It looks like you've done about everything there is as far as offroad mods. What's next?

 

I'd like to get sliders on it soon. I'd like to get the spare wheel mounted vertically in the bed, and I've also got a clunk/pop in the front passenger wheel I need to diagnose.

Later on, maybe long tube headers, and an intake/battery swap.

 

x2 on the sliders and tire mount. I am torn between doing a bumper/tirecarrier build or just making a vertical mount for it in the rear. I love the look of your runner by the way.

 

x2 on rear bumper tire carrier!!

 

Thanks!

I've got a few reasons I went away from the bumper tire carrier... though I do love them and still kind of want one.
- Weight
- Rear overhang - Bulk
- Eventual rattle
- Cost
- Rear visibility

This is the approach I plan on taking... I just need to find some scrap steel tube.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f88/...nd-gen-202242/

 

Happy winchin'

Hope you find what you are looking for with the tire carrier! I personally have never been a fan of having it inside but I think it's better than having it on top or underneath.

Also, the the remote that you wired into the cab is removable, correct? My friends would be all over playing with it haha.

 

Oh yeah, for sure. That's the plug that comes on the control box. The wired remote plugs in to a twist-to-lock port with a rubber cover to keep it clean when not in use.

 

Looks like I have a bit of work ahead of me...

I hit the creek bed yesterday evening, and now my engine is crooked in the engine bay. My shifter has moved to the right in the cab.

I haven't had a lot of time to look yet, but I'm guessing an engine mount has broke. I can see the transfer case mount (rubber Y-shaped part) and the left side of the Y is almost completely tore apart.

So I figure I'm looking at poly engine mounts and a new transfer case mount... I'm wondering if this would be a good time to get a Budbuilt slim cross member. They're so expensive, but I always hang up on the stock cross member. But then I'd be wanting to tuck the gas tank somehow, since that would be the new low hanging element. It never ends, does it?


Oh yeah, I've also got that issue where my idle is surging when holding the brake down. I know it's a common issue so I'm not too worried. Just more stuff to fix.

 

Hey buddy, the surging idle with the brake depressed is 99% just simply fuel cut. Whenever you put on the brake and the RPM is over a thousand, fuel cut should engage and it will seem like an up and down every couple of seconds type thing. Boy did that trip me out the first time that happened! Hahahahaha ....

It is basically a break in injector operation.

Budbuilt eh? Wallet pain, yes, it's real! Lol. .. What is the cost of that thing by the way ?

 

The BudBuilt is $200 raw, $250 powder coated.

http://www.budbuilt.com/index.php?pa...art&Itemid=170

I'll probably stick with stock, but mine is getting pretty beat up.


I'm thinking of this motor/tcase mount kit from 4xInnovations.

http://4xinnovations.com/p-DLK1.html

Since ALL of my mounts have nearly completely failed. What's that? You want to see pics? Here you go everyone.










Also... I got those stronger steering stop bolt caps a little while ago. I didn't clean up the surface of the stop that they rub against, and now they've already been chewed up. Live and learn... Not a cheap lesson, but oh well.

 

I keep a lil tube of red grease in the glove and grease the stop pads and stops everytime I fill up/or every day when wheeling.. it really stops the POP! Lol. ....

Thanks for the link and input bud!

 

I found this thread on some Energy Suspension GM transmission mounts that bolt up to the 22RE. Thanks to corax for the writeup!

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f123...mounts-232595/
Amazon


Looks like a good compromise between the strength of solid mounts and the vibration isolation of stock rubber mounts.

I also got the 4xInnovations transfer case mount, since it has Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings in it as well, and was only a few dollars more than a third party OEM-style mount.

http://4xinnovations.com/p-TCC1322.html

 

Corax rocks, doesn't he? What an information treasure trove that dude is! He was absolutely invaluable, pertaining to my v6 brake upgrade.

I like that you're looking into this, it's one of those things that you do every quarter million miles or so... I think you're wise to do it right the first time. Might want to also look at Marlin crawler for this?

 

He sure does.

Thanks. The research and shopping feels like half the fun sometimes.

I checked Marlin Crawler early on. They sell the 4xInnovations transfer case mount at a $10 mark up. I couldn't find any motor mounts for the 22RE.

 

The reason I hit the creek bed was to show some out-of-town friends what wheelin is all about... why I'm in to this truck so much. In their words, they "get it now."

Alina took this of me back on my favorite posing rock.



Then, I got a little ambitious on purpose, took a bad line up a tall ledge, and got hung up on my fuel tank. Thing is always getting in the way! Just means I got to use my new winch! Worked like a dream. I wanted to use it for the first time in a more controlled environment before needing it on something sketchy out at Hidden Falls, so this was good.


Oops. | Flickr - Photo Sharing! by Ocell, on Flickr

 

(Responding here instead of the IFS Flex thread)

How is the paint on the rear bumper holding up? I am yet to see a bumper rust as bad as mine did, I don't even think i've seen a non-painted bumper that bad Hope yours is doing well! I am not very caught up on your thread, other than your crooked motor Hope you get that squared away with ease!

 

Thanks for following up!

I've left quite a bit of my rear bumper paint behind on rocks. There's surface rust on the exposed metal, but nothing that looks too bad. I need to sand it down and hit it with some fresh paint before it becomes a problem, though.

I'm not sure what to say about your rust issue. I guess I've been lucky so far.

 

yea I think my problem was just letting out get out of hand. I've been scrubbing it down and they are some spots that are not coming off so i'm just going to do my best and hope some fresh primer/paint will prevent the spread again. Learn from my mistakes! haha

 

I made quite a bit of progress this weekend.

Saturday I swapped out the driver's side engine mount. It had completely detached. It made getting it out a lot easier, since the bottom half slid out without needing the jack the engine up enough to get the stud to clear out of the top.

I ended up removing the top of the air box, and pivoted the alternator forward to get clearance to the bolts. The Energy Suspension transmission mounts really are a direct fit. Awesome!





That took me all afternoon, honestly... it was a tight spot. I was dreading the passenger side because it looked even tighter. Sunday morning I got to work. Thankfully it went much quicker. Probably because there was less head scratching involved. I removed the intake canister for clearance. I went in from the wheel well as if I was changing the oil filter. The passenger side mount hadn't completely failed, but it was pretty deformed. I got the new mount in with no drama.


I hit the 4xInnovations transfer case mount with some paint.





Then dropped the cross member while supporting the transmission with a jack stand. The cross member has been taking quite a beating. I cleaned it up and hit it with primer and a coat of gloss black paint (no photos of that here).



But now, I can't get the cross member to bolt back up. I'm guessing all that denting deformed the member. Today I'm going to try elongating the holes to be slightly slotted until I can get all the bolts back in.

While I had the paint out I went ahead and hit the rear bumper. Most of the underside was raw (rusting) steel after a few Hiddden Falls trips.

 

I filed the holes a bit, then used a sledge hammer to get one last stubborn bolt-up point to comply. Everything's back together! The engine vibration is really carrying through the truck now (I don't mind it). I'm glad I went with polyurethane mounts, though. I think direct mounts would have been too strong for a daily driver for sure.



And luck would have it, one of my wheelin buddies texted me that him and his friends are hitting up Hidden Falls this weekend, so I get to go test out the new gear!