Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2017 i Four Wheeler

THE AXLES ARE PROBABLY THE MOST ABUSED components on our 4x4s. We regularly overload them with heavy payloads and trailers, expect them to survive with larger-than-stock tires, sink them in deep mud and water, and in most cases, we rarely maintain them. It’s not at all uncommon for an axle to go 100,000 miles or more without so much as an oil change. We usually only pay them any attention when something goes really wrong. So in the spirit of sticking with the no-maintenance theme, there are a few tips, tricks, and upgrades you can implement to increase the durability and service life of your axles. Got an axle problem not discussed here? Drop the Techline department a note at editor@fourwheeler.com with “Techline” in the subject line.…

RECENTLY, WE PUBLISHED A STORY TALKING ABOUT LONGTIME 4X4 OWNERship (Firing Order, Dec. ’16)—you know, folks that have owned their 4x4 for far longer than it takes to pay it off, and they have no plans to part ways with their ride. We concluded the story by asking if you’ve owned your vehicle for a long time, and if so, we invited you to drop us an email and tell us your story. Turns out, there are quite a few readers who’ve owned their 4x4s for a long length of time. Our Inbox was inundated with great stories, and we’ve compiled a few here. What you’ll find as you read through each story is that these 4x4 owners have formed a bond with their rig. In many cases their vehicle…

THE UNITED STATES MILITARY HAS LONG BEEN obsessed with lightweight, easily transported vehicles. In World War II, it was all about getting them into gliders or transport planes. Then it was parachute capability. When the helicopter went mainstream, the goal was to make them luggable by chopper. The development of an air-portable extralight 4x4 started not long after the legendary jeep went into production. On its own, the notable small car maker, Crosley, came up with the “Pup” 4x4 in 1942, and the military liked it enough to make specs for a revised vehicle and sent them out to a number of manufacturers. The 1943 result was prototypes from Chevrolet, Crosley, Kaiser, and Willys. They all weighed between 900 and 1,600 pounds. The Chevrolet was probably the most advanced, followed…

JK STEERING EXTENDED Dynatrac introduces the new Jeep JK Wrangler DHD Drag Link Sleeve. It’s said to be more than double the strength of the factory stamped sleeve, which is a common steering failure point on lifted JKs with larger tires. It also offers extended steering adjustment range. The DHD Drag Link Sleeve is made from billet 4130 heat-treated chromoly steel, is threaded to mate with the stock drag link components, and comes with heavy-duty clamps. As with all Dynatrac products, the DHD Drag Link Sleeve is 100 percent made in the USA. INFO: Dynatrac, 714/596-4461, dynatrac.com DICKIES PRO Performance workwear brand Dickies has teamed up with INVISTA’s CORDURA brand to create the Dickies Pro with CORDURA military-grade fiber technology collection. What is it? Well, it’s a fabric that is…

FACTORY 4X4 AXLEHOUSINGS WERE ORIGINALLY designed for the street, stock-sized tires, and moderate off-road use. The addition of lift kits and larger tires, combined with the newfound ability to get further and faster up the trail puts more stress on the factory axle assemblies than was ever intended. This added stress can sometimes result in a bent or broken axlehousing. Fortunately, RuffStuff Specialties offers heavy-duty fabricated replacement axlehousings for popular front and rear third member axle assemblies like the Ford 9-inch, Toyota pickup/4Runner 8-inch, Land Cruiser 9.5-inch, and Tundra 10.5-inch. You can order your axle with or without ends. Options include Dana 60 kingpin end forgings, full-float or semi-float rear housing ends, axle trussing, and additional differential armor. Our factory-thin stamped-steel Toyota FJ40 front axlehousing was bent enough that the…

JUST SOUTHEAST OF THE TOWN OF SUPERIOR, Arizona, is a high-desert landscape that has seen habitation by Native Americans, explorers, settlers, prospectors, and miners. It was here that many sought to scratch out an existence in the rugged terrain. We, however, traveled to the area for a fun weekend of fourwheeling and a chance to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. Superior developed as a mining community about 1875 when claims here were filed on a mine that would later be known as the Silver Queen Mine and eventually the Superior Magma Mine. A 400-foot vertical shaft was dug chasing a silver vein, but much of the mining for this precious metal was complete by 1893. The next great hope for the mine came about 1910, which was…

