In 2004 my work took us to Colorado. By that time I had the 4.0L stroked to 4.7L by an engine shop in North Carolina. The upgrade came on the heels of blowing the engine around 80K. Which is great since pushing 35’s and now 37’s works it a bit. One day… a Hemi.
(Above) Exploring Colorado’s Front Range; at the time I still ran RE UCA/LCA drop-down brackets [38° 54.829'N 104° 57.032'W]
(Above) 36x13.6R16 IROKs on aluminum XD-Series wheels… they sucked. Can’t remember the model, but the “camo bead-lock” was crappy plastic and started breaking off the very first wheeling trip. [38° 44.222'N 104° 59.113'W]
During the same trip to the shop I had them install 4.56:1 gears & ARBs in the 8.25 and Dana 30. I went with 4.56 gears instead of 4.88s in order to keep the rear end’s ring gear a tad thicker. Prior to the gear sway my tranny was always overheating even a quick drive to Denver. So far so good… knock on wood. I don't know if any of you have experienced this before, but when my tranny overheated it would leak afew drops of fluid every mile or so. Those few drops would land on the exhaust cross-over and smoke everyone out behind me. I believe this is what Q used for all of James Bond's vehicles. It is quite ingenious actually...not only do you smoke out your pursuers, you cover their windshield (and your rear window) with a ever-so-thin layer of ATF fluid. This cannot be washed of easily and would require a pit stop at a gas station to clean. The smell of vaporized ATF actually nauseates you as well, making getting even a deli hot-dog an unpleasant prospect. Very clever MI-6 folks, very clever indeed.
I take wicked pleasure in wheeling stock diffs with 37's. I've heard all of the chatter about needing bigger diffs, but I find that being easy on the skinny pedal goes a long way. Stock diffs force me to pick more suitable lines and pay attention to the rig's needs more.
(Above) On top of Radical Hill above Breckenridge [39° 31.767'N 105° 51.664'W]
(Above) Near Webster Pass and headed up Radical Hill [39° 32.156'N 105° 50.611'W]
(Above) Your standard short-side Dana 30 trail-side fix; never leave the spares at home, never. I pick up my complete spares at FN Jeep here in Colorado Springs for $60 (short-side), $70 long-side and $40/hub [39° 45.636'N 105° 37.595'W]
If you wheel in Colorado you will quickly become familiar with that deliciously sickening sound of steel on stone. The kind of sound you can feel in your spine and ear hairs. It sucks hearing polyethylene gas tanks on stone, or quarter panel on stone so you adapt some more. True to the
Just
Empty
Every
Pocket mantra, wheelers in Colorado eventually armor their rigs to fend off some of the abuse. I think there is more pulverized rock on diffs and skid plates in Colorado than anywhere else in the US. In 2006, I had decided it was high time for rock sliders. I wanted them so I could slide/pivot on boulders and make tighter turns. I also hated getting to something in the front of the roof while not having anywhere to stand. I eventually got pretty darned good at balancing my weight on the front and rear door handles, but I have slipped too many times and nearly broken a rib from doing do. Plus I hated getting mud on my hands when I get back into the Jeep. Bottom line... the sliders look pretty sick too.
I ran Spring Creek with a gent who had T&T Customs Rock Sliders (when they still spelled sliders with a "z"). It was love at first sight. It took me a while to order them and even longer to find the time to get them on. But I am convinced they are the best long arm kit available for the XJ. If only they were around in '97...
(Above) T&T Customs Y-Link long arms & Rock Sliders
(Above) T&T Customs Rock Sliders
I found a guy on Colorado4x4 who was selling used/custom 10” Alcan spring packs for an XJ. I really wanted to get rid of the lift block in the rear and this seemed like a low-cost option. So for $300 the XJ had a 10” rear lift. Except the used springs had sagged since they rolled out of the shop a couple years earlier. They sat a 9" of lift. That lift was mainly because the springs bottom out on the back of the unibody frame. You can't imagine the horrible sound as your shackle smacks the frame rail with every irregularity in the road. Over time the shackle and frame rail came to an understanding as they "clearanced" themselves. Worst mod e-v-e-r... my next mod, rear springs. I'll order them early February.
Funny story about my switch to Goodyear MTRs. This guy with a TJ say me driving around town and followed me for miles until I stopped. apparently he had really wanted the exact IROK / wheel combo I was running (I have no idea why other than looks) and asked if I would be willing to trade. Both of our tires had 90% tread on them, so I agreed. He had to clear it with his wife first, but the next day we did the swap at my place (the tires, not the wife). I had sorta missed MTRs and wanted to get back to a 15" steel wheel with decent backspacing. I was glad to oblige and happier when he threw in a second spare for free.
The Tomken tire swing-out (don't buy it!) had been rattling and squeaking for the last 59,995 miles of the 60,000 miles it was on the bumper. The tire way too low to wheel with it on. I was always getting hung up go going and and departing obstacles... even wheeling in Texas! So I finally trashed it. And that was cool because now I was able to devote my concentration on the sound of my rear shackles destroying the unibody.
(Above) Alcan Spring Pack; back to Goodyear MTRs, but in the 37x12.5R15 flavor
(Above) Back to exploring [38° 56.679'N 105° 23.550'W]
A buddy of mine with a Disco-II paid a local Land Rover specialty store a ga’gillion bucks to have a matte black decal added to his Disco’s hood. It looked pretty sweet so I figured I would copycat him, albeit with a rattle can.
(Above) Is painting the hood considered a mod? I think so… and this would be the post paint job “test drive!” [39° 4.297'N 104° 57.555'W]