12-2 rausch creek run

Finally got into some action. Went with my uncle and his h3

Found the steps and he had to show off, so I pulled up aswell. I left the video camera at the house and realized that about half way up there.





I the water hole was frozen and the ice was thicker then I had hoped. I broke all of my front lights. (the picture is jut b4 the drivers side hit ice.)

We were both new to the park and we ended up down at the bottom of the CV trail in the first few minutes. Blacks with a semi stock grand Cherokee and a stock h3 amazed us. (No, we did not mean to go onto blacks). Its easy getting down to the bottom of the cv trail but climbing in the snow is no easy task.

Damage Report:
Jeep: All Front lights, a large dent from grinding a tree(saved me from a flip), Shock rubber washer in engine compartment broke off(don't know how)

Hummer: Bent Step bars(He forgot to remove them b4 going on the trail and dropped right on a log which put a nice even bend on both sides.

Things I learned: If you cant get up it then don't go down it, thank the welding gods for rock rails, get differential armor.

Trail riding to me is more fun then snowboarding and dirt track racing(meaning one of those 2 will have to give$$$)

I guess step crawling is one better then curb crawling Hey one more thing to remember when running through thick ice is that it can also put a holes in your radiator

one question, should i worry about flushing the diff?
\

actually what is all the stuff i should do other then re torque most of the hardware?

I would change the diff fluid to be safe.

you'll need three bottles of gear oil and some RTV to change the diffs.

Whenever you do deep water or mud you should change the diff fluids front and rear. I caught a D35 on fire and sheared teh rear pinion in half after doing the 5' pit at Rausch and drove it home. I made it all the way to Chambersburg PA before the rear went out on me. The Manual tranny ax-15 usually would have water in it as well. As far as bolts you should retorque all bolts after the first trip on an installation and then after 3 months, and then once a year. Just my opinion though.

i am off today so i will go ahead and change that. Any other after off road maintenance I should worry about?

this is my daily driver.

s-n-o-w wrote:

i am off today so i will go ahead and change that. Any other after off road maintenance I should worry about?

this is my daily driver.

I would rethink driving your daily driver thru headlight deep mud. It will eat up everything from your Radiator to your wheel bearing units which can not be serviced and cost about 175 each. Thats just my personal opinion I'm not a fan of anything deeper 12 inches or so. First couple of times is fun till something bad happens. Then you need to think "How do I get home"

yeah it was to prove a point, I wont be doing that again until a get a beater car to use when something happens to the jeep.

does any1 have a picture of the location of the drain bolt for the diff fluids?
aswell as the fill?

I am about to go out but if I had a picture that would be even better

Here is a pic of a D35. The fill plug is rubber and the cover is held on by the 12 bolts. You have to remove all the bolts then tap the cover lightly to break the gasket seal. The old gear oil will come gushing out so have your oil pan ready to catch it.

Here is a pic of a D30 in the front. The fill plug is removed with a 3/8ths ratchet (no socket on it). You want to remove the fill plug before you remove the cover incase it doesn't want to come out!

thanks, i got it all. I have a limited slip rear and the oil i needed for it was $68. (front was only like 12)

You better believe I am getting this thing set in full snorkel gear before I take it through any water again!

diff shields b4 i take it out period!

so 1 day = less then 300

Considering that i get 12 min of race time when I race dirt track and that's well over 500 per race, I am liking this new hobby ALOT.

$68?
auto parts stores sell a friction modifier for limited slips for about 6 bucks
plus $6 a quart for gear fluid at 3 quarts
=$24

Control arm skids would be a good idea to add to that list. After the diff guards you should invest it Control arm skids and maybe a engine and trans skid.

Danny post some pics of your dad's jeep. I never saw it after he put his lift on.

I am armoring up more then the diffs, they are just on top because of what I saw yesterday.

the 68 was from the mr tire, I did not feel comfortable taking the diff apart when I had to get to work tomorrow.

Thats where this($$) is gonna add up, I don't know how to do most of this yet

And when I move out of state I am gonna lose shop access to

Edit: will prolly get a bigger brush guard when I get a winch.

I like to use lucas for limited slips

Dude you will just have to learn how to work outside. Buy yourself a Tool bag at lowes for 10 bucks. Then get one of those cheap 150 piece tool kits and dump it in the tool bag.
After leaving Lowes go to the auto parts store and tell the man at the counter I need to drain and fill my front and rear diff. He/She will point have you buy the following.

