GuruMan's 20a build

[guruman]

Spent some time under the Jeep replacing the long overdue shocks and adding inner fenders.

I chose the AAL inner fenders because they have an option to cutout for the Falcon shock reservoirs, but I think the rear set they sent does not have the cutouts as the controls are extremely hard to reach. The fronts are fine. I thought the quick turn fasteners would be handy for the odd occasion I'd like to get in there to work o the side of the engine, but they rattle on the trail.... ugh.

I might try to sandwich some weather stripping between the panels to quell the noise, or maybe just RTV the seams... or Velcro?

Here's a peek:

And the rear view:

While I had it apart, I took the time to install the new style tie rod form our friends at Doetsch Off-Road.

If anyone remembers my grumbling at my own laziness last summer, when the single-shear steering stabilizer mount broke on me 50 miles from the pavement on our way back from the Grand Canyon north rim in the middle of the Arizona strip. Our friends at Doetsch reached out and offered to swap for the newer style double shear setup using the factory stabilizer mount bracket, even though they did not have to, nor did I ask them to.

The problem was, I was I the middle of moving cross-country, and my shop was in shambles. Getting it put together fell far back on the list of more important items. They patiently waiting for me to get my crap in line, then sent me a new tie rod (the length was different due to the new custom ends) with the new style ends. I had to source a stabilizer mount as I could not find the one I removed (I swear it's here somewhere).

So a huge shout out to @jeepguru for taking care of me.


Here's a shot of the new versus old style ends. They are having the new ones custom made for this application, and were able to get it exactly the way they wanted. They are pure beef.

Thanks again @jeepguru !

Getting it put in was pretty straightforward, and getting the alignment dialed was interesting.

I bought a tool called "gyraline". It's a small, likely 3d printed sled, designed to hold your phone. It's accompanied by an app that uses the precision gyros in modern phones to pretty accurately ( the app says 0.01 degree accuracy is an option) mark the location of some flat spot on a wheel allowing you to check and adjust your own alignment specs., including toe, caster, camber and Ackerman angles. It was $160 bucks, and has already paid for itself.

Link: https://gyraline.com/products/the-case?variant=49331780583704

It only works for iPhones for now, but it's a bit of a game-changer for me.

 

[@WhiteBronze392]

Spent some time under the Jeep replacing the long overdue shocks and adding inner fenders.

I chose the AAL inner fenders because they have an option to cutout for the Falcon shock reservoirs, but I think the rear set they sent does not have the cutouts as the controls are extremely hard to reach. The fronts are fine. I thought the quick turn fasteners would be handy for the odd occasion I'd like to get in there to work o the side of the engine, but they rattle on the trail.... ugh.

I might try to sandwich some weather stripping between the panels to quell the noise, or maybe just RTV the seams... or Velcro?

Here's a peak:

View attachment 48412View attachment 48413

And the rear view:

View attachment 48415

While I had it apart, I took the time to install the new style tie rod form our friends at Doetsch Off-Road.

If anyone remembers my grumbling at my own laziness last summer, when the single-shear steering stabilizer mount broke on me 50 miles from the pavement on our way back from the Grand Canyon north rim in the middle of the Arizona strip. Our friends at Doetsch reached out and offered to swap for the newer style double shear setup using the factory stabilizer mount bracket, even though they did not have to, nor did I ask them to.

The problem was, I was I the middle of moving cross-country, and my shop was in shambles. Getting it put together fell far back on the list of more important items. They patiently waiting for me to get my crap in line, then sent me a new tie rod (the length was different due to the new custom ends) with the new style ends. I had to source a stabilizer mount as I could not find the one I removed (I swear it's here somewhere).

So a huge shout out to @jeepguru for taking care of me.


Here's a shot of the new versus old style ends. They are having the new ones custom made for this application, and were able to get it exactly the way they wanted. They are pure beef.

Thanks again @jeepguru !

View attachment 48414

Getting it put in was pretty straightforward, and getting the alignment dialed was interesting.

I bought a tool called "gyraline". It's a small, likely 3d printed sled, designed to hold your phone. It's accompanied by an app that uses the precision gyros in modern phones to pretty accurately ( the app says 0.01 degree accuracy is an option) mark the location of some flat spot on a wheel allowing you to check and adjust your own alignment specs., including toe, caster, camber and Ackerman angles. It was $160 bucks, and has already paid for itself.

Link: https://gyraline.com/products/the-case?variant=49331780583704

It only works for iPhones for now, but it's a bit of a game-changer for me.

