I thought the Gladiator only broke the portal inner while trying to follow the line the Defender easily pioneered. Turns out it broke the entire front axle. Originally I was just going to change all the Treal Parts with SSD parts. Now I am going to take this opportunity to rethink the entire axle combination this thing runs. Not sure going back to OEM axles is a wise decision, those have proven to not have what it takes.
Oofta. To me breakage means upgrade time.
Yeah, thinking Vanquish Currie F9 axles. Increase the steering angle to 50 degrees. I’ll ponder this one until I finish The Night Crow. Those Currie axles alone are $550 plus all the parts I’ll need to put them on. that would make the gladiator break the $2k mark, and I don’t have an emotional attachment to it like the element or the defender.
Decision made after consulting myself. Currie portals for the axial it is. I may not be attached to this Jeep because it’s lacking something. So I won’t know until it’s no longer lacking. Plus if we ever go to mineral Wells, a Currie axle Jeep will not break through a day of trail and rock running. Mission make Jeep emotional commenced.
A box from Axial was just delivered…no more plastic anywhere on the front axle, steering or panhard. Box also has a few other upgrades and test things. But, my longest afternoon meeting was canceled, that cuts into my wrench time.
Eek -
Ctown guy likes to build - maybe toss him a project?
@FordTruckRC In my rather extensive rebuild on the Axial, I thought about your beadlocks problem. It is possible that your inner ring is too thin for the size and width tire you have. They sell wider inner rings which may make it easier. In my case I ditched the silicone inserts, going back to the JConcepts mid weight foams for my Tusk Green Dots. These tires should be reasonably close to the Canyon trails for sand rock performance, and better on rocks. Also thinking that we are going into the summer and the hyrax predators will get less use from me since it won’t be cool wet rock anymore. (Gotta do a lot to compensate for choosing the worst of each model because I think they are cool.) I am still thinking though that the best tires for the Axial may be the stock tires it came with. The Toyota IFS truck is going to run either canyon trails or General Grabbers since I need dirt traction from it to pull my trailer.
Def have a mismatch. 2 hands a toe and a wood clamp no tires have been assembled. Next is cy glue and then heat and beat. #2.2FTW
The all metal front end on my Gladiator has shown a new weakness. Originally I really liked the panhard because it is bent to fit around the motor and servo mount, allowing more front suspension travel than the other trucks I have. It allows a lot of travel, but yet not have the extra ride height. Now I found that the plastic connectors on the end of the panhard bend since there isn’t any other plastic in the whole front end. That will be the next part to break I think and I can’t find any upgrades for it.