-1 tube of RTV silicone sealer. (Black works good)
-3 quarts or 80W90 gear oil.
-1 tube of LS add stuff (Lucas oils makes good products)
-1 drain pan
-1 package of shop rags

After the auto parts store and Lowes you will go home and find yours a flat spot in the driveway or the street (prepare yourself for the elements start now) When you get that far break out your trusty manual if you dont have one get one. You can buy a manual at the auto parts store. Trust me you will end up spending less doing it yourself unless you work at a shop where you can do it. Plus you will gain respect if you learn to work on your own stuff.

no, its not that I dont want to do it, its just I never have done it, and was not about to try to do it when I need some way to get to work. If one of those bolts woulda snapped, the heads stripped, or anything of the sort, I woulda been royally screwed.

I am on the prowl for a cheap beater truck now that I can play with. I found out the running my daily driver may not be the best idea.

As for working on my own stuff... I did the lift, mounted all the tires, etc...

o, and I also race dirt track and do all my own prepping. I go through about 6-8 cars in a 6 month period. Thats in the driveway, not in the shop.

I have no problem working on anything, but its a little different when you have to drive it the next day. If something happins and you cant drive it, that means no work, that means no money, and that means nothing at all.
I understand you have a trail rig and a daily driver(which you most likely take to the dealer to have work done), I am not yet in that position and feel better knowing that if the Mr. Tire breaks a head off a bolt that I will be able to get to work on there tab.

Thanks for all the help and am looking forward to seeing you guys on the trails sometime.

if mr tire broke a bolt off or stripped something you think they would tell you about it But you do have a point if your that concerned about your rig being able to drive the next day it shouldn't be out on the trail. But if you do ever need any advice or a hand working on the grand just let me know, ive worked on one or two of them before

just got a trailer today, I am on the prowl for a trail machine :lllgh:

You have a truck to tow with ?

[quote="s-n-o-w"]no, its not that I dont want to do it, its just I never have done it, and was not about to try to do it when I need some way to get to work. If one of those bolts woulda snapped, the heads stripped, or anything of the sort, I woulda been royally screwed.

ve no problem working on anything, but its a little different when you have to drive it the next day. If something happins and you cant drive it, that means no work, that means no money, and that means nothing at all.
I understand you have a trail rig and a daily driver(which you most likely take to the dealer to have work done), I am not yet in that position and feel better knowing that if the Mr. Tire breaks a head off a bolt that I will be able to get to work on there tab.

[b]I just can not see Nester taking anything to the dealer Unless the new van is still under warranty and then its already diagnosed prior to arrival...

[quote="UPNOVER"]

s-n-o-w wrote:

no, its not that I dont want to do it, its just I never have done it, and was not about to try to do it when I need some way to get to work. If one of those bolts woulda snapped, the heads stripped, or anything of the sort, I woulda been royally screwed.

ve no problem working on anything, but its a little different when you have to drive it the next day. If something happins and you cant drive it, that means no work, that means no money, and that means nothing at all.
I understand you have a trail rig and a daily driver(which you most likely take to the dealer to have work done), I am not yet in that position and feel better knowing that if the Mr. Tire breaks a head off a bolt that I will be able to get to work on there tab.

[b]I just can not see Nester taking anything to the dealer Unless the new van is still under warranty and then its already diagnosed prior to arrival...

You know me to well. The van is still under warranty but it only had a 3 year/36K and the clock is already at 22K. I haven't even had it for a year yet. I got it in feb of this year. I should have 25K on the van by the time its 1. At that rate I will have 100K on it in 4 years then I get my Dually At least something diesel any way.

makitupthehardway wrote:

You have a truck to tow with ?

Ya, ur lookin at it in the avatar

nope real bad idea. The other zj site that I belong to had a whole thread about this and the universal agreement across the board was that if you dont wreck the zj from doing it, you will destroy the tranny. I wouldn't tow anything more then 3000# with it. Trust me I tow stuff for a living almost every day with big rigs and small ones and the thing I hate most is towing the pop-up camper behind my smaller zj. The camper is only 1000 to 1500 pounds tops and that thing throws the zj all over the place. Trust me you don't want to use that thing in the wind. I know this by trying to get across the baybridge in the wind The smallest thing your going to want to use is a 1/2 ton truck.

damn, well I am in a bit of a situation here then. I love doing this, but now I have a curb crawler that I cant use to tow, and I cant afford to do anything to extreme with it as its my daily driver.

Y would they even put a tow package on it then, lame.

So, I can either A sell this(not likely) B, buy a truck before i start this project, I cant afford the insurance on 2 vehicles, Or C, keep whatever I build street legal.

Answer might have to be C