Mauser gets some EVO swag!

[ERAUGrad04]

Today I tackled the fit of the new Slab on the AEV Tire Carrier. With the Fuel Caddy, the closest I could get the tire to the carrier tubing was about 1". While the flange is able to hold the weight of the tire/wheel assembly, the tire not being sucked up to the tire carrier tubing would lead to vibration, extra stress and fatigue on the flange. I figure over a long period of time, this could result in a failure of the flange assembly that the tire is bolted to.



As luck would have it, I happened to have two extra bumpstops in the garage. When I made the jump to 37s, I had to replace the rear bumpstops and the kit came with new front bumpstops as well even though I did not need them.

I picked up a 2-1/4" hole saw and went to work on the drill press.






The thickness of the spacer is a total of 1-1/4" which will take up the 1" gap and an additional 1/4" for the tire to snug up to. I used stainless hardware to attach the newly created pucks to the tire carrier frame.



I made three pucks in total and here is the tire all snugged up to the frame:



Thanks for looking!

 

[JKJody]

Thats one hell of an idea! Awesome. Its that fuel caddy isn't it? You Can only back that flange plate in so far before you start crushing the plastic on the fuel caddy?

 

[ERAUGrad04]

Thats one hell of an idea! Awesome. Its that fuel caddy isn't it? You Can only back that flange plate in so far before you start crushing the plastic on the fuel caddy?

Thanks!

Exactly. The Caddy prevents the flange from being sucked in any further. Without the Caddy , I don't think the Slab backspacing would have been an issue. I really didn't want to lose the Caddy, so I had to put my thinking cap on!

 

[JK_Dave]

That's just

 

[big dr]

Great, cheap fix!!:thumb:

 

[ERAUGrad04]

Rolled 10,000mi today! Not bad in 8 months!

 

[Sessoms14X]

Awesome build man! It's coming along great :thumbup::thumbup:

 

[ERAUGrad04]

Awesome build man! It's coming along great :thumbup::thumbup:

Thanks!

 

[JK07]

Great looking rig! Would you mind posting some pics of the Slabs/AEV Carrier and fuel caddy? I have the AEV carrier and will be adding the fuel caddy and Slabs down the road. Thanks!

 

[ERAUGrad04]

Great looking rig! Would you mind posting some pics of the Slabs/AEV Carrier and fuel caddy? I have the AEV carrier and will be adding the fuel caddy and Slabs down the road. Thanks!

Thanks!

Here are a few shots of the slabs on the carrier with the Caddy. Something to note is with the additional backspacing, you will have to get creative to get the tire pressure mounted against the carrier tubes. If you scroll up a few posts, you'll see my solution and it definitely holds the 120lb+ tire/wheel very solidly.

Hope this helps!

 

[ERAUGrad04]

If the previous pictures didn't give it away, brought Mauser down to Off Road Evolution this morning for some love! 5.13s and a new front driveshaft will be going in today/tomorrow. Woo hoo!!!

 

[Sessoms14X]

If the previous pictures didn't give it away, brought Mauser down to Off Road Evolution this morning for some love! 5.13s and a new front driveshaft will be going in today/tomorrow. Woo hoo!!!

Awesome :thumbup:! Let us know how it is. I'll be debating on whether to go 4.88 or 5.13 once I make the jump to 37s.

 

[ERAUGrad04]

Awesome :thumbup:! Let us know how it is. I'll be debating on whether to go 4.88 or 5.13 once I make the jump to 37s.

Will do! Everything I have read, including Eddie's writeup about regearing, points to 5.13s as long as you have at least a D44 in the front. In all of my research, I have yet to come across one person saying they wished they hadn't gone with 5.13s, but multiple folks with 4.88s wishing they'd gone higher.

Driving from SF to LA yesterday with my 4.10s definitely reminded me that I'm making the right call to regear. Lots of hunting and it didn't like overdrive.

 

[ERAUGrad04]

Awesome :thumbup:! Let us know how it is. I'll be debating on whether to go 4.88 or 5.13 once I make the jump to 37s.

I'm up to about 450mi on the new gears and all I can say is wow! Don't hesitate to go 5.13s! I wavered for a bit between 4.88s and 5.13s and I am very glad I stuck with the recommendations of sticking with 5.13s. Driving back from LA last night was a night and day difference from the drive down. Only a few hills required the transmission to drop down to 4th and only one really steep grade on the Grapevine required 3rd for a brief period. In contrast, driving down to LA, even the slightest grade would cause the trans to drop into 4th, and anything more than a slight grade would often cause the trans to drop all the way into 3rd.

What I notice now is the downshift from 5th to 4th (~2700-->~3200rpm) puts the engine in a very nice power band and will rarely require the further downshift the 3rd. Whereas with the 4.10s, the shift from 5th to 4th only got the engine up to about 2800-2900RPM. This resulted in the further downshift to 3rd which is a much more aggressive downshift and resulted in engine RPMs in the high 3s nearly 4k.