THE SAMURAI WAS INTRODUCED TO THE U.S. MARKET WITH THE 1986 MODEL, AND THE SMALL SUZUKI remains highly popular today despite being discontinued in the states over two decades ago. Prices have continued to climb and the mini utility 4WD is enjoying almost a cult following in some ways. Soft top, hardtop and integral steel hardtop (often called a “tin top”) models were available in the United States. Samurai (1986-1995) The Samurai was initially powered by a 1.3L overhead-cam, carbureted, eight-valve, I-4 engine producing about 63hp. The only available transmission was a five-speed manual gearbox with a 0.795:1 overdrive ratio. Behind that sat a gear-driven, cast-aluminum transfer case with 1.409:1 high range gearing and 2.268:1 low range gearing. All models used a manual steering box, front disc brakes, and rear…

THAT’S INTERESTING Kelley Blue Book’s picks for best family whips for 2017? The list included the Nissan Pathfinder and Chevy Tahoe. There’s yet another way people are making money from driving: the Roadie app. It’s basically a service in which you deliver packages during trips you’re already taking, whether local or across the country. We just checked imdb.com, and it appears to be nothing like the plot of Midnight Express. eBay Advertising did some studying via a survey it conducted and learned that 63 percent of consumers are extremely likely or likely to buy a vehicle online, and 87 percent used the Internet to research. And that timing of research to purchase runs about two months. The Road Through Warroad: Hockeytown USA is the name of a documentary—and not just…

SOME DEBATES ARE NEVER ENDING AND WILL rage until time stops. Ford or Chevy. Good versus evil. Old or new. Chocolate or vanilla. Donkey or elephant. Which is best can lead to arguments that are difficult to win, although they may be simple to answer from your perspective. Really, who likes evil or would rather drive a vanilla-flavored Ford over a double-chocolate Chevy? These debates occur in the off-road world as well as at the ice cream stand, and many are settled by opinions as opposed to cold hard facts. Still, what works for you may not be the answer for someone else, especially when he or she is trying to accomplish a different job than you. One debate that has and will continue to rage is the never-ending query:…

IT’S CALLED KYMERA. IT’S A NAME THAT’S DERIVED FROM THE GREEK mythology creature Chimera—you know, the one that was part goat, lion, and snake. Yay, we hadn’t heard of it either, but it makes perfect sense once you realize the different pieces that make up what started off as a ’15 Chevy Colorado. Fit with a fully built 12-valve Cummins diesel engine, AxleTech 4000 axles, and detailed metalwork more commonly found on high-end hot rods, this Bow Tie is beyond unique. Debuting at the 2016 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas, Kymera was the brainchild of Fab Fours CEO Greg Higgs. Teaming up with Tim Odell at Vice Unlimited, the American bumper manufacturer wanted to build something so over-the-top that everyone would stop and take notice. As…

WE’RE EXCITED THAT A new Ram 1500 Rebel 4x4 has joined our long-term test fleet of vehicles for a yearlong evaluation! The Rebel won our 2016 Pickup Truck of the Year (PTOTY) by a wide margin over the other three competitors for good reason. The Rebel is based on the capable Ram 1500 pickup, but the truck features many offroad– friendly upgrades including a Rebel-specific multi-piece front bumper that improves ground clearance, mud and snow-rated 33-inch-tall tires, 17-inch wheels, Bilstein shocks, Anti-Spin rear differential, and a 1-inch factory suspension lift to help clear the 33s. At the 2016 PTOTY, these items combined to help create a vehicle that excelled in a variety of areas. Some of the judges’ comments on the Rebel included “One smooth dirt machine” and “Everything about…

The story was called “Turbo Trucks,” and it published in the June ’90 issue of Four Wheeler. It was a shootout between a pair of turbodiesel-powered pickups: a ’90 GMC K2500 with a 6.2L engine and a ’90 Dodge Power Ram W350 with a 5.9L engine. A new 6.2L with a turbo in 1990? Yep, and here’s the explanation from the story: “Currently available only as a normally aspirated engine in Chevrolet trucks, a Banks turbocharger is a factory option for GMC buyers,” we wrote. We went on to note that “through the intricacies of a drop-ship program” the $2,595 price of the turbocharger could be selected as an option and be included in the new truck financing. In the late ’80s and early ’90s, diesel engines were beginning to…