XJ AV8R

ATTENTION! IMPORTANT!

2009-01-28T16:24:00.000-08:00

I just corrected my post on the clutch conversion. For those that have read it, the master cylinder fitting I used from Advance Adapters was a YJ fitting, NOT a TJ fitting. The TJ fitting didn't work so they sent me one for the YJ and it worked just fine. The Advance Adapters part number for the correct fitting is P/N 716130. Major oversight! Sorry!

Pacific Northwest Trail Links

2009-01-25T18:03:00.000-08:00

Some of the trail links, found in the right margin, were broken after DNR changed their website. They are all fixed up and ready for use. If anyone notices broken links in the future, please let me know so I can fix them. Just email me at akav8r@msn.com

Thanks!

Tahuya Videos!

2009-01-18T01:43:00.000-08:00

I made another run to Tahuya with Jeff and his JK, and Jay and his XJ. My brother Chuck, my son Daniel, and I rode in the trusty XJ but stayed out of the really deep water this time. Jeff brought along his video camera so we took turns filming. I didn't do much that was video worthy, but I just had to share some of the shots we got. I will make a feeble attempt at letting the videos speak for themselves. I can see now that this new "discovery" will only lead to delicious carnage in the future as we try to make more "interesting" video. Hopefully I don't break my rig first. My 212,000 mile daily driver can only take so much!

Korvettenkapitan Jeff proves that his JK wit der schnorkel can handle the water. Leave me alone, I don't know German...I make this stuff up.

Jay hits the rocks...literally:)

...but not this time

It's a good thing this guy has a snorkel. I need to figure out how to put music to these videos because my narration sucks.

And now for some ruts. Listen for Jeff's front differential making hard contact at the end. No, I didn't try this one, although now I wish I had. I woulda made it:)

I love this video! Jay uses copious amounts of skinny pedal to power through the ruts and loses his right front fender flare at the end. Jeff's laughing cracks me up!

This is the section of Tahuya that ate my fender flares last year. It's steep but turned out to be a non-event this year. Jay comes down after Jeff, with Chuck spotting.

Finally, some video of my XJ. Daniel slept peacefully in his car seat through this one. I would occasionally check to make sure his bobble-head was still attached.

This one is boring but I like to watch videos of my Jeep, so skip it if you want to.

I like this one. Too bad it's short.

And now for some XJ poser pictures.

That's it until next time. We'll certainly be taking the video camera again.

She'll be comin' DOWN the mountain when she comes...

2009-01-10T01:03:00.000-08:00

My brother and I went for a little spin in Capitol Forest. I was in search of a large landslide on the north side of Capitol Forest but we had been repeatedly thwarted by downed trees and slushy slippery snow. Just when we were making progress, we came upon this.

We grabbed a stick and took some measurements for the camera.

You'll notice that the crevice continues in a full half-circle. This road won't last with the Washington rain funneling past it.

Skiing and Snowshoeing at White Pass!! OK, Not Really...

2008-12-29T00:08:00.000-08:00

Heidi and I dreamt up a grandiose plan to finally escape from the kids for a day. We like them and all, but everybody needs a break. We rented snowshoes, cross country skis and all the trimmings. We even bought freeze dried dinners to cook in our Jet Boil for a meal on a snowy trail somewhere. In my mind, this was shaping up to be a great day full of adventure, scenery, and time alone with my wife. The forecast was holding up well so I figured weather wouldn't be a problem. I still elected to take the Jeep because I have chains for it, just in case. Five miles from the top of White Pass the wind began to HOWL. By the time we reached the top the wind was gusting in excess of 40 mph...and it started dumping snow.

Standing outside the Alpine Center, which could be confused with a flimsy yurt, we took some pictures of our rapidly deteriorating day away from reality.

We passed some woman who could barely remain upright on her cross country skis as we made our way to the yurt. Now that's funny, except we have that problem without any wind. The yurt master, evidently the resident head cheese, eye-balled us warily. He seemed to think that we looked like newbies, which we are, and figured we were about ready to do something stupid and venture out, which we most definitely were not. He gravely advised us that snow bombs were falling out of the trees that were still standing up. Many of the trees had evidently succumbed to the wind and were blocking the trails. Oh, and the ski patrol is calling it a day too, so if we go out we will be on our own. Oh, and the power is out all across the mountain, which we didn't notice because, you guessed it, we're standing in a yurt. I blankly accepted his diatribe, not that I needed ANY convincing, and thanked him very much. It seemed funny to me that the ski patrol was packing it in. Isn't this the very time that idiots get themselves in to Darwinesque situations and require the AID of the ski patrol? We looked around the yurt, confirmed that it was, in fact, a yurt, and headed for the Jeep.

One last picture of our plight was taken because, on some later date, it will be hilarious that we drove for a couple of hours, rented a small fortune in gear, had no physical activity whatsoever, bought warm socks, and managed to pick the one day to go skiing for the first time in 11 years that we couldn't go skiing.

And we're driving again, trying to beat everyone else off of the mountain...yippee! All joking aside, Heidi and I had a great time. We always do!

Tahuya Pictures and a Couple of Videos

2008-11-17T11:42:00.000-08:00

I took Daniel to do some wheelin' in Tahuya again. Joining us was Jeff with his familiar 2008 JK Rubicon. Jeff's pal Jay, who was joining us for the first time, brought his 1996(?) Jeep Cherokee XJ with a Rubicon Express 4.5" lift and 33" tires.

Here is Daniel and I at the beginning.

Jeff and his passengers

Jay and his XJ

I keep forgetting to fix the transfer case linkage that "broke" after my clutch job. A few more times lying in the dirt on the trail will bolster my motivation for sure. Jay eats a snack and prepares to pull the transfer case lever.

Jeff couldn't resist living up to his nickname of "Korvettenkapitan", or U-boat Captain.

A short video of one of the many "puddles" at Tahuya.

Courtesy of Jay, here is some video of a short descent by Daniel and I in the XJ. As usual, it's steeper than it looks in the video.

Jeff's turn. Notice he is still steaming from the multiple water crossings.

More Tahuya water, although not very deep...my running gear silently thanks me.

This is a new section of the Tahuya 4x4 trail. I wasn't so sure I wanted to venture into this area because I figured we would just get stuck. With plenty of recovery vehicles around and A LOT of prodding by Daniel, I decided to give it a try. My XJ only stopped once on the way through, but I got hung up a few times on the way back and ended up destroying my right rear bumper cap...$5 at the junkyard...big deal!

A quick push for the open differentials

Jeff did this section without the swaybar disconnected. Lockers sure simplify these situations! When I lift tires, I STOP MOVING!

This hill climb was very steep. I didn't even try it. Jeff gave it a valiant effort but was unable to get his Jeep up the hill. We ended up winching his Jeep up the hill just for fun. I decided to turn around and go back through the "whoop-di-do's" as Daniel called it. That is when I pranged the bumper end cap.

Planning to head back soon!

Rubber boots...no, not the kind for your feet.

