Death of the Red Trooper, Rise of the White

The clutch on the Red Trooper started slipping at Spring Isuzuwharrie 2008.  In fact, when Jerry and I tried to take it to dinner, the slipping got so bad that we had to have JoeD tow us back to camp.  Here is a photo of the dead Trooper.

After the event, Joe D was kind enough to trailer the dead Trooper back to his place.  I ordered a Centerforce clutch and a clutch protector (set of Revolution gears) from Indy4x and planned to have Joe install them at his leisure.  However, when he powerwashed the rig, he found the frame rotting out from the inside.

I had previously had the frame patched.

But Joe recommended that we not do this again.  So a change of plans.  A quick search of the board and I found that StormTrooper was selling his first generation Trooper with a cracked head.

So I purchased the White Trooper and planned to move over the good parts from the Red Trooper.  Truth be told, this was a lot more work than either Joe or I anticipated. Part of the reason was that I wanted to use the difs off of the Red Trooper because they contained the Aussie lockers.  Part of the reason was that StormTrooper hadn't gotten around to some maintenance items on the White Troopers (e.g., it had 3 bad ball joints, no skid plate over the gas tank and a bad exhaust).  So we got to work and after three days all I owned was two Troopers with just bodies on the frames and a pile of parts.

Here is the list of parts donated from the Red Trooper to the White:

• Engine

• Front dif

• Rear axle assembly including the shackles, springs and brakes

• HD Tie Rods

• 3 ball joints

• Stereo

• Front and rear bumpers and tow hitch

• Mounts for front driver's side door

• Gas tank skid plate

• Boulder Bars

• Off road lights

• The entire exhaust back from the header 

• Tires and wheels 

Here is the list of parts donated from other vehicles:

• Tranny/transfer case came from LowZone. Joe had this and was able to get it to Matt at Indy4x for the Revolution gear install before pulling the units out of both of my Troopers.

• The front hood on both Troopers were dented, so Joe gave me the front hood off his StormTrooper.

Here is the list of new parts:

• Centerforce clutch

• Revolution gears

• Emergency brake cables

• Filters and fluids

The entire swap took us 5 full days of work (7 AM to 11 PM) plus an additional two days when I worked all day but Joe only worked on the Troopers after getting home from his real job.

The entire project, other than taking much longer than expected, went very well.  I had only two real issues.  

• On the drive home, a heater hose burst.  (It must have gotten pinched when we lowered in the motor.)  Luckily, I noticed it right away and was able to pull over before doing any damage.  (A cracked head would not have been fun at this point!) When the motor cooled, I was able to do a trail repair, add a gallon of antifreeze that I had in the back and top it off with water at the next exit.
  

• The cold idle was two low. Jerry told me that this had to be related to the air regulator and with his help, I was able to correct the problem.  It was either the connector being full of mud (probably as a result of Joe's powerwashing) or a stuck valve.  In any case, it works well now.

Here is a photo of the White Trooper.  I can't wait to get it on the trail!