Carnage!

After a few years of wheeling the Jeep I found some weak spots and a few things that needed improving. Here are a few of the 'destructive tests' I unintentionally did while out on the trails.

Traction Bar Bracket

On the way out of a canyon trail I was attempting to climb a dry waterfall. My spotter informed me I was having severe spring wrap issues in the rear. Once I got home I discovered that my 1/4" steel axle bracket had sheared in 2 pieces and had broken a few welds. I made a new bracket out of 3/8" steel for that side and then welded the bracket completely. The first bracket was not fully welded which partially caused the break.

Transmission Mount

I had loaded the Jeep on the trailer getting ready to go to an off road show when I noticed the transfer case seemed close to the skid plate and that there were several deep gouges in the floor underneath the Jeep right above the u-joint. Upon closer inspection the bushing was completely trashed. It was replaced with a new Energy Suspension bushing of a heavier design. The original bushing came with my t-case adapter and was most likely a generic brand.

Detroit Locker and Manual Hubs

On a single trip I blew up 2 manual hubs within 2 days. In turn this also completely broke the internals of a Detroit Locker in my front axle. I now run drive flanges to get rid of the manual hub weak link. I bought a cheap used Detroit and swapped the guts over to my case. In any future builds I will use either a spool or a welded carrier as well as drive flanges.