What did you do to your GMT today?

[Trail X]

My neighbor showed me the trick. After you have the pickle fork seated in there good, Take a 2-3 pound hammer. And whack the knuckle where the tapered shaft goes through. On mine, after a few good hard whacks it should semi-violently separate without much extra fuss. It worked for me 4 times. twice on the uppers and twice on the lowers.

I havn't used a pickle fork in years. Once you get good at that "trick" you never go back. No more torn boots. AJ did NOT look happy with me when he'd been beating on his for an hour when I pointed to the little spot on those LBJ on our trucks and told him to beat Right There. 2 hits and it fell apart.

A hammer will do justice on anything.. I've done it enough times mine just pops right off.

Maybe I just wasn't doing it right. I tried a few different things. I had tried just beating the stud from below with a 10 lb sledge. That didn't do it. Then I set the stud down on a piece of steel that was resting on the concrete, and beat on the flat patch of the knuckle above the rotor. I thought that would work, but it didn't. I ended up having to take the wheel bearing out so I could get my pittman puller in there, which worked great... just took a lot of extra time to get the wheel bearing out.

Yeah, Matt, I imagine after doing it a few times, they come out nice and easy. I don't think these had ever been removed in 150k miles.

[Moots1288]

[quote="dvanbramer88"]My neighbor showed me the trick. After you have the pickle fork seated in there good, Take a 2-3 pound hammer. And whack the knuckle where the tapered shaft goes through. On mine, after a few good hard whacks it should semi-violently separate without much extra fuss. It worked for me 4 times. twice on the uppers and twice on the lowers.

I havn't used a pickle fork in years. Once you get good at that "trick" you never go back. No more torn boots. AJ did NOT look happy with me when he'd been beating on his for an hour when I pointed to the little spot on those LBJ on our trucks and told him to beat Right There. 2 hits and it fell apart.

A hammer will do justice on anything.. I've done it enough times mine just pops right off.

Maybe I just wasn't doing it right. I tried a few different things. I had tried just beating the stud from below with a 10 lb sledge. That didn't do it. Then I set the stud down on a piece of steel that was resting on the concrete, and beat on the flat patch of the knuckle above the rotor. I thought that would work, but it didn't. I ended up having to take the wheel bearing out so I could get my pittman puller in there, which worked great... just took a lot of extra time to get the wheel bearing out.

Yeah, Matt, I imagine after doing it a few times, they come out nice and easy. I don't think these had ever been removed in 150k miles.[/quote] It is a pain in the ass though. I got to pull em of to replace the yoke to control arm bushing and I'm dreading it.

[Trail X]

You shouldn't have to if you're doing the lower control arm bushings. You should be able to unbolt the lower control arm bounting bolts, loosen the CV shaft, and pull the whole lower arm and knuckle outward. Should give you enough access to get the alignment bracket out. At least, that's how i'd try it.

[Moots1288]

You shouldn't have to if you're doing the lower control arm bushings. You should be able to unbolt the lower control arm bounting bolts, loosen the CV shaft, and pull the whole lower arm and knuckle outward. Should give you enough access to get the alignment bracket out. At least, that's how i'd try it.

I was going to bring it to a shop for those bushings, I believe Jason didn't do them because they are a pos to do and need to be pressed out. My buddy is going to press then out and the new ones in for $50 for both.

[ErikSS]

The "trick" with the lower is the location to smack it. The lower control arm must be bolted to the vehicle for it to work as you're using the vehicle as a shock point. On the inside of the knucke where the LBJ coes through you will find a raised fin shape that protrudes in a strange way. That's the part you need to smack. Your hammer will be under the lower control arm swinging towards the outside of the vehicle. It is where the LBJ is held in place. Pretty much all tapers have a place intended to beat on them.

In James case, not knowing this trick combined with 150,000 miles and a ton of offroading would make things Much more challenging!

[tarsh]

I'll have to keep that in mind.I just rolled over 150k miles as well.lat 2 years have been almost daily off roading. I I do believe a "trick" thread is in order. Would help save lots of headaches and crushed fingers in the future

[ErikSS]

Sorry about the poor pic quality... But this might help

[Aries]

Installed:

• Z71 Rear Springs
• BDS 55619 Rear Shocks
• Massive adjustable pan hard bar
• Liftmeister 1.5/ 6x5.5 wheel adapters
• 265/75R16 GUARD DOGS on H3 Wheels
  
• Removed Rear Sway Bar

[ErikSS]

Installed:

• Z71 Rear Springs
• BDS 55619 Rear Shocks
• Massive adjustable pan hard bar
• Liftmeister 1.5/ 6x5.5 wheel adapters
• 265/75R16 GUARD DOGS on H3 Wheels
  
• Removed Rear Sway Bar

Big day in the Aries camp! Nice choices!

[blazinlow89]

I installed my CB radio tonight.









The CB is a Uniden Bearcat 980 SSB. It is probably overkill for anything I need it for but like they say go big or go home. I am using a Jeep mount, Firestik fire ring antenna cable, and a 4' Firestik II.

I was playing with the built in SWR meter and was reading 8.5 and that gave me a bad feeling. After playing with it a bit I realized the antenna cable was a bit loose and would jump down to 1.5 if I moved it a bit. So I redid the antenna connection and it was reading a constant 1.0, I think its too good to be true so I will run it with an analog meter tomorrow. The weather comes in crystal clear, and I had picked up a few people while scanning. I need to go back and clean up some stuff and finalize some of the wiring as it was cold a snowing/raining while I was doing all of this.

Im still working on that light bar as well. I ran all of the wiring and had it all nice and pretty and zip tied and of course, in my infinite wisdom ran the wires to come out on the passenger side . No big deal, just spin the lights. 3 went perfect the last one was to tight and ripped the wiring. So while it is broken down for paint I am going to redo the wiring on the harness for the last light and put it back together.

Here is a shot of all the lights working, keep in mind it is only 3' from the wall so the beam pattern is crap.

[TBYODA]

blazinlow89 I'd suggest you put spring on that antenna assembly, you could snap your firestick right at the mount point.

[mikekey]

blazinlow89 I'd suggest you put spring on that antenna assembly, you could snap your firestick right at the mount point.

He won't unless he drags it on something that pulls it back hard enough. I ran mine without a spring for months. And banged it on a few branches here and there. Granted there weren't any large branches in Moab but there were some on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to get some good wacks.

Although those look like the metal screws that come with the Jeep mount and they're crap and will loosen. I replaced mine with bolts and nuts on the underside, which is probably why mine never bent. Had to cut a whole to put the nuts on however.

I installed my CB radio tonight.

[blazinlow89]

I used 1/4"x1.25" self tapping screws which I dipped in jb weld to help them from loosening. If they do loosen I will cut and bolt. The kit came with some 5/16-24 bolts and nuts.

I had a stainless heavy duty spring on the mount but when the spring would move the mount would twist, a lot. So I removed the spring. I have a medium duty one I will try out. I ran the wire through the boot for the tail light.

[HARDTRAILZ]

blazinlow89 I'd suggest you put spring on that antenna assembly, you could snap your firestick right at the mount point.

Did that happen to you?

I had a spring and removed it. It only seemed to help the firestik slap the truck more. I have had no problems without a spring and see no real need for most usage.

[Trail X]

I don't use a spring either. Those fiberglass antennae have plenty of flex to them.

Self tappers will not live, even with JB. It's not a matter of them loosening, it's a matter of them not having enough area of contact with the sheet metal to spread out the bending stress. An alternative to cutting a hole and using a nut on the bottom are rivet-nuts, that's what my bracket uses.

[dvanbramer88]

On the drivers side, if you have the smaller storage pocket, you can barely reach through the inner quarter panel and hold a socket/nut with your fingers while someone else tightens the screw/bolt. Be ready to scratch your arm on the sheet metal. Drilling an access hole above the tail light isn't completely necessary.

On the passenger side, you can more easily reach through the bigger cargo pocket hole and hold a nut/socket while someone else spins the screw.

That's how Josh and I put dual antennas on his truck without having to drill any extra holes. We used SS M10x1.25 screws and matching lock washer/washer and nuts. A little bit of a PITA to get it started with the washers, but we managed.

Also, i broke a 3' roadpro antenna on the trail back in June. I think on the highway, I'd rather not have springs so the antenna isn't so whippy. The just arch back in the wind. On the trail, the extra flex might be worth it.

[Moots1288]

On the drivers side, if you have the smaller storage pocket, you can barely reach through the inner quarter panel and hold a socket/nut with your fingers while someone else tightens the screw/bolt. Be ready to scratch your arm on the sheet metal. Drilling an access hole above the tail light isn't completely necessary.

On the passenger side, you can more easily reach through the bigger cargo pocket hole and hold a nut/socket while someone else spins the screw.

That's how Josh and I put dual antennas on his truck without having to drill any extra holes. We used SS M10x1.25 screws and matching lock washer/washer and nuts. A little bit of a PITA to get it started with the washers, but we managed.

Also, i broke a 3' roadpro antenna on the trail back in June. I think on the highway, I'd rather not have springs so the antenna isn't so whippy. The just arch back in the wind. On the trail, the extra flex might be worth it.

With my 4 foot firestik and a spring it whips like crazy into other lanes with my roof rack on.. I'm going to try with no spring.

[dvanbramer88]

With my 4 foot firestik and a spring it whips like crazy into other lanes with my roof rack on.. I'm going to try with no spring.

Yea definatly try it. Mine are really stable on the road and don't cause any problems.

[Moots1288]

With my 4 foot firestik and a spring it whips like crazy into other lanes with my roof rack on.. I'm going to try with no spring.

Yea definatly try it. Mine are really stable on the road and don't cause any problems.

I was wondering if it was the way the wind hits it and the leverage the 4ft has cause the 3ft is almost stationary no matter what.

[dvanbramer88]

the 3' roadpros I had were really thick and stiff. And didn't flex as much in the wind. (less stuck up above the truck)

The 4' RAMI antennas I have now are thinner and obviously taller. The flex back in an arch like a fishing pole and pretty much stay there cruising at highway speeds.

And your 3 footer might have been better protected by the wind "shadow" of the truck/roof rack. The 4' could stick up far enough to get into some really turbulent air and whip around. The antenna also has more leverage on the spring because its taller and collecting more wind. Either way, I'd try it without the springs for craps and laughs.