2008-11-12T18:35:00.000-08:00

When I first removed my transmission for the clutch replacement and conversion, I found this:

The small boot fits directly over the shift tower of the transmission and the large boot bolts to the transmission tunnel above the smaller boot. The third boot, not pictured, is the one seen on top of the other two in plain view from the driver's seat.

The small shift tower boot is readily available from various suppliers, but requires that the shift lever be removed from the shifter shaft that comes out of the housing attached to the transmission. In the picture below, the black shifter, barely visible at the top, would have to be separated from the lower shaft that goes in to the housing.

Initially, I purchased the OEM boot but was unable to remove the shift lever. I suppose I wasn't doing it right, even after reading about how others did it. I tried to stretch the OEM boot over the bottom of the shift lever but ended up splitting it wide open. It was, unfortunately, now useless.

After some pondering, I visited a local tire shop and raided their trash bin. They allowed me to take a punctured inner tube meant for a large truck. Here is my score!

I cut a section out and used a socket and a hammer to punch a perfect little hole for the shifter. The inner tube material was much thicker, yet just as pliable as the OEM material, so I was hoping to stretch this over the shifter handle without it tearing.

I then cut the outer diameter slightly larger than the shifter opening it was meant to cover.

With a little help from a glob of grease, the boot slipped over the shift lever without tearing!

I then fastened the outside edge to the shift tower with a zip tie to seal it and keep it in place.

It looked good until I moved the shift lever. As you can see, an unacceptable gap formed when the shifter was moved in to various gears. This won't keep muddy water out!

To fix the issue, I attempted to simulate an accordion design to give it some room to flex. With an accordion design, I figured that there would be enough give to prevent the hole around the shifter from opening up and letting foreign objects into the shift tower. These are the two peices I used to build the accordion, sticking them together with rubber cement.

I then put some rubber cement on the boot that was already installed...

...and stuck the accordion peice on top of that, ending up with a boot that provided a good seal around the shifter. No muddy water in the transmission now!

With that done, it was on to the next boot that seals the transmission tunnel and keeps debris from slinging up onto the carpet inside. After what I had learned by doing the small boot, I planned on making another accordion-like contraption to aid in keeping a tight seal on the shifter. First, I cut away the ruined boot from it's frame and used the frame as a base for my homebrew boot.

I then made a series of pieces to stick together and form the accordion.

The accordion was then attached to the original frame and bolted to the transmission tunnel to form a water tight seal around the shifter. I don't have a picture of the finished product, but it works great and keeps the carpet dry when I'm wheelin'. Even better, it didn't cost me much at all...if you ignore the torn OEM boot, of course!

Clutch Conversion

2008-11-11T18:06:00.000-08:00

The above captures my feelings concerning this whole clutch replacement and conversion thing I decided to embark on recently. The end result is spectacular but the process was frustrating at times. I would love to say that I am a masterful mechanic and this job was child's play (like some of the guys online) but, alas, it was a pain in the ass. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy working on my Jeep, and I enjoyed this job too. I just didn't think it would take so long.

It all started by necessity, as my internal slave cylinder began leaking rather profusely. The clutch and it's components/hydraulics had accumulated just over 100,000 miles since they had been replaced and the clutch chattered consistently. I elected to replace everything since I would have to pull the transmission to fix the slave cylinder anyway.

I thought that it was really stupid to have an internal slave cylinder in the first place. I had read about others converting the internal system to a late model external setup. This made a whole lot more sense to have the hydraulics on the outside and accessible in the event of leakage or premature failure. With the slave on the outside, I would be able to replace it without removing the transmission again. I embarked on my quest for information concerning the conversion.

My parts list consisted of the following (my XJ is a '91):
'94+ AX-15 bellhousing
'94+ AX-15 front bearing retainer and input shaft oil seal
'94+ AX-5 or AX-15 shift fork
'91 Pilot bearing
-Federal Mogul
'91 Flywheel
-www.dial-a-clutch.com P/N LFW193 - LuK
'94+ Pressure plate/clutch disk/throwout bearing kit
-www.dial-a-clutch.com P/N 05-065 - LuK
'91 Master Cylinder
-www.dial-a-clutch.com P/N LMC206 LuK/Raybestos
'94+ Slave cylinder (external)
-www.dial-a-clutch.com P/N LSC309 Luk/Raybestos
Advance Adapters TJ Slave Cylinder Hose Replacement
-P/N 716130TJH
Advance Adapters YJ Master Cylinder Fitting
-P/N 716130
-Plus all of the unknown ancillary BS that always comes with these projects:)

Since I wanted to keep the cost down (best laid plans, of course) I went to the local junkyard to search for the parts I would need to convert my internal slave cylinder to an external type. I was very excited to see a '96 XJ sitting in the yard with the engine missing and the transmission already removed. Without further thought I removed the bellhousing, took the shift fork, and unbolted the front bearing retainer. Unfortunately, the junkyard guys didn't appreciate my removing the front bearing retainer from the transmission...they made me put it back, unless I wanted to buy the whole transmission. Bummer. I was still happy though because I had just scored a bellhousing for twenty bucks and a shift fork for five.

And it begins...

The XJ poised and ready for transmission removal

My victory at the junkyard was short lived. I had removed components from an AX-5, not an AX-15! I had failed to check whether the junkyard XJ was a 4.0L! It was, in fact, a 4 cylinder XJ with it's requisite AX-5 in tow. The bellhousing was useless to me but the shift fork would work just fine. I ended up getting the proper bellhousing from a junkyard in Oregon off of a late model TJ...well they shipped it to me anyway. It was a lot more than twenty bucks. Below is a shot comparing the three bellhousings I came to own.

Shown separately, here is my original AX-15 bellhousing. It is missing the required attachment point for an external setup. Instead, it has a hole where the hydraulic lines for the internal slave cylinder pass through.

Here is the late model AX-15 bellhousing, complete with the studs to mount the external slave cylinder. On the right side of the picture you can see the back side of the stud that holds the shift fork pivot point.

Here is the AX-5 bellhousing...I am still kicking myself over this one. My wife thinks it's funny. I think the quote went something like, "You mean you don't know everything about your Jeep???" (Accompanied by giggling) Very funny...

A hint as to why the junkyard was willing to part with this one!

With the proper bellhousing in hand, I anxiously awaited the arrival of my front bearing retainer. It took me quite a while and a lot of phone calls to find one, but I finally had success with Transmission Rebuild Center of Kent, WA. They shipped out a beautifully reconditioned front bearing retainer, complete with new paint and everything. Very impressive for used parts! It also wasn't cheap. I see a trend developing for this project...moving on. Here is a picture comparing my old bearing retainer and the installed long snouted retainer from TRC.

This is the original slave cylinder which sat on top of the short front bearing retainer. The new throw-out bearing will ride on the long snout to disengage the clutch.

