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Varg In Jeep's Clothing

Discussion in 'Builds and Fabricators Forum' started by ITLKSEZ, Aug 20, 2015.

  1. Apr 14, 2021
    Mr Vaughan

    Mr Vaughan

    page 120?
     
  2. Apr 14, 2021
    Boyink

    Boyink Super Moderator Staff Member

    Tulsa, OK
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    I have a hand-me-down machine in the garage and do intend to see if I can figure it out. But we want to be camping this year yet...:)
     
    ITLKSEZ likes this.
  3. Apr 14, 2021
    sterlclan

    sterlclan Member 2022 Sponsor

    exploring the...
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    its kinda like fabing sheet metal
     
  4. Apr 15, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
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    I’ve logged almost 600 miles on this thing so far. :bananatool:

    My final small annoyance with this has been the bikini top. Any speed over 35 (or any speed on a windy day) makes the bikini top slap against the cage in a really bad way. The top doesn’t fit this cage particularly well; I can pull it tight front-to-back, but without the cage in the ‘right’ place to wrap around properly, there’s nothing to keep it taut from side-to-side.

    I stopped by Ace and grabbed 6’ of webbing and a cam buckle, and I sewed a strap into the top that goes around the outer bars and above the center bars. I’m excited to try this out.

    I don’t know what I’d do without my helper. :rolleyes:

    [​IMG]

    I’ll shorten the extra webbing at some point and keep it up off my head with Velcro.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    bigbendhiker, Snoops, fhoehle and 9 others like this.
  5. Apr 15, 2021
    givemethewillys

    givemethewillys Been here since sparky ran it. 2022 Sponsor

    New Kent, VA
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    Darn, I thought you were going to go with aluminum :)
     
  6. Apr 19, 2021
    Fireball

    Fireball Well-Known Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Pullman, WA
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    Feb 9, 2018
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    This thing showed up at our house today:
    [​IMG]

    Sounds like it did the 4 hour round trip with no issues other than sunburn.

    Ryan let me drive it while it was here! Man that thing is nice. It really drives like a car on the road. And not just a car but a sporty car. Solid, stable, smooth, good power. It's hard to believe you're driving a Jeep. (To be fair there isn't a lot of Jeep here). It's more like a 4wd Miata. I also put it into 4 low and took off across our farm fields and up one of the steep hills. It sucks up the bumps climbs like a goat.

    It's an amazing rig. I've never driven another hand built vehicle that is such a great all-around package. Actually, I don't think I've driven a factory built vehicle that is such a great all around package. I'd take it over a brand new JL 8 days a week.

    I do have one complaint though. The brakes work too good. I'm used to putting some leg into it when driving my Jeeps and I kept trying to put us through the windshield when slowing down. Hopefully he fixes this and makes the brakes work poorly so it's easier for me to drive. :D
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2021
    fhoehle, Mr Vaughan, Muzikp and 17 others like this.
  7. Apr 19, 2021
    givemethewillys

    givemethewillys Been here since sparky ran it. 2022 Sponsor

    New Kent, VA
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    Incredible....
     
    Snoops likes this.
  8. Apr 19, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
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    That’s pretty high praise, coming from a guy who used to test drive cars for a living. :bow:
    Trust me, I’m as shocked as anyone that it actually works. :D

    Thanks for having me come down, it was a good visit. (y) I’ll get working on disabling my brakes, and cleaning the forehead smears off the windshield. :rofl:
     
    Muzikp, Twin2, dozerjim and 9 others like this.
  9. Apr 20, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
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    I drove this 228 miles round trip to @Fireball ’s on Sunday, then yesterday evening I drove it into Spokane Valley for some fabric. I’ve been noticing some strange, very minor driveline vibration that wasn’t there before. So this morning I decided to go over everything to make sure all the bolts are staying tight, add cotter pins to the steering components, and just do a general inspection since it’s approaching 900 miles on the odometer.

    While I was under it, I looked up at the transfer case adapter, and both of the drain holes were covered from the inside. :confused: A closer look showed a broken bolt. Was this dropped down through the top hole during assembly? Or did one of my flange bolts break?