I never had any experience with rattle on my AAL inners they were so tight they were hard to get the little quick fasteners in. Maybe they have changed something?

 

[guruman]

Well.... just as I had been bragging about how trouble-free my Rock Slide Engineering Steps were in another thread, my driver's side step failed in the dumbest way possible.

If you have not had the chance to tear ingot one of these, they are operated by a small motor buried inside the steep shell of the step. the output of that motor is a small cam with a steel pin on it. The linkage to the step mechanism attaches at that pin. But.... in the infinite wisdom of saving a couple of cents, they made the linkage out of aluminum. My first thought was, that's dumb, the steel will just wear away the aluminum in short order, but they thought of that.

Protecting the soft aluminum link is a small and very thin steel bushing, which eventually got chewed up, and forced the e-clip off the end of the steel pin, causing the linkage to disconnect, and leaving me with a floppy step.

I emailed them, and after two days of back and forth, they are sending me a new bushing and e-clip. Idid manage to clean up the bushing a bit to take the ragged edges off it, and get it back in place with a new 1/4 inch e-clip, but working in that space is crazy hard. If they could have made the step opening 1/2 inch wider, it would have been super easy, but as it is, the opening is just shy of being able to get the e-clip in place square to the shaft. I spent an hour or more trying different pliers, and forceps until finally I happened t get a screwdriver to press the clip in place that was accidentally magnetized enough to retain the e-clip at the awkward angle required.

I'll throw in the new bushing and e-clip when it arrives, and I think I'll order both step rebuild kits to keep on the shelf.

Pics for fun:

 

[RJP]

@guruman how long have you had those steps on your rig? Makes me wonder if they ever did any life cycle testing.

 

[Excaliburitto]

@guruman how long have you had those steps on your rig? Makes me wonder if they ever did any life cycle testing.

Also, not sure if you know, but what version are your steps? I think they did a redesign (I'm not certain of which components though) a couple of years ago.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Spent some time under the Jeep replacing the long overdue shocks and adding inner fenders.

I chose the AAL inner fenders because they have an option to cutout for the Falcon shock reservoirs, but I think the rear set they sent does not have the cutouts as the controls are extremely hard to reach. The fronts are fine. I thought the quick turn fasteners would be handy for the odd occasion I'd like to get in there to work o the side of the engine, but they rattle on the trail.... ugh.

I might try to sandwich some weather stripping between the panels to quell the noise, or maybe just RTV the seams... or Velcro?

Here's a peek:

View attachment 48412View attachment 48413

And the rear view:

View attachment 48415

While I had it apart, I took the time to install the new style tie rod form our friends at Doetsch Off-Road.

If anyone remembers my grumbling at my own laziness last summer, when the single-shear steering stabilizer mount broke on me 50 miles from the pavement on our way back from the Grand Canyon north rim in the middle of the Arizona strip. Our friends at Doetsch reached out and offered to swap for the newer style double shear setup using the factory stabilizer mount bracket, even though they did not have to, nor did I ask them to.

The problem was, I was I the middle of moving cross-country, and my shop was in shambles. Getting it put together fell far back on the list of more important items. They patiently waiting for me to get my crap in line, then sent me a new tie rod (the length was different due to the new custom ends) with the new style ends. I had to source a stabilizer mount as I could not find the one I removed (I swear it's here somewhere).

So a huge shout out to @jeepguru for taking care of me.


Here's a shot of the new versus old style ends. They are having the new ones custom made for this application, and were able to get it exactly the way they wanted. They are pure beef.

Thanks again @jeepguru !

View attachment 48414

Getting it put in was pretty straightforward, and getting the alignment dialed was interesting.

I bought a tool called "gyraline". It's a small, likely 3d printed sled, designed to hold your phone. It's accompanied by an app that uses the precision gyros in modern phones to pretty accurately ( the app says 0.01 degree accuracy is an option) mark the location of some flat spot on a wheel allowing you to check and adjust your own alignment specs., including toe, caster, camber and Ackerman angles. It was $160 bucks, and has already paid for itself.

Link: https://gyraline.com/products/the-case?variant=49331780583704

It only works for iPhones for now, but it's a bit of a game-changer for me.

When I showed my buddy the cutout on the AALs's he said it looked like a 3rd grader did it. ..lol...

He then went to work on my Motobilt to cut clearance for the Falcons, and he knocked it out of the park.

Since my PSC high-pressure line blew this week and I had to remove the inner fender anyway, I decided to pull all of them and have them powder-coated. When I woke up this morning, I decided that I didn't want to spend money on something that was going to get beaten up. I sprayed them with a rattle can, and I think they would have turned out okay, but for some reason, the paint was coming out in globs. I should redo them, but I am probably going to just install them.

