Tabla de contenidos para August 2021 en Four Wheeler

JERED.KORFHAGE@FOURWHEELER.COM Have you Heard? ■ 4 Wheel Parts, the 4x4 and off-road retail giant, celebrated its 60th anniversary in March 2021. ■ Research from the Specialty Equipment Market Association (you may know it as SEMA) indicates interests in the United States are shifting away from passenger cars and toward light trucks. SEMA estimates that by 2028, light trucks could make up 82 percent of light vehicles sold, an increase from 53 percent in 2014. ■ Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and connected car tech innovator Voyomotive have joined forces to connect you to your tires. The duo’s overarching plan is to develop a system that digitally and remotely monitors your tires from the inside and that can warn you of tire damage far before the TPMS sensors detect a problem.…

If you drive a solid-axled Jeep, you’ve probably experienced, or at least heard of, death wobble. The fact is, this can be caused by many issues in your front suspension, wheels, tires, or a combination of things. Another thing that may be causing or contributing to death wobble are worn-out upper control arm bushings in the Dana 30 axle. The Dana 30 can be found under a Wrangler, a Cherokee, a Grand Cherokee, or others. After several years of use on- and off-road, these bushings can wear out and cause the undesirable driving effect of death wobble or clunking. This story will show how easy it is to replace the upper control arm bushings on your Dana 30 axle. This same method will also apply to Dana 44 front axles…

For us, there really isn’t a maintenance job we like doing less than changing the fluid and filter in an automatic transmission. Even if you’re blessed with an automatic that has a transmission pan with a drain plug, it’s frustrating. And if the tranny pan doesn’t have a drain plug, be prepared for ATF to cascade all over your driveway and yourself. Nonetheless, it’s something you need to do if you want continued good performance and extended life. So, using a ’99 Jeep Cherokee XJ with a 4.0L engine, an AW4 transmission, a swapped-in NP231, and a factory exhaust downtube as an example, here are some tips to consider when changing your 4x4’s automatic transmission fluid. Draining the Automatic Transmission Fluid Unfortunately, not all factory automatic transmission pans come with…

editor@fourwheeler.com Arizona is a great state to go off-roading in. There are tons of backroads and challenging trails to explore. Often, we spend our time exploring new areas, but it’s also lots of fun to go hit some of the harder, established trails that the state has to offer. Just north of Phoenix is an area known as Table Mesa (yeah, that means Table Table). Table Mesa has lots of roads and a few technical vehicle trails that will appeal to the off-road enthusiast. There is a ton of info about Table Mesa and the BLM Designated Technical Vehicle trails on the interwebs if you’re looking for even more info. We recently got a chance to rerun a trail we’ve done in the past, one of the Technical Vehicle Trails…

This is one of those stories that seems like it should be started with the statement, “Books could be written about what a Mercedes-Benz Unimog is.” That’s the truth, and we are sure that books have and will be written. The Unimog story is like that of several 4x4s. From agriculture came an off-road icon that is like no other vehicle. The Unimog, both large (later versions) and small (older versions) have rolled over the globe with their unique portal axles, interesting torque tube suspension systems, gobs of gearing, and gas and diesel engines. Unimogs have been used as agricultural equipment, overlanding vehicles (since before overlanding was called overlanding), municipal maintenance vehicles, and military vehicles. They’ve also been used in industrial work, in motorsports, for private use, and more. Unimogs…

JERED.KORFHAGE@FOURWHEELER.COM In the nearly 5,000 miles since our last report, the EcoDiesel-powered ’20 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon has shown a couple of its gremlins, demonstrated its utility for cold-weather camping, and reassured us of its off-road dominance. Let’s talk snow. On the highway, the 33-inch Falken Wildpeak mud-terrain tires did a commendable job in the slippery slush, snow, and ice; and were nothing short of predictable. However, watch out for the turbo. Until we fine-tuned our throttle application, the ever-so-slightly-delayed input of power upon acceleration while already moving was sometimes enough to break the tires loose in wintry on-road conditions. Conversely, when descending, we found enough compression braking to keep our speed in check without touching the brake pedal. When we ventured off into the deeper stuff, we made two…

I was talking with Four Wheeler Staff Editor Jered Korfhage the other day. We’re both California transplants from colder climates, so in addition to talking about the nice weather and staggering number of meth heads SoCal has to offer compared with the places we’re from, we sort of compared notes on our respective events. Jered, you see, has never been on Ultimate Adventure (UA), while I’ve never been on Overland Adventure (OA). And despite the many similarities both events offer its participants, namely living out of a 4x4 for consecutive days, there are some key differences in the philosophical approach most participants take for each event. Speaking for myself and myself only, I’ve never really been a huge overlanding fanboy. I’ve done it, and at a fairly high level, at…

