Colorado B/S Thread

[1-tonxj]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

I think one of brand new struts is already having an issue and will probably have to go back to ORI .ever since the first time it was charged up it would not fully extend like the other new one without a hassle. And now the one that works well is easily cycled while it's brother just likes to stick and will not move in and out while I pull on the Jeep ... Seems like a lot of hassle for something that cost over $1000 per corner as ordered with the optional external reservoir bumps their price up from $886 to $1100 per strut, so to me the quality control should be second to none and I should not be finding the defectiveunit after purchase that's what qc is for.

 

[1-tonxj]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

Oh ...lol...while making the new front control arms I noticed in addition to having bent the front driver lower very slightly that I also slightly tweaked the 1-1/4 Johnny joint shank on that arm as well . The passenger arm was tweaked a little but no tweakage of the Johnny joint shank. I can only imagine the tweakage if I ran the joints out more then the 1/8th inch they were . I do believe my dropping the arms under full jeep weight on the top of jersey walls is the reason they did tweak and is unlikely to happen on trail , but I figure I can't easily upgrade the size of the shank without cutting off all my mounts to allow for a 3 inch joint I can at least beef the arm up , so I built the new ones out of 2.5 a500 square over the 2.0 inch they were, so at least it's just going to be the shank tweaking which is easily replaced.

 

[trippled]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

Plated my 60 knuckles. I didn't do the front but I think the sides plus the gusset should be enough. Seems like most of the failures start by the upper kingpin mount pulling away just underneath where it's thinner. I plan on running a high steer arm for the drag link and the tie rod in the factory position with a ram mounted to it so should keep some of the load off the upper area I would think. Or if I'm totally wrong let me know!

 

[time2getdirty]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

Best thing for stock knuckles is a highsteer arm that ties into the factory steering arm.

 

[1-tonxj]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

Drag link on high steer arm , stock rod castings for the tie rod , and ram assist on axle to the rod...you need nothing . The drag link will not see a high shear load as the ram will be on the tie rod and that's where the majority of the stress will be and the knuckle is engineered to be loaded there . If you were to beef up for true high steer you would plate what you have plus gusset the front part you did not and then tie the high steer arm into the stock casting . That last part works to save the knuckle but it also prevents shear loading the studs as it prevents the steering arm from acting like a lever on the top of the knuckle at the other end .

 

[1-tonxj]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

Gangster lean .





The front struts extended full 18 driver fully collapsed passenger make for easy clearance testing without moving or any more effort than opening and closing a valve ...was testing clearance in rear taking pics of it to get ideas for rear 18 strut install , and checking for bind at front strut mounts after setting the pinion angle with new arms .

Lol...pictures like this should really put the baby to bed for those who insist radius arms don't flex...bind badly...and will rip off the upper arm mounts if flexed hard. This is the full 18 inches of travel of a set of ORI struts being cycled . And there are joints with more available misalignment to go further as well my axles lower mounts are not angled toward the frame side lower which means I'm using misalignment up that could be used during travel .The only real advantage to 3 and 4 link is the link separation at frame allowing anti dive/squat tunability...om a 5 mph crawler that's really not an issue .

 

[trippled]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

New tires are looking good.

That was kinda my thought on the knuckles. The high steer wouldn't see a ton of load since there's no ram mounted there. I just wanted to help ensure my knuckle wouldn't start cracking from the extra tire load. And I figure the gussets should help keep the upper kingpin in place. I started to plate the front of the knuckle but it was pita to get it bent around all the curves I said screw it and figure this will be fine.

 

[4x4JeePmaNthINg]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

Anyone here an electrician or have any idea how much it would cost to add a 220v outlet to the garage. I'm thinking ide add it right under the panel or the shortest run allowed.

Outlet For welding purposes

 

[1-tonxj]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

I said I was not going to do a v8 , but I am now going to order a turn key set up this fall from a place that sells the GM set ups ready to run on a pallet..I just need to figure out what I'm going to do with my current gearing set up as it's a bit too low for a v8 . My options are swap the 5.0 atlas for a 3.8 ... get a secondary box and add it to the,5.0 to get taller ranges ...or swap taller gears like 4:10 into the diffs to get more rpm ability in low range for more speed with the v8 that would also give me a stronger r/p set up over the 5:13 I have. I'm not shooting for a crazy v8 probably just a 5.3 with a zo6 cam and a few extras or a mild 6.0 either way something in the 350-400hp range .I looked at 4.6-4.7 stroker motors and their hp seems to top around 265 and 300ish pound feet .The stroker still leaves me with a stock aw4 which I'm not sure how long that would live on my set up behind a built motor , so the swap seems to be cheaper pony to pony .