 

[guruman]

@guruman how long have you had those steps on your rig? Makes me wonder if they ever did any life cycle testing.

These were purchased in November of 23, so not yet two years.

I can definitely tell they were designed solely on CAD, as no real hand-on engineer would put those connecting components there when a half inch of clearance would make them 100% more serviceable.

 

[guruman]

Also, not sure if you know, but what version are your steps? I think they did a redesign (I'm not certain of which components though) a couple of years ago.

These are Gen3. I had the older ones on my JK, and they had a pressurized spring like on our back glass that "assisted" with the steps going up. Those would fail, especially in very cold environments, and the steps would not retract. They updated that design to replace the air spring with a coil spring to make it much more reliable.

A couple of things they could have done would be to make the link out of steel instead of aluminum, or use a proper oil-impregnated bronze bushing that would last forever in that application.

They do offer a complete rebuild kit for each side for $250 each, but I believe you'd have to remove the steps to replace all of it. Getting those off, rebuilt and back on would be a whole days job for me.

I might actually pull out the Arcdroid and cut me new links out of steel with a larger hole for a proper bushing both at the motor and at the step arm. That would last longer than I would, I believe.

 

[guruman]

When I showed my buddy the cutout on the AALs's he said it looked like a 3rd grader did it. ..lol...

He then went to work on my Motobilt to cut clearance for the Falcons, and he knocked it out of the park.

Since my PSC high-pressure line blew this week and I had to remove the inner fender anyway, I decided to pull all of them and have them powder-coated. When I woke up this morning, I decided that I didn't want to spend money on something that was going to get beaten up. I sprayed them with a rattle can, and I think they would have turned out okay, but for some reason, the paint was coming out in globs. I should redo them, but I am probably going to just install them.

I don't think they cut out the rear at all. It took me months to get them, and the thought of dealing with getting new ones has me in deep dread.

I think I'll just make my own cutout. I don't suppose you have pictures of yours?

 

[@WhiteBronze392]

These are Gen3. I had the older ones on my JK, and they had a pressurized spring like on our back glass that "assisted" with the steps going up. Those would fail, especially in very cold environments, and the steps would not retract. They updated that design to replace the air spring with a coil spring to make it much more reliable.

A couple of things they could have done would be to make the link out of steel instead of aluminum, or use a proper oil-impregnated bronze bushing that would last forever in that application.

They do offer a complete rebuild kit for each side for $250 each, but I believe you'd have to remove the steps to replace all of it. Getting those off, rebuilt and back on would be a whole days job for me.

I might actually pull out the Arcdroid and cut me new links out of steel with a larger hole for a proper bushing both at the motor and at the step arm. That would last longer than I would, I believe.

And you could probably sell me a set

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I don't think they cut out the rear at all. It took me months to get them, and the thought of dealing with getting new ones has me in deep dread.

I think I'll just make my own cutout. I don't suppose you have pictures of yours?

My rears are how they came from Motobilt but I have never had issues adjusting them.

I will get a picture tomorrow or Saturday once my fancy paint job dries and I reinstall.

Here are the fronts we cut out properly.

 

[HD392]

My rears are how they came from Motobilt but I have never had issues adjusting them.

I will get a picture tomorrow or Saturday once my fancy paint job dries and I reinstall.

Here are the fronts we cut out properly. View attachment 48557

Killer job looks great

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Killer job looks great

Here they are installed.

 

[Rusty762]

Do you have some shots of the Jeep from the side showing the entire Jeep you can share, how much lift are you on?

 

[guruman]

Been out mapping trails for Onx Ofroad....

 

[guruman]

Well, here's the not-so-glamours bit of Jeeping.

My ball joints were toast after 47k miles... long overdue actually.

I bought the American Iron Ball Joint Deelete kit. Seems like a great idea despite the very premium price.

The instructions are lacking at best. Took me a bit to figure out what they were saying.... but...

It's not going back together very smoothly. On the drivers side, it looks OK to me. The top joint has a slim nylon lock nut that goes on top and gets torqued to spec. It looks like this:

However, the one on the passenger side does not engage the nylon part of the lock nut, and falls short of being flush. It looks like this:

I removed the knuckle and re-pressed the bearing cups in really, really good, thinking maybe one was pressed a bit short of all the way, but it's still the same.

I've reached out to American Iron, hopefully they know what is going on (probably some dumb on my part), but I thought I'd throw it out here in case someone else has a clue, and as a cautionary tale.