More pictures of the late model front bearing retainer installed

Here, the bellhousing is also installed. Although I don't have a picture of the shift fork and throw-out bearing, the throw-out bearing encircles and slides on the snout of the front bearing retainer and the shift fork spans from the pivot ball on the left, clips on to the throw-out bearing, and continues to the open space on the right where the slave cylinder (not pictured) protrudes into the bellhousing.

With the transmission ready to accept the late model clutch hydraulic system, it was time to replace the flywheel and clutch components. I went with all OEM replacement parts because I don't have substantial engine improvements that would require more clutch clamping force. It turns out that Luk provided the clutch components originally found in the Jeep, so I decided to go with them. I ordered all of my clutch parts, including the master and slave cylinder and flywheel, from dial-a-clutch.com. They had the best prices and free shipping! In the aftermath, I am very happy with the parts that I received. I compared my new LuK parts with the Sachs parts that came out. The difference in material thickness and overall construction was startling. The LuK components looked like they were a lot more heavy duty and the clutch plate 'fingers' were much more stout along their entire length.

While I was doing the clutch work, I got to thinking about the shop that did my clutch over 100,000 miles ago. I didn't know much about my XJ then, and didn't have anywhere to work on it myself anyway. When I got the Jeep back from the shop, it worked well...for about 20,000 miles. The clutch began to chatter badly and continued to work it's way up to unbearable until this clutch job. Something that I learned while researching for this conversion was that a 4.0L flywheel is not supposed to be resurfaced because of it's convex shape. I dug through my receipts and, sure enough, the flywheel was resurfaced on that clutch job long ago. I don't recall whether it was resurfaced at my suggestion (possible) but it irks me, regardless. Here is a shot of the grisly looking flywheel that came out of my tooth chattering XJ. Notice the large amount of burn marks on the surface. Yes, I know how to drive a stick:)

Here is the new one, bolted on and ready to go. Acheiving proper torque on these bolts was a challenge without a partner preventing the motor from turning over. I ended up wedging a long screwdriver between the frame and the teeth of the flywheel. I thought that torque wrench would never click!

Getting closer...the new pilot bearing is installed in the crankshaft and the pressure plate and clutch disk are bolted on and torqued. I love new parts.

With all of that installed, it was time to return the AX-15 to it's rightful place...and off of my garage floor. I removed the transmission and transfer case (and front driveline, but that's a different story!) as a unit with a transmission jack, so I went back to Lew Rents and rented the jack again. Since I am working alone most of the time, this jack was the only way to go!

Just getting the engine and transmission engaged took me a long time. Working alone, with a mirror and a flashlight, I thought I had pretty good alignment with the engine and transmission but it refused to budge the last couple of inches. I finally gave up and went inside to have some dinner and simmer down. When I returned I laid down on my back, looked at it for a moment and gave it a shove...it went right in with very little protest. I didn't even have spinach for dinner. Dumb luck, I guess. With the transmission and engine finally engaged, it was time to bolt it back up. This posed it's own little problem. With the removal, my buddy JD came over and helped me access the two hard to reach E-12 bolts on the top of the bellhousing. He turned the wrench from the shifter hole inside the Jeep while I held the socket and 'wobbly' on the bolt head. Peice of cake. I didn't have the help during re-installation, and didn't grow 10 foot articulating arms in the interim. Another plan of attack was required. Drawing from other experiences I had read about online, I made up a long series of extensions so I wouldn't have to use the 'wobbly'. For those of you who don't know what a 'wobbly' is because I don't know what it's really called, it is at the bottom of the picture below the chain o' extensions.

By using a series of extensions, I was able to make a straight shot to the E-12 bolts from behind the transfer case. Some contend that I should have replaced the E-12 bolts with a regular hex head, but I actually found them to be quite handy. The E-12 socket was easier to keep on the head of the bolt than a regular socket and hex bolt head would have been.

Victory was declared. I now attached the master and slave cylinders to their respective places. I bought separate master and slave cylinders rather than the all-in-one, pre-bled style because I had heard of many instances where the hard plastic hydraulic line would crack and spill the clutch fluid out of the system, rendering the clutch useless in the middle of nowhere. Instead, I called up Advance Adapters and had them send me a steel braided hydraulic line and a YJ master cylinder fitting. Everything went together without drama and it didn't even leak! Advance Adapters rocks, but isn't budget friendly. They sure deliver though, and the brass fittings I received were beautifully made. After bleeding the system, properly on the second try, my son Daniel re-installed the slave cylinder. I got to sit back and take pictures!

The new clutch works beautifully and has been operating for a few months now, trouble free. I'm pretty sure it is due to the work Daniel did at the end. I am happy again, and not nearly as dirty:) The next post will be the shifter boot fiasco, coming soon...

Finally...the historic Naches Trail!

2008-09-15T21:44:00.000-07:00

(All of the pictures are clickable so you can see a larger version)

After obsessing over this trail run for the better part of a year, it was finally time to actually do it! The Naches Trail was first crossed by Longmire in 1853 and has since been kept open as a 4x4 trail. Our plan was to cross from west to east starting at the Lower Naches part of the trail at FS7065 and ending at FS19. We then planned to retrace our steps but, due to time constraints, it became necessary to save the east to west crossing for another day. This trail is one of many on my list of trails to do before the Jeep dies. The anticipation was finally over!

Just prior to our trail run I had a 4 day trip to fly that wouldn't return me home until 11pm. We were due to depart at 7am the morning following my return. As a result I did as much packing as possible so I could just get some rest the night before. I put my spare tire on the roof to conserve space inside, as well as the Hi-Lift jack and a shovel. In the cargo compartment went enough tools to completely assemble and disassemble the Jeep in case we got bored. Also included was plenty of water, food, warm clothes, First Aid kit, air compressor (in case Jeff's fancy Warn PowerPlant Dual Force winch refused to air up the tires), and recovery gear. I also included some axle u-joints, driveshaft u-joints, and various other miscellaneous parts most prone to failure. I really didn't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere with a broken rig!

Although we had printed out all of the maps contained in the sidebar of this blog (to the right under Northwest Trails) I had spent countless hours piecing together a GPS track for the trail based on Garmin's MapSource software. I wasn't sure of the accuracy before we set out because the software didn't really have a good depiction of the westernmost and easternmost parts of the trail. I wasn't really concerned with getting lost, but I did want to know how much distance we had covered and how much we had to go during the trip. It would also be nice to verify that we hadn't taken a wrong turn somewhere, just in case. Upon uploading the coordinates from the computer to my GPS, I found that the waypoints had been corrupted...argh. With no apparent way to correct the problem I set to entering all of the waypoints by hand in to my Garmin GPS III Plus while I was on my 4 day trip.

While I was away, my lovely wife rounded up the few remaining items on our list, along with lunch and snacks for the trail. Sunday morning arrived, we loaded up the last of the gear, and we were off at 715am. Not bad! We started off with my wife Heidi, my father-in-law Gary, and myself in the XJ. Jeff's Jeep JK Rubicon was carrying the notorious husband and wife team of JD and Becky, and of course Jeff himself.