The ask of an all-terrain tire has always been impossibly high. It’s supposed to do as its name implies, work well on all terrains. Sadly, that is often just not the case. Thankfully, one of the most exciting trends we’ve seen as of late is the reimagining of what an all-terrain tire can be. Case in point, Nitto Tire’s all-new Recon Grappler A/T. With the all-terrain tire segment being one of the most crowded and competitive, it takes a lot to stand out in a sea of similar tires. To ensure its fresh offering wouldn’t get lost in the pack, Nitto built the Recon Grappler A/T with massive tread blocks, deep voids, and dirt-ripping sidewall lugs. Looking to shed the bland looks of a traditional all-terrain tire while raising the…

jered.korfhage@fourwheeler.com After a brief hiatus, Jeep and Mopar returned to Moab during the 2021 Easter Jeep Safari and rocked the Jeep community with the latest class of concept vehicles. Designers stacked the stage with a stylin’ ’68 Commando restomod, three Jeep Gladiators showcasing the platform’s versatility, and a two-door JL Wrangler strutting Mopar’s best stuff. To top it off, Jeep unveiled something the world has never seen before—a full-electric two-door Wrangler Rubicon. Because 2020 was a wild ride, Jeep released the details on some of these concepts over the past year, but due to the cancellation of the 2020 Easter Jeep Safari, this is the first time we got to see them all together in the wild. Additionally, they were joined by a couple new and unannounced-until-more-recently concept vehicles. We…

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM 6.0L K5: AUTO VS MANUAL Q I’m 12 years old and my dad is building me a ’75 K5 to drive to high school and so I can go on wheeling trips with him. He has already put 1-ton axles in it, a 6.0L engine, and a Northwest FabWorks BlackBox Underdrive, but where we are stuck is on the transmission. Dad wants to put an SM465 in it as he says everybody should know how to drive a manual, and that it won’t break, but I want an automatic. My dad says that if it is an automatic, it must be a 4L80E at least so it doesn’t blow up. Does it matter what year 4L80E I get? Can the computer for the engine control the transmission? SARAH VIA…

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM SHAWN’S FIRST MOD My first 4x4 mod was an 8.8-inch rear for my YJ, which I bought over 10 years ago. I wanted a stronger rear and a limited-slip instead of an open diff. A winch came a week later. Since then, the Jeep has had almost everything replaced besides the tub and frame. SHAWN VIA EMAIL BLIZZARD CAMPING While 2020 was a challenging year for everyone (minus maybe Jeff Bezos), it was especially challenging because I bought fancy camping gear with the intention of “social distancing” as many weekends as possible, only to spiral fracture my tibia in June while out wheeling. Nonetheless, as soon as I was able to walk again (which took until almost November) and without risking pushing myself too far, I decided to go…

The differential oil’s job is thermal regulation, lubrication, and protection of the bearing and gear surfaces to withstand the shock loads coming from the drivetrain. Neglecting your diffs can lead to a lack of lubrication, premature surface wear of bearings and gears due to metal-on-metal contact, and excessive heat that will ultimately lead to nasty sludge and eventually failure, in a possibly not-unspectacular way. Of course, all of this is avoidable by simply servicing your differentials at regular intervals. A product we recommend that will make changing your gear lube easier, quicker, and less messy is an aftermarket differential cover. These covers, like the American Expedition Vehicle (AEV) covers on the Jeep Wrangler JL in this story, aren’t only for protection on the trail, thanks to a reinforced bottom edge;…

We often talk about the benefits of fuel injection for off-road vehicles. Generally, these systems run more reliably than carbureted systems, but they are, at the end of the day, a bit more complex than a carbureted fuel system. That’s because almost all fuel-injection systems require higher fuel pressure than a carbureted system, and most also require a fuel return line that is not often found on a carbureted vehicle. If you’ve built a rig from scratch or are upgrading an older vehicle to fuel injection, you will eventually need to learn how to make the fuel system work. After all, it won’t work to connect a hose from the engine-driven (low-pressure) fuel pump to that fancy new EFI system. You will need a high-pressure pump (we prefer an in-tank…

jered.korfhage@fourwheeler.com SPONSORED BY When Joe Schigel found the M715 it hadn’t moved in half a decade, all its tires were flat and it definitely needed a new engine. However, the body had earned quite the patina throughout its years and the frame was in great condition so he dragged it onto his trailer and took it home. Joe’s vision for the ’67 Kaiser was a restored truck that could get him into the woods, comport itself on the highway, and carry just enough camping gear to make any patch of dirt feel like home. But first, the M715 needed an engine. The original Tornado 230 showed 19,000 hard miles and had long since given up, prompting some brainstorming. He considered the ubiquitous AMC 4.0L inline-six. Its power output was similar…

Dometic, one of the leaders in vehicle fridges, just released the new CCF-T drop-in console fridge for the popular ’15-’20 Ford F-150 and ’18-current Ford Expedition. (You know Dometic from its exceptional line of overlanding fridges or the refrigerator in your RV.) The CCF-T is a similar unit to the ones you can add from the factory to your Bentley Bentayga, Cadillac Escalade, Toyota Sienna, or one of several Land Rover products. Even Jeep’s Grand Wagoneer concept features the fridge. The CCF-T, which uses true compressor technology, has 9 liters of capacity, and holds 12 cans or six tall 20-ounce bottles, which can be cooled to 41 degrees in about two hours. The nearly silent compressor operates when the vehicle is running (a switch on the unit turns it off…

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM It’s always a good thing when the time comes for one of our quarterly long-term vehicle reports and we genuinely have no major problems to report. During the past three months we’ve managed to log 5,441 additional miles on our ’20 F-250 and can say with authority that we have almost no complaints. The truck continues to perform flawlessly in every regard and has not required any unscheduled trips to the dealer’s service bay. This reporting period included more of the status quo. We spent a fair bit of time commuting with the truck, towed our toy hauler trailer and our utility trailer loaded with UTVs, and even logged a few long highway trips. Our average fuel economy over the course of these miles dropped slightly to 15.84, which…