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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8946
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
JEEP = Just Empty Every Pocket  |
Not really. These parts listed below are all maintenance replacements. My tires were shot, and $500 for a set of 5 was a steal. Between the new and
used parts, I did a great job of keeping this build under control. Keep in mind, my last front end rebuild (in 2009) cost me $900.
Tires = All 5 for $500 cash (Sold old set for $155) $345 after sale!
Body Lift = $65 cash (used parts)
1" Currie Motor Mount = $85
Rubicon Express Track Bar = $113
Rubicon Express Swaybar Links (rear) = $38
Rancho Steering Stabilizer = $58
Pro-Comp Control Arm Bushings = $98
Steering end links = $45
5.28 gal synthetic Pennzoil = $30
K&N Oil Filter = $11
Tijuana brake job = $120 *parts included FRONT/REAR
Tijuana front wheel spacers = $20 cash
[Edited on 3-20-2013 by Ken Cooke]
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64852
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Is this where I say anything about Toyota's 4WD Off Road TRD Tacoma? I have had three (each leased for 5 years) and I am purchasing my third one now.
Ken, I like Jeeps and used to own one, a Jeep Wagoneer is how we started going to Baja in the 60's... it was awesome. Kaiser-Jeep Corporation made
quality 4x4s... AMC and Chrysler have not been so good at this (nor has a lot of American brands, sadly).
My Toyota can go from the showroom to Mission Santa Maria, Borrego, Shell Island, most anywhere, and with no additional mods, maintenance, or repairs
(from factory work or product quality)...
When they need to be replaced because they are worn out or dirty: you just change the oil, tires, air filter, brake pads... No broken shock mounts, no
being in the shop before or after every Baja trip, just drive it to work one day and to Baja the next... Oh, what a feeling!
Sure, it is a truck and not made to go the same places as a Wrangler... even the FJ Cruiser is a bit big for some of your rock crawling, so I
understand that a Jeep may have been the only choice. It just seems that it needs far too much attention for the amount of traveling it does. I know
it isn't even your daily driver, so it is only used on trips.
I just wish for you and other Jeep owners that they were made as well as a Toyota, and that would be good for sales and the customers, too!
I know, the final answer is: "It's a Jeep Thing" and we just don't understand!  
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8946
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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So true...but, where's the fun in stock???
| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
My Toyota can go from the showroom to Mission Santa Maria, Borrego, Shell Island, most anywhere, and with no additional mods, maintenance, or repairs
(from factory work or product quality)... Oh, what a feeling! |
I think that Toyota manufactures a quality product, and that for many people, the Toyota pickup is a symbol of capability - in South America. The FJ
Cruiser that traveled the Pole Line Road most recently split its sway bar on the trail - a component failure which could have catastrophic
consequences on many Baja highways.
Your Tacoma experienced a pretty bad bend to the rear bumper - No fault of yours, just a rugged trail leaving a nice souvenir.  Neal Johns' Tacoma suffered a much worse trail failure which was spotlighted on
your Mission Impossible thread from 2010. Let's be fair - my drivetrain while turning 33" tires for the past decade has not failed on me. Sure, I
have snapped shock bar pins, blown out shock absorbers, destroyed OEM-level steering equipment repeatedly, flattened aftermarket Eagle Alloy wheels in
Baja, cut tires, etc.
If your Tacoma was modified to the level of my Rubicon, I am sure somewhere down the line, parts would begin the inevitable failures that plague most
modified vehicles. Which leads me back to my thread...
Kevin lining things up...
My Tijuana wheel spacers
Removing the Track Bar/Panhard Bar
Blown out MX-6 Monotube shock
Heavily modified
Opening up the frame mount to 5/8"
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MICK
Nomad
Posts: 499
Registered: 11-12-2003
Location: Rio Hardy
Member Is Offline
Mood: livin the good life on the river
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blah blah blah, Ken, I have owned jeeps, Toyota trds as well as other vehicles. I have towed or pulled just as many Toyota's as jeeps doing what we
do. I have seen thousands of dollars spent on Toyota's to go where we go. Comparing your Jeep to a stock Toyota is apples to oranges. Keep doing what
your doing and have fun after all that is a big part of it. By the way Jeep aftermarket parts are cheaper that Toyota aftermarket parts.