 

[smokeyyank]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

Anyone here an electrician or have any idea how much it would cost to add a 220v outlet to the garage. I'm thinking ide add it right under the panel or the shortest run allowed.

Outlet For welding purposes

Not a sparky, but I added a 20a to my basement with a buddy. Stupid easy to do.

Just need to find someone that knows how to work on box and such. My guess is paying someone to do it would be $200-$400 including materials. Will just depend on how far you need to run it, ease of access to the box/where you want it to go.

 

[1-tonxj]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

I can cycle all 18 of my struts on the radius arms , but the clevite bushings hate me , so since I have no plans or time to build a triangulated 4 up front for awhile I decided to try the metalcloak lock n load upper arm I'm not sure how it will do as far as axle control. I have no doubt it will free the axle up to move , but the question is will the one solid upper and spring loaded arm be enough to resist axle rotation under heavy throttle with 42 stickys 5:13 gears and the 5.0 atlas ...lol...or will I be eating u joints . If it works without causing a secondary issue I'll swap the axle side joints to duroflex from the clevites since it only takes a couple hours to cut off the old and weld the new on...lol...that arm almost $300 , but if I don't like it I got the JK Variant so it should sell to wrangler owner easily .

 

[trippled]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

Anyone ever heard of durasolid? They have 4340 35s Ford stubs for $80. Kinda wonder if they're the same stuff everyone else sells...or not?
https://www.durasolid.com/product/dana-60-outer-stub-11-375-35-splines/

 

[freerider15]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

Anyone ever heard of durasolid? They have 4340 35s Ford stubs for $80. Kinda wonder if they're the same stuff everyone else sells...or not?
https://www.durasolid.com/product/dana-60-outer-stub-11-375-35-splines/

Holy Chineesium site.

"Warranty: Yes" :laugh:

 

[trippled]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

Holy Chineesium site.

"Warranty: Yes" :laugh:

Yea kinda what I thought. Found a few older threads on pirate and the general consensus is...junk. quite a few people saying they got cracked shafts out of the box. Found it interesting tho they carry same part number as Yukon/USA gear. Probably just order the ECGS stubs.

 

[1-tonxj]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

The front shafts are the hardest for cheap places to get right because of the yokes rear shafts are easier to make .But anyway I still have a set of 35 spline outers that were on the front when we exploded the stock inner long shafts . The stubs never flinched. You're welcome to them for free . When I get home I can snap a picture of them .

 

[trippled]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

The front shafts are the hardest for cheap places to get right because of the yokes rear shafts are easier to make .But anyway I still have a set of 35 spline outers that were on the front when we exploded the stock inner long shafts . The stubs never flinched. You're welcome to them for free . When I get home I can snap a picture of them .

Sweet! I'll gladly pick em up from you some weekend.

 

[DutchVDub]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

Went down to Westcliffe and pulled a 1957 Willy’s Jeep CJ5 out of its resting place amongst the trees and weeds. The foot wells are rusted out and the right rear corner was smashed ages ago, but it’s mostly original and all there. Now to decide what to do with it. A big part of me wants to stretch it into a CJ6 and put the XJ’s drivetrain/suspension into it. Another part of me just wants to grab a 6 volt battery and see if I can get it going. Just putz it around in stock form and use it to plow my neighborhood.

 

[trippled]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

That's sweet! I'd love to grab something like that. I vote fix up and leave it stock. Those are fun to drive just how they are.

That floor board looks exciting.

 

[Hypoid]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

Another part of me just wants to grab a 6 volt battery and see if I can get it going. Just putz it around in stock form and use it to plow my neighborhood.

There's a couple hours of my life that I'll never get back!

https://cj3b.info/Hurricane.html

If it turns over, and makes compression, it could be fun to tinker with. Otherwise, stick to your area of expertise and put a Diesel in it.

 

[DutchVDub]

Re: The Colorado BS thread

A buddy of mine just happened to have a full set of brand new 6v batteries for his golf cart sitting in the garage and let me borrow one. So I'm going to grab some carb cleaner, some extra fuel hose, and fill up my gas can. I'll just run a hose from the pump into the gas can after I flush out the carb and pump. Not sure if I'll get to it today, but I'm really curious to see if this thing will fire up or not.