We had a blast at Turf N Surf 2015

We had a blast at Turf N Surf 2015

The family went to Turf N Surf 2015. It would be safe to say my family caught the wheelin fever this weekend. This will be a annual event for us from now on. The people where great to be around & the event was well organized. The 2 days wasn't enough time to visit & meet up with  everyone. I was having such a great time I forgot to take pictures, but here are some I did get.

 

This guy did a great video.  

New shocks for Lexi

I put these shocks on today & my 1st impression was it lifted up Lexi about .5" crazy... It feels like a sports car now, firm & stable. Some say that OME shocks are harsh & some even say jarring. I can see how that could be if comparing them to a stock shock, but I welcome these L shocks compaired to the sloshy unsafe shocks I had. These shocks are valved for the 80 & the OME springs. I havent seen a $100 price range shock that works this good so far. Some have been happy with the Fox 2.0 non reservoir at approx. $130 each.

Here are the specs & my actual measurements

Rear 60071L

Comp. 387mm/15.23"

Ext. 673mm/26.49"

My measurement was 15.25" to 26.5"

OME L shocks specs

Front 60070L
Comp. 381mm/15"
Ext. 667mm/26.26"
My measurement .25" more than spec 15.25" to 26.5" I didn't take pictures, sorry.

I did add some extra washers to make them long 26.9" just shy of 27"

I lowered my Lexi...

If I was going to start all over...
I would just get 1" spring spacers & 1" body lift. (Approx. $200) No shocks, nothing else, the stock shocks extend within .5" of the OME 2.5" lifted shocks. (If you absolutely need shocks, then you really can't beat the proven OME "L" shock. They are made for an 80 series. Yes they will fit with a stock 19" free height spring plus a 1" spacer, it's all about the free height of the spring.) Stop there untill you got educated here on mud & then pulled the trigger on a full lift later, if you decide to do so.. Go to Slee offroads website newbie section & the 80 series FAQ. J springs are a approximately a 3.5" lift that will need possibly many other things... I have OME 851/860 w/25mm spacer which is same as a 850/860 2.5" of lift & yellow caster bushings. (I should of stayed with OEM control bushings & did the washer mod or plates.) When they say 2.5" is max they mean it. 1" with these 80s creates a big difference.

I threw my old tired stock springs & 1" spring spacers in the other day to prove a point that you don't need a full blown lift to do 35s or 315s. (This is something I learned after I had purchased my lift.) Yes it works with the longer 26.5" L shocks & stock OEM bumpstops.
After DDing & wheelin around awhile I found it to be great on road, but not so great offroad. The springs are not strong enough to absorb bigger bumps before hitting the bumpstops. I was also dragging the rear bumper & belly more often than my medium lift. The stock springs only give 2" of uptravel compared to the 4" my OME mediums offer.
So, soon I will be going back to my OME lift to get back to a better bump stop gap & firmer ride. This experiment was a good education for me to get a better feel of the rig.
Below is my rig with the 25mm spacers & 1" body lift. It actually needs a 30mm in the rear though.

Here is my Lexi with 1.5" more lift. 3.5" total lift again. The body & belly is up 1.5" more which does make a big difference. Also the shocks now have 4.5" of uptravel which gives a good 40/60 ration on a 11" travel shock.

GW Nugget's Family Haulin Lexi450 build....

Hardcore wheelin 80 series fj80 fzj80 Lx450

Not to often do you see hardcore vids like these in a 80 series.

As I come across worthy videos to post, they will go here.

More front flex for the Lexi450

Need help, I can't help it, It's really bad, I'm completely submerged in this... I'm loosing sleep & constantly carry my phone around reading 80 series subjects & build threads on the mud forum. Is this what they call "The Addiction"?

Thanks to @baldilocks I have aquired a set of the MAF drop brackets that I have been writing talking about. They where very simple to put on with a we bit of filing they slid right in. The 1st thing I noticed is they measured out to a 2.5" drop rather than the assumed 2" by the name of them. Once on the road I noticed a big difference in road manners. It's a more relaxing feel & Lexi turns much better. The rear seems to follow the turn rather than want to lift up & come overy the top. A stiffer sway bar in the rear I think would help this also.
That was the bonus. Now for the main reason I got these was to hopefully increase down travel, well it did by two more inches. The shocks were only ext. to 26.5" now they are going 28.5"

They definitely don't hang down as bad as the 3" MAF brackets. I'm still using my yellow caster bushings.

Now I need some of those 50mm Slinky coils. They have a free height of 24" that's 4" tallerthan what I have. 851s are 19" with the 1" spacer, that's 20" of free height.

The Value of Balanced Flex

I'm beginning to understand the value of balanced flex. I put longer shocks on the back thinking this would make things better but it didn't it actually increased more body lean or roll. It was said maybe here, I've read so many threads... that limiting the back will force the front to flex or work sooner. Here is a pic showing more body roll after increasing more rear flex than front. Since 1st pic I removed my front bump pucks after the 1" body lift. End results was 3" more up travel & less body lean or roll. I am now a big believer in a body lift for the 80 series & not bump stopping front travel.

My next move to increase front down travel is to lower the aft rear of the control arm via MAF drop brackets. Think about it... it's just basic geometry. Look @Apounder... he is a perfect example of a bunch of flex by lowering the rear aft of the control arm.

8 day Sierra National Forest family adventure

8 day Sierra National Forest family adventure

We just got back from an 8 day Sierra National Forest family adventure. Lexi didn’t miss a beat pulling a loaded 6 X12 box trailer & family up the 6% to 8% at times grade on Hwy 168 to Shaver Lake. We went on to Huntington Lake & camped 3 days there. From there we visited Mono Hot Springs, Edison Lake, that's as far East as you can go up unless you walk. On the way back we found the North end of the Dusy Ershim Trail.

We also hiked up to Rancheria Falls. The falls where barely running due to the drought. It's sad. Here is a pic of Huntington Lake & how bad the drought is here in Cali. The smoke is from the Rough Fire South of us at Hume Lake area.

No really, we had a great time. The plan was to attend the High Sierra Poker Run that was canceled due to smoke etc. A bunch of friends did the Swamp Lake trail anyways on Saturday. On Sunday we did the Bald Mtn trails. I didn't get many pics of Lexi wheelin, but I'll share what I have, most of my pics are kids ruining around having fun being kids... That's the important stuff, the kids.

The 315 Cooper ST Maxx tires really gripped good. They guys made a lot of commets about them doing so well. Wish Lexi had a set of 37s though. Lots of deep holes out there compared to 18 years ago. These trails are getting tore up from bigger rigs.

Sliders installed & painted.

Lexi received her last major purchase of the season... the rock sliders are on & ready to go sliding.
I got a really good deal with them welded on with no paint. So, today I taped her up & painted them with the Dupli-Color Bed Armor. I'm hoping the bumpy texture will help with the family getting in & out without slipping.

Bumpstop Removal After Body Lift Install

With the OME medium lift on my Lexi, I had to install bumpstops in the front to stop the 315s from rubbing in the fenders. I installed the 1" body lift so I could remove the bumpstops to allow more uptravel. I am happy with the results, it does flex a lot better than before, approx 3" more.
Today we improved uptravel, next is improving down travel. It doesn't want to go past 27" extension at the shock. I believe installing a set of MAF drop brackets will do the trick. (Edited later: the did all 2" more drop at the shock.)

I have a video coming stay tuned...

Heater Block Valve Quick Fix.

My wife has been sitting in the "Hot Seat".
The 2nd row rear heater under the passenger seat has been very hot lately. I removed the hose at the heater block valve to check the position & noticed it wasn't closing all the way shut, probly since the head gasket replacement. I fixed that & since I allready purchased a brass ball vavle I went ahead & installed it for just for in case. Summers are hot out here... don't need anymore of that. Here is some pics.

Marlin Crawler Transfer Case Gears.

Hey all, my Lexi just got a bit more creepy.
Well, I mean slower.
Yeah, it got a new set of Marlin Crawler T gears... The actual numbers are from a 2.3:1 to a 3.1:1 That is a 25% reduction.
With those numbers it puts it back to lower than stock.

With my A343F tranny 1st gear of a 2.8:1 & the Marlin T gears of 3:1 & stock 4:10 it has a final of 35.5:1 from the stock. 26.4:1 is stock. By no means is the is this a rock monster, but a step in the right direction of gearing. Call it a baby rock crawler.

I've just played with the gears close to my house in the dry creek bed & have noticed a pretty sizeable difference. I don't seem to drag my break as much. Most notably not stomping on breaks at the top of a obstacle after mashing the throttle to get of it.

My tranny reference came from CDan post all the way back in 2003.

The Good, The Bad, A 1" Body Lift Look Back.

After having the body lift for a while I can now give a honest opinion. The main objective of the body lift was to give more fender room so I could remove my bumpstops to allow more up travel of the tires.

I will go with Con's first since there are'nt that many.

Con's:
Body lifts cost money.
You have to install them.
My shifter is shorter.

Pro's:
It gives more room for up travel of the suspension.
It allowed me to remove my bumpstop pucks up front.
It's a cheaper way to lift.
Lifting just the body keeps the COG down lower.
It helps with air flow across the engine.
It helps with added space from the hot exhaust on passenger side floorboard.
It pulls the engine wiring harness up & away from the hot EGR pipe.

A Duiser 1" body lift product review.

I just recently installed a Duiser body lift kit said to be a the only complete kit on the market. I'm really happy with it. The install went very smooth & hear is how it went. My rig is very clean underneath so I didn't have any rust to deal with. It can be done in a half day easy if you stay focused. I have small curious kids that want daddy time so I did it slowly with many family breaks in about 10 hours. Here is a pic of the parts.

The first thing I noticed was the all aluminum pucks... I don't know if that was just a one off to fill the order because of resourcing the poly good or bad for corrosion, but I live in the desert, so I'll move on. The bolts are 3/8" by 5", 5.5" & 7". The 7" are for the front & 5.5" for rear. Don't get them mixed up like I did.

Here on mud there is a very detailed thread that was very informative with good pictures. 

http://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/definitive-1-body-lift-how-to.589776/

It is said in there the rear bolts can be a bear to get in. I just made sure it was lifted high enough to get the bolt in at an angle before it went in strait.

The radiator bracket did not fit my 97 LX very good so I modified it. In the picture below is a metal strap with a wheel lug stud in it. It was hitting the support & making it go up at an angle. I installed the stock bolt in there & it fit better. I have no after picture. Sorry. Other than that it went in just fine. Here is more random pics.

Rock Slider for the Silver Slug...

A good friend recently met Billy the owner of Brute Force Fab. He said he could make sliders for the 80 series. So I made a visit to his shop yesterday & this is what I saw. I ordered a set, it will be about 4 weeks out. I'm really pumped, I can't wait

Bald Mountain Family trip.

The 1st family camping trip has been a success. We made to the mountain & back down. The Cruisers performed well & did the job it was asked to do. I'm really happy with it.

I asked my girls when we got back if all those hours spent in the garage working on the LX was worth get to go camping. The answer was a definite "YES!!!"

I will post up more pics later... I'm having phone issues.