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Bushings came in. These things are STIFF! I have a thought that they're going to squeak more than the Rancho poly bushings I have in my 2dr, but the ease of installation plus the durability makes it for me.
I'm going to start to put the rear suspension and axle back together this weekend.
Rear suspension is all together for now. Everything fit like a glove and installed like butter thanks to the GF who helped.
Rear brakes are next.
I've also decided to drop the gas tank and replace the fuel pump/filter. I never had any issues with the pump when I parked it, but the gas that's in there is nearly two years old and it was "winter gas" from upstate New York. I can just imagine how bad it's gotten. I want to drain it and might as well replace the pump and filter given they're original.
Looks really good. Those leafs are beefy! I wonder how the ride/flex would improve without that load leaf and how that would effect it's longevity. Just a thought with some many thinner leafs. Also if you decide not to use the HD no lift relocators I'd be interested in buying them from you.
Looking good bud! I used to have a '01 Isuzu Rodeo that I put OME suspension parts on. Mostly because they were the only people that made suspension parts for a frickin Rodeo. I lived that car so much, but my wife hated it. It was a tough decision about which one to keep, but I eventually sold my wife... Err... I mean my Rodeo.
I don't know why I just told that story, but every time someone mentions OME I think of my Rodeo.
Rodeo's are sweet! I looked at them quite a bit as a replacement for this Cherokee the first time I sold it, but ended up buying another Cherokee instead... and then ended up buying this one back and now I have two Cherokees and no Rodeo.
And now I'm looking through Craigslist for Rodeos, so thanks for that... hahaha. If I remember correctly from my past research, the automatics are junk but the manuals are great. Can't go wrong with a Dana 44 rear and a (unless I'm wrong here) fully-boxed frame.
Rodeo's are sweet! I looked at them quite a bit as a replacement for this Cherokee the first time I sold it, but ended up buying another Cherokee instead... and then ended up buying this one back and now I have two Cherokees and no Rodeo.And now I'm looking through Craigslist for Rodeos, so thanks for that... hahaha. If I remember correctly from my past research, the automatics are junk but the manuals are great. Can't go wrong with a Dana 44 rear and a (unless I'm wrong here) fully-boxed frame.
All Isuzu vehicles are junk. All D44's are NOT the same or good. Look at the Grand Cherokee and their weak so called D44. NOT.
Looks really good. Those leafs are beefy! I wonder how the ride/flex would improve without that load leaf and how that would effect it's longevity. Just a thought with some many thinner leafs. Also if you decide not to use the HD no lift relocators I'd be interested in buying them from you.
Probably would improve the ride but, I think that the load leaf is the best thing about these springs. I have so much stuff loaded back there already. Now when it has the trailer hitched up to it , it remains at a perfect height in the rear. One of the best things I've done to mine so far.
All Isuzu vehicles are junk. All D44's are NOT the same or good. Look at the Grand Cherokee and their weak so called D44. NOT.
That's a bold statement to say all Isuzu's are junk. Did you have some that broke down on you a lot? I personally have no experience with them and I'm sure there are plenty of duds out there (same can be said about Jeeps), but there's a bunch of older Troopers on Expedition Portal that are racking up miles, and those people seem to praise those vehicles. The Australians seem to really like them too - especially the Isuzu-built diesels in the modern D-Max pickups.
Got it under its own weight for the first time in a few months. Pushed it out of the shop so I could turn it around and start to work on the front axle swap. I'm very pleased with the ride height - it's about perfectly matched with the front coils. The shackle angle without brackets though... meh. Maybe it won't be that bad...
I own a set of HD no-lift relocation brackets but decided to see how the set-up would perform without them first - mostly because I didn't want to spend the time/effort installing the brackets haha.
I've slowly been making progress on this thing. The new goal is to have it ready for a week-long (hopefully) road/wheeling trip the last week of October. i have a complete list of to-does and what to buy. My wallet has really been working overtime lately... especially since my fleet is getting older and more needy.
Anywho - here are some pics:
Got the front axle removed in an afternoon - I felt really weird afterwards due to dehydration from BEAST MODING the removal but it was all in good fun!
^^^ Not pictured are extended Daystar bumpstops.
I've been slowly prepping the "new" axle. It'll get all-new Timkin unit bearings (already purchased), chromoly axle shafts (already purchased), all-new hub bolts (already purchased), progressive bumpstops (already purchased) and probably new rotors. But look at that ARB!
While the axle's out, I did the rear main seal and oil pan gasket. Only over-torqued one oil pan bolt but got that removed and fixed up already.
^^^ This is the first time I've ever caught a glimpse of the innards of this 4.0. Not too bad for nearly 200k miles
Oh yeah, I bought tires! 5 255/85R16 Maxxis Bighorns. 5 all-new 33s for less than a grand? Oh yes!
Not pictured are Sypdertrax 1.5" wheel spacers, a brand-new WARN M8000 winch, and a Synergy tie-rod end steering kit.
A few updates since the last update. The rig is coming along!
Got the axle shafts sorted - running chromoly 30 spline inners for the ARB and 27 spline outers - mostly because I already had 27 spline outer unit bearings.
Installed the "pocket" sub to save space.
Bleed and installed the master cylinder. Bleed the rest of the brakes as well... hopefully.
Got the steering installed. I need to readjust my toe majorly though. Note the new brake rotors and Spidertrax spacers.
Dropped the gas tank to replace the pump and siphon the old gas out.
Got the tires mounted and balanced.
Then yesterday, since it was my b-day, my GF helped me install (partially) the bumper and winch and so I could push it out of storage and look at it.
The bumper, which is used by the way, is tweaked. Pretty sure it hit a tree or something... or someone overstuffed a tire and tweaked it that way. It mounts to the body straight and true but still. This is the same side with the misaligned rock slider and numerous dents so it's pretty fitting that the bumper would be tweaked there too. I may address that but for now, I'm stoked!
I think I know the answer to this but since you have your gas tank out.
What kind of clamps do they use for the fuel and vent lines at the tank and at the filler neck?
Regular hose clamps?
04-16-2020, 05:14 AM
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