    [​IMG]

    Rather than pull the transfer case and adapter off to inspect, I decided to use a holesaw to cut an inspection/access hole in the adapter. It’s made from 1/4” wall tubing, so no strength issues.

    Hole started...

    [​IMG]

    And what I found:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Three out of four of the flange bolts were broken, and the 4th one was very loose and holding on for dear life.

    [​IMG]

    On the bright side, I found my vibration! o_O

    I’ll run to town later to get some more robust bolts.

    I'm very happy and extremely lucky I found this issue. At least now I can keep an eye on them through the new hole.
     
    fhoehle, Twin2, mortten and 11 others like this.
  10. Apr 20, 2021
    jzeber

    jzeber Well-Known Member 2022 Sponsor

    Morgan Hill, Ca
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    Yikes! :shock: Glad you found that.
     
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  11. Apr 20, 2021
    givemethewillys

    givemethewillys Been here since sparky ran it. 2022 Sponsor

    New Kent, VA
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    holy cow, this is a good PSA to look over your Jeep for a good long while after a build!
     
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  12. Apr 20, 2021
    Fireball

    Fireball Well-Known Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Pullman, WA
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    X2! I need to recheck the torque on my U-bolts tonight.
     
  13. Apr 20, 2021
    tomasinator

    tomasinator Member

    Redmond, WA
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    Will you be able to replace the bolts through the new inspection hole or will you have to take the transfer case off?
     
  14. Apr 20, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
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    New ones will fit. They’ll be tight, but they’ll fit.

    And it’s not just a matter of fitting through the new hole in the adapter, but they have to be the perfect length to where they’re long enough to catch all the threads with a nut, but short enough to not need to remove the output flange to get them in the holes.
     
  15. Apr 20, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
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    In other news, I just finished version 2.0 of my bikini top. The single strap across the middle calmed the flapping at lower speeds, but didn’t do much for high speed. In fact, it possibly made it worse.

    So I seam-ripped the strap back out, cut it up (along with six more feet of webbing), and sewed pieces of Velcro to them. These 22 strips got sewn on the underside of the top. This will essentially fasten the top to the cage.

    If it still slaps after this, I give up. :gaah:

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2021
    fhoehle, Twin2, mortten and 5 others like this.
  16. Apr 20, 2021
    Howard Eisenhauer

    Howard Eisenhauer Administrator Staff Member

    Tantallon, Nova...
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    I'd be concerned about the root cause of this, is there any support for the rear of the xfer case input shaft like an OD or something?
     
  17. Apr 20, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
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    They were old, re-used bolts that are special for a Volvo driveshaft application. These nylock nuts are worn out and all but worthless. The mounting faces for the bolts probably aren’t square because I faced them with a grinder (I carved the whole piece out of a planetary gear set from a Dakota transmission), and who knows if I ever remembered to torque them down upon final assembly.

    My theory is: they worked themselves loose, and the play eventually allowed them to snap.

    New bolts will have a longer shoulder, will get loctite and crimped lock nuts.

    There is no weight on this piece. It holds a splined stub shaft that can float in the second flange and the input of the D300. Pics in this post:
    Varg In Jeep's Clothing
     
  18. Apr 20, 2021
    Steve's 70-5

    Steve's 70-5 Active Member

    Louisville, Ky
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    I would get a few extra bolts and nuts to have on hand if you need them when you are out in the middle of nowhere. Really after think about this. If the four bolts are tight, the force to seer them would have to be very high. I would think something else would break
     
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2021
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  19. Apr 20, 2021
    Fireball

    Fireball Well-Known Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Pullman, WA
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    That's my take too. Ryan may have forgotten to tighten them during assembly. Four properly torqued 10.9 8mm bolts is a lot of normal force between the couplers. Over 20,000lbs of clamping force! Friction between the coupler faces should prevent the bolts from seeing any sheer loads.
     
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  20. Apr 20, 2021
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
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    I think I should try left hand threaded bolts. :sneak:
     
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