Mudbug Adventures

Every Mile Is An Adventure

Jeep Wrangler Clutch Failure

by Filed Under: DIY Projects, Repairs

A few weeks back we wanted to take the Mudbug on a back road adventure. I came up with a route to Hico, TX that would take us on unpaved roads. We got up early to prep the Jeep for the adventure. We took the doors off, removed the soft top, and were excited to get started. I hopped in the drivers seat, put the key in the ignition, pushed in the clutch, and it slammed to the floor without resistance. The clutch was gone.

This post has moved to our new website… https://ourjeepadventures.com/jeep-wrangler-clutch-failure/

Replacing The Tail Lights On Our Jeep Wrangler

by Filed Under: DIY Projects, Jeep Accessories, Jeep Maintenance

For quite a while we have known about issues with our LED tail lights. People behind us on trails would often let us know one was flickering or only partially lighting up. Margaret saw it the last time we were out when she was filming from behind the Jeep. We’ve never really liked the tail lights. The ridiculous little LED spots just look stupid to us. I don’t understand why so many people are awe struck by LED tail lights and consider them an “upgrade” So we finally decided to swap them out. This post has moved to https://ourjeepadventures.com/replacing-the-tail-lights-on-our-jeep-wrangler/

Replaced The Radiator On Our Jeep

by Filed Under: DIY Projects, Jeep Maintenance, Maintenance

Not a whole lot to write about on this. Our Jeep radiator has been leaking for over a year. Probably since we bought it. I always assumed the radiator fluid that was dripping was coming from the over flow tank. The splashes and drips came from the area of the overflow tank. It is really hard to see a lot of the seams on a Jeep radiator because of the plastic covers they encase it in. I finally was able to somewhat pin point the area of the leak and discovered it was coming from the drivers side towards the top of the radiator. This post has moved to https://ourjeepadventures.com/replaced-the-radiator-on-our-jeep/

Repairing The Front Axle On Our Jeep

by Filed Under: DIY Projects, Jeep Maintenance, Off-Road, Repairs

After breaking down the front axle and accessing the damage we settled on the repair decisions. This was the perfect time to perform parts upgrades. When we had the rear axle upgraded by Redemption Offroad and the gear ratio changed, we did not upgrade the front axle. There were money concerns which prevented that upgrade. We knew there was a good possibility of the front axle breaking by not upgrading and it finally did.

This post has moved to https://ourjeepadventures.com/the-front-axle-on-our-jeep-wrangler/

The Front Axle On Our Jeep Wrangler

by Filed Under: DIY Projects, Jeep Maintenance, Repairs

Decisions To Be Made

At this point we had to decide what parts we were going to use for repairs. Cost would play heavily into this decision. The stock components had given out which means if we repaired back to stock it would probably happen again. Because of this we decided to perform some upgrades.

Axle Shafts

The first upgrade were the axle shafts. From the pictures on the last post you can clearly see the twisting that occurred. That twist was at the point where the axle shaft is inserted into the carrier. The stock shafts simply weren’t able to handle the level of wheeling we have been doing. I suppose we were fortunate they didn’t snap or there would have been even more damage. We upgraded the axle shafts to Ten Factory 4340 Chromoly axle shafts. This will be quite an upgrade from the stock axle shafts and hopefully be able to handle the larger tires and level of wheeling we are doing.

Differential Carrier

Next was the difficult decision about what to install in the differential. While it is broken down is a great time for upgrades. The only problem is it can get very expensive at this point. We wanted to install an E-Locker like we did in the rear axle. The Eaton locker runs right at $1000. As much as we wanted to upgrade to the Eaton locker, we simply didn’t have the finances at this time to do so. Another option was to rebuild the stock carrier with heavier spider gears. This would have cost us right at $200 and would have only made the carrier stronger. It would not have helped with traction to both tires when needed since it would still be an open differential. After researching heavily for a couple of weeks we decided on the Powertrax Grip Pro Extreme Traction System. This is a limited slip differential that will apply torque to the wheel that is not rotating. Basically if one wheel is slipping it will engage the other wheel so that both will be providing traction. This is an in between solution to an open differential and a locker. Cost did play into the decision. This carrier was $351 which was only a small amount over replacing the spider gears. The cost was also far less than the locker. It would also give us more traction in the front when off roading which will be an upgrade for us.

Miscellaneous Parts

Other parts were more common that we replaced or added. We had to get new bearings and races for the carrier. We also added axle shaft seals to keep water out of the axle. The inner seals were recently replaced when we re-geared the differential and suffered no damage. The Yukon ring gear and pinion also suffered no damage which I was very pleased about. It was nice that the few parts we had upgraded were not damaged.

What Comes Next

The rear axle still has to be dealt with. We did not build the rear axle. We had Redemption Offroad perform that work. They re-geared to a 4.88 gear ratio with Yukon ring and pinion gears, Yukon chromoly rear axle shafts, and an Eaton E-Locker in the differential. This was a costly upgrade but made a positive impact on the capability of the Jeep on more extreme offroading. At this point we don’t know exactly what is broke in the rear axle. We only know for sure one of the axle shafts snapped. After our next post on the front axle rebuild we will cover all the information about the rear axle.