After a brief stop for breakfast we arrived in Greenwater, continued south to the FS70 turn off, and made our way to FS7065. The road splits here at FS7065 and we took the opportunity to air down the tires, secure loose objects, disconnect sway bars, and spool up for some fun!

Me, disconnecting the front sway bar. The Jeep is riding low in the back with all of that crap onboard. Time for some stronger springs? OUCH, my wife just hit me.

Gary watching...I'm still trying to talk him in to lifting his Jeep Liberty CRD. He's warming up to it...I think.

Jeff, right, taking the top off of his Jeep while JD plays service monkey...just kidding JD:)

After setting up, we travelled down FS7065 for a short distance until we reached the start of the trail.

The first section was rather steep so the pictures didn't come out good. The two designated photographers, Heidi and Becky, were too busy holding on to be framing good shots! Here are a few of them anyway!

You can see FS7065 in the background. This is the start of Lower Naches.

It is a good thing that the trail was rather dry. A little bit of water would have made the Lower Naches section much more difficult. We'll have to try it in the rain sometime!

After reaching the top of the steep section we paused briefly to recap the uphill thrill ride and lamented over the inability of pictures to capture the magnificence of the trail.

Heidi and Becky on top of Jeff's JK celebrating their survival:)

Jeff and JD.

We then continued along the trail, winding through the trees. Jeff was in the lead and, as he rounded a corner, I lost sight of him. As I came around the corner I saw him on the other side of a "puddle" of water. I edged up to the water to have a look.

I got on the CB and asked how deep the water was. JD replied, "It's too soon to tell...hehe" I then looked a little closer and saw Becky perched on top of Jeff's Jeep, on the other side of the "puddle", with the camera poised and ready to record events that only they had knowledge of. I asked the question again and received no reply this time. I was obviously being set up. It didn't look that bad so I elected to give them what they were looking for.

Not too bad, right?

I can only describe the frame between the picture above and the picture below since it is missing. Right after the previous picture the XJ's nose dipped in deeper and slid into some ruts. I gassed it but forward progress was slow and we were headed directly for the logs in the middle of the water. I pressed on hoping that the mudders would bite and pull me up and out of the ruts. Just as I was thinking "stop!" to keep from hitting the logs, the XJ jumped up out of the ruts, out of the water, and around the logs. Perhaps next time I will wait for a proper response!

The aftermath, muddy interior and all. What retard didn't fix the window switches so the passengers could roll up their windows? Oh yeah, that was me...

Uh oh. Mechanical trouble after the puddle. Debris? Broken axle? Transfer case damage? To my relief, it was just a cranky brake caliper that was sticking after the water crossing. Evidently it didn't like getting wet. It didn't know what it was in for. It's new, it'll get used to it:)

Jeff is all smiles.

JD in the driver's seat for a while...

...and Jeff ridin' shotgun...and nervous, but masking it well for a picture.

Here we are past the more difficult sections and enjoying the scenery of the forest.

JD having some more fun with Jeff's Jeep. Can you see the anxiety on Jeff's face? If you can't see it, you can feel it! Jeff likes his Jeep and will likely beat JD if he messes it up. We would have liked to see that but, alas, there was no damage.

My turn...much easier when your Jeep is skinny.

More tree navigation.

AHHHHH! Don't hurt my Jeep!

Can you see Jeff praying in the right seat? Click and look closely.

A little bit of recon to make sure we can get by the log at the top of the hill...it is steeper than it looks.

Becky hamming it up while we recon the hill.

Heidi taking pictures atop a stump...

...and what she was looking at.

Mt. Rainier peaking from behind the ridgeline.

Time to catch up.

Jeff enjoying the view.

I love this picture! Here we are driving along a ridge, approaching an area where we can stop to enjoy yet another spectacular view.

The mud is dry and Heidi points out the handiwork of JD. Yes, in fact, I do have mud.

Here is the crew, minus me. From left to right: Gary, Jeff, Heidi, JD, Becky.

Gary and Heidi.

Jeff and Becky.

JD and Becky.

Thanks so much for taking this picture JD:) Really, I'm just doing my part to prevent forest fires.

We finally reached Camp Urich and Government Meadows. This is the point where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses the Naches Trail. Government Meadows is where the settlers of the Longmire wagon train rested for two days. I think I would have rested longer considering what they had been through and what they had ahead of them. Heck, I might have just built a cabin and called it good. It is beautiful.

In case you can't read, here is the sign marking the spot where the camp was set up...if you couldn't read, I guess this wouldn't help. Perhaps I will just let the signs speak for themselves.

The Government Meadows sign...I can't help it!

Government Meadows in the flesh.

This is the cabin at Camp Urich, about 100 yards south of the Naches Trail on the Pacific Crest Trail.

It's time for lunch!

Evidently the birds were hungry too. We made JD smile the whole time because the birds seemed reluctant to approach him when he had his Marine Lieutenant Colonel face on.

A view through the trees at Camp Urich.

Just east of Camp Urich is the sign indicating the Naches Pass. The trail begins a long descent from here.

As we continued east from Camp Urich, Heidi wanted a turn at driving. We switched seats and she had some fun! I missed most of the good stuff with the camera but I managed to jump out for a minute and take some pictures on a nice flat part of the trail. She contends that I wanted to be "barking at her" on the more difficult parts, but I don't know what she is talking about. I was perfectly calm:) She also maintains I was squealing like a little girl and saying "you're going to roll it!". I certainly don't remember it that way...

Some pictures of Jeff's JK at the same time. Notice der schnorkel on Korvettenkapitan Jeff's U-boat/Jeep. This is a wise modification from previous misadventures. I won't mention it here to preserve his dignity *cough* hydro-lock *cough* bent connecting rod *cough* Who said that?

While standing atop this ridge looking at the view we were wondering, with all of the forest roads, why the settlers even bothered using the Naches Trail. Silly pioneers.

Finally, a picture of my wife and I together.

While taking a break we found a remnant of another's misfortune on the trail. It's definitely an axle shaft from a Dana 30.

As we progressed further east we became more and more pressed for time. As a result, the pictures decreased at this point. We exited the Naches Trail onto FS19 at the trail's end, just prior to another trail recognized as 'most difficult' by www.nwjeepn.com. Maybe next time for this most difficult trail! We followed FS19 to Hwy 410 near Cliffdell and continued over Chinook Pass back home. The trip was impressive for it's views, the trail, the historical significance, and the company! The trip was quite an experience and I look forward to doing it again next year! Anybody up for round two next season?

Powerline Road/Landslide

2008-08-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

The family and I made a quick trip to Capitol Forest to check out the powerline road and view the massive landslide that had occurred during previous heavy rains. I can't find the impressive pictures of the landslide, so I will update the post with those pictures later.

Madeline enjoys the wind in her hair and the warm summer drive

Daniel laughing with his sister

Me...didn't get one of the prettiest passenger, Heidi.

