more professional years. Just remember just because your working under another boss, company, or banner you still work for yourself. If yourself is the hardest to please and the one you want respect from, you'll always make the right person happy.
Self respect and personal happiness are personal choices and you always have complete control of them.

 

[StretchASU]

No more time slots for pink paint work when I inevitably send this LP30 straight to hell? Shit.

Seriously though, good on recognizing the balance between the hobby and work and getting back to something enjoyable before you resented it all. It’s an awesome hobby (most days) surrounded by good people. It would suck to get burnt out from it all.

 

[Chris_Keziah]

No more time slots for pink paint work when I inevitably send this LP30 straight to hell? Shit.

Seriously though, good on recognizing the balance between the hobby and work and getting back to something enjoyable before you resented it all. It’s an awesome hobby (most days) surrounded by good people. It would suck to get burnt out from it all.

I'll make a time slot to build you a pink axle.