Mick
P.S. See you next week for some Baja fun
Getting there is ALL the fun!
Ok being here is fun to
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8946
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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OEM-level Track Bar (purchased in 2009) - I can feel the difference in a frontend that does not bind.
Heim Assembly
The Rubicon Express misalignment joints had some large gaps These will need
immediate attention after returning from Baja.
Quality machined misalignment joints w/o large gaps
Assembled!
Installed!
Ready for the alignment shop...TO BE CONTINUED
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8946
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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| Quote: | Originally posted by MICK
Mick
P.S. See you next week for some Baja fun |
I'm getting cabin fever. This Jeep needs some field time!
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64852
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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I know Ken, just some friendly debate... as always. Neal's diff blew up, for sure... I don't think it was stock? Do you know how heavy that pop up
camper of his is? Anyway, you know Neal likes to kid you about Jeeps, too... As I said, I love them... I just don't trust them! I do wish they made
the Gladiator concept pickup, that was sweet! The FC (Forward Control) Concept as well! Cool Jeep stuff we may never see in production...
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J.P.
Super Nomad
Posts: 1673
Registered: 7-8-2010
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
Mood: Easy Does It
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
I know Ken, just some friendly debate... as always. Neal's diff blew up, for sure... I don't think it was stock? Do you know how heavy that pop up
camper of his is? Anyway, you know Neal likes to kid you about Jeeps, too... As I said, I love them... I just don't trust them! I do wish they made
the Gladiator concept pickup, that was sweet! The FC (Forward Control) Concept as well! Cool Jeep stuff we may never see in production...
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Maybe not in U.S. but there's a Cool looking one on the lot in Ensenada
[Edited on 3-21-2013 by J.P.]
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durrelllrobert
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7393
Registered: 11-22-2007
Location: Punta Banda BC
Member Is Offline
Mood: thriving in Baja
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Cooke
| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
My Toyota can go from the showroom to Mission Santa Maria, Borrego, Shell Island, most anywhere, and with no additional mods, maintenance, or repairs
(from factory work or product quality)... Oh, what a feeling! |
I think that Toyota manufactures a quality product, and that for many people, the Toyota pickup is a symbol of capability - in South America. The FJ
Cruiser that traveled the Pole Line Road most recently split its sway bar on the trail - a component failure which could have catastrophic
consequences on many Baja highways.
Your Tacoma experienced a pretty bad bend to the rear bumper - No fault of yours, just a rugged trail leaving a nice souvenir. Neal Johns' Tacoma suffered a much worse trail failure which was spotlighted on
your Mission Impossible thread from 2010. Let's be fair - my drivetrain while turning 33" tires for the past decade has not failed on me. Sure, I
have snapped shock bar pins, blown out shock absorbers, destroyed OEM-level steering equipment repeatedly, flattened aftermarket Eagle Alloy wheels in
Baja, cut tires, etc.
If your Tacoma was modified to the level of my Rubicon, I am sure somewhere down the line, parts would begin the inevitable failures that plague most
modified vehicles. Which leads me back to my thread...
Kevin lining things up...
My Tijuana wheel spacers
Removing the Track Bar/Panhard Bar
Blown out MX-6 Monotube shock
Heavily modified
Opening up the frame mount to 5/8"
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I suppose that the orange stethoscope in the pictures is a must have for every Rubicon owner just to make sure that it still has heart?