A beautiful view of Summit Lake from a forest service road at the top of a ridge

A section of the powerline road

Time to get out for a walk

Here lies an XJ that has seen better days. It looked like a joyride to me. I had seen this wreck earlier in the year when it was very intact, complete with 31" Super Swampers. I posted it's existence (but not it's exact location) on NAXJA in hopes of finding the owner before it was stripped. By now the the vandals and looters have worked it over pretty good and flipped it over.

During our hike up the landslide Heidi spotted a horseshoe in the debris and commissioned me to retrieve it. Who knows how old this is or where it came from, but it managed to avoid burial during the carnage.

Time to go home by reversing our route!

Axle Upgrade

2008-04-25T10:38:00.000-07:00

The time had come to do some serious maintenance on my axles. Both of the axle u-joints on my Dana 30 were wasted, the ball-joints were worn, the brake disks were shot, and my passenger side caliper was sticky and barely functioning. My Dana 35 was leaking profusely from the pinion seal. I felt that I had reached a crossroads. I could either sink a bunch of money into my existing axles or upgrade to stronger axles. I was loath to spend any money on the Dana 35. I knew that it was a weak axle to begin with, and I would simply be polishing my turd...I would still have a turd when I was done. My Dana 30 just needed to be upgraded for strength, but I was unhappy with my stock gear ratio on both axles since I was running 31" tires. There was no way I was going to spend the money to regear a Dana 35. The 3.07 gear ratio had to go...cheaply.

After doing some math, I found that the stock axle ratio from the automatic transmission equipped XJ's would work pretty well. The 3.55 gear ratio would put my engine back into it's intended RPM range, and then some. Axles with the 3.55 gear ratio are plentiful in the junkyards so it was just a matter of searching. I had originally intended to find a Dana 44 to put in the rear but the asking prices, both at the junkyard and through private parties, were more than I wanted to spend.

From what I had read, the Chrysler 8.25 29 spline axle found in late model XJ's was very strong and recognized as being able to accommodate 35" tires with a locker. Since that is bigger than I ever intend to go, the Chrysler 8.25 fit the bill and was available at a much lower cost. Soon after making this decision I ran across a 2001 8.25 with 3.55 gears and only 89,000 miles on it. Perfect! I picked up the axle at a junkyard near my house and it was in beautiful condition. It didn't need any work except for a brake line which had been cut during removal. This wasn't an issue since I planned on putting a longer brake line from a mid nineties Dodge Dakota on it anyway.

I was also lucky enough to find a '96 Dana 30 in 3.55 at the same junkyard. This one had about 150,000 miles on it. Although it needed some work, the price was right and would provide the late model axle shafts capable of accommodating the larger 5-760x u-joints that I wanted to use. It also had a lot shallower film of rust than my current axle! Let the games begin!

This is the Dana 30 and Dana 35 that came out. Note the leakage and overall scabby appearance...under the mud!

This is a picture of the 1996 Dana 30 prior to the restoration and rebuild phase.

Here is the 2001 Chrysler 8.25 29 spline...not much restoration to do here!

Here is the new Dana 30 with a few hundred miles on it after the restoration and rebuild. I completely stripped and wire brushed the axle housing, axle shafts, and any other components that would stand up to it. I then painted the axle housing with primer and Rust-Oleum flat black. I decided to use red on the differential cover. I think it looks good with the Warn diff. guard, otherwise the red is too much. I replaced the ball joints on the passenger side, installed higher strength 5-760x u-joints in both axle shafts, and installed Superior axle tube seals to keep the Northwest's mud and water out. It also received a complete brake system replacement with new disks, calipers, and pads. Yes, that is power steering fluid all over everything and yes, it is now fixed:)

The Chrysler 8.25 came out well too. I just painted this axle since it didn't have any rust on it to begin with. It didn't need any work aside from the brake line. I used a mid 90's Dodge Dakota brake line which netted a lot more length than the stock brake line. I also used the springs off of the 2001, which were in much better condition than my old rusty ones, with my Skyjacker add-a-leaf. I had new high strength u-bolts made, purchased a shorter stock driveline from George the Jeep to fit the AX-15/Chryco 8.25 set-up, swapped in my driveline u-joints, and was ready to go! I also left the rear sway bar off to allow for better articulation on the trail. The red differential cover is a bit much but I plan to put a black diff guard on it at some point in the future. This should mute the red nicely so it's not so obnoxious!

The end result is fantastic! On the street the XJ accelerates briskly in town and cruises on the freeway without a need for downshifting, except for mountain pass-type hills. It crawls much slower on the trail and the stronger axles give me peace of mind knowing that they are overbuilt for my 31" tires and open differentials. It also drives as smooth as glass. I feel like I got a new Jeep after the swap!

Yeehaw!

2008-03-10T08:24:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken on the powerline road near the Rock Candy Mountain entrance of Capitol State Forest by Derek Pearson. He is a professional photographer and managed to get this shot as the daylight waned. If you need a wedding photographer, he's your man. Evidently he does Jeeps now too. Nice picture Derek!

My XJ's History

2008-03-06T09:05:00.000-08:00

I bought my 1991 Jeep Cherokee Laredo XJ in January of 1998 as a replacement for my car that was destroyed in a serious car crash. I would love to say that I knew all of the details about Cherokees when I bought mine, but the truth is that I didn't know very much about them at all. Yes, I knew I wanted the 4.0 liter engine, but I had no idea which axles were offered, what other drive train options were available, or the subtle differences between the model years. My wife liked them a lot and she was actually much of the reason I began looking for one. After seeing a lot of bad examples I just wasn't sold on the idea until I took a trip down to Vancouver, WA.

I was responding to a classified ad from a salvage dealer that specialized in acquiring wrecked XJ's, rebuilding them, and then selling them. I was looking at a different XJ that was advertised in my price range but, after driving it, found that the automatic transmission didn't shift properly and the 4.0L motor was very tired.

When I returned from the test drive I zeroed in on an XJ on the other side of the lot that had caught my eye earlier. It was out of my price range but it was beautiful! The red paint with grey trim really caught my eye, as it was in great shape. The interior was grey and in perfect condition, with the exception of a slightly bent steering wheel and small cracks in the dash under the steering column. It had just under 100,000 miles on the odometer.

It became apparent that this Jeep had been in a frontal collision and the driver had caused the damage to the steering wheel and dash upon impact...ugh. This prompted a check under the front end of the XJ. From the outside it looked pretty good, with some of the body panels showing slightly tighter gaps in some spots and wider gaps in others. A check underneath showed a left lower control arm flange that was tweaked but workable. The right front frame had been straightened and rewelded. I decided I couldn't live without it so I talked the guy down quite a bit and drove the Jeep home.

As I know now, I happened to get a pretty good XJ model. My Cherokee Laredo has the 4.0 liter HO motor (good), AX-15 5 speed manual (good), NP231 transfer case (good), high pinion Dana 30 non disconnecting front axle (good), and the Dana 35 rear axle (bad). Only one 'bad' is pretty good considering I wasn't even looking for most of this stuff. After all, I could have ended up with the Peugeot BA-10/5 transmission or a vacuum disconnect front axle, right?!

