One year later 40'x80'

[zmotorsports]

Awesome job on the projects Paco. I pulled my transfer case from my Duramax when I first purchased my 2006 back in 2009 when it had 58k miles on it, hard to believe I've had mine 10-years this month at it just turned over 98k miles on Friday. Everything looked great when I tore my TC down but it was preventative as I have done so many of those after it was too late to save the back half of the case.

I see you have well over 200k miles on your 5.3 GM but just out of curiosity how many miles are on your Dmax now?

Glad to have you back as I love following along on your projects my friend.

 

[fnieto]

Unfortunately I’m painfully aware of the dulling effect of PP. I blew a power steering pump out on a road course one day in my show quality street/race car and that’s all the local parts joint had for cleaning. You just can’t imagine how I felt as I watched all the polished and anodized finishes melt away when I hosed it off.

Thanks for the timeframe, looking at it I figured a days work. And I’m telling ya, your most generous offers of helping might be taken up on. So be careful

And her toy is a 03 highly hated (here at least) H2.

Yikes! that's terrible story.
We can knock out that H2 T-case when your ready.

 

[fnieto]

Glad to see you back! I'd be pissed too if everything just...disappeared.

Frustrating for sure. The only thing that disappeared was my identification, they kept the content.
I do miss most of the members though.

 

[fnieto]

Awesome job on the projects Paco. I pulled my transfer case from my Duramax when I first purchased my 2006 back in 2009 when it had 58k miles on it, hard to believe I've had mine 10-years this month at it just turned over 98k miles on Friday. Everything looked great when I tore my TC down but it was preventative as I have done so many of those after it was too late to save the back half of the case.

I see you have well over 200k miles on your 5.3 GM but just out of curiosity how many miles are on your Dmax now?

Glad to have you back as I love following along on your projects my friend.

Thanks Mike,
I still need to pull the T-case on the Dmax, I made the seal drivers and have the parts at the ready. I have owned it since new and only use it for towing. She currently has 89K miles. I recently upgraded the turbo inlet pipe with a Afe. Made a. huge improvement on both performance and EGT temps. Glad your T-case was fine, I'm confidant mine is too but its a matter of when not if it rubs through.
Thanks for following along Mike. My projects pail in comparison to others including yours.

 

[Motoman1100]

Ugly but effective (like me hahah) is the jig to support the removal/installation of the New process T-case.

As the great Canadian handyman, Red Green, would say, "If the women don't find you handsome...they should at least find you handy."

 

[fnieto]

As the great Canadian handyman, Red Green, would say, "If the women don't find you handsome...they should at least find you handy."

Red was wise to say this hahah.

 

[fnieto]

The last of the improvements to the Silverado was the replacement of all suspension/steering components. I went with Moog problem solver series. Overall nice quality and goos fit.

Taking inventory of new parts. I ordered through Rock Auto and had a 20% discount which covered the shipping of 30 bucks.

Prior to any suspension work, I unloaded the torsion bars. I sprayed the loading bolts with bright orang paint leaving a demarcation line for reloading. The parts went in without hassle and fit nicely.

Almost done.

All buttoned up.

Lubed all the zerks and was ready for a front end alignment. I used a tape measure to get things close as the alignment shop was 30 miles from my location.

The center bracket on the Moog problem solver came with an extension hose and relocated zerk fitting. The OEM bracket was out of sight and required the skid plate to be removed for access.

All the old parts.

Driving to the alignment shop the steering wheel was centered with no drift/pull. The oil pressure gauge was rock steady so the O-ring was a solid diagnosis.

Lastly, the rear differential was serviced and the rig was back in service.

 

[1/2 Cup]

fnieto its very satisfying to get a job like that our of the way. How did the alignment go?

 

[fnieto]

A buddy of mine owns a 02 Silverado 2500HD. He's been wanting a little better performance so he gave me a budget and I went to work. His rig is very clean with only 90K miles.
I'm a fan of aFe products although I run a Supperchip programmer all else is aFe.

His rig got a Afe cold air intake stage II, scorcher programmer and a 4" turbo back exhaust system. The entire modifications took about 6 hours and he drove home that day with a smile on his face.

I started with the exhaust since I figured that would take the longest. It went in fairly quickly.
I trimmed the extra for the SS tip.

