Elherbinator

Episode 3 is out. Paul comes by the studio and brings beer with him for us to taste test! We talk about the May and June MORGs and the Roverland event. [/url] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nclr-after-dark/id1615586586?i=1000561707992 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Saw a couple cool Defenders today Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Had my oil light come on the mother day. Luckily I was idling in the driveway. Engine sounded tractorish, so I figured it really had low oil pressure and wasn’t just a bad sensor. Took apart the front of the engine and found what I thought I would find. Common issue with these engines (4.6l from an 03 D2). Going to replace the timing chain while I’m in there. The front cover looked to be in good shape so I think it was just a normal wear and tear thing and not the chronic dowel pin issue. Plus the car is 20 years old so I figure most of the bad engines have been destroyed by now. IMG_9939.MOV

If you aren’t buried to the frame, you’re too far from the shore.

Some teaser pics from the MORG. There will be a breakdown on the next podcast

Usually go out that way and come in from Leesville rd. It’s a pretty easy “trail”. Not really any worse on the driveshaft than the freeway. Probably about an hour though Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So many workaholics these days. Just in case I avoid the mud pits this weekend, here are some Tahoe stuck shots from Indian Valley that rival my D2 at Hell Hole IMG_5862.MOV

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Just checking in since the trip is this weekend. Everything is still a go as planned. Looks like I’ll be driving my Tahoe instead of any of my 2 rovers due to me not having time to fix them. But the Tahoe has a Trutrac and a winch so I’ll be all good. A buddy of mine is also coming in a Jeep, so we’ll have a pretty mixed bunch this trip. The bass should be spawning now, so the fishing should be good. So if you’re bringing fishing gear, you may want to focus on bass stuff. Although we did catch carp and catfish at last April’s MORG. Feel free to confirm you’re coming on this thread so we can make sure to look out for you before we head off. I will have my handheld radio with me on 146.460, my cell phone will also be with me 408-772-8534 Looking forward to a nice and relaxing weekend Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Episode 2 is out. Don joins Miles and myself to talk Rovicon. Check it out, check out episode 1 if you haven’t, and rate and review so we can work the algorithms and compete with Joe Rogan!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Trip is this weekend Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There are a lot of cheap refrigerator option from China on Amazon and other sites. Probably can find something for like 1/4 of the REI price. May not last as long, but could probably nearly pay for itself after this trip via space and ice savings. I bet you could get something to meet your needs for under $300 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dates: April 9-10 , Saturday - Sunday Type: Easy wheeling with dispersed camping. Any stock vehicle will be fine Activities: fishing and litter clean up Meet up: 10am Saturday at the Road Trip Bar and Grill in Esparto 24989 State Highway 16 Esparto, CA 95607 This is going to be the same MORG we had last April. It will be a nice and easy drive on dirt roads to get to Indian Valley Reservoir. There will be ruts and some steep hills, but will be fine for any stock vehicle. Assuming the water level is still low, we will drop onto the lakebed and camp near the water. It’s BLM land, so basically anything goes. There won’t be any facilities. Bring plenty of firewood. We will be spending some time picking up trash like last year. Because the BLM allows for basically unsupervised use of the area, people tend to trash it. So we will be doing our part to keep it clean. The expectation will be to haul out an extra trash bag full of litter per vehicle. Last year we managed to get quite a bit in a short amount of time. Besides the trash pick up, the main activities will be driving, paddling, and fishing. The area is pretty much completely open for driving. There are a few areas to play around in and plenty of mud pits to get stuck in. It’s also a great place to let young drivers play around. It’s totally open and a safe place for first timers to get a little wheel time off pavement. The fishing is usually good. I have never gotten skunked here and we had some good luck last year. We caught Bass, Carp, and catfish at last April’s MORG which included a PB (personal best) for Roberts son Jason. Bring any kayaks or canoes you might have. We will be camping right on the water and launching will be easy. There are no motorized boats out there, so it’s a really mellow place to paddle around.

Not a rover, but it’s something worth looking at. This has been cruising around my area since the late 90’s.

How do you add videos? I have a bunch

Looks like it isn’t able to take videos?

