The cost of playing hard...

[Paradiddle]

Most of you know me and/or wheel with me. I run 35?s on a TJ that was built for playing in Johnson Valley. It is not overbuilt, and not bullet proof by any means, but it does well.

However, I?ve just ponied up to the bar and laid my chips down when it comes to running big tires out there and it hurts. This is in addition to the roughly $10K I probably have in my TJ already (not including the cost of the TJ).

People who claim you can run 35?s without considering the costs, or by doing it on the cheap are delusional or stupid IF you are running trails that warrant 35? tires.

The equipment gap and lifespan of said equipment when considering tire size cannot be overstated. If you can run 31? tires on the trails you like to run you are THOUSANDS of dollars ahead of running 35? tires. I would much rather drag my belly up over the trail on 31? tires then put a $500 steering box into my Jeep if I could.

I had to replace my steering box last week with a Lee unit ? I just wore out the stock unit in about 10 trips out there ? it was leaking and not working worth a damn - $500ish
I just purchased a Howe pump/reservoir - $500ish
I just purchased Hydroboost from Vanco - $700ish

That is roughly $1700 with all taxes and shipping costs and none of these mods are visable from the outside!!! NO BLING!!!! This is a huge upgrade in steering capability and durability, and I?m sure the hydroboost will make my brakes better then they are, which isn?t hard as they are absolutely crappy right now, but this doesn?t include the money I have in the WJ conversion that I haven?t installed yet?

I guess sometimes I wish I had never run Johnson Valley and got addicted to how much fun that place is ? then I coulda been happy with 31?
tires?

PS - none of these costs are a surprise to me - I know they've been looming - but it stil hurts when they hit.

Jeff

[Robert J. Yates]

Sniveler

[Paradiddle]

Originally posted by Robert J. Yates
Sniveler

I am enraged!!!!

If I where truly sniveling I would have complained about the $189 exhaust manifold I also bought today!!!

[Robert J. Yates]

Originally posted by Paradiddle
If I where truly sniveling I would have complained about the $189 exhaust manifold I also bought today!!!

Actually, that would have enraged me. Mods like hydroboosters and whatnot are good money to spend. Money to fix stupid broken crap that doesn't do anything more than it did before, well lets just say I've had more than my share of messing with that sh!t

[Robert J. Yates]

Hey by the way - how many trips into the "Honey Do" jar is all that going to cost you.........bahahahahahaha

[Paradiddle]

Originally posted by Robert J. Yates
Hey by the way - how many trips into the "Honey Do" jar is all that going to cost you.........bahahahahahaha

I've lost count...

[TObject]

No worries Jeff,

You just need to start making more money.

[Joe Dillard]

Dang.....you guys are ruthless!!

Robert, sometimes it's okay to be single huh?

But on the other hand, you guys who are doing well with married life are doing a fine job!! Around here, there are quite a few awesome married couples!

So Jeff.....when's the install party?? If I'm available - I'll be glad to help screw things up.

[Robert J. Yates]

Originally posted by Paradiddle
I've lost count...

Now there be something worth sniveling about Cheer up, soon you will have some bitchin steering on your rig

[blkTJ]

Originally posted by Joe Dillard

So Jeff.....when's the install party??

If your getting one together, let me know... I recieved my fancy steering stuff from the ups man yesterday and I've still got front shocks to mount.


<edit> oh yeah, almost forgot... the price to play almost grew dramatically fo me today. Mr. Duncan test drove my Jeep to diagnose a "knocking" in my driveline. He swore he thought it was a broken ring & pinyon. Luckily he was wrong. Bad centering ball in cv. (sigh of relief) </edit>

[TObject]

I keep hearing horror stores about that store year after year. I've never been there myself, but, if it is so bad, why you guys keep going there???

[JeepKat]

Originally posted by TObject
I keep hearing horror stores about that store year after year. I've never been there myself, but, if it is so bad, why you guys keep going there???

What store would that be?

[TObject]

Originally posted by JeepKat
What store would that be?

Come to think of it, since I've never been there, I don't really know what store it is.

And for some reason I can't remember the name, and also can't find it mentioned on the board.