Next up was the programmer. a couple of the connectors where buried but we found them and all snapped in. The actual programmer was then zipped tied and stashed from the prying eyes of the yearly emissions nazis.

The stage controller was carefully routed and installed next to the headlight switch with no wire showing. It worked out better mounted upside down with the push button at the top.

Lastly the cold air intake.

His rig has a nice throaty sound.

 

[Mgnu]

Man that is a very nice clean truck! I thought my 2000 f350 7.3 was clean, but you could eat off that duramax! Nice job!

 

[fnieto]

I added a turbo inlet mouth piece to the aFe order for my 05 LLY. The last time I hauled some equipment to CA, I had to maintain EGT temps. I realized my OEM mouth piece was a choke point not only in limiting performance but also effecting the exhaust temp.

The turbo mouth pieces side by side. The anemic OEM (plastic) found on 05 LLY's can be replaced with OEM 06 LBZ mouth piece that resolves the choke point. I opted for the aFe as I already had the cold air intake. If one was to upgrade to the LBZ, it would also require the LBX intake as the mouth piece is much longer than the LLY's mouth piece.

The new aFe measures 3.3685" making it .4015" larger than the OEM mouth piece.
The larger opening allows for faster turbo spool up and reduced EGT temps.

Fits nicely.

All done.

 

[fnieto]

fnieto its very satisfying to get a job like that our of the way. How did the alignment go?

Hi 1/2 cup,

I ended up taking it to a second alignment shop as the first shop wasn't to my satisfaction. The tires where scrubbing terribly during hard turns in a parking lot. She's good to go now.

Yes, it's always satisfying to preform your own work knowing no one else will go the extra mile and the money saved is also warm and fuzzy.

 

[fnieto]

Man that is a very nice clean truck! I thought my 2000 f350 7.3 was clean, but you could eat off that duramax! Nice job!

Agreed! my buddy rig is clean and a pleasure to work on. My rigs are even cleaner
Thanks Mgnu

 

[LXCam]

/me makes a note to brush and floss the radiator before a visit to Dr. Paco








Great work as always P

 

[fnieto]

/me makes a note to brush and floss the radiator before a visit to Dr. Paco








Great work as always P

Haha thanks Cam, I do appreciate a clean rig to work on. On occasion, I get a real nasty one in and kick myself for taking the job.

 

[jbmatth]

Great looking work, I would love to only work on things that clean. Sadly living on a gravel road I don't think that is likely to happen.

JB

 

[fnieto]

Thanks JB,

Since I don't ,make a living as a mechanic, I can easily turn away those really nasty jobs that folks blow off until they're no longer able. I have worked on rigs that required scraping to locate the bolts etc, but really don't like to. Unless it family or close friends its "sorry charley." Dirt or gravel roads don't constitute as a nasty grimy job, unless the leaks go unattended

 

[fnieto]

Took a break from wrenching and went to fabrication.

A fella wanted a reloading bench and provided me with the butcher block top dimensions.
I wanted to save him money so I used some scrap 1/8" x 2" x 3" rectangular tubing. It had some surface rust but a 4" cup wire wheel took care of that. This fella shoots long range matches and travels all over the US between holding down a full-time career.

Welding the cross member. I kept that piece toward the back for leg room. It also will serve as a shelf. The top secures to the flat strap 1/4" x 2.5" with punched holes for lag bolting.

I used some 1/4" x 2" flat strap for end caps/ leveling feet. I punched a 3/4" hole and welded a 3/4" nut then welded the end caps with the nut toward the inside. On the feet, I used large flat washers plug welded to the bolt head.

Used Rust-o-lium hammer tone silver.

He runs a hi-tech scale that required a level bench.

All set up and ready to reload.

Here you can see the lower shelf in place.

I'm still waiting for my custom rounds

 

[zmotorsports]

Nice job on the GM work Paco.

For some reason I thought you had already upgraded your mouthpiece on you LLY. That's been a pretty common upgrade as they start to get a bit warm when working them with the stock one in place. I haven't used any of the aftermarket ones however, I've done about three or four but just bought the OEM ones for the 2006/early 2007 LBZ engine.

So glad to have you back Paco as I love watching your high level of workmanship. It is very encouraging.

I'm really going to be hooked when you start to do that diesel implant into your FJ40.

