Off Road: News, Information and Reviews
Shop 4Wheel Drive Hardware For All Your Jeep Needs
Tue, 13 May 2008 13:07:10 MST
New On The Lock Block Bead Locks Have Always been the answer for keeping tires on the rim while off-roading at low tire pressure. While conventional bead locks clamp the outer bead to the wheel with a bolt-on external ring, pneumatic versions seal both beads at the same time simply using air pressure from the inside. This saves weight for those racing and also makes it quite a bit easier to change a tire. These pneumatic bead locks can also be easily switched from wheel to wheel. Shawn Lichty of Inner Air Lock in Traverse City, Michigan, has come up with a new version of the pneumatic bead lock that is doing quite well on the trails in the Northeast. Through testing different compounds, thread, and inner tubes, Inner Air Lock came up with...
Thu, 01 May 2008 23:05:00 -0700
Trail Recovery Equipment & Emergency Survival Kit - Mcnulty's Misadventures My Friends Call It McNulty Luck, when something can't possibly go wrong but usually does. This blows "luck of the Irish" theory right out the window. Whether these mishaps are automotive related or just things that go wrong in daily life, I always have to prepare for the worst. What the heck am I talking about? Here's a little example: The other day I was cruising the trails behind my house in the new company Jeep and was checking out the year's first snowfall. This was just going to be a quick run for a few photos. The next thing I know the Jeep slid off a very easy section of trail and hit a dirt embankment. Luckily there wasn't...
Thu, 01 May 2008 23:05:00 -0700
Toyota Coilover Conversion Toyota produced its last solid-axle mini-truck more than 20 years ago. Since that time, shops and individuals have been retrofitting solid front axles under IFS trucks and 4Runners for greater articulation and durability on the trail. For years, few leaf spring and crossover steering conversions have varied from the standard formula. With all the advancements in four-wheeling technology, from three-speed transfer cases to rockcrawling-specific tires, it only makes sense that the solid-axle swap would evolve as well. Off Road Solutions (ORS) has raised the bar with its coilover solid-axle swap (CSAS) kit. The folks at ORS have dialed in the spring rates, shock valving, and suspension geometry to take the guesswork...
Thu, 01 May 2008 22:05:00 -0700
Custom Axle Buyers Guide - Buy It Built If You're In The Market For A Complete Axle Upgrade but don't feel like rummaging through junkyards or the classifieds, then take a look at some of the industry's leaders in aftermarket axles. From the toyota 8-inch to 5-ton rockwells, you're bound to find one of these companies itching to build you your dream axle. Many of them use advanced techniques and machinery to create hybrid axles to fit any wheeler's budget or build plans. Want a stronger axle, but feel the need to keep things a little more on the stock side? no problem. Many of the aftermarket builders design the axles to allow you to maintain factory ABs, stability control, and suspension points so you can keep things...
Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:04:00 -0700
Small Wonders - Unit Bearings Do you remember a time when wheeling meant jumping out of your 4x4 onto the dirt and manually locking in your front selectable hubs? A time when mud dripping off your wheels equaled a few hours in the garage keeping your front wheel bearings greased and running smoothly? Nowadays with the push of a button or an easy pull of a lever, wheelers can spend all day in the dirt without ever feeling the rich ground beneath their feet since selectable hubs are severely out of fashion with the advent of the unit bearing. So what's the difference between these late-model 4xs and their nonselectable hubs and unit bearings for the front wheels instead of traditional bearings? The unit bearing has been around a long...
Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:04:00 -0700
Tube Doors In A Box We've seen more and more of you guys rollingaround with tube doors on your Jeeps, and some of the designs you've come up with have been amazing. But not everyone has a tube bender and welder to give a set of tube doors a try. That's all right, because you can buy tube doors in a box and bolt them on in a matter of minutes. And the best part of tube doors in a box like these from OR-Fab is that they slip right onto your factory hinges and you're ready to go wheelin' in an hour. The increased visibility and the deleted chance of wrecking your factory doors is reason enough for us to run them. They're available for the CJ, TJ, and YJ Jeep models. Photo Gallery: Jeep CJ, TJ, YJ Tube Doors - 4Wheel...
Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:04:00 -0700
Cheap Rubi Axles Given The State Of Our Economy, Most Of Us have been reduced to bargain shoppers, cutting our frivolous disposable-income spending to a minimum. these days its all about scrimping and saving just to afford a tank of gas. We feel the pain just like you, so when a really cool bargain comes along, we have to tell you about it. Mopar surprised us by selling its newest Dana 44 front or rear Wrangler Jk axle assembly, complete with lockers, at a wrecking-yard price of just over $1,400 and some change. If you haven't already heard about this deal, then here's what you get for the price; a complete axle assembly with factory electric lockers, 4.10 gears, disc brakes with vented rotors, and ABs...and the front axle is...
Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:04:00 -0700
50-State Freedom We used to be carburetor junkies. When fuel injection started showing up on our fullsize trucks, we were in a hissy-fit about a fuel delivery system that couldn't be readily modified. Then we finally pulled our heads out of the sand and realized that fuel injection was the off-road god's gift to wheelers. Electronic fuel injection increased our fuel economy, improved the throttle response and driveability of our trucks, made hard cold starts a thing of the past, and best of all let us drive our trucks to almost any angle without starving the engine of fuel. By the late 1990's, EFI was becoming easily modifiable, and complete aftermarket fuel-injection kits were showing up, so any gripes we previously had were...
Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:04:00 -0700
The Ultimate Mini Truck Axle Building A Custom Axle isn't all about saving time and money, but about creating the perfect axle for your needs and building something that will last more than a week or a year-one that will last a lifetime. Aftermarket axles are the way of the future. Taking 30-year-old technology and combining it with modern day components gives you 1-ton brute strength that allows you to beat mercilessly on your rig. and although buying a custom axle is an intimidating and oftentimes expensive decision to make, it may be the last axle you ever need to buy. So why build a custom axle instead of a junkyard jewel? as our appetite for more powerful and bulletproof drivetrains increases, so rises the demand for highpinion...
Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:04:00 -0700
Rust Prevention If You've Ever Battled A Rusty Bolt Or Peeled Back the carpet on your rig only to find a hole big enough to throw a cat through, then you know how bad rust is. With nothing more than a little iron, oxygen, and water, this silent mixture will invade every surface of your rig to leave it looking like a giant chunk of cottage cheese. Depending on how close to the coast you live and the terrain you wheel in, the effects of rust on your rig can vary, but rest assured that the effects can destroy your rig. The key to keeping rust off your rig can be as simple as keeping your rig clean and the bare metal surfaces painted, and routinely inspecting well known trouble spots such as fenders, floorboards, truck beds, and door...
Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:04:00 -0700
Master Cylinder Rebuild One of the most basic rebuilds on a 4x4 is a brake master cylinder. They often wear out but are simple to fix. Sure, rebuilt units can be had cheap on common vehicles, but not always for the specialized stuff we drive in the dirt. If we were young and hip (-hop), a master-cylinder rebuild story would be peppered with references to "sucka MCs" and "bumpin'" hydraulics. Too bad some of us are too old to care about "street cred." Instead, it's all about credibility off the street. Although you can go far without a functioning master cylinder, our goal here is to help you stop short of going too far. Master-cylinder failure usually shows symptoms other than the vehicle not stopping...
Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:04:00 -0700
Chevy Truck Interior Upgrades Ever take on a project that is a great idea but a headache beyond imagination once you are in the midst of it? That happened to me recently when I decided to try my hand at transforming the interior of my Red Sled project '91 Chevy extra cab. When I got this truck it had been sitting outside with a busted window for over a year so the interior was far from perfect. I don't usually mind driving a ratty old truck, so I lived with it for a few years. But then one day I rode in a friend's '95 Chevy, and really liked his modern, curvaceous, clean interior. He had the same body-style truck, but the interior was entirely more modern, so I wondered how hard it would be to update the Sled from the dated...
Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:04:00 -0700
How To Paint Your 4x4 If There's One Project Not Many Enthusiasts tackle, it's painting their vehicles. Most do-it-yourselfers think it's complicated and messy, and if they screw up, their work is final. While it's true that painting can be tedious and frustrating, if you follow a few simple steps and basic rules you could possibly crank out a basic paint job your friends will envy. A garage paint job will turn out as well as the amount of effort you put into it. We're not talking about a showstopping paint job here (which of course you can achieve with some work); we're talking about a good, quality paint job you can do yourself, even if you have never painted a 4x4 before. think of it this way: you paid a nominal...
Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:04:00 -0700
April 2008 Nuts & Bolts Confused? E-mail your questions about trucks, 4x4s, and off-roading tech using "Nuts, i'm confused" as the subject and include a picture (if it's applicable). Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JpEG file. Also, I'll be checking the forums on our Web site (www.4wheeloffroad.com), and if i see a question that i think more of you might want to have answered, i'll print that as well. Otherwise drop it old-school style with the envelope addressed to the address below. Letters published in this magazine reflect the opinions of the writers, and we reserve the right to edit letters for clarity,...
Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:04:00 -0700
Backyard Buildup Being frugal is not just our nature, it's a way of life. So it's no surprise when we needed a rear axle for a full-width mini-truck project that we hit the junkyards in search of the legendary Ford 9-inch. A staple in the off-road world since its first appearance in the 1950s, the 9-inch has enabled rockcrawlers and racers alike to benefit from Dana 60-like strength, but avoid the weight drawbacks of heavier rear axles. Not only are they relatively easy to find, but undoubtedly one of the most heavily supported axles by the aftermarket industry. So what makes the 9-inch the perfect axle for the backyard builder? Engineered with a removable centersection (erroneously referred to as a third member at times), you can...
Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:03:00 -0700
Carburetor Maintenance & Repair Basics Now That We're Paying more than $3 for a gallon of gas with no relief is in sight, it's important that we pay attention to the proper maintenance, care, and tuning of all our vehicles, even our toys. Listening to the experts speculate about the steady rise in demand for fuel makes just about all of us middle-class folks cringe, especially when they keep telling us these soaring prices are going to keep climbing. In this day and age of simpler fuel-injection conversions, believe it or not, carburetors can be the right application and fuel-delivery system for your off-highway performance needs. This is especially true if you are on a budget and can't afford that super-expensive, wazoo efi...
Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:03:00 -0700