Little did I know, this would be the beginning of a long and pleasurable relationship! The Jeep gave us many many trouble free miles and I simply fell in love with the thing! It endured multiple family adventures, mild off-road excursions, and a trip to Michigan and back.

After spending 5 years of it's life in the salted winter roads of Michigan, my good looking Jeep started developing scabby rust on it's entire undercarriage and on some of the body panels. When we moved back to Washington State it was time to provide some much needed maintenance. I had grandiose ideas about lifting it, but knew that the cost would be prohibitive. Did I mention I didn't have much disposable income! All of the springs were sagging and rusty and the shocks weren't doing much damping anymore. They still had the Chrysler factory logo on them in 2004...OEM shocks from 1991! The horror! I looked in to stock replacement suspension parts. It became apparent that this option was also expensive so I began to search for a good deal on a mild lift kit.

One additional reason for lifting it presented itself one sunny afternoon while driving along some forest roads with my daughter Madeline, about 5 years old at the time. We were driving along in Capitol Forest and a conversation similar to this ensued:

I say, "Hey Madeline, look at that road that splits off. I wonder if it goes up to Capitol Peak?"

Madeline says, "There is a big berm in the way Dad."

I say, "I think we can get over it."

Madeline says, "If we try to go over it we'll get stuck and then we'll have to walk. I don't want to walk because it is a LOOONG way home."

I say, "Let's try it. I think we can make it."

(Sound of frame slamming down on berm)

Madeline says, "I knew we would get stuck! You promised we wouldn't get stuck!"

I attempted the shameful recovery process while my daughter blissfully played in the dirt, chased butterflies, pooped in the forest, and occasionally reminded me that she knew we would get stuck, but "that's OK Dad, this is still a lot of fun." I finally realized that I was ill-equipped to rectify my high-centered situation so I called my father-in-law, Gary, to pluck us from the jaws of Capitol Peak. Not very big jaws, mind you, but big enough to snare a stock XJ. Gary came to the rescue and I still haven't lived this one down...probably never will.

After many hours in front of the computer and multiple websites over the course of many weeks I finally stumbled across a screamin' deal at 4wheelparts.com that fit my budget and my near term goal for the Jeep. Amazingly, they were selling a 3" Skyjacker lift kit complete with front coil springs, rear add-a-leafs, extended lower control arms, track bar relocation bracket, and 4 new Hydro 7000 shocks for $320. This included free shipping and no tax with the internet order! I bought it and wrung my hands in anticipation of it's arrival.

I am pretty handy with a wrench and have been working on vehicles of various types for quite a few years. I hadn't worked on suspensions much at all until this project though. The lift installation didn't look too hard but I hadn't factored in the sheer amount of corrosion that I would run into. I figured that it would take two days...it took six. What a pain in the ass. Honestly, I had a great time doing it but quickly tired of breaking off bolts and getting flakes of rust in my eyes and nose. Even with safety glasses it seemed to find it's way into my eyes!

During the course of the lift I had to make multiple trips to the store to purchase new bolts as the originals snapped off...all but two shock mount bolts, track bar bolt, you get the idea. I also broke off one of the sway bar end links which required a run to the junk yard to find a replacement. This is when I found the novelty of the local pick-and-pull junk yard. I had no idea so many people liked to wreck their XJs! I quickly realized that I had stumbled upon a gold mine of available used parts. The Cherokees in the junk yard were, in many ways, in better shape than mine. With nearly 3 million Cherokees manufactured between 1984 and 2001, these things are everywhere in the junk yards! This would continue to come in handy over the course of the next several years. More on that later...

With the lift installed, the Jeep looked great. I still had the 30x9.50 mud tires on it with stock rims, so that looked stupid, but other than that it looked much better. One of my biggest fears was that I would lose ride quality or it would drive funny after lifting it. That quickly disappeared on the first test drive when I found that the Jeep now rode better than it ever had. It handled beautifully and had a nice tight ride without being harsh. Nice job Skyjacker! After about 50 miles I noticed that the steering was acting real funny. Further inspection showed that the track bar relocation bracket appeared to be loose. I checked the torque and it wasn't loose at all. A phone call to 4wheelparts provided a solution. They said that the bracket frequently does this and the best fix is to tack weld it in addition to the bolt. I drove up to their retail location in Tacoma and they tack welded it for free! Problem solved!

I finally scored some 31 x 10.50 Michelin X's from my Dad. I had just purchased Type 62 15"x8" alloy rims from Discount Tire because my stock rims were badly corroded (one even had a small crack developing!). The Michelins were originally off of my Dad's beautiful Jeep CJ-7 and he was generous enough to give them to me. The new rims and tires really filled out the fender wells and made the Jeep look good, aside from providing amazing on-road ride quality. Off-road was a different story. Rocks or dry dirt didn't present too many problems, but the instant moisture was added they failed miserably. Since I live in Washington, the XJ was screaming for mudders. More on that later...

My Dad was also generous enough to buy a K&N FIPK for me when I started towing our travel trailer. I was looking for simple modifications that would allow the engine to breathe a little better, and the K&N intake was the first step in that direction. The intake provides about 7 horsepower (according to K&N). Even better, it makes the 4.0L engine sound bad-ass at wide open throttle! An aftermarket header and Dynomax "cat-back" exhaust system is in the future. One day I noticed that the ol' XJ was starting to leak anti-freeze on the driveway. The anti-freeze was easy to see because the fluid beaded up nicely on the oil slick in my driveway from the various oil leaks from my engine:( The source of the dripping was the water pump. Coolant was leaking out of the little hole on the bottom indicating bearing failure. Great. I limped it along until payday. As I began to look closer at the water pump I noticed that the radiator fins were badly corroded. I ran my finger along some of those fins and they turned to DUST...just disintegrated. After I had a little fun turning 1/3 of my radiator to dust while chuckling to myself, I hit the phone book and started piecing together the parts required to restore the cooling system. The Jeep recieved a complete cooling system makeover for just over $300. While I was doing the work my neighbor, who is a mechanic and owns his own shop, asked me what the heck I was doing to the Jeep this time. I explained and he said, "Why don't you just buy a new car?". I asked him how much his monthly car payment was for both of his brand new Chevy trucks. "I see your point...", he said. The fact is that the Jeep had been largely maintenance free up until this point. I was more than happy to pour some cash into it to keep it going. The brakes would soon wear out...ok, not more than happy to pour some cash into it, but you get the idea.