 

[fnieto]

Thank you Mike,

Back in early 2006 when the rig had around 11K miles, I had modified the LLY with all sorts of upgrades. The mouth piece was not identified as a problem at that time. As time went on I only used the rig for towing and interstate travel and never really stayed current on known issues as they where discovered.
With the addition the the fj back in 2012 I found myself diving deep into it making it reliable as a daily driver and totally dropped the ball any further Duramax issues identified online. To be honest, the Duramax has been running extremely well since the modifications and I had no suspicions or indications of the choke point. It wasn't until recently while climbing some decent grades pulling around 14K pounds of machinery that my EGT's would reach 1200-1250 and higher if I didn't de-fuel. This left me wondering and after a complete coolant flush and cooling stack inspection I researched the issue. I found some interesting information written by a Canadian fellow that ran a series of tests. He explained the phenomenon and the whole issue with the choke point as well as the engine compartment hot air that would be drawn into the intake. Again, the rig had impressive performance, but now she's very awake and the temps are marginal. I will have a better idea this summer when I tow in triple digits. Man it pays to stay current as this issue could have been resolved a few years back.

I'm still hopeful for a Toyota turbo diesel, but that baby Cummings R2.8 is looking more promising.



Thanks for all you positive feedback, guys like you make it fun to share and learn.

 

[zmotorsports]

For some reason I thought you were the original owner of the FJ. Nice to see that you daily drive it. Is it still your daily driver? How many miles are on the FJ now?

I’m looking forward to still be daily driving my Jeep years from now because I constantly get comments about it just being a toy and not practical for a daily driver, not sure what planet these people are from though.


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[fnieto]

For some reason I thought you were the original owner of the FJ. Nice to see that you daily drive it. Is it still your daily driver? How many miles are on the FJ now?

I’m looking forward to still be daily driving my Jeep years from now because I constantly get comments about it just being a toy and not practical for a daily driver, not sure what planet these people are from though.


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

I'm the third owner as of 2012. I purchased it from a young Air Force officer who had the ambition but not the resources to complete the many items broken, leaking and worn out. She had 110K miles when I brought her home. My wife was beside herself since I had also recently purchased a very special Z-28 (GMMG) Camaro. She did however give me 1000% support some 12 hours later and continues to do so. The old girl (FJ) had won many hearts.
The rig was in horrible mechanical shape but 100% complete with zero modifications and no rust. She was originally purchased at Camel back Toyota in Phoenix by a newspaper photographer for around $12K. I found the guys pay stub deep inside the dash while trouble shooting some wiring/fuses. The rig became my daily driver as I would identify issues and correct them as I discovered them. The longest she was out of service was two weeks when I pulled the intake/exhaust manifold to resurface and reseal. I also rebuilt the carb at that time. The rig was running on five cylinders with over 33' of vacuum line requiring replacement. She also had 18 oil oil leaks in total from the engine ,******, transfer case and diff/axels. The first week (before the intake/exhaust repair) I made the 34 mile journey to work only to have a wicked headache upon arrival. I pulled an air sampling monitor from our special response unit and set it down on the passengers seat. The monitor sounded and flashed with a reading of over 400 PPM of carbon monoxide. The rig was driven home and the work began to transform her into a safe and reliable D.D. She now has 155K miles and has only left me stranded on two occasions, once when the smog pump seized up (the same belt shared the H2o pump) and another when the battery died. I have basically been preforming a rolling restoration since I acquired her. She's hoot to drive and fueling up always welcome a conversation from all sorts of folks young and old male and female. I recently had a very attractive middle aged lady in a Escalade approach me with a compliment. He exact words " I love you Land Cruiser" and proceeded to share her fond memories of the time her grandfather would take her out wheeling as a young girl. Her eyes swelled up with tears and mine began to sweat a little. Too many stories to share but all similar to the one just shared.

Your jeep is a work of beauty and functionality Mike. Truth be told, I was looking for a Jeep when I found my 40. . Perhaps some day when I pull her with my future coach, we can explore together. I really want to see Utah.

Gotta head to work now.

Have a great day brother.