 

[guruman]

Well, I found the issue getting the ball joint deletes in, and it was kind of my dumb.

On the bottom side of the upper knuckle joint is a factory caster bushing that gets pinched into place when tightening the tapered stud.

Mine had slipped out a bit and was not fully seated, then was locked in place when I torqued the taper. It was not obvious because it's on the under side of the upper joint, and I'm too old to get down low enough to look at it..


The American Iron folks were very helpful and knew it was likely the caster bushing. I loosened the taper, and gave it a little tappy-tap-tap to seat the bushing and it all went back together fine.

 

[guruman]

Well.... just as I had been bragging about how trouble-free my Rock Slide Engineering Steps were in another thread, my driver's side step failed in the dumbest way possible.

If you have not had the chance to tear ingot one of these, they are operated by a small motor buried inside the steep shell of the step. the output of that motor is a small cam with a steel pin on it. The linkage to the step mechanism attaches at that pin. But.... in the infinite wisdom of saving a couple of cents, they made the linkage out of aluminum. My first thought was, that's dumb, the steel will just wear away the aluminum in short order, but they thought of that.

Protecting the soft aluminum link is a small and very thin steel bushing, which eventually got chewed up, and forced the e-clip off the end of the steel pin, causing the linkage to disconnect, and leaving me with a floppy step.

I emailed them, and after two days of back and forth, they are sending me a new bushing and e-clip. Idid manage to clean up the bushing a bit to take the ragged edges off it, and get it back in place with a new 1/4 inch e-clip, but working in that space is crazy hard. If they could have made the step opening 1/2 inch wider, it would have been super easy, but as it is, the opening is just shy of being able to get the e-clip in place square to the shaft. I spent an hour or more trying different pliers, and forceps until finally I happened t get a screwdriver to press the clip in place that was accidentally magnetized enough to retain the e-clip at the awkward angle required.

I'll throw in the new bushing and e-clip when it arrives, and I think I'll order both step rebuild kits to keep on the shelf.

Pics for fun:

View attachment 48547View attachment 48548View attachment 48549View attachment 48550

So, an update to the step bushing. I managed to get my mangled bushing back on. Meanwhile once RSE figured out what I needed, they shipped me new parts free of charge.

But....

I'm ordering a few of these oil impregnated bronze bushings:

https://www.mcmaster.com/6338K412/

Hopefully they will perform better than the plastic ones from RSE.

 

[guruman]

Also,.... an option for those of us running Starlink in our rigs.

I have the issue where when off-grid, my wireless CarPlay kills my internet connection to my Starlink wifi. I can always switch to wired CarPlay, but it's a hassle, and I have having the wires ran in the cabin.

I've been testing a couple of Android boxes that connect via the wired CarPlay to the Jeep, but run a full android OS, allowing me to download and run apps directly on the box, without using my phone.

Since my phone is not connected to the Jeep, it's free to get internet from Starlink, and my calls, messages and everything just works.

As a bonus, the Android boxes allow bluetooth, and even pass through CarPlay connectivity. SO I can still make and take calls, listen to music off my phone and even switch back and forth between wireless CarPlay on my phone of just use the box.

It's not been without struggle however.

Here's what I tried.:

https://trymagicbox.com/products/the-magic-box-series-3

and:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVR52N45

I ordered the second one after struggling to get the first to work. After much back and forth, MagicBox sent me a split usb cable to provide power separately from the data connection to the Jeep. This seems to work better. I was having issues where the unit would just not power on when starting the Jeep.

The second, Amazon one, works OK every time, but it comes loaded with ads, and it will not stop pestering me to sign up for their data package, which I don't need because... Starlink. So far I've not been able to get it to stop asking me.. .at best there is a check box to not ask for 15 days. but it does so about every week anyway. And it has some other weird quirks, like not remembering my recently used apps, or rearranging my icons back to a random location....

For both of these, I download the OnX Offroad app and run it directly from the box instead of my phone, giving me more options for display, like different text size, and split screen options that I would not have with standard CarPlay.

And interestingly, there is an option in the settings to use the vehicle's GPS data instead of the one built into the box... which can be handy since the box is hidden away in the glove box where GPS signal can be a challenge. So far that's working pretty well, except that it does not seem to know which way I'm facing, leading to a condition where I'm driving, but the map is moving up, which does not show much of what is ahead, but that might be an OnX issue.

 

[Ted392]

Good info.

I will say that my starlink mini worked flawlessly from MI to OR through Canada, and all through Alaska and back through CO to MI. Friggin awesome connectivity. I have Sansung phones so no idea about ios issues.