'65 Rubicon Rig

We put 35 BFG KM2s on my son's CJ5, but only after I built the 3 link front/4 link rear suspension and stretched the wheelbase 6 inches in the front and 4 inches in the back with the suspension conversion, and they still look HUGE. He likes them, which is all that matters.

The 33 inch KM3s on my cj2a truck conversion are only a year old, but with the extra 25.5 inches to the wheelbase, I would consider 35s on my next tire purchase, but would need a couple more inches lift to make them work while rock crawling.

 

Just my thread? Or site wide?

 

Site wide for me. Not even password resets

 

Site wide for me too.

 

I appreciate everyone that is following and making great comments. I hope the notification issue gets resolved. Today I found out that the planned cage build this weekend is off, due to a visit from my mother (who missed Christmas here due to the storms). So, I have more time to be ready, and I am still having brake problems, but I need a break, or something like that. I want to see what the flex looks like from the front, and hey, maybe it will shake some bubbles out...

I thought this was pretty cool, I can put a straight edge under the body over the tire, and it still has a little way to go before the bump stops will have to limit it, before I rip a fender off.

 

Let me be one of the first to say - that thing looks so bada$$!

 

X2!

 

I'm getting some site notifications, but not from this thread. Weird.

 

Geeze your gonna have to give it a bikini wax since it's all out there.
not just the hood, fenders, and rear. No hiding the wheel wells.

 

Thanks man, i appreciate it.

 

Does anyone know if that is something I did? Like settings? Or is it a site thing that Joel would fix?

 

Well it's going to settle a lot, I hope. No cage, no tire/can rack, no parts etc. yet, it should settle down. Right now it's 3" higher than my 3B with the same suspension and tires. It's a real crotch-ripper to get in-and no step like on the flatty. Oh well, Nick is young.

 

It seems like a glitch, I had a notification of activity on this thread when I logged on just now.

 

Back to brakes. All signs point air getting in around the front bleeder screws, so I teflon tape them, and it helped, but still zero pedal. After 2 after-work sessions, long-story-short, I isolated left and right, bled multiple rounds, starting with a gravity setup (photo). And tonight, really wondering what my next move was, I got pedal. Jeez, it was a process.

I am celebrating with a scotch.

 

What was exactly causing this? What precisely did you to to finally fix the issue?

 

First problem was leaks in all the new lines, whether it was copper washers at the banjo fittings or new flares that needed to be seated properly. That was easy, as I can see them. Second problem was (as I read up on) leaky bleeder screws that can introduce air. My belief is since these calipers are remanufactured they probably chase the threads and they get looser. I almost ripped out both front calipers and took them back to Autozone. Only reason I bought them there was I wanted to be able to hand them the cores, which is a hefty fee on these, since there are no more being made new. Even with a dual output master, if you have one corner with air, the pedal still goes to the floor. So I capped the front output and had good pedal to the rear. Important to narrow it down, and it means that the master is pumping. Then to narrow further, I went to the T at the left front frame and capped the right front. With bleeding, I got pedal. So the problem is right front, and I could not get it with multiple rounds of wife pushing, me bleeding. So, back apart at the T, and rigged the gravity system. Tapped on the caliper, and more bubbles released, and now good fluid all the way to the bleeder. Reconnect, more bleeding, and I finally got it. Probably 5 hours cumulative, glad I wasn't paying someone. So, I would say 3rd problem was captured air in the calipers, that won't just flow out, (the bleeder screws do point straight up), I don't know why. It's almost as if they need to be bench bled on their own.

 

Sometimes starting with a completely empty system the brake pedal just doesn't have enough stroke to effectively bleed things. That's where a pressure bleeder or sucking fluid through with a MityVac can help. Your gravity feed idea was great and was doing a similar thing making continuous flow.

 

Maybe you should still take that caliper back. It may be faulty in another way and the last thing you want is sketchy braking when you need it most. I NEVER buy anything from auto zone anymore. I bought a set of brake disks there and they had cracks in them, Autozone branded wheel bearing sets from china with pieces of metal in the bearing.. And not a single person at my local one knows anything about parts.

 

Agreed. And these are literally (besides fluids) the only part I have bought from them.

 

Installed a new mechanical oil pressure gauge, and new copper tubing to the block. Now I can run it confidently from the driver seat.

Ran it without driveshaft to check if the clutch is disengaging, and there is still some grinding, so I bled the clutch one more time. Installed the rear driveshaft, started it, and the clutch feels fine, which is a major accomplishment after all the math and geometry to get the swing pedals right. Carefully backed it out, and this is a milestone.

There is a lot to think about here. Brakes, we have brakes, but on ice it's hard to tell. Didn't see the rears lock up, I will look at that. Gears, the 4 speed shifts, the transfer case shifts nicely, this is the first check since I rebuilt them. Low range feels really low, calculated at 93 to 1. The new rear end works, the Detroit turns both wheels, although I'd be really surprised if the boys at Currie screwed anything up. The V6 sounds good out in the open, has 25 lbs pressure at idle, settled in at about 175 degrees, the exhaust is a little quieter than my 3B. Still a little tick in the left valve train after it warmed up, will look into that.

Just moving a few hundred feet up and down the street settled the springs 2 inches, so I am confidant with the cage, tire rack, and gear it will settle to a reasonable height. Need to check a little stumble just above idle, and set the idle down to 650 or so.

So, still a lot to do. I'm anxious to get the cage bent and welded. Then, tire rack, seats, e-brake, skid plate, grille paint, wheel well trim, tools, parts and storage, that's all.