It's the store that made Robert unhappy a while back, and it's the store that was working on Shalom's brakes. Isn't that the same store Brian just referred to? If not, I apologize.

[TObject]

4 x Doctor

[blkTJ]

They repaired my pinyon seal perfectly.

I never meant to imply that I was unhappy with my experience. Just happy that my ring and pimyon were indeed fine.

[NAILER341]

Originally posted by blkTJ
If your getting one together, let me know... I recieved my fancy steering stuff from the ups man yesterday and I've still got front shocks to mount.


<edit> oh yeah, almost forgot... the price to play almost grew dramatically fo me today. Mr. Duncan test drove my Jeep to diagnose a "knocking" in my driveline. He swore he thought it was a broken ring & pinyon. Luckily he was wrong. Bad centering ball in cv. (sigh of relief) </edit>

that is exactly what i thought it was. it is an easy fix.
i'm glad it worked out for you on that one, brian

[Robert J. Yates]

sergey,
mike duncan is a stand up guy. every one of us makes mistakes - its in how we deal with them that counts. mike took care of me - I have no beef or complaint with him.

[TObject]

I guess I am not just crazy - I am also insane. My apologies to Mike Duncan.

[Jeff Weston]

Originally posted by TObject
4 x Doctor

Sergey, I echo Robert's thoughts on Mike. He has always taken very good care of me, my dad and my brother and we've never had to guard our wallets in his shop.

I'd be willing to help/watch/kibitz on the steering install since I'll likely be changing mine before years end (leaky and sloppy).

[edit] Sergey, I typed to slow before your response. I wasn't harshing on you as I'm sure that somebody you know probably had a problem with an install. I just thought if fair to express the fact that he is a stand up guy and has always stepped up when one of his employees made a mistake. Oh yeah, you are crazy from too much potted meat and radiation from those heater meals.

[TObject]

I guess I made a fool out of myself. Didn't I?

Good to hear you all love 4xDoctor. Kudos to them.

[Jeff Weston]

Originally posted by Paradiddle
If you can run 31? tires on the trails you like to run you are THOUSANDS of dollars ahead of running 35? tires. I

You aren't kidding! My brother's TJ is on 31's, ARB's F&R, auto tranny and belly up skid and he has been on everything (including the Little Sluice) except the Hammers. I offered him a Warn hub conversion that I picked up along with my spare inners and CTM's figuring that it would give him a good head start towards 35's. After adding up the parts and labor needed (he has a D35), I figured it'd take about $6K to get him there right. For now, at least, he's sticking to Rubicon and lower and is building a new deck and addition to his house.

If it makes you feel better Jeff, he's had to replace his steering box and pump also.

[blkTJ]

It should be interesting to see how these steering components compare performance wise on similar rigs.

(read: I hope mine don't suck.)

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by blkTJ
It should be interesting to see how these steering components compare performance wise on similar rigs.

(read: I hope mine don't suck.)

You guys all suck. Now there are at least 3 options to choose from that work, probably equally well and it's only taken 5 years for them to all be available.

Try having the same issues 5 years ago and solving the problem.

No one made brake kits, AGR's crap sucked, no modified steering gears that worked well.

Now if I want an upgraded pump there are how many? What 5 different options?

[Robert J. Yates]

I must have the Optima YellowTop of steering boxes. I'm still running my OEM stocker with 76k on it and nary a leak. But then I only webwheel so it never really gets used

[mnjeeper]

I learned this one the hard way. I did try to get by cheap on 35s. That lasted all of a month before I knew I would be spending a boatload. Last spring was very expensive.

Only thing I have left to do would be my brakes....(well, there are others, but nothing pressing yet).

[Chris L]

So do you have to do the hydroboost at the same time, or can you do the steering seperately and the hydro later?

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by Chris L
So do you have to do the hydroboost at the same time, or can you do the steering seperately and the hydro later?

You can start with the steering gear. Then you can add the pump and reservoir. Then you can add the booster.

[Chris L]

Do you know what part number I need for the steering box and who should I talk to at Howe?

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by Chris L
Do you know what part number I need for the steering box and who should I talk to at Howe?

For what part?

[Chris L]

The steering box? Is that where I should start?