 

[zmotorsports]

I'm the third owner as of 2012. I purchased it from a young Air Force officer who had the ambition but not the resources to complete the many items broken, leaking and worn out. She had 110K miles when I brought her home. My wife was beside herself since I had also recently purchased a very special Z-28 (GMMG) Camaro. She did however give me 1000% support some 12 hours later and continues to do so. The old girl (FJ) had won many hearts.
The rig was in horrible mechanical shape but 100% complete with zero modifications and no rust. She was originally purchased at Camel back Toyota in Phoenix by a newspaper photographer for around $12K. I found the guys pay stub deep inside the dash while trouble shooting some wiring/fuses. The rig became my daily driver as I would identify issues and correct them as I discovered them. The longest she was out of service was two weeks when I pulled the intake/exhaust manifold to resurface and reseal. I also rebuilt the carb at that time. The rig was running on five cylinders with over 33' of vacuum line requiring replacement. She also had 18 oil oil leaks in total from the engine ,******, transfer case and diff/axels. The first week (before the intake/exhaust repair) I made the 34 mile journey to work only to have a wicked headache upon arrival. I pulled an air sampling monitor from our special response unit and set it down on the passengers seat. The monitor sounded and flashed with a reading of over 400 PPM of carbon monoxide. The rig was driven home and the work began to transform her into a safe and reliable D.D. She now has 155K miles and has only left me stranded on two occasions, once when the smog pump seized up (the same belt shared the H2o pump) and another when the battery died. I have basically been preforming a rolling restoration since I acquired her. She's hoot to drive and fueling up always welcome a conversation from all sorts of folks young and old male and female. I recently had a very attractive middle aged lady in a Escalade approach me with a compliment. He exact words " I love you Land Cruiser" and proceeded to share her fond memories of the time her grandfather would take her out wheeling as a young girl. Her eyes swelled up with tears and mine began to sweat a little. Too many stories to share but all similar to the one just shared.

Your jeep is a work of beauty and functionality Mike. Truth be told, I was looking for a Jeep when I found my 40. . Perhaps some day when I pull her with my future coach, we can explore together. I really want to see Utah.

Gotta head to work now.

Have a great day brother.

Awesome story Paco.

I have a little familiarity with the older FJ's as our accountant has one and I have done some mechanical work on it over the past 4 years now. It has a SBC (383 cid) in it and when he bought it she was running a bit rough. I rebuilt the carb and did some distributor work to get is purring again. He informed me that he just had a new tub put on it and completely painted from the frame up so I am excited to see it. He has a new WARN winch and a few other items he wants me to install so I'm sure I will be seeing it soon.

When you get your coach and get to my area or heading to Moab please let me know and the wife and I would love to meet up with ya and do some wheelin'.

 

[fnieto]

Cool Mike,

I'll be looking forward to seeing your writeup.

 

[fnieto]

Time for new shoes and shock for my DD. I was deeply disappointed when discount tire informed me the BF Goodrich KM2 where no longer available. The "new and improved" mud tires have a goofy looking side tread that I just didn't care for. I decided to try the General Grabber X3. Before I pulled the trigger I measured the full extension/compression of the rig using the trusty Hyster.

I checked the travel on both front and rear axels to determine which Bilstein's 5100 series to order.

The new shocks where ordered online with free shipping and attractive price.

They look fantastic and ride even better than they look.

Heres a shot of the old rubber.

New shoes.

 

[fnieto]

With the new shoes on, it was time for an old fashion front end alignment.

A couple of pieces of angle iron, quick square, level, clamps, tape measure and a cresant wrench and its done.
The two sections of angle are notched for indexing the two sides identically.

The setup.

Front measurement 52-3/8".

Rear measurement. 52-1/2"

The data. with a toe-in of 1/8".

This was a good time to lube all the zerks. Also wanted to share the new "loc n lube" grease tip.
This makes greasing way nicer and will not pop off. It comes right off with a simple squeeze.

Thanks for looking

 

[zmotorsports]

Nice job on the maintenance Paco. I have the Bilstein 5100's on my Duramax and they seem to be nice although I didn't care for them as much on my Jeep so I went with the Fox 2.0 last time and really like them.

I had the BFG KM2's on my Jeep when I originally built it and liked them for the first 20k miles or so then they got noisier and noisier and at low speeds I could feel each and every lug hitting the pavement. I got about 40k miles out of them which wasn't terrible for a mud tire but ultimately I decided not to go back to them because I wanted something a little more street friendly, besides, I avoid mud like the plague and really don't need (nor want) a mud tire any more so my last set I went with the BFG KO2's and absolutely loved that tire. I had them on for four years and had 48k driven miles and another 18k~ish flat towed miles behind our coach in those four years. They wore great and still have between 6 and 7/32nds on them when I removed them in January of this year.

