Don and Peter's Hot Rod Corner

[Preston]

I put things off to the last minute... :-/  I just work better under pressure  

[MountainDon]

IF I needed a new engine, and at only 70K on my '99 I'm a long long ways from that, I'd love to do a stroker. 4.5, 4.6, 4.7 liters. It's even possible to get 5.0 L out of the six... just bring enough dollars.

It's not too difficult to do a 4.6 L engine with 231hp @ 4400rpm, 327lbft @ 2000rpm.  

http://www.ajeepthing.com/stroker-motor.html

http://www.jpmagazine.com/techarticles/engine/154_0508_golen_4_6l_stroker_engine/index.html

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TITAN-4-6-4-7-258-Replacement-JEEP-STROKER-ENGINE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33615QQihZ014QQitemZ330180473390QQtcZphoto

[glenn-k]

I should study up on that a bit.

[MountainDon]

One of the guys in my 4x4 club    http://nm4w.org/   is building one for his Comanche. (an MJ, the pickup version of the Cherokee XJ. MJ's have half a frame, the front is unibody like the XJ and trhe rear a frame like a conventional pickup)

[glenn-k]

I like the full frame and the feel of the Cherokee.  It drives like the trucks in the old days.

[glenn-k]

I actually worked all day today -- Frank and Pancho called last night and said they would be here to work on the 2010 John Deere Trackhoe/Loader today.

As promised, they arrived and we got the final drive back on the right side - and the track back on.  A combination of truck crane on the Dodge and Lull reach lift made the job relatively easy compared to what it could have been.

All that is left is to put in a new battery, fill up the final with gear lube, check the other final and get it off the safety stands.

Last pix I have of it is on the RV garage which is the last time I used it.  Nice to have it going again.


Not a hot rod, but it is mechanical.

Now to put it to work to pay for the repairs.

[MountainDon]

After 40,000 miles the Goodyear MT/R's needed replacing. (actually a set of 6, 2 replaced under replacement warranty due to mysterious sidewall cuts that appeared out of nowhere...   ) I went with BFG all-terrain KO's this time. [32x11.5R15's, stock rims... bead area is better protected... we'll have to see how those weights fare... may have to do stick ons inside the wheel, tho' the previous ones were lucky.  :-/  ] Reasonably chunky tread for grabbing mud and getting a grip on rocks, and they do have better traction on damp asphalt than the mud treads.



One nice thing about a lifted vehicle is the storage space you have under it.    94# bag of cement, steel, etc.

[glenn kangiser]

Looks like fun, Don.

I had to buy a Bobcat tire today -- Cheapest I found so far was from Bobcat - $325 14 x 17.5

I bought 1 Michelin for my truck to match the old spare - never used -- that I already had.  Wanted to se if the Michelin's would last longer than the Cooper/Kenda - etc.

[MountainDon]

I'm happy with the tires, just disenchanted with the tire tech who did the installation. I specifically asked for 24# in the front 26# in the rear. That's what I used in the MTR's; good starting point. I thought it rode a wee but rougher than I expected so today I pulled it out of the garage to check tire pressures. I found 40# in each one!      

[glenn kangiser]

340 Swinger with the AFB 4bbl was a hot car.

[glenn-k]

I was head mechanic at Dodge then.  I'm pretty sure it was faster than the Roadrunner with the 426 Hemi.  I worked on and drove them both.

I tuned a 340 up for a customer - don't think his 4bbl had been kicking in.  It would burn the tires in second gear  with an automatic manually shifted.  The customer came back in a few weeks and asked what I had done to his car - it had never run like that -- I used to do every factory check and adjustment by the book with a Sun Scope.

[glenn-k]

Everybody probably knows this already, but...

To remove a broken bolt or stud from a hole in a casting or other place if tight or rusted (as an alternative to drilling and easy outs etc), if it is not above the surface, carefully weld only the end of the bolt with a wire feed welder or small stick rod to get it to the surface or slightly above.  Be careful to not weld it to the part it is stuck in.  Put a nut over the end of the broken bolt and plug weld the end of the bolt to the nut, completely filling it with weld metal.  The nut can be placed over the end of the bolt before welding and the weld done through the center of the nut,  but I like to build it up first.  Again - avoid welding to the part it is stuck in.  The red hot heat of the weld, will transfer down the length of the stuck bolt expanding it and breaking loose the rust.  When it cools it will be smaller than it was before and unscrew fairly easily.  

I had one to do the other day that took 3 tries but it came out- the other 3 were no problem.  Start slowly wiggling it back and forth to break it loose, possibly adding some penetrating oil.  If you start too soon it will break off the hot metal.

This also works to remove stuck bearing races from wheels, etc. or simply to make them easy to remove.  Don't hit anything else and damage it with an arc.

Always ground the welder directly on the piece you are working on so it doesn't arc through bearings, seals etc.

[MountainDon]

Good tip Glenn. One better not be shaky when trying the welder trick tho'  

[glenn-k]

I never have a problem doing it.  I usually try to steady my hand by resting it on a part of the machine - etc.  

Here's another - not quite as good but works.  

Preferably - drill a hole through the broken bolt then take the oxy/acetylene torch and preheat the broken bolt.  Carefully - with a finger under and thumb over the oxygen lever for extra control, hit the oxygebn to start the bolt burning - at the same time move the torch back to prevent fouling the tip.  Add enough oxygen to burn the bolt out of the hole.  

If done carefully the bolt will separate at the casting thread line and only the pre-heated bolt will burn out of the hole.  A pointed punch or chisel and small hammer will clean the remaining small pieces out of the hole.  Usually it does no damage at all to the threads but a bottom tap will usually clean the threads if necessary.

Note that it is not really necessary to drill the broken bolt but the results may be a bit better if you do.

[MountainDon]

One of the problems with a lifted vehicle like my Cherokee is hitching a trailer to it. Installing a typical receiver hitch was not an option as they hang down under the bumper reducing the clearance at the rear. I solved the problem by starting with a new bumper I built myself. 2x6 inch 3/16 wall steel was used. I cut through the bumper and welded a receiver tube into place.

The trailer has a low ride height which is great for loading and unloading. However this meant a drop of nearly 18 inches from the bottom of the bumper receiver tube to the base of the hitch ball.    



As I suspected while designing this, with such an extreme drop there was quite a bit of sideways slop at the hitch ball. It made all kinds of noise. Backing up over bumpy ground and backing around corners probably put more sideways twisting force at the receiver tube than I liked. I was certain things would wear and just get worse.  

I had built the bumper with two large tabs primarily for attaching tow straps with large D-rings. The 3/8" steel tabs actually go right through the bumper, welded on the front and rear of the bumper tubes. Half inch bolts connect to the custom mounts. All welds are air tight as I use the front and rear bumpers as air tanks.

I built a Vee shaped brace using 1 inch square, 11 gauge wall, tubing. The lower end of the Vee connects to the drop hitch. The upper ends of the Vee connect to the bumper at the two tow tabs. Snap ring pin locks make mounting and demounting easy.







There's now no noise emanating from the hitch and I'm happy.  

[glenn-k]

Good design, Don.

[MountainDon]

We'll blame this one, or give credit to, desdawg.

What happens when you cross a gearhead with a chainsaw hobby?

You get a V8 powered chainsaw.
Aluminum Buick 215 cu.in. V8



http://mrcompletely.blogspot.com/2006/08/predator-buick-v8-chain-saw.html

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/93D1AC99-E220-469D-84E0-9849001DF97C.htm

http://video.yahoo.com/?t=t&fr=&p=v8chainsaw

[glenn kangiser]

That's pretty cool Don and desdawg.

I have a couple antique chain saws -- a Redhead in pieces - and a Titan.  Also an old Sears I think it is.

[MountainDon]

With the forecast calling for some snow I've hauled the winch out for the trip up to the mountains Friday. It's an oldie, a Warn 6000 I've had for some 25 years. It's mounted on a plate with a receiver mount. Mountable front or rear with plug in power connectors; one under the hood, one at the rear bumper.



The L-shaped white thingie is to allow the winch to be mounted in a higher more upright position with more approach angle.



Removing that piece allows the winch to be switched to operational position.





The winch capacity is a little marginal for the loaded weight of the Cherokee, but it's a lot easier to handle than a 9 or 10,000 pounder. 

[glenn kangiser]

I have a 12000 I had on a truck but haven't hooked it to anything in years.  I used it for lifting ROPS on a home made crane.  I don't want any snow yet.

[MountainDon]

That 12K pounder must be a bear to lift.  [eek]

There are some good prices on Chinese made winches. Sam's Club has a 10,000 lb complete with the receiver tray and a big snatch block. $400

One of my 4x4 club members has one and used it a fair amount this fall and it stood up to the task.

I paid more than that for my US made Warn a quarter century ago. Sounds a lobg time when put that way.

[MountainDon]

This is simply beautiful!!  And its got wood in it too!   





1937 Ford, Fiddleback Maple

[MountainDon]

Jay Leno's Garage has a feature this week on a 1909 Stanley Steamer. 

The Steamer has so much low speed torque it's possible to spin the wooden wheels inside the rubber tires, tearing the valve stems off the tubes. 

[glenn kangiser]

I saw one at a collectors one time but it wasn't the same.  Seems it had a coiled boiler.  I think it was a Stanley.

[MountainDon]

I had a slow drive back from the mountains today. 

The Jeep started make a  rumbling, grumbling sound after I'd been back on the pavement a while.  Under load, not when coasting Got worse. I stopped and the t-case was rather hot, diff's were cool, barely warm. No oil drips but I checked the level and it was fine. There's something rotten going on; just what I need. 

Vehicle crap seems to happen most when the weather's turned cold.