RareCJ8

Sorry I sold her

Thanks for the info. I too found several threads on a dry rear slip yoke. Will investigate further. Question is why would simply dropping the rear shaft suddenly create this situation? There are several TSBs on the topic but not covering a 2001, although I have the near exact symptom. GM suggested a special grease then promptly recalled that since it might migrate into and mix with the t-case lube. Thanks again and will keep on the problem.

Noticed the small drops of oil on garage floor. Traced it to a rub hole in T case. ordered and installed the adapt-a-case retro part to address the issue, but now when go into drive and apply gas, very distinct and noticeable 'clunk' from drivetrain. Never did that before. At speed cannot detect anything odd--no vibration, etc. Come to a stop and ease up on brake and the same clunk happens, as if its unloading. any ideas from the group? 2001 2500HD Ali with 8.1 thanks

2001 2500HD with 8.1l and Alison. 130k on the OD. Mostly street driven with rare off pavement miles. It's the daily driver. Noticed a drop of oil on driveway. uh oh. crawled underneath and could not locate source of any leak, it was blown all over the rear axle. More tracing and located the problem: the dreaded transfer case pump rub. Over time the internal oil pump (retaining clip) in the transfer case saws a hole in the T-case housing. Starts out like a pin hole and expands over time. Now we have troubles. Searched the issue and its more common that I believed. Several companies make a new retention part to eliminate the rub. Was forced to drop T case, crack it open and install the new part, seals, etc. To my horror the oil level was down to less than 1/2 qt. Cleaned up the hole and sealed with JB weld. For details, Google GM pump rub and be prepared for a shock. Noticed oil weeping from the pto plate on the alison, and all the bolts were loose. easy fix. Then the steering. Depressing. had a noticeable pull to the right and a hard clunk making left turns. As once before, had to replace tie rod ends, inner and outer. new pitman and idler arm. in doing this, the left ball joint just fell apart. uh oh. Then to make it more fun, determined the left front wheel bearing assembly was shot. Floppy loose and grinding like full of sand. Parts run! Then off to alignment shop. they discovered the two upper bolts on the passenger side A arm were nearly sheared thru. More uh oh. So another parts store run and now its all done. Expensive experience. In the process noted slight fluid weep from the transmission coolant lines. Those were replaced 2 years ago for leaking and seems the culprit is back. Research shows a common problem. the General needs to step up and make better replacement parts. Might have some cu$tom hoses made up to last longer. Recently and at random times, the ABS and E Brake idiot lights illuminate. Sheesh. Research says its a faulty ABS module (VERY expen$ive replacement part) or a bad ground. Cleaned up the ground and---no luck. Still randomly comes on. Think i'll just live with that. Finally, when tank is low and go for a full tank (another expen$ive experience) the fuel gauge goes bonkers, sweeping fully left, right, back and forth like a windshield wiper. Research shows possibly bad ground on sending unit. The ground is accessible without having to drop the tank. Cleaned it up, so next fill up we'll see if that helped. And to think I was saving up for a Tacoma. Guess i'll be driving the Chevy a little longer than planned. Since all new parts and the truck is paid for, why not. Or sell and list the upgraded parts... At least its good to go for another 100k miles I just do not like the 10 mpg on a good day. Of all the failures, the puny front steering components seem to fail regularly and the transfer case pump rub is a real concern for any late model GM with 4WD. Benchmark is 100k miles to do the retrofit. Now, off to work to pay for all this!

Good points. I will do this for point of reference. Makes good sense because the engine sees a lot of work. It's the lifeblood of a rig. Will update as we incorporate into the heep. Thanks Moses for yr support.

next Q: how correlate run time with the so-called 3000 miles?

Most industrial and farm equipment use hour meters to gauge engine services, etc. Our 4x4 engines have greater run time than miles. Me thinks why not on the Scrambler? New engine, so timely oil changes is important. We do a lot of idling on trail, winching, welding, etc.. Looking at something like this, but maybe smaller http://www.amazon.com/Faria-12824-Euro-Hourmeter/dp/B0000AZ86N/ref=pd_rhf_se_s_cp_5_GXKG?ie=UTF8&refRID=0DZCXE4NSR93P8C8MGAV

Took the Eight out for a ride Sunday and all systems worked flawless. This is upper ledge Steve's Loop near Pyramid Lake, NV Near the top are some interesting 'wind caves' to explore. Access trail has a short section with slick rock like bedrock, but it was sprinkled with ball bearing-like dirt and sure enough, i slid sideways about 4' enough to pinch seat covers. compound winching was the fix along with a front dig thanks to the twin stick dana 300. Whew! short video. winching fun at the end Jeff's classic Commando is a real trail beast. The helper winch line was from Al Lockett, and for added leverage, went to top of the family roll cage. i then made the hard left pull. It is really steep there and video/photos do not convey the sense of oh my god sidehill action. you can see how the uphill pulling helped level it all out. Also having twin stick abilities really helped get the nose straight-- otherwise it just wanted to plow forward and gravity pulling into the deep abyss.

all options are on the table but want to avoid a new case half. the replacement Op housing is the fix. See many posts about simply a JB weld plug over hole. I'll leave any formal welding to someone with insurance. Last time i exposed magneseium to high heat, it made a nice bonfire. Making for more good news, left front wheel bearing turning to powder. Plus all the other usual steering problems--- idler, pitman, etc etc. there are days i sure miss my old Toyota.

Noticed a couple dime sized drops of oil on drive way. Am a stickler about that and investigation reveals the dreaded and well known transfer case oil pump rub. Over time a hole is made leading to fluid loss and unless caught in time, will slowly kill your GM T-case. Mine is the NP263XHD but it affects many similar GM T cases. If you have a 2001 forward GM T case, best to check it out sooner than later. There are many after market products to fix it before its too late-- but still requires T case be dropped. Ugh... DEalers not too interested in advance warnings, so driver beware. Am headed out end of week for a 900 mile road trip and as luck has it, this is discovered at the last moment- seeps par for the 4x4 course. You tube explains it all:

I saw an early scrambler on jeepers jamboree with the liberty diesel and the entire dash and steering column grafted into the CJ. While it worked, just look odd. My stab at your question: anything is possible in a jeep with sufficient time, money and patience. But would I? Probably not. Good luck.

Well stated Moses. No easy choices or clear options. A few years ago many adopted horses (and others) were turned out by hard luck owners, owing to the economic crisis. I recall a local news story about just that. Rationale is i am no longer able to house or care for the horse(s) so let 'em loose for a fighting chance. I've seen more than a few skeletons in the hills between Lockwood and VC and speculate if those domesticated or adopted 'wild' horses perished or were accepted into a band. They are very hardy animals for sure. Cowboy's best friend. Just read an interesting story about this fella: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comanche_(horse)

Moses, we all love to witness the wild west in action. Sadly, there are serious concerns about over population and whether the rangeland can support growing numbers. Some well intentioned residents feed them only increasing their numbers. They also starve when their population is not sustainable. witness the long debated issue of round ups. Then there is competition between horse herds that move into an area and other species that depend on water and forage resources. i.e., antelope, wild sheep, deer. Some claim the horses will dominate a water source to the exclusion of other animal users and sometimes trample the springs to mush. then there is the ever present rancher vs. horse conflicts and livestock,wolves, etc... I've seen many seriously emaciated and unhealthy looking horses that forces me to wonder if that is an honorable existence.

very interesting stuff moses. my 650 was already uncorked and unplugged when i bought it, so i have no idea about condition or jetting, etc. the manual start is a real bugger. sometimes i get pretty winded just getting it to start, not counting all the times right foot slips off kick start lever and right foot peg jams into the shin...ouch. that said, it can sit for months and months and after about 7-8 good kicks, starts right up. My latest project is to install the front brake re build kit. seems sitting for a length of time allows air to get sucked into the system leading to no or nearly no front brake. yikes! tired of constant bleeding. in other news, took delivery of the uber-cool dual voltage gauge for jeep. the instructions show it simply hooked direct to the batteries, but i am concerned parasitic draw may pull down those batteries. will advise and best to all in the new year.

