Well I should have just tackled this last weekend in my garage. I woke up this morning and my squad leader was suffering from some sort of dust-born parasite that my guys were all picking up in the field this week. He was heading to the ER when I went to pick up the lockers and diff fluid from his house. This thing wasn't too bad to get in but it takes a creative puzzle-solving mind. The directions threw me off a little bit as they were written to install the opposite side first and until I figured out that I had to do exactly opposite for 3 steps of the instructions, I was about to strap some C4 on the damn thing and call it quits. I ended up taking the whole housing out to play around with it and that helped me figure it out. C-clips also went in best in different order than the directions mentioned but I finally figured it out. I'm hoping the Lock-Right I have going in the front will be much quicker and easier since there are less parts. I'm planning on getting that in tonight so long as we don't have any complications and I'll get some field testing done tomorrow in the desert.

4 Wheel Parts is really disappointing me- my wheels and bodylift are still not in so they're going on 2 weeks just to get the damn parts in. I'm not impressed.

 

Well, I totally underachieved for the weekend- once I finished up the rear locker, my assistants (2 females) talked me into going out to Red Sands to test it and we ended up getting stuck several times and didn't get home to bed until about 5 am. The brush guard is already back off because it got completely destroyed when the tow straps pushed against it while I was hooked up to the tow hooks. I called Hunter about it and they gave me a warranty department's email that I sent pictures and an explanation to but have yet to hear back from them. I knew the way the brackets were designed would allow it to flex if a lot of pressure was put on it but I wasn't even hooked up to it and the lower tubular crossbar bent in several places like it was made of a poor thin alloy. I was disappointed that I would have to figure out a custom recovery setup just to avoid damaging the brush guard. If anybody wants to see pics of it, let me know.

But onto the good stuff- the truck is in the garage on jackstands with one CV axle out. I dropped the trans pan and threw a new filter in it last night. The transmission cooler came in from Summit last night. It doesn't specify under the part description but it does come with hardware so don't add the extra mounting hardware and hose. I picked up another few feet of 3/8" fuel line at Autozone for the return line. Both feed and return lines are routed through the opening behind the passenger side headlight housing. I put looms on them to cut down on friction around the frame and battery.

4WheelParts finally got back to me yesterday and said the bodylift was in and the wheels were supposed to come today but I didn't have time to check. I need to finish up with the CV's and front differential so I can get to the other fun stuff. I also picked up some lower ball joints today since I'm in a good position to change them out with the CV job.

 

i have a similar brush guard to yours and i got some KC HIlites on there. super bright and cheap too. i paid 115 shipped from summit. and really easy to install too. took about a half hour for me.

 

litterbug, how long ago did you buy that brushguard? I've been looking and haven't been able to find anyone who currently sells one for 95-97.

 

i got the truck with it on. and my mom said she got it with the guard on too back in 98 so its been on there for a while. im not sure what the brand is either. its been painted over so many times.

 

My guard is back off- it got ruined when I got towed out last weekend. I finished up the front locker, CV axles, and lower ball joints today. The new wheels are on and we're doing the body lift right now. I never heard back from Hunter on their "customer service and warranty" email address. I even wrote back the sales address and haven't heard anything. I'll call them again on Monday to get a final answer but if they can't back up their product, I'll either throw it in storage with my stuff or see if a bodyshop wants to mess with fixing it. I'm having all my stuff picked up for deployment storage this coming week if the carrier can do it so I'm about out of time. I do need to look at roof racks though. Those might also be a better choice for offroad lights for me out here since we're in the dunes a lot.

 

Alright, crazy couple of weeks. The Army got me moved out of my house in 2 days flat so I could avoid paying rent for April. I'm living out of a storage unit with my RX-7 and two motorcycles waiting on some forms to get signed so I can clear post and actually go on leave. As for what's been completed since I last posted:

-2" PA Body Lift
-CV Axles
-Lower Ball Joints
-Bumpstops
-4wd Vacuum Actuator (under battery)
-Replaced vaccum lines
-Surco Roof Rack- 45"x65"
-Gap Guards
-Lockright Front Diff

I didn't plan on doing a handful of the above until I tore it apart and realized how much needed to be done since the truck has a few years on it, even though it was garage-kept. I never solved the 4wd problem chasing after vacuum leaks so I took it into a local shop and they couldn't figure it out since it would engage the front axle, but not hold torque to the front wheels under load. I dropped it off at the "most favorable" GM dealer in town last Friday and they screwed with it all weekend and told me they had narrowed down the problem to the front axle and could have it done with $450 by Monday. Monday morning came and the service rep told me he had been mistaken on the problem and that it was in the transfer case and gave me rebuild/replace options between $1200 and $2000. I told him no and picked up the car yesterday when it was back together. Of course they tried to drop the $425 bill on me asking for labor costs of tearing it down to diagnose it. I pointed out that I had never authorized him to tear apart the transfer case and that the only thing over the $88 diagnosis fee I had authorized was the direct repair of the "certain" problem in the front axle that was causing it- a false diagnosis that he admitted Monday morning. It even stated in the invoice that he was not authorized to disassemble or reassemble the vehicle to fix any problems and 10 minutes later, he walked out of his manager's office, told the cashier to print what he had sent him and left without saying a word to me. $88 diagnosis fee only. Shameful incompetence for a GM dealership. I dropped it off at a transmission shop just down the street this morning to see how much they'll need to rebuild the transfer case and transmission- I'm getting ready to haul a bike trailer and full load of gear across country on leave so I don't need it going out on me since its been showing those slow shift and torque delay symptoms of old age. Hopefully the damage won't be too bad and they can get it done this week.

In the meantime, I called and bickered with Hunter on the lack of rigidity of their brush guard and the rep finally agreed to send me another one at cost which arrived at the house today. I'll have to make some modifications to the mounting brackets to allow it to fit the truck now that the body has been lifted. I have a set of 1000lb helper springs to aid in towing- I looked into air lift systems but they were all special order for my vehicle and I'm on a timeline where I could be getting my forms signed and clearing post to leave in a 2 day period. I'm considering light options for either the roof rack or brush guard, but I'm holding off since I have enough things to fix on it before it can really go offroad anyway. I did pick up a high output compressor and hooked up a 50' slinky hose with quick disconnect fittings to a tire inflator/gauge so I can air up/down on the fly.

I know all the progress is pointless without pics but I haven't had the truck enough recently during daylight hours to get some good shots of it. I'll have to get several good ones this weekend if the trans work all gets done so that you guys can see more on the body lift, roof rack, etc.

 

geez you sure have had some setbacks but you still seem to be going strong. Keep it up bro and post PICS every chance u get.

 

Alright, I'm finally signed out of Ft Bliss. I went to visit my sister for a week and came back to El Paso to pick everything up to head east for the rest of my leave. The 4wd never got fixed and after ordering the wrong part, the guy just couldn't find another solution in the time I allowed him so he put it back together for me and I picked it up today. I'll get some pics tomorrow but this is what's been installed on it in the meantime:

- K&N FIPK
- Surco Roof Basket
- Helwig 1000lb helper springs

I don't have the new brushguard put on yet because I simply didn't have possession of the truck long enough to take it to another shop. It would go on tonight but I need to drill new holes and trim the top of the brackets to adjust it up 2" for the body lift. I'll call ahead to shops near my parents to see if they can get a hold of a transfer case for it. Hopefully it'll do alright getting cross country.