As a side note, while we were at it, I had ORE install a new J.E. Reel 1350 front drive shaft. On the way home, I quickly noticed a slight, high frequency, oscillating vibration above 50mph. Last alignment shows caster was at 4.8*. Just ordered a set of EVO Front Lower Control Arms and hopefully just a small tweak in the caster will get the pinion closer to an acceptable, no vibrating angle.

 

[Irish JK]

Glad the new gears are working out well for ya. Good to meet you earlier this week.

 

[branman]

I'm up to about 450mi on the new gears and all I can say is wow! Don't hesitate to go 5.13s!

I knew you would be happy with those :thumb:

As a side note, while we were at it, I had ORE install a new J.E. Reel 1350 front drive shaft. On the way home, I quickly noticed a slight, high frequency, oscillating vibration above 50mph. Last alignment shows caster was at 4.8*. Just ordered a set of EVO Front Lower Control Arms and hopefully just a small tweak in the caster will get the pinion closer to an acceptable, no vibrating angle.

This is a fine line getting this dialed in with only 6* of offset to work with. I have 1.5* of Pinion up and get vibes at 70-75 mph and up, they are not bad and can only be felt not heard.. I am at the point where I feel like I will start loosing my handling if I go any more. It is almost impossible to get a accurate reading on your castor so I would just focus on measuring the pinion using the machined flat spot on the front of the axle on the drivers side next to the pumpkin - castor can be derived from this (2* Pinion(up) = 4* castor)

Good Luck and Rig is looking awesome :beer:

 

[ERAUGrad04]

I knew you would be happy with those :thumb:



This is a fine line getting this dialed in with only 6* of offset to work with. I have 1.5* of Pinion up and get vibes at 70-75 mph and up, they are not bad and can only be felt not heard.. I am at the point where I feel like I will start loosing my handling if I go any more. It is almost impossible to get a accurate reading on your castor so I would just focus on measuring the pinion using the machined flat spot on the front of the axle on the drivers side next to the pumpkin - castor can be derived from this (2* Pinion(up) = 4* castor)

Good Luck and Rig is looking awesome :beer:

I am going to do everything possible to keep the caster as high as possible. I thinking very small adjustments will go a long way. I rarely drive over 70, so if I can keep it vibe free below that, I would be really happy. I'm hoping just a small tweak from 4.8 down to 4.2ish will rid the vibes.

Quick question, is the speed at which the vibes occur any indication of how much adjustment may be needed? Meaning, the lower the speed at which the vibes occur, the greater the misalignment? Or is it really shaft, joint and Jeep specific?

 

[Sessoms14X]

I'm up to about 450mi on the new gears and all I can say is wow! Don't hesitate to go 5.13s! I wavered for a bit between 4.88s and 5.13s and I am very glad I stuck with the recommendations of sticking with 5.13s. Driving back from LA last night was a night and day difference from the drive down. Only a few hills required the transmission to drop down to 4th and only one really steep grade on the Grapevine required 3rd for a brief period. In contrast, driving down to LA, even the slightest grade would cause the trans to drop into 4th, and anything more than a slight grade would often cause the trans to drop all the way into 3rd.

What I notice now is the downshift from 5th to 4th (~2700-->~3200rpm) puts the engine in a very nice power band and will rarely require the further downshift the 3rd. Whereas with the 4.10s, the shift from 5th to 4th only got the engine up to about 2800-2900RPM. This resulted in the further downshift to 3rd which is a much more aggressive downshift and resulted in engine RPMs in the high 3s nearly 4k.

As a side note, while we were at it, I had ORE install a new J.E. Reel 1350 front drive shaft. On the way home, I quickly noticed a slight, high frequency, oscillating vibration above 50mph. Last alignment shows caster was at 4.8*. Just ordered a set of EVO Front Lower Control Arms and hopefully just a small tweak in the caster will get the pinion closer to an acceptable, no vibrating angle.

Thanks for the info, I plan on doing a lot of what you did to make the jump to 37s, gears, c gussets, front driveshaft and slabs once my 35s wear out. I'll definitely consider 5.13s :thumbup:

 

[branman]

Quick question, is the speed at which the vibes occur any indication of how much adjustment may be needed? Meaning, the lower the speed at which the vibes occur, the greater the misalignment? Or is it really shaft, joint and Jeep specific?

Probably not a direct correlation as to the amount of adjustment. When I had a issue with control arm backing out and was at a much lower and maybe even negative pinion my vibe was at a slower speed and more severe. I'm sure every Jeep is different and you just need to do what works on your rig.

 

[CrazyTrainJK]

Very Nice build:thumb: