This Fall

So I've been spending many hours in the shop getting Mr T. (my Tracker) back on the road. Now it has a different engine, a new turbo setup, an 8000 lb winch, a spool in the rear, and it is pretty sweet! Oh, I also painted the hood camo. A nice touch I think.







Blown up engine! This happened in the end of May at my first Zookmeld out by Rocky Mountain House.





















Whew! Lots of Pics...Lots of fun! eheheheh...

Sams Zuk

Here's a pic of what my bro has been working on...

Zookmeld 2009

Howdy! I posted this on my other blog, so here it is again. Just to keep up with the consistencies of the blog. All posts Mr T are here!

The beginning of the End

Mr T blew up... more to come in 5 minutes...












Well,

I can't say it was unexpected. We had a great time out 4 wheelin' by Rocky Mountain House here in Alberta. All kinds of terrain, water crossings, rocks, hills, straddling deep washouts, and muskeg. The Last mudpit of muskeg did Mr T in. We had been riding trails for hours and were deep in the woods when Mr T started making a fuss. A ticking. It was at about this point that we decided to turn back, mostly a coincidence. That and over the next hill the trail faded away. It was more like we decided to turn back, as it was getting late in the day, and the trail faded away over next hill THEN unstuck from the muskeg, Mr T started ticking. Savy?

We had planned on wheeling for a good part of Sunday, but now that the ticking had started, getting home was top priority. As I drove the few hundred kilometers back to Edmonton, the ticking got less intermittant and more obvious. So loud, in fact, that anyone outside their vehicle turned to see what the racket was as I drove by. Even a guy on his horse, off the side of the busy highway was startled by the sound.

I have had this type of an experience before...a few years ago with a 1985 S15 Jimmy. I drove it for two weeks with a very loud ticking before it reached catastrophic failure using a connecting rod as a battering ram with the side of the engine block.

I remembered the sound vividly as it re-occured 15 minutes South of Edmonton by a small manufacturing community known as Nisku. "KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK-CLUNK-TA-CLUNK-POP-CUD!" The horrible noise ended, but unlike before I knew it didn't fix itself. I quickly popped it into neutral and coasted off the highway on the exit ramp into Nisku.

Mr T - Lift

So I've lifted Mr T...using a neat technique...I cut out the ball joint pocket and made a new one, approximately 2 inches forward 1.5 inches down, and 1/2 inch out. Then to bring the back up I cut a 3/4" spacer with our laser and added those to the rear coils. The original frame to ground clearance was: 8.5" front, 9.5" rear. After the lift: 10.5" front, 11" rear. Woohoo more clearance for more fun!