I was going to go with the KO2's again because they were such a great tire but I really wanted to try something different. I waffled slightly on the Cooper STT Pro's because I have heard and seen first hand how great that tire performs off road but being a mud tire I worried about on road manners after they got some miles on them and ultimately couldn't bring myself to put another set of mud tires on my Jeep. I ended up with the Nitto Ridge Grappler and so far with about 4k miles on them and driving in all weather and road conditions I really like them.

Be sure to post up your thoughts/review of your new tires Paco, I'm curious.

Also keep posting up the amazing work on your rigs.

 

[stioc]

Wow, I've seen your posts on HM but I just found this thread. Amazing shop, skills and awesome toys

 

[fnieto]

Nice job on the maintenance Paco. I have the Bilstein 5100's on my Duramax and they seem to be nice although I didn't care for them as much on my Jeep so I went with the Fox 2.0 last time and really like them.

I had the BFG KM2's on my Jeep when I originally built it and liked them for the first 20k miles or so then they got noisier and noisier and at low speeds I could feel each and every lug hitting the pavement. I got about 40k miles out of them which wasn't terrible for a mud tire but ultimately I decided not to go back to them because I wanted something a little more street friendly, besides, I avoid mud like the plague and really don't need (nor want) a mud tire any more so my last set I went with the BFG KO2's and absolutely loved that tire. I had them on for four years and had 48k driven miles and another 18k~ish flat towed miles behind our coach in those four years. They wore great and still have between 6 and 7/32nds on them when I removed them in January of this year.

I was going to go with the KO2's again because they were such a great tire but I really wanted to try something different. I waffled slightly on the Cooper STT Pro's because I have heard and seen first hand how great that tire performs off road but being a mud tire I worried about on road manners after they got some miles on them and ultimately couldn't bring myself to put another set of mud tires on my Jeep. I ended up with the Nitto Ridge Grappler and so far with about 4k miles on them and driving in all weather and road conditions I really like them.

Be sure to post up your thoughts/review of your new tires Paco, I'm curious.

Also keep posting up the amazing work on your rigs.

Thanks Mike,

I'm also running those 5100 on the GMC. Have had good luck with them so far.
The 40 had Ranchos that where tired so the new shocks are a welcomed addition. Fox shocks would be nice but I can't justify the cost difference for my primitive suspension. Speaking of primitive suspension, the KM2's did get noisier as they wore but again the whole primitive experience is what appeals to me. Can you believe from all the choices of rigs to drive, I choose the one that gets 12 MPG (down hill) with manual choke no A/C rough as hell and noisy as hell too. Then I tow with the Dmax or cruz the GS430 or anything else in our garage and miss the abuse hahaha. My wife used to say I was nuts, but now we take the old girl (the 40) out to dinner. When My lovely wife comes out wearing a scarf, I know she wants to take the 40.

On the KO2's, I been running those exclusively on the GMC. I'm one my third set and will probably switch when the time comes. They are getting stupid expensive and last 33K miles with faithful rotations. I think they would fair better on a lighter rig.

On the Grabbers X3, so far they seem to be a nice tire but then again they are all nice when new hahah. A little noisy but again it lends to the whole vintage land cruiser experience. They do seem to self clean in mud and seem fine in the rain. Time will tell for sure. At the time I researched them, I couldn't find any negative reviews but after owning them for a month I found something about tire balance becoming an issue as they wear. That would bother me.

Your new wheels and Nitto's look damn nice on your jeep. I'm glad they are meeting your expectations.

As always Mike thanks for the comments and input.

 

[fnieto]

Wow, I've seen your posts on HM but I just found this thread. Amazing shop, skills and awesome toys

Thank you and thanks for stopping by,

It brings pleasure to know you remember the author to my many contributions to HM.
I do miss my HM brothers.

Take care brother.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Nice 40. I use the same alignment method, works perfectly every time.