After nearly wearing out the Michelins I finally broke down and bought a set of BF Goodrich Mud Terrain KM's. Wow what a difference! The on-road ride is good and they aren't noisy at all. Just a soft hum that I rather like! Off-road they are spectacular in mud and rocks. Anybody who has ever owned a set knows what I'm talking about. The only question mark is how many miles I will get out of them. Time will tell! I continued my trips to the junk yard, picking up various parts along the way. I added some extra leaves to the rear spring pack for towing our trailer (I later removed them when we no longer towed with the XJ). I added a temperature sensor, which my XJ was missing from day one. The overhead console was there, but the temperature read-out didn't work. Three bucks at the junk yard fixed that problem. I also picked up a replacement tail light box after some idiot kid clipped my rear bumper and cracked it. Five bucks from an '84 XJ...problem solved. I have replacement headlight bezels and just need a grille to finish replacing the peeling front end...5 bucks each for the bezels and 15 for the grille when one shows up. Everybody seems to smash the front end so it will probably be a while before I find one. While looking for a grille with Madeline, we ran across an XJ with a Yakima gutter mount roof rack on it. It included 4 towers and two cross bars. This set up would cost $200 bucks new...I got it for $16! I have plans for this setup in the near future after I get some new keys from Yakima to unlock the towers.

By far the best score I have had at the junk yard was finding an XJ with the Up Country package on it. These Cherokees came with a factory one inch lift, tow package, and front tow hooks, among other things. Most important to me, the Up Country also had a full complement of skid plates on it. I was able to grab the front skid plate, the fuel tank skid plate, and the transfer case skid plate. They were all in GREAT condition and bolted right up. The fuel tank skid required modification to fit around my Draw-Tite hitch, but the modification was minimal. The front skid covered most of my steering gear and also provided an attachment point for my JKS disconnect storage pins. The transfer case skid leaves a little bit to be desired but, hey, it's better than nothing. The best part? $25 for all of it!! $25!!

I wanted more articulation out of the front end so I began searching for some front swaybar disconnects. The bushings in my stock swaybar end links were completely shot. I am a firm believer in the idea that if you bother to replace something, replace it with something better...if you can afford it, of course. I would kill two birds with one stone by replacing the swaybar links with the disconnecting type. New bushings and the ability to disconnect, all in one. I bought a set of Skyjacker disco's but it became evident that these would be an utter pain in the ass to reconnect on anything but perfectly level ground. They were drilled incorrectly anyway so it provided a great excuse to return them and get what I really wanted, a set of JKS quicker disconnects. Let me just say that as far as manual sway bar disconnects go, these things are awesome. They are so easy to reconnect compared to other styles. They are also fully adjustable so I was able to dial in the correct geometry. My original stock links had been a little too short, so I guess I killed three birds with one stone...not bad!

Every modification is a slippery slope. Upon ordering the JKS quicker disconnects I realized that if the axle will articulate more, then the brake lines will have to be longer lest I pull a brake line out of the caliper and spew brake fluid everywhere...and pick the nearest tree to hit so I can stop. I pulled up some of my favorite websites and quickly discovered that extended steel-braided brake lines for the front end are at least $99 per pair. That wasn't in the budget. I didn't factor this in and now my Jeep is apart with yet another broken link. Yes, the other swaybar end link broke during removal. I wasn't going to replace that one with a junkyard piece just so I could put it back together until I could afford the brake lines. It was time for another plan. With a Google search I discovered more websites with great technical write-ups. MADXJ had already done the homework for me and discovered that brake lines from a '93-'95 Jeep Wrangler YJ were about 3 inches longer but still bolted right up to the XJ brake system. They also had extended metal ends that would protect the lines better than the original XJ brake lines did. I found the brake lines at the local auto parts store for $16 each. Much better than $99! I bolted everything up and am still surprised at the difference this makes in off-road traction.

In order to keep doing this...

...it became necessary to extend the breather tubes from both of my axles and my transfer case. The pictures above were taken in Tahuya State Forest. I extended the breather tubes in preparation for this trip and, upon inspection after the trip, didn't find ANY water in any of the running gear. My buddy Jeff couldn't say the same thing about his 2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon (JK). His rear differential was full of water...he extended his shortly thereafter.

Since I was doing a lot more wheelin' with the Jeep I realized that it severely lacked any kind of recovery points. If I did get stuck, I was looking at causing collateral damage during the recovery process. I found some front tow hooks from Rugged Ridge that not only attached to the bumper bolts, but also attached about one foot down the frame rail for added strength. That took care of recovery from the front, while a birthday present in the form of a hitch receiver d-ring took care of a recovery from the rear. Now my friends with winches could pull me out! Also added to the mix was a Hi-Lift Jack and a hefty tow/recovery strap.
This is what the Jeep looks like now. It is far from done...definitely a work in progress. At 202,000 miles it is still running well and will get it's upgrades as the checking account allows. It does pretty good "as is", but there are just a few more things I would like to do!:)

Muddy Lunch

2008-02-19T10:36:00.000-08:00

I took Madeline, Daniel, and Rosie into Capitol Forest for a quick trail run with lunch. We stopped on a ridge and enjoyed the view while scarfing down PB&J.

We got to put a little bit of mud on the Jeep...just enough to keep me busy washing for an hour or so. I figured I would fortify my front lawn with new soil at the same time and kill two birds with one stone.

Capitol State Forest

2008-01-23T16:55:00.000-08:00

It was a gorgeous day today in the Olympia area. Heidi was parent-helping at Daniel's preschool and Madeline was also at school, so I decided to get some fresh air...via XJ of course! I made a quick run into Capitol Forest to explore some areas that I hadn't been to.

On the way to the Waddell Creek entrance I spotted a very nice 'import tuner style' Mitsubishi Lancer pulled over to the side of the road. There were a couple of teenagers milling around next to it, and it was apparent that they had a flat tire. I stopped to see if I could lend a hand. The rims looked like they were wrapped with a rubber band rather than tires, but to each his own. The owner stated that he had a spare but didn't have a jack...oops. I had the Hi-Lift jack with me, but it required more height than the 4 inches of ground clearance the Lancer was sporting. It then occurred to me that I had a factory jack under the rear seat, although I had never used it. Time to break it in! After some coaxing the jack barely fit between the frame and the pavement, but the guys were on their way after putting on the little doughnut spare. The funny thing is, the little pizza-cutter-doughnut spare had WAY more sidewall than the regular tires!

After this little diversion it was time to drive around Capitol Forest. This was to be a very short excursion, and more of an exploratory trip rather than an obstacle filled one. I was searching for worthy 4x4 trails as well as mountain bike trails. I managed to make some new discoveries and snap some pictures of the Jeep in the forest on this beautiful day. Check'em out!

I encountered this beautiful view of Mt. Rainier near D-4900 on the west side of Mount Molly.

At 14,411 feet, Mt. Rainier is the tallest peak in the Cascade mountian range. It has a topographic prominence of 13,210 feet which is greater than the well known Himalayan peak, K2.

Just a short distance off of D-4900 :)

This is my favorite picture of the whole bunch, taken on D-4000. Notice the western edge of Capitol Peak on the left side of the picture and Rock Candy Mountain just poking up on the right side of the picture at 2,356 feet.

This picture was taken at a slightly different angle and shows Capitol Peak clearly in the background at 2,659 feet. The shorter hill in the foreground is Little Larch Mountain standing 1,340 feet tall.

