joonbug's build

And I mean.. by next week!

 

@joonbug be like on BF deals..then more

 

He is busy waiting for @TRD15559 to send him ALL the best deals!

 

Some motivation for you, Joon!

 

WTH, fellas! I'm all ready to commit to STT Pro's and then this new info. I already know I love technical best of all, but it seems we have more local high speed than technical so, if the high speed eats up STT Pro's, please someone warn me. I know @papasmurf runs KO2's but @osidepunker *and most of my beloved BASTRD's* moved to STT Pro's. Whatcha think guys?

I'm eager to
and get suspension and tires ON!!

 

Alex loves his STT Pro's. I only have toyo RTs because I got a great deal on them from a friend. My next set will probably be KO2s again but 37s

 

STT Pro all the way. I kept destroying BFG sidewalls and they chunk way too much

the coopers are super light and very strong. I've been running them for a year and zero failures

 

Our terrain up north is really punishing on tires. I think I beat mine up really bad and this trip’s higher speed just finished them off. Still think they’re the best tires performance wise. Just get the insurance and don’t worry about it. I never get insurance on anything other than auto and home, but I will on my next set of tires.

 

Alright, indecision averted; I'll stick with the STT Pros. But still planning to be @papasmurf's willing protegé with suspension. Thanks, fellas!

 

Good call on both accounts. I wore out my STT's and never experienced a failure. In fact, Joon took one of my old ones home with him on the front left. What you REALLY wanna learn from @papasmurf is how to make fajitas! Hangin' out with the great SGU guys I learned that we Bastrds are gonna need to expand our trail menu.

 

I have destroyed two SST Pro cause I hit a huge boulder at night going slow and another hit a washout at speed in the dark. But on my second set and don't feel the sidewall are weak. They have been good to me.

 

Man, I'm ready! Already thinking ahead, planning seared scallops with honey and/ or tuna kebabs. I can hardly wait to tag along on an SGU trip, and don't want to fall behind on trail or meal offerings....

 

Looking into my I foresee better alignment numbers in your future.

 

What are you doing on here? Get to work.

 

See any lottery numbers?

 

I got excited for 5 minutes and now I’m back in bed watching tv.

 

I see lots of lottery numbers...



Just not winning numbers.

 

2-19
Total Chaos Cam Tab Gussets

Last trip to Death Valley I flattened a couple cam tabs and bent the LCA mounts. If you want to go fast, these cam tab gussets are a requirement. Been putting this off for a few weeks so I finally got out the welder and did it this weekend.

Anyone thinking about doing this yourself, here’s what you’re in for.

First, you have to weld the tabs together. Start by welding the backside of the bars to the plate. Wasn’t expecting this, thought they would’ve come already put together.


Welds don’t need to be pretty since you’re going to sand them flat. Good thing because I haven’t welded in over 10 years and I was a little rusty.



Then you have to weld the sides of the bars in front. My welding was slowly coming back to me but still not the prettiest.


Then get the LCA off and remove the skid plates. All it takes is removing the 2 bolts on the LBJ cradle, the 2 alignment bolts, and the lower shock mount. Be sure to mark your cams. Mark a line to get it back to where it was when you’re done, and label fronts and rears.


Now comes the sucky part. Removing the old tabs. This royally sucked.


I drilled out the spot welds and tried prying them off with chisels and crowbars as it said to on the instructions. After about an hour I gave up on that and just started grinding them off. I used a 36 grit flap wheel on my 4.5” grinder and grinded them really thin. Once they were thin enough, I just bent them up and cut them off. Then sanded the spot welds off. This seemed to work a lot better, as I was bending the mounts trying to pry them off. Took about 20 minutes each once I got it down.


Next I had to address the bent mounts. That bend at the bottom doesn’t belong there. I’m hoping my new LCA skids will prevent this in the future.


Just used a vise grip plier and had to pull with all my weight for about 15 minutes until I got it straight. Hammering it wouldn’t even make a dent.


After getting off all 4 stock tabs and straightening the mounts, time to weld on the new tabs. Don’t forget to disconnect the battery before welding on your truck.

I just lined up the opening on the new tabs and the mounts and tacked them in place. The holes are exactly the same size so it’s easy to line up. Once I got them tacked, I put the bolts back in to make sure the cams fit and can rotate in the tabs.

Next, finish welding them onto the truck. Would’ve been pretty easy on a lift, but on the ground this was pretty difficult. There’s always something in the way. The jack stands, the axle, the coilover and it’s pretty difficult to get into any tight space with the welding helmet on. Couldn’t lay down the prettiest welds because most of them I was either laying on my back, welding left handed, or had my arms fully extended. All things considered, I was happy with the results.


Next... primer, paint and re-install everything and you’re done.


Until next week... gotta do it all over again on the other side. Uggghhh.

 

Good job buddy!

 

Nice work Joon. I feel your pain......literally. I've got one more side to do to, tomorrow or Wednesday. I started up the truck and luckily no X-mas tree lights 'cause I started to weld then remembered to disconnect the battery. DOH!!!

 

I actually had the gun in my hand and was about 5 seconds away from pulling the trigger when I remembered.

 

Those are a lot of work to install such a small part. I welded a nice bead behind the stock ones before mine got bent. Was a whole lot easier than removing them just to add new ones. But if they are already bent you are kinda screwed. Nice job !!

 

If I were to do it over again, I would just weld on a little bar behind the stock tabs to reinforce them before they got bent. It seriously is too much work, I now understand why people charge like $900 to install them.

 

so where would you weld it?? just curious because if I can prevent from havin to do this.. im going to.

 

Just weld it behind the vertical tabs.

 

roger that! thanks sir

 

I think I would just weld on a metal bar, about the size of the TC bars, right up against the stock tabs. Before I bent my stock tabs, I was considering doing this. This would literally take an hour or two. I’m fairly convinced this would hold.

 

where do they usually break? ive read a little about it but never actually saw a broken one.. or do they just wear out around the slots?