[Edited on 3-22-2013 by durrelllrobert]
Bob Durrell
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64852
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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| Quote: | Originally posted by whistler | Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Cooke
If your Tacoma was modified to the level of my Rubicon, I am sure somewhere down the line, parts would begin the inevitable failures that plague most
modified vehicles. Which leads me back to my thread...
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Must of loss something in the translation.Normally you modify your vehicle to solve a known weakness or inherent problem.The more you modify your
vehicle(correctly)then your failures should lessen.Of course correct modifications would allow you to do push the vehicle beyond it's stock factory
design where I could see failures occuring. |
Ken Cooke and Glenn (whistler) are my friends and I want them and anyone else to understand my comments are not anything more than bar room banter...
Ken will always buy an American brand 4x4 I think, and I will never again... 
The Jeep brand is historic, and one of the best known car brands in the world... When you say 'Jeep', you know what it is (or was)! While Jeep (now
owned by Chrysler) makes or has made various models and 2WDs, the Wrangler 4WD and specially the Rubicon package is the "most Jeep" you can buy today
with ancestry back to World War II, when the Jeep was born!
My dad owned two Jeeps, and I owned one... Sadly, only the first Jeep was something to rave about, for us... Made by Kaiser-Jeep Corporation, in 1965.
It took us all over Baja and to the tip in '66.
The second Jeep was a 1970, and the first year to wear an AMC logo... It was too many problems for a new Jeep... and my dad quickly converted it to a
new Chevy 4WD Suburban... with an engine that was defective, but did make a few trips into Baja, including a run to the tip in 1972 (when pavement
began again in Santa Rosalia).
My Jeep (or our third family Jeep and last try at the product line) was a 1975.5 Cherokee Chief (Jeep J-10 truck axles and a 2 door wagon body,
Quadra-Trac full time 4WD)... really a '76 model, but available too early in the year to legally call it a '76. Almost everything failed short of the
motor (a 401 V-8) in the 2 years I had it.
Now, I have since the Jeep, owned 3 Subaru 4WD wagons, a Mitsubishi 2WD truck, a Mazda 2WD van, a Plymouth 2WD van and am on my third 4WD Toyota
Tacoma.
ONLY the American brand (Chrysler/Plymouth) was a piece of junk... going through three transmission rebuilds in the 3 years I had it.
So, when my friend Ken Cooke is always fixing, modifying, and garaging his Jeep before (and then after) any trip with dirt roads (it seems to me)... I
just am compelled to ask why??? It's a Jeep, after-all !
Have a grand time on the Pole Line Road amigo... and I wish I could go too (in a Jeep even)!!!
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durrelllrobert
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7393
Registered: 11-22-2007
Location: Punta Banda BC
Member Is Offline
Mood: thriving in Baja
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| Quote: | Originally posted by J.P.
| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
I know Ken, just some friendly debate... as always. Neal's diff blew up, for sure... I don't think it was stock? Do you know how heavy that pop up
camper of his is? Anyway, you know Neal likes to kid you about Jeeps, too... As I said, I love them... I just don't trust them! I do wish they made
the Gladiator concept pickup, that was sweet! The FC (Forward Control) Concept as well! Cool Jeep stuff we may never see in production...
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Back in the '60s I had a 1956 model that I put a 283 Chevy in and added overdrive for the highway. Used it for deer hunting in the eastern Sieras for
8 years and the visibility was great on the goat trails.
Maybe not in U.S. but there's a Cool looking one on the lot in Ensenada
[Edited on 3-21-2013 by J.P.] |
Bob Durrell
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8946
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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Meanwhile...in the garage
| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
| Quote: | Originally posted by whistler | Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Cooke
If your Tacoma was modified to the level of my Rubicon, I am sure somewhere down the line, parts would begin the inevitable failures that plague most
modified vehicles. Which leads me back to my thread...