I hope to get another day like this soon. The weather was spectacular and the temperature even got up to a very comfortable 41 degrees. Hopefully I can cover a little more ground next time but half the fun is stopping, shutting the engine off, and listening to the silence intermingled with the sounds of nature. A close second place is the sound of my 4.0L at wide open throttle heard through the K&N FIPK high flow air intake! Until next time, see ya!

Tahuya II

2008-01-12T10:24:00.001-08:00

Jeff had some business with a client in Belfair so I decided to meet up with him afterwards for another run at Tahuya. What a blast!

There was A LOT more water than the last time we went, with a light dusting of snow in some spots. Our mission was to explore the southern half of the 4x4 loop. On our last trip we inadvertantly bypassed most of the loop after getting a little disoriented.

Let's just say the southern loop is MUCH more difficult to navigate. There was deep standing water...large roots...large rocks...washed out sections of trail with creeks running through them...steep...slippery...FUN! We also added some Jeep Forest Green (from Jeff's rig) and grey (from mine) to the landscape in a rutted steep washed out section of trail. The rock garden (not pictured) claimed some of my red paint as well:(

We started the trail at 2:00 pm and finally exited about 6:45. This was much later than we had planned, but we also hadn't planned on the southern part of the loop being so gnarly. Unfortunately there aren't many pictures of the southern part, as the sun had gone down, but you will see some at the end where I left some of my grey fender flares behind on the side of a rutted wash.

As usual the pictures don't do anything justice, and the best parts were largely unphotographed because it was dark or I was too busy driving. I'm waiting for Jeff's pictures from his camera. Maybe there will be some good ones. Evan's Creek is definitely in the future but we are going to wait until the snow melts a bit. We want to spend time driving, not winching! That's it until next time!

And it begins...

Did I mention that Jeff likes to go through water?

Korvettenkapitän Jeff Scott and his green U-boat...those are 35" tires, by the way.

A blurry picture of the XJ in the woods.

An easy part of the trail with a small creek running down the middle...we had no idea what we were in for later!

XJ on the rocks with a twist.

15 psi in the tires makes for a nice sidewall bulge.

Sure flexes better than when it was stock. The JKS quick disconnects really add some articulation to the Skyjacker lift in the front. The next project is to remove the rear anti-sway bar completely. It's also time to trim the fenderwells...:)

Nice articulation but nowhere near what this Jeep Unlimited Rubicon is capable of.

Note the chunks of ice on the front bumper. They were scooped from the surface of a "puddle" we had just navigated through.

Twisted up and getting dark FAST. This is what the south loop looked like in the easier parts.

Ooops! The pictures just don't do the angle justice but I was worried that the scraping was from the door. Turns out it was just the rear fender flare.

No, I am not tilting the camera. The gouges blend in beautifully with the scraped and peeling paint on the rest of the Jeep. I don't think anyone will even notice. It could have been a lot worse!

Snowy Capitol Forest

2007-12-29T10:46:00.000-08:00

We went up to Capitol Forest to check out the snow and got more than we bargained for. The snow was being rained upon and the combination made for extremely slippery conditions. Jeff slid into a ditch requiring help from his winch after pulling over for some idiots in a Subaru. We had our own ditch excursion but it was much smaller. With a little momentum, lot's of spinning wheels, and help from an unseen (but rather large) rock we were able to exit the ditch at a time and place of IT'S choosing. After all of this we aborted our drive to "The Peak" but ended up playing around at a lower area for a few minutes before returning to the warmth of our Jeeps. Here are some pictures!

Ahhhh my hand is freezing!!

This snow is deep and cold but I can still find the warmth to laugh!

It looked a lot steeper from inside the Jeep...

Jeff sure has a great looking Jeep.

Jeff and his daughters, Katie (left) and Marie.

From left: Madeline, Heidi, Daniel, and me wearing the same sweater I was wearing last time we went off-road...RAD...and of course, our Jeep XJ in the background.

The early stages of a short lived snowball (ice ball?) fight.

And finally, the kids all together: Katie, Marie, Madeline, Daniel.

After this brief break to stretch our legs we scurried back to the warmth of our Jeeps and called it a day. We will be sure to take some pictures on our next adventure, but until then take care!!

Note to self: Deep snow that is being vigorously rained upon + Mud tires = BAAAAD!!

Tahuya State Forest

2007-11-12T14:19:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody!

Here are some pictures of our trip to Tahuya State Forest on November 11, 2007. Tahuya has a network of off-road trails dedicated for use by motorcycles, ATV's, and 4x4's. In attendance was Jeff, Marie, and Marie's friend Allie riding in Jeff's superbly equipped Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon (JK) pictured here.

Riding in the second truck was me (Scott), navigatrix and co-driver Heidi, Madeline, and Daniel. Our ride is a 1991 Jeep Cherokee Laredo (XJ), somewhat modified:), pictured here.

The Tahuya trail was tons of fun with mud, a lot of water, rocks, and steep climbs. Right off the bat we ran across a seriously broken '78 Chevy with a late model Ford F250 trying to tow it off of the trail. The Chevy had a tie-rod that was bent in a lovely U shape and had ripped the tire from one of the front rims. The Ford got stuck trying to maneuver into a position to push the Chevy and Jeff was able to lend a hand with his winch.

Speaking of DEEP water, here are some pictures of me going a little too far with the Cherokee. Note that between the first and second pictures the water was lapping over the hood and about halfway up the front windshield...OOPS...time to floor it!

Here's Jeff making quick work of the water with a rather impressive bow wave!

As the sun set we finished the end of the trail with some hill climbs...

...and back down for another run!

Here are some pictures of the Jeep Cherokee gang, minus the illustrious photographer, Heidi.

That's all for now, but next time we are planning a trip to Evan's Creek. Until then I will continue to frequent Capitol State Forest and put the finishing touches on my trip planning for our late Spring 2008 run to the historic Naches Trail in the Cascade Mountains. See ya!

Capitol State Forest

2006-12-27T14:33:00.000-08:00

Heidi, Madeline, Daniel and I went up to Capitol Peak in Capitol State Forest right after some fresh snow. The kids were in need of some snow sledding time, and I figured what better way to accomplish that than run the Jeep up to 'the peak'!

We didn't get many pictures, but we definitely had a good time. The new snow was beautiful and nearly untouched by others. We will definitely be doing this again!

XJ AV8R

*ATTENTION! IMPORTANT!*

Pacific Northwest Trail Links

Tahuya Videos!

She'll be comin' DOWN the mountain when she comes...

Skiing and Snowshoeing at White Pass!! OK, Not Really...

Tahuya Pictures and a Couple of Videos

Rubber boots...no, not the kind for your feet.

Clutch Conversion

Finally...the historic Naches Trail!

Powerline Road/Landslide

Axle Upgrade

Yeehaw!

My XJ's History

Muddy Lunch

Capitol State Forest

Tahuya II

Snowy Capitol Forest

Tahuya State Forest

Capitol State Forest

ATTENTION! IMPORTANT!