Axles Axles Axles

Well in the post "the Answer to the Big Question" I told you that I was going to keep the front axle and swap out the rear axle, and I am going to do a SOA conversion to clear 35" tires. Well some things have changed. First off I am still doing the SOA and swapping the rear axle. Although, when I got under the CJunk5 to look at the front axle to see what I can do to make it stronger I noticed that it is not the axle I thought it was. I thought it was a Dana 30, which is known for being weak, but it is actually a dana 27 which is far more weak than the Dana 30. So I had to change my plans, which isn't a big deal. Once I noticed it I kept an eye out on craigslist.com for a replacement front axle that might match my rear Dana 44 that came out of a Scout II. With some patience I found one. I found a Dana 44 front axle out of a narrow track Jeep Wagoneer. It is a little wider than the rear 44 I have but I got it for $85, and it is not enough to worry about. The waggy front 44 is 60.5" wide and the Scout rear 44 is 58.5" wide. That equals 1" on either side when they are mounted. So I will just deal with that since I got the set of Dana 44's for $160. Oh, and I am going to post some pictures of the new couple soon.

Wiring mess update

Well, I am finally finished with the wiring mess, and it was easily what most people would call hell. I never did get the blinkers working but I figured it doesn't have a top and if there is a cop close I can just use hand signals (yea I know stop laughing). I do however think the the switch is broken and I don't think it is worth spending $300 on a new steering column. I may look funny but it is much cheaper. I also got the interior wiring looking good, or at least got it to where you can't see it. I also installed a radio, finished the winch, and cleaned up the wiring under the hood. I am not completely finished with all of all of this, but it is a work in progress.

Here is a picture of the stereo and please notice there is no longer a huge bundle of colorful wires hinging down from under the dash.


Here is a pic of the new bling that I got. It isn't really applicable to this post but I still want to add it.

Cool Addition on the Cheap

A while back in the post "Wiring project updated" I told you about a new addition to the CJunk5 that I found on the cheap and here it is: I found LED flush-mount tail lights for $30. Yea that is right, I didn't make a mistake, 30 bucks is what I paid. Let me say it again, they are AAAAAWEEESOOOOOOOOME. I put them in and they are bright, and the best part is that I don't have a huge bulbous light hanging off the back that is easily crushed and knocked of by rocks and trees. Here are a few pictures of my super awesome and cheap find.

The Big Idea

I have had this idea for a long time to start a fourwheeling club. Well last week I realized now I have a Jeep again and there is nothing stopping me from starting one. So, I thought I would just get started on it. I put an ad on craigslist.com advertising an offroad event (when I put the add up it was just me and a friend that were concrete on it). The ad got an amaizing response and the event that I am holding might be bigger than I ever thought it could be, which is freakin awesome.

I have lived in T-town now for almost 6 years and in that time I have realized that there is a large amount of wheeling enthusiasts. The unfortunate part is they are very unorganized, and there are very few clubs in our state at all. So, I have made it my goal to get these people organized and unified to further the interest of wheeling, and the only way I can think of to achieve this is to start a club. So, hopefully come May 2nd we will see the birth of a new offroad organization.

All that I love

I think the title of this post says it all for me.

Here is a picture of my son Grayson sitting in the driver seat of the CJunk5. He is a natural already.


Here is a picture of my wife and son standing next to the CJunk5.

Wiring project updated

Well I have started on the wiring project, and it is far crazier than I thought it could ever be. In a recent issue of JP magazine (my favorite) they had an article called Randy's corner they mentioned how to clean up the bulkhead connecting plug that is under the hood. So, after reading this article I started doing it and it was disgusting. There was 50 year old grease and dirt in there that needed to be cleaned out. After opening it up I was amazed that anything still worked at all. I did a little bit of wire chasing after that but still haven't been able to get the blinkers to work on the front. I am starting to think that the switch on the steering column is bad, but I did come up with some good news. I found the plug that was originally for the rear brake lights (Aaaaawesooome), but I just still can't get the back blinkers to work either. I did however find some really cool additions that I will reveal later though, and I found them on the cheap (cheap makes me happy heehee).

I did take a picture of the underhood wiring mess for you and here it is. I can't tell what is what.


Here is a picture of the interior wiring harness. It looks like a bowl of colorful spaghetti.

Bumper and Winch

Here are a few pictures of the bumper and winch. Remember I built this bumper from scratch. I think it looks awsome.