Just a friendly reminder to any day trippers, be prepared for an overnight. Bring a sleeping bag, tent, food, and extra warm clothes. Conditions can sometimes be hard to predict. Stuff can happen. Things can break. Don’t get caught unprepared.

If this storm pans out, we might get close to a foot on new snow! On top of the better wheeling, it really makes for some beautiful scenery when there’s pristine white snow all over the ground and on the trees. Getting excited! The video is from the December run to Bowman. Hopefully similar type conditions but less SXS’s FullSizeRender.MOV

Gustav came by yesterday with his rear diff so we could get it ready for this weekends trip. Robert also swung by to lend a hand. His Trutrac had some bolts back out and dig into his carrier. It made quite a mess but in the end it was all salvageable… we think. We ended up replacing the bolts that backed out and also replaced the carrier bearing bolts. We also swapped out the carrier bearings with some new ones. The smaller pinion bearing was making some nasty sounds so we swapped it with a used, but in better shape, bearing I had laying around. In the end I think we have a good rear diff. IMG_8951.MOV

Took apart my rear axle… again. Had an air leak in my locker show up at the Shaver trip. Made for a fun time doing the trail without my lockers, but I still decided I should fix it. I had replaced the air line when I did the new gears due to my exploded pinion gear shredding the old copper line. Unfortunately I did not have the correct ferrule for the fitting and with the help of Robert, was forced to modify the fitting to work with the ferrule I had. We got it to work in my garage, but I figured that was the problem with the air leak. Below is a pic of the correct ferrule (big one) and the one I had used (small one) My plan was to remove the third and just replace the copper line and ferrule. Simple and relatively quick repair. I took the driveshaft and axle shafts out and then was going to drain the gear oil from the plug. I pulled out the plug and got a very disturbing surprise. There was a giant metal chunk along with some a bunch of small pieces of similar looking metal. I thought I had somehow lost some of my new ring gear. I hadn’t experienced any weird noises or clunking during break in or on the Shaver trip, but still was expecting to have to regear again. I took out the third member and inspected everything. The ring gear was fully intact and the wear markings looked good. The pinion gear also looked fine. I was relieved, but also perplexed as to where this came from. I had done a truncated break in due to lack of time and wanting to go on the Shaver trip, but I still did get in almost 300 miles of break in and then a gear oil change without any chunks of metal, so I figured it had to come from my new gears. I still had the old ring gear in the garage so I tried to match up the chunk with that. The size, color, shape, and machine marks seem to fit the old ring gear pretty well. I think I was even able to find the exact spot it came from. I think it was just an old chunk that was stuck in an oil channel and got dislodged on the trip. So I decided everything was going to be fine and I fit the new air line on the locker and prepared to reinstall it. I hooked it up to the compressor and heard a loud air leak. I tried to feel around the fittings for the leak but nothing. I determined it was coming from inside the locker. So my quick and easy repair was now going to be a pain in the ass. I was going to have to remove the locker from the third member and then take it apart to find the problem. So I reluctantly started the process. The Ashcroft air locker is pretty simple and easy to work on so I was able to go right to the source and find the problem after consulting the parts diagram for the locker. There’s only really one small section that takes air and that has a couple orings that it uses to hold the pressure, so I figured that’s where the would be. I was right. One of those little chunks of metal escaped my magnetic drain plug and lodged itself into the brass part that seals the air. It was deforming the oring enough to leak. Best I could do was to remove the foreign metal and reform the brass a little. Seemed to hold air, so I’m going to run it for now and order a replacement part. I’ll put it all back together tomorrow and reset the backlash. Probably put the axle back together Tuesday. Either way I’m running it at the Bowman trip this weekend. About 50/50 on whether the lockers will actually engage for the whole trip. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

D2 stuck fest at Bowman from 3 years ago to get your juices flowing for next weekend. Might not be as deep as that trip, but I am sure we can find some places to get some rovers stuck.

Got some snow coming. Could have maybe half a foot of fresh stuff for Saturday! 🤞🏼

Oh ok, I know him as Matthias. Guess that’s his new ride Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don’t recall ever seeing that at the Rovicon

A couple D90’s hanging out in the parking lot by the auto shop near my work. Regularly see rovers over there. Allied Auto Works in Los Altos. Met the owner, nice guy but a Jeeper Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk