Finished up three days of wheeling with my 1st generation Bronco buddies. We covered a wide range of trails, from green to Black, with one small adventure into red. Overall, my little Jeep on 32" tires exceeded my expectations. I had to pay special attention to driving skills, but went everywhere the group on bigger tires (all 35" and 37") did, and a few places only a smaller contingent ventured into. Although I didn't have anything I'd classify as "major" carnage, there was some damage. Those things included the following:
1. Took out the driver side mirror - this was on a very steep off-camber hill climb, where only 3 of us went. I was the second up and after watching the first person struggle, I took a different line between two trees that were just wide enough for me to fit. As I entered the trees, the tail end kicked to the driver's side. Given how steep the hill was, I knew if I stopped I wouldn't be able to start again without potentially getting sideways. Because of that, and the two big rocks at the top I had to get over, I kept up my momentum, knowing the mirror was going to be sacrificed. It was, but I made it up and over.
2. Bent the ZJ tie rod - here I underestimated how I would use the Jeep and figured the ZJ parts would be tough enough for my use. It wasn't. While trying to crawl through a series of "Black" trails down by the "Rock Garden" the ZJ tie rod, and clamp, got pushed into the lower part of the swaybar link bracket, as seen in the picture. I was able to bend it back straight, with a winch line, but the damage showed a flaw in my thought process.
3. Honestly, my single biggest problem was the differential height - on 32" tires I'm at 9.25" (rear) and 10.5" (front) of clearance. I was able to mostly keep the front from being abused, but the rear really took a beating. This can only be addressed by larger tires, so I'm just going to have to focus on being a better driver. The other thing I can do is install the two rock cameras I have for the Insane Audio system.
4. The mini skids and wheels were abused - these are things I'm glad I did. The mini skids saved me from having bent lower front control arm mounts and the wheels performed their sacrificial role.
5. One rear shock kept popping off the bottom cap - this was a very minor thing, but annoying
6. The axle side track bar and rear sway bar upper link bolts loosened - My steering felt weird and I was hearing a rattling sound in the back, so I stopped to check things out. I found the bolts had backed out so far, they were just short of falling out.
7. The passenger front tire was into the SwayLoc, when stuffed and turned in - it wasn't enough to worry me, but I knew it was there.
None of this was bad, just demonstrated that I need to not underestimate what the Jeep or I can do together. Out of all this, getting an upgraded tie rod, and doing the tie rod flip, is next on the upgrades!
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