 

[fnieto]

I lost a deer friend and neighbor last September. He was a retired tool and die maker for Houghs aircraft. He lived around the corner from us and would frequently ride his quad and spend time in my shop "chewing the fat" as he would say. He had a ton of stories and just a cool old guy. Anyway, his wife whom is wheel chair bound still drives. She owns a 2005 GMC 1/2 ton similar to my wife's 1/2 ton Silverado with the only exception is her rig is 2WD.
Bill took care of all aspects of daily life including the upkeep (or lack of) of their rig.
After Bill's services, I offered to maintain her rig as her live in son is unable to.
First order of business was to do a complete inspection as I had no records of idea of the baseline of this rig. The fluids where dirty, the engine was also filthy and the tires required rotation. With the tires removed, I also noticed the brakes needed attention both front and back. I measured the rotors and determined they had enough meat to be turned. I made a list and headed to town to pick up all the necessary, fluids, belts and brake pads/shoes. I had the rotors turned while I shopped and saved a second trip to town.

I spent a full day on this rig and most of the time was spent cleaning. No photos as I was elbows deep in grease/muck. Remember when I said I like to work on clean rigs .

I caught the brake in time as the squealers where almost touching.

Rear shoes where close too. take a look at the lower portion of the shoe.

Fresh brakes.

Also serviced her wheel chair overhead lift.

 

[fnieto]

My son was down on business in the Pheonix area and took the oppertunity to drive his Camaro back to his home state of Oregon. I have had his hot rod here since 2013 when he was transferred to Puerto Rico while serving. He has a Tacoma as well so no having his car was not a big deal other than missing her .

Brought all the necessary paperwork and plated to make the car legal for the drive home. He also asked me to come up with a front plate mount as Oregon had a two plate law. We raised the car and began to design a robust but light bracket that would be non invasive as possible to mount. I picked up a OEM hole in the lower bumper and drilled a second hole as it was needed to prevent pivoting and excess vibration leading to failure. What a failed to show was the inner one piece 1/8" x 1-1/4"flat strap two hole nut plate that secures the 1/8" aluminum bracket. You get the picture.

I would have preferred to fabricate this bracket from a single piece and brake the bend, but I didn't have enough material on hand so it was made by jigsawing a couple of profiles. The break was to match the angle of the nose following the lines.

Laying out the angle.

Tig welded and ready to mount.

The next three photos show the fit and overall look. We're not a fan of two plates but if you have no choice then it has to be as clean a look as possible.

Side view shows it tucked in tight without paint contact.

His drive home went well and he was happy to report the bracket did its job without movement at highway speeds. A simple job, but a special one as I don't have the privilege of having my son home often let alone sharing shop time together.

 

[polexican23]

solid work.

 

[fnieto]

solid work.

Gracias!

 

[zmotorsports]

On the KO2's, I been running those exclusively on the GMC. I'm one my third set and will probably switch when the time comes. They are getting stupid expensive and last 33K miles with faithful rotations. I think they would fair better on a lighter rig.

On the Grabbers X3, so far they seem to be a nice tire but then again they are all nice when new hahah. A little noisy but again it lends to the whole vintage land cruiser experience. They do seem to self clean in mud and seem fine in the rain. Time will tell for sure. At the time I researched them, I couldn't find any negative reviews but after owning them for a month I found something about tire balance becoming an issue as they wear. That would bother me.

Your new wheels and Nitto's look damn nice on your jeep. I'm glad they are meeting your expectations.

As always Mike thanks for the comments and input.

Thanks Paco.

I'm still unsure what I will run on my 2500HD Duramax as it will be needing tires sometime in the very near future. I'm still running the KO's (first version) on it but only have about 34k on them. I bought the 2006 Duramax in April 2009 (exactly 10 years ago now) with 58k miles on her and it's just ready to turn over 92k. My son put the KO2's on his 2500HD three years ago but only runs them on his summer wheels and is still running some Michelin A/T's on his stock wheels for the winter months. The KO2's seem to be wearing well thus far but it's a heavy truck as well so doubtful he will get much more than yours or mine.

My Jeep damn near doubled the miles out of the KO2's as my truck and it really isn't all that much lighter which is interesting. Where you don't have to deal with snow packed roads the mud-terrain tires look like they work out well but when I had the KM2's on my JKUR it couldn't get out of its own way if there was even a skiff of snow on the road. Stop at a light and it was quite common to have to shift it into 4-hi just to get moving then back into 2-hi. As soon as I put the KO2's on it was instant gratification as far as highway driving and especially winter driving. I don't think I can remember one time in the past 4 years of having those tires that I had to use 4WD on the pavement. So far the Nitto Ridge Grapplers, in as much foul weather as we have had over the past several months, are performing in much the same manner as the KO2's. However, if truth be told I would say just an ever so slight edge would have to go to the KO2 in winter driving but only slight. I haven't had to use 4WD at all this winter with the Ridge Grapplers but on a couple occasions I slipped a tire pulling away from a stop, but that could be due to the more than double the HP I have available now, but that was even at very light throttle so hard to tell.

I may still go back to the KO2 on the Duramax just due to its proven track record to me unless something else jumps out at me between now and when I buy new tires for her.

That is very kind of you to assist your friends widow, I'm sure he is smiling down on that.

As for the front license plate on your son's Camaro, I get that it's the law (and a stupid one at that) but it sure throws off the nice lines of the car. At least you made a nice looking mount for it.

 

[LXCam]

Dang Paco you’ve been blowing out some work bud, nice job as always. I had to snicker at the front plate mount. I’m not a front plate guy and have paid my fair share of ************ tickets because of it. When I registered my truck out here a couple weeks back I danced a little jig when the girl at the dmv or whatever you guys call it handed me ONE plate...hehe, whatta win.

Btw, I was almost in your neck of the woods today. I had to be in Florence early but then had to haul **** back into downtown by 1 for a meeting.

 

[steiner5]

Paco,

All I can say is wow. I am in the process of building my own place and will be re-reading this entire thread to get some good ideas. I saw something early on in the thread that I wanted to ask you about. It is your cnc plasma cutter. I have one also (not quite as large) and the part I have been debating is exhausting the fumes. My building will be heated and cooled so I really don't want to simply vent the fumes outside. I noticed in the background of one of the pictures a welding fume extractor. I was wondering if you used it for your plasma cutter and if so, how well does it work?

Thanks.....

 

[fnieto]

Nice 40. I use the same alignment method, works perfectly every time.

Primitive rigs require primitive means. I have never felt/had "death wobble" using this method.

 

[fnieto]

Thanks Paco.

I'm still unsure what I will run on my 2500HD Duramax as it will be needing tires sometime in the very near future. I'm still running the KO's (first version) on it but only have about 34k on them. I bought the 2006 Duramax in April 2009 (exactly 10 years ago now) with 58k miles on her and it's just ready to turn over 92k. My son put the KO2's on his 2500HD three years ago but only runs them on his summer wheels and is still running some Michelin A/T's on his stock wheels for the winter months. The KO2's seem to be wearing well thus far but it's a heavy truck as well so doubtful he will get much more than yours or mine.

My Jeep damn near doubled the miles out of the KO2's as my truck and it really isn't all that much lighter which is interesting. Where you don't have to deal with snow packed roads the mud-terrain tires look like they work out well but when I had the KM2's on my JKUR it couldn't get out of its own way if there was even a skiff of snow on the road. Stop at a light and it was quite common to have to shift it into 4-hi just to get moving then back into 2-hi. As soon as I put the KO2's on it was instant gratification as far as highway driving and especially winter driving. I don't think I can remember one time in the past 4 years of having those tires that I had to use 4WD on the pavement. So far the Nitto Ridge Grapplers, in as much foul weather as we have had over the past several months, are performing in much the same manner as the KO2's. However, if truth be told I would say just an ever so slight edge would have to go to the KO2 in winter driving but only slight. I haven't had to use 4WD at all this winter with the Ridge Grapplers but on a couple occasions I slipped a tire pulling away from a stop, but that could be due to the more than double the HP I have available now, but that was even at very light throttle so hard to tell.

I may still go back to the KO2 on the Duramax just due to its proven track record to me unless something else jumps out at me between now and when I buy new tires for her.

That is very kind of you to assist your friends widow, I'm sure he is smiling down on that.

As for the front license plate on your son's Camaro, I get that it's the law (and a stupid one at that) but it sure throws off the nice lines of the car. At least you made a nice looking mount for it.

Mike let me know if you end up trying a different tire on your Dmax. It sounds like you've had the same luck (good) with the BFG.
As far as your jeep, where the Nitto's any cost savings over KO2's? Those older style BFG's look way better than the new style in both the KO2 and KM2. Either way your jeep spin slicks hehehe.