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Must of loss something in the translation.Normally you modify your vehicle to solve a known weakness or inherent problem.The more you modify your
vehicle(correctly)then your failures should lessen.Of course correct modifications would allow you to do push the vehicle beyond it's stock factory
design where I could see failures occuring. |
So, when my friend Ken Cooke is always fixing, modifying, and garaging his Jeep before (and then after) any trip with dirt roads (it seems to me)... I
just am compelled to ask why??? It's a Jeep, after-all !
Have a grand time on the Pole Line Road amigo... and I wish I could go too (in a Jeep even)!!! |
The Pole Line Road awaits!! Currently, my Jeep is resting inside of its' garage space...waiting for a much-needed alignment.
WHY??Is my Jeep garaged?? Due to the amount of work done to my Jeep, it will need its Caster adjusted at the alignment shop (free lifetime
alignments). If the alignment cannot yield the results necessary for a trouble-free drive w/o the 'wobbles', I will need to look into a set of upper
and lower front control arms to get the results I'm after.
Currie Control Arms for Jeep TJ
Rokmen Control Arms for Jeep TJ
The ideas keep coming...
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8946
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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The Rubicon Express Track Bar cost me $104 - After the alignment, with the caster set as close to '0' as possible, I'll know later today what
direction to take with the control arms. Maybe, I'll pull the wheel spacers. We'll see when I take the Jeep on its test run.
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acadist
Super Nomad
Posts: 1125
Registered: 3-31-2007
Location: Spanaway,WA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Waiting for the Sun
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I rolled my Jeep after 3 months, the boss decreed I could not have another. So I bought a Bronco II last week. Lets see how long this one stays on
it's wheels.
Dave
I moved to CO and they made me buy a little rod to make it feel like a real fish
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8946
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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| Quote: | Originally posted by acadist
I rolled my Jeep after 3 months, the boss decreed I could not have another. |
But, you just bought that Jeep! 
Be careful out there.
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russchung
Newbie
Posts: 19
Registered: 7-13-2012
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Cooke
The Rubicon Express Track Bar cost me $104 - After the alignment, with the caster set as close to '0' as possible, I'll know later today what
direction to take with the control arms. Maybe, I'll pull the wheel spacers. We'll see when I take the Jeep on its test run.
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Ken,
The front end specifications for our Jeeps call for the caster to be set to +7º plus or minus 1º. However, the pinion angle has priority over the
caster, otherwise the drive line vibrations will be so high that you won't ever go fast enough to worry about death wobble.
Depending upon the amount of your lift, your caster will probably end up less than +7º. I have a 3" lift, and my caster is between 5º and 6º so my
steering is pretty sensitive. I considered getting offset ball joints so that I could have both the correct pinion angle and correct caster, but my
alignment guy said it was not a good idea because the offset ball joints are weaker than the standard ball joints (he knows how much I go off road).
I have Currie Heavy Duty steering and a heavy duty steering damper. I have been able to avoid death wobble by keeping my tires in balance.
Russ
If you don\'t like the way I drive, stay off the sidewalk!
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8946
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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| Quote: | Originally posted by russchung
| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Cooke
The Rubicon Express Track Bar cost me $104 - After the alignment, with the caster set as close to '0' as possible, I'll know later today what
direction to take with the control arms. Maybe, I'll pull the wheel spacers. We'll see when I take the Jeep on its test run.
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Ken,
The front end specifications for our Jeeps call for the caster to be set to +7º plus or minus 1º. However, the pinion angle has priority over the
caster, otherwise the drive line vibrations will be so high that you won't ever go fast enough to worry about death wobble.
Depending upon the amount of your lift, your caster will probably end up less than +7º. I have a 3" lift, and my caster is between 5º and 6º so my
steering is pretty sensitive.
Russ |
Russ,
Typically, my caster gets set to roughly 3.5º - I will keep this in mind as I go in for my alignment job today. Thanks! 
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64852
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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When are you leaving for the Pole Line Road Ken?
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8946
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
When are you leaving for the Pole Line Road Ken? |
In a couple of days.
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64852
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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Sweet... have fun!
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