I've been a member for a little while now. It started with the purchase of my '71 K5. Now I'm the owner of an '87 K5 (305/700R4/NP208/stock axles/4" lift/35's) that I originally bought to fix up for my brother but decided to get him something a little more economical so now I have it.
I've never wheeled a fullsize ( I also own an '06 Unlimited ) so the whole experience is new to me and the mods associated with it are foreign, as well.
I'm not completely sure where it will end up but I have an idea. I know that most people tell you to strip it down and build it right the first time with 1 ton axles, giant tires and a plethora of other expensive and often time consuming mods but I just don't have the room to do that right now. Too many other vehicles taking up floor space and quite frankly, I really don't want to do it. I've been super busy with work the last few years and I've had virtually no time to get out do the things I've been wanting to do so it makes more sense for me to just use it as is and take advantage of the current mods that it has until it becomes more feasible to do major modifications. I'm not trying to race in King of the Hammers, just want to get out and run some trails and meet new people. Sounds simple enough.
Sooooo first things first...determining whether or not this thing is even roadworthy. It's spent the majority of its time with me sitting at my parent's place (like I said, I have pretty much no room at my house other than just a place to park it) and I haven't really had the opportunity to give it any break-down runs. I did rebuild the tranny right away when I first got it, as well as a few other odds and ends but I never spent much time behind the wheel other than loading it on and off my trailer.
Before I bring it home I wanted to make sure it was gonna be even worth messing with. I went out to my parent's tonight, put a battery in it and drove it around. Started up relatively easily and shifted through the gears fine. It does have a pretty serious leak and it appears to be coming from the front the front pump seal. I'll need to address that. I hate leaks.
Oh, before I continue, I'm currently at work and do not want to get too brave and start going into photobucket and so forth. I know it's pretty benign but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I will upload pics at a later time when I'm at home.
Oh, the only good glass on it is the top glass (sliding windows). All other windows are busted or cracked in one way or another. Hail storm is responsible for some of it and a young punk shot out another window, too. Oh well, I plan on removing the doors and going topless anyways.
Here's the immediate issue. Guess I could have said this from the start but part of my test run was ensuring that the 4WD worked. I engaged it and went creepy crawling around the property. I found a tree that had fallen and decided to get to flexin' on it. It went up effortlessly but just about as soon as I start to "feel" the flex, the fan went completely ape sh!t on the shroud. I backed off and looked under the hood at where it was hitting and could see a freshly worn spot on the shroud. I pushed it up the tree again and eased it a little further and cut it off. Got out again and verified that it is indeed rubbing the shroud. I also noticed that the bumper was pretty drastically out of alignment with the front clip, too.
Obviously, that has to be addressed since flex is a major component of wheeling. What are you guys doing to address this? Stiff front bumper (mine is stock)? Aftermarket engine crossmember (ORD's)? I am sure that boxing the frame would cure this but I'd much rather not get into that right now. Electric fan?
This is the first obstacle I've encountered and I'm glad I discovered it before dragging the damn thing two hours away to wheel it. Once this is addressed, I'll move onto the leaks and so forth. I know it won't be perfect before I take it out but I want to try and alleviate any obvious issues.
Thanks for putting up with my long post and I promise I'll post pics soon.
I've never wheeled a fullsize ( I also own an '06 Unlimited ) so the whole experience is new to me and the mods associated with it are foreign, as well.
I'm not completely sure where it will end up but I have an idea. I know that most people tell you to strip it down and build it right the first time with 1 ton axles, giant tires and a plethora of other expensive and often time consuming mods but I just don't have the room to do that right now. Too many other vehicles taking up floor space and quite frankly, I really don't want to do it. I've been super busy with work the last few years and I've had virtually no time to get out do the things I've been wanting to do so it makes more sense for me to just use it as is and take advantage of the current mods that it has until it becomes more feasible to do major modifications. I'm not trying to race in King of the Hammers, just want to get out and run some trails and meet new people. Sounds simple enough.
Sooooo first things first...determining whether or not this thing is even roadworthy. It's spent the majority of its time with me sitting at my parent's place (like I said, I have pretty much no room at my house other than just a place to park it) and I haven't really had the opportunity to give it any break-down runs. I did rebuild the tranny right away when I first got it, as well as a few other odds and ends but I never spent much time behind the wheel other than loading it on and off my trailer.
Before I bring it home I wanted to make sure it was gonna be even worth messing with. I went out to my parent's tonight, put a battery in it and drove it around. Started up relatively easily and shifted through the gears fine. It does have a pretty serious leak and it appears to be coming from the front the front pump seal. I'll need to address that. I hate leaks.
Oh, before I continue, I'm currently at work and do not want to get too brave and start going into photobucket and so forth. I know it's pretty benign but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I will upload pics at a later time when I'm at home.
Oh, the only good glass on it is the top glass (sliding windows). All other windows are busted or cracked in one way or another. Hail storm is responsible for some of it and a young punk shot out another window, too. Oh well, I plan on removing the doors and going topless anyways.
Here's the immediate issue. Guess I could have said this from the start but part of my test run was ensuring that the 4WD worked. I engaged it and went creepy crawling around the property. I found a tree that had fallen and decided to get to flexin' on it. It went up effortlessly but just about as soon as I start to "feel" the flex, the fan went completely ape sh!t on the shroud. I backed off and looked under the hood at where it was hitting and could see a freshly worn spot on the shroud. I pushed it up the tree again and eased it a little further and cut it off. Got out again and verified that it is indeed rubbing the shroud. I also noticed that the bumper was pretty drastically out of alignment with the front clip, too.
Obviously, that has to be addressed since flex is a major component of wheeling. What are you guys doing to address this? Stiff front bumper (mine is stock)? Aftermarket engine crossmember (ORD's)? I am sure that boxing the frame would cure this but I'd much rather not get into that right now. Electric fan?
This is the first obstacle I've encountered and I'm glad I discovered it before dragging the damn thing two hours away to wheel it. Once this is addressed, I'll move onto the leaks and so forth. I know it won't be perfect before I take it out but I want to try and alleviate any obvious issues.
Thanks for putting up with my long post and I promise I'll post pics soon.