 

 

Discovering What We Broke On The Jeep

by Filed Under: DIY Projects, Jeep Maintenance, Repairs

After towing the Jeep home and sleeping on what transpired we had to make some decisions. We knew a lot of parts were broken. We didn’t know the extent though. I decided to wait until the following Monday and call Redemtion Offroad for some quotes. They built the rear axle for us so we knew some of those parts at least would have a warranty.

This post has moved to https://ourjeepadventures.com/discovering-what-we-broke-on-the-jeep/

Jeep Exhaust Manifold Continued

by Filed Under: DIY Projects, Jeep Maintenance, Repairs

After discovering the broken bolt on the passenger side exhaust manifold I decided to go ahead and make the proper repairs. After removing the passenger side manifold I was greeted by a welcome surprise! The bolt was not broken into the block like the drivers side. There was still some of the bolt sticking out for me to grab. Using a pair of vice grips I was able to loosen it and even remove it by hand. This post has moved to https://ourjeepadventures.com/jeep-exhaust-manifold-continued/

Jeep Exhaust Manifold

by Filed Under: DIY Projects, Jeep Maintenance

Since purchasing the Jeep we have had a dreaded heat shield vibration at around 3500 rpm. It’s quite annoying and makes you assume something is wrong mechanically. After a trip to Crossbar Ranch in Oklahoma I decided it was time to find the cause. I started with the exhaust header heat shield. That seemed to make sense being attached to the block and subjected to any rpm changes. Upon removal is when all the trouble began. This post has moved to https://ourjeepadventures.com/jeep-exhaust-manifold/

How To Replace The Visor On A Motorcycle Helmet

by Filed Under: DIY Projects, Gearing Up, Safety

How To Replace The Visor On A Motorcycle Helmet

How To Replace The Visor On A Motorcycle Helmet

In this short video, I’ll show you how to quickly change the visor or shield on a motorcycle helmet. This is handy if you wish to switch from a tinted visor to the clear option. Given that different manufacturers of helmets make their visor or shield releases in different ways, the basic idea is the same for all. Each visor clips to the helmet with a release button or tab near the ear area of the helmet, and once found, this makes changing out your visors simple. Sometimes the release mechanism is concealed, so check out the owner’s manual for your helmet for specific instructions on locating it. [Read more…]

How To Add Bling Or Stones To A Motorcycle Helmet

by Filed Under: DIY Projects, Gearing Up

Crystal Helmet Designs- How to BLING Your Motorcycle helmet.

Adding bling or crystals to your motorcycle helmet can be fun but it also increases your visibility during the day. There are several options for attaching the crystals but the two most common are with a heat fix tool or an adhesive.

 Clean The Helmet

Regardless of how you are going to attach the crystals, you need to clean the outside of your helmet. You need to make sure all of the road grime and bug splatters are off before you begin.  I sprayed mine with a mild cleaner, rinsed it off with a damp cloth and allowed it to dry.

Heat Fix Crystals 

Heat fix crystals are the easiest to apply and stay on the longest! My heat set stones stood up to the Texas heat for two summers, rain for days on the Blue Ridge Parkway and the scorching heat of Moab. Not to mention being rubbed against as my helmet was put into my saddle bag.

Shaped as a round crystal, they have a glue hardened on their backside that melts and attaches itself to whatever it is being applied to using the Tulip Deluxe Heat Fix Tool.  Without a doubt, the best aspect of Hot Fix stones is how convenient they are. You can place them exactly as you want them before setting the Heat Fix Tool on the top. Just like that, they’re attached to the material.

How To Apply The Heat Fix Crystals

1. Make sure Heat Setter is turned off and unplugged.
2. Choose appropriate applicator tip for the size of the crystal.
3. Screw applicator tip onto the end of the barrel by hand until tightly in place.
4. Plug in Heat Setter and turn on. The heat set tool will heat up in about 2 minutes
5. When using Heat Setter, do not hold by the barrel.  Place heated applicator tip onto crystal surface, lift and carry crystal to the desired position.
6. Place crystal straight down onto project. Press firmly for 5-6 seconds while adhesive backing on crystal melts on the o project. Lift heat setter straight up to reveal adhered crystal.

 

How To Use An Adhesive

  1. Cover the area you are working at with some newsprint or a tablecloth that you won’t mind adhesive getting if it does.
  2. Pour out the crystals and place them flat side up
  3. Either with your hands or tweezers hold the crystal
  4. With a toothpick or applicator tip apply a small amount of adhesive to the back side of the stone.
  5.  Place it on the helmet and hold in place for a few seconds
  6. Continue applying the stones in the same fashion until your design is complete


Have fun personalizing your helmet and gear. If you have any questions or would like to share of your gear feel free to do so in the comments section.