CO Ketchup Build

[mushroomax]

Round trip to Alaska and back to CO my only issue was the bump steer up front. Obviously the 1/2 teraflex spacer I installed on the passenger front to fix the factory lean didn't agree with the steering geometry and gave me severe bump steer. I had a chance to triage the JL in Alaska and removed that spacer. It fixed about 75% of the issue so when I got back I replaced the bushings in the front UCAs. I was able to do this without disassembling the front end but it was a pain in the ass, shoulda just pressed them out and done it on the bench.

New parts:

Bushing removal, look at that old bushing bulging like a moose:

Old vs new. In my case, the old bushings were rubber and the new ones I think are poly:

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[mushroomax]

My windshield fared ok during the trip but on the way back I received a hit so hard to the upper passenger side it blew glass into the passenger seat. Threw some tape on to stabilize the area and got a replacement from Premium Auto Glass once I made it back to the Springs. Can't say good enough things about this place, they roll out the red carpet for me and I'm just some rando.

 

[mushroomax]

Continuing the maintenance discussion I replaced all fluids in the drivetrain since the Jeep was literally swimming on trails in Alaska, got those front UCAs taken care of and hit Redcone/Webster Pass on Saturday for a shakedown run. The steering is back to fully tight and it handled the trail with ease. Some pics of cruising around:

 

[ExpeditionBuilds]

Well the trip is complete, back in Colorado Springs. I might do a separate Trip Report of my Alaska trip, still on the fence since there are just SO many pictures, it's kind of overwhelming. Regardless, we covered a lot of ground in the 3 month trip and had some very unique experiences. Also met some great people along the way that I know I'll be keeping in touch with for the rest of my life. Here's a couple shots of camping on the beach at Anchor Point while we were checking out the greater Homer area:

Looking forward to seeing more!

-Steven

 

[blnewt]

Glad you made it back safe & sound, seems like everything went very well, look forward to what all you saw on your trip, must have been jaw dropping!

 

[mushroomax]

I noticed the bump stops were leaking pretty good with visible drops so I decided to move forward with a rebuild. I think it was a combination of Alaksa glacier silt and running very low psi in the bumps. Long story short, after a week of some very frustrating phone calls trying to track down a part number for the seal kits I reached out to someone who had a contact inside Fox and boom, had an answer in less than 24hrs. I considered $65 a corner too steep so I sourced just the bearing housing o-ring, bearing u-cup seal, and the bearing cap wiper seal locally. 4 sets cost me less than 60 bucks.

Edit: Added "trying to track down a part number for the seal kits"

 

[mushroomax]

My 2-pin spanner wrench couldn't handle all the lock-tite Fox used on the bearing cap so I had a shop make a 3-key way spanner wrench for me to borrow so I rebuilt them right there on the spot:

 

[mushroomax]

So after a full disassembly I didn't see any IFP....until I looked down these holes and saw it inside the shaft. I decided to depressurize a second bump, then mike the depth of the IFP fully compressed/extended thru the schrader valve fitting before fully disassembling and use that measurement to set IFP depth during reassembly.

 

[mushroomax]

Each bump held about 2/3 cup of oil

 

[mushroomax]

Found some wear on the inside of a couple bump bodies so used 600-1000grit sand paper to buff it smooth again. The springs had some sharp edges so I sanded those smooth too.

 

[mushroomax]

Everything went back together fine and what better way to test them than take a road trip so me and the girl headed west thru a few states and National Parks:

First stop: Petrified Forest National Park

Enjoyed Cinco De Mayo with tacos and tequila at a friends house in Sedona, AZ:

Did all the tourist trap stuff in Sedona, hiked a bunch of trails and took the Jeep out on some too, here's a shot from Broken Arrow:

 

[mushroomax]

Headed south for more adventure, saw a Gila Monster on Chilito Mine Road and some other interesting stuff...this turned out to be my favorite trail of the trip.

 

[mushroomax]

Swung thru Saguaro National Park:

 

[mushroomax]

Then over to Joshua Tree National Park for some more hiking and offroad exploration:

Hiked to an Oasis:

Enjoyed a few tasty pineapples:

Saw chuckwallas all over the place, even in trees:

Chased some flowers and a sunset before heading to Lake Havasu area:

'Merica

 

[mushroomax]

Drove Vampire Mine trail and that slot canyon further down while we spent a few days in the Havasu area:

Slot Canyon:

A quick check on the bumps in some shade, new seals are doing there job ?

Saw some wild burros in that area:

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