One final addition to the fleeting open space on the dash. While the hand held remote is handy when using the winch, plan to add a dash mounted in cab controller. There are several pre assembled kits available that are cheaper to get pre assembled than cobbling together the separate parts.

Many fine innovative products from OZ land. I'll just use label maker to denote B1 and B2. Hope to reuse the stock location. Will advise. Spoke to auto meter today and no dual voltage. They sell one that is volts and amp draw, but no dual volts. Guy said it's a great idea he'll pass to their R&D.

Here it is, think this is the one for me! Maybe just expand the OEM gauge opening on dash. Next is to get an hours meter-- our rigs see a lot of engine time and hours elapsed seems more important than miles driven. See this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350879821330 I just ordered it!

I have a couple 4WD Action magazines from Australia (similar to Overland Journal) and they advertise several really trick meters, but after import expenses, shipping its just south of $200USD, so i'm still looking. See some on ebay that monitor both, etc andeven have a low voltage warning light, but made in china, yet only like $20 each... so will keep the forum posted. this looks pretty trick. http://www.weathershop.com/marine_voltmeter.htm either style 4 or 7

am looking at the RV and marine catalogs--- they sell really cool volt meters with two sweep dial indicators, or digital, to read voltage for B1 and B2 at same time. as for power draw, other idea is to simply go to B2 and have a momentary switch-- meaning have to push a button or flip a switch for a reading and if its spring loaded, let off pressure and its off. the diagram helps for sure. tnx

Am running two batteries in Jeep mechanically isolated. Thinking of adding a second volt meter to monitor the aux battery. This way each battery has its own meter. How to power the 2ed meter is under study. Could power it from aux battery and just have a manual switch or a momentary switch. found one on amazon but cannot paste a link. so is there merit to an independent volt meter for aux battery?

Heard of it but use an on board belt driven compressor and a co2 tank as back up.

Great answer Moses. I'm experimenting on an even more detailed air down tactic. Often the rear is carrying more load than front axle, so i find a little more psi in rear and less up front makes a difference. As a bonus, i find if there is a differential between front and rear, there is less wheel hop on steep climbs. Average Rubicon run? 15 front, 18 in rear. Now, if we all could have CTIS for our 4x4 axles, its then just a matter of momentary switches and gauges on the dash to dial it in...

time line question: when did the popularity of airing down one's tires for serious trail work happen? I recall many, many 4x4 trips all over difficult trails from 1979 forward and we never though of, saw others or heard to air down. then one day in perhaps 1995 someone suggested it and bright lights went off in my head. What a game changer. And in the early to mid 80s, 33" tires were considered monster meats, LOL.

This is off topic, but doing research on issues with my truck compared to the taco, taco wins. I'm this week replacing for the third time the oil coolant lines in as many years. OEM knows they fail and its not practical to have custom lines made. Front steering components have again failed from regular street wear (pitman arms seem to go fast) and i'm tired of 7-10 mpg. Asked my trusted mechanic how often he sees trucks like mine coming in for repairs, service, etc.: often. How often does he see a Tacoma in for needed work? Other than oil changes: never. on rubicon in setpember, saw a long string of well equipped tacomas come thru and was impressed with the trail performance and interior comfort. when fuel pump died earlier this year in the black rock and left the jeep at a local ranch, got a ride back up to homestead in a built taco-- that sold me. looking for one only driven on sundays by an old widow. further off topic: 11/2 i am leading a trail ride from reno to sardine peak, location of a long closed fire look out facility. Owners are planning to R&R it into a rental. Fantastic location. Best part? there is a gate about a mile below the old tower and guess who has a key? (hint hint) Then we'll explore the adjacent bear valley camp ground and popular bear valley ohv loop with some interesting features. All takes place about 12 miles north of Truckee. ur invited!

no actually. am looking to sell the 2500HD soon. want a newer Tacoma. For a farm/work/trail truck, heck yes!