3 Engines...

New Front Axle due to damage on Cliffhanger in Moab...= 8200 to upgrade and go from the Steering Pump Pittman arm all the way to each wheel hub replaced Brand new. Upgraded to Heavy Duty High lift Dana 44 Front axle with E locker and 4:88 gears to match the old one.

 

Death wobble no less than 8 different times. The above one being to one I drove the longest with at 1200 miles straight back to where I was working from Moab...

 

Replace the Drag link Track bar and sway bars- stopped just short of wheel bearings when garage stated they were still in good shape.

Three months later they ended up having to be replaced and that garage said the other one must not have wanted to do the work -It was a dealership in Charlotte NC...

Ripped Track bar off the axle a total of three times will not run JKU on factory bracket removed and installed a Tere Flex Heavy Duty Track Bar mount... worth it since zero issues with Track bar...

Also do not over torque the track bar- brackets or sway bar connectors... that will cause them to snap in high stress situation...

Along with particularly the Steering dampener look down at the windrock set of images...

 

Windrock Pics this day was a bit costly...

Absolutely the Best Off Road Park I have visited in the US to date...

Sure Moab is a lot of fun but its mountains and spread out over a very wide area and it could take forever to drive every road there and trail. Some will not be jeepable and many are high rated trails with a lot of obstacles...

 

Colorado is by far the most scenic...

However only two trails even pose any challenge at all lets say The Holy Cross Trail is a monster and you should Better have at least one other jeep with you...

Good spotters and winches all work and you may suffer some trail damage its that much of a challenge...

Then Pookipsie Gultch took a small bite out of lucilles right side as shown in next slides...

 

 

Luckily I was able at 7:30 pm on a sat night to pay a garage welder guy 125 bucks to weld fabricate me a new bracket to get me home and until I had another issue under the front end to repair...

 

Had it not been for the Steering Stabilizer...

I wouldnt have been able to drive the jeep... it was the only thing making it still steerable from 11 to 1 on the wheel that was it any more I stood a risk of snapping it and 14 MPH = death wobble I drove 12 or less happy to be moving...at all...

16 miles or so...

Cliff Hanger in Moab...

You also will see many pictures when I move to locations of trails across the US...sections...

This time the Track bar snapped right down when the stabilizer bolt snapped and was dangling down in front of the jeep I removed it then I had to find a Bolt to use in its place and with only the backside bracket to support the weight and I was at least a mile still inside of Cliffhanger trail and it was at that time the most challenging trail I ever ha ventured onto and all alone in 100 plus heat figured trail would take maybe 6 hrs max I was out in that heat 12 hours and at one point I laid under the jeep in the shade on the coolness of the shaded rocks and luckily a Wind vortex or some crap occurred and I was able to feel the wind at about 15 mph which greatly helped I waited a while for the heat of the day to slowly drop slightly then started back at it, I was able to get to motel and had it at the garage another 6 miles first thing in the am two days later jeep was ready and I headed to Top of the world... making it to the last obstacle and scrubbing due to not wanting to snap the new bracket and end up with death wobble on a jeep front end I knew had maybe a month left in fact I started at this time getting death wobble around 45 mph... through like 58 or so then it would stop...

I drove all the way back to Wisconsin non stop the only part that was a bit rough... getting up to 70 on the on ramps and traffic on the way in city that thought 49 mph was perfect I fought it for an hour until I got through the traffic...

I would still do the trail again...

There are three paths you can go when your on Cliffhanger one takes you to the front side cliff as you see my feet ots approx 800-1000 feet straight down... 🙂

awesome view then the backside of the cliff which dead ends on a cliff your looking to the basin below this time its as though your on the side of a mountain plateau...

again with the floor at about 800-1000 feet straight down one bad mistake = Game over...

I do recommend side by sides and at least one have a winch also... The end of the trail could be hiked... we went up and over till we could go no more then we had to pile up rocks for a ramp up to get on top of a particularly difficult section at the end ...

You can also get to the basin after you first get on the trail I would estimate about 30 minutes in...

and ride the bottom section in fact once I was good and lost I went there to see if I could spot a way to get back on the right trail as it hooks around to the right to get back to the initial drop in from the road... I drove straight up the side of the mountain...it was bumpy and rocky but jeep did it with out issue... and then I was able to get to the trail that leads out I want to say I went up over two paths to end up on the third one which winded me out...

 

I undid the top bolt that connects to the sway bars... to re mount half bracket wise the Track bar and removed the stabilizer until I could get things repaired...

 

Nothing happened on Blackbear  pass this was repairs to another jeep while at the summit ...

Ended up coming down in pitch black darkness missing some of the most scenic views during a pretty day you may ever see...

I went back the next yr and saw it again first hand ...

Pookipsiee Gutch...

LOL My dumbass thinks I got this after all I am invincible... 🙂

Pookipsie Gultch 1=

Lucille =0

 

That plating worked...

The Fender Worked as designed also...

We used a come along and pulled the rear fender back to where it went welded the front section then pressed the back in line and welded it in...

Free Welder at work liked my jeeps...always gave me shit about them but told me they were pretty bad ass... 🙂

Various places...

Threw a couple others in...

Black Bear Pass...