New England B.S. Thread

Practicing to repel the great drone incursion?

 

What are the thoughts on lower control arms skids and rear diff skids?

 

LCA skids are a no go, no benefit at all other than trapping water and loosing clearance and lightening the wallet.

The rear diffs are plenty thick enough to deal with rocks other than the rear cover. I am just going to burn on a diff diaper One benefit you can get out of a bolt on skid vs weld on is a pinion guard like bamfs here.

 

I'm tired

 

Ditto

 

I will third that

 

If you go back almost two years in this thread you'll find where I was involved in an accident where the left quarter was hit on my Tacoma. Part of the repair was replacing the left axle because the truck had a kind of vibration from the left rear. They also replaced the wheel, but for some reason didn't replace the tire. That tire was always hard to balance, but it was "within spec" whatever that meant.

Fast forward to about two weeks ago. All for tires had been replace in September, just due to wear. Vibration was finally gone. Went last week to an independent shop for an oil change. They noted a leak from the left rear axle and recommended the seal be changed.

Seemed odd, but okay.

Brought it in Monday and then got a call late in the day that the bearing was also bad. At which point I realized that I probably should have bit the bullet and bought a new tire almost two years ago.

Once again, I ignored my gut feeling and it bit me in the ass.

All is fixed and the noise that I thought was just road noise from the tire is also gone because apparently it was the bearing self destructing. Could have been worse, it could have failed on the highway with worse results.

 

If you're like me sometimes I'm just so stubborn. I think i know what's going on and in the end it bites me.
I wouldn't exactly say that in this case because the bearing lasted for 2 years but then again you did have to live with it for a long time so...

 

It's just what it is, I guess. Should I have been more assertive two years ago? Probably, but the body shop is one that I've done a considerable amount of work with. The independent garage he subbed the mechanical stuff out to is one that he used for years. Based on that, I went with their judgement. If I still lived up there, I'd probably be using the garage for mechanical work and would still use the body shop for body work.

I guess I'll just file it under "shit happens" and enjoy the quiet and smooth ride.

I also have to chuckle because the manager at the new garage commented on "how much" rust there is on the truck compared to the norm for Texas.

 

Plus side is, it's over and done with.

Dare I ask how you responded to the rust comment haha

 

Just checked tracking. My skid plates are in Pennsylvania.

 

If anyone's looking to add a Harbor Freight winch.

 

Steel cable though

 

I laughed. I told him that was pretty typical for MA, but that if we'd brought my wife's '07 Highlander down he'd have been horrified.

It's amazing how many really old cars and trucks I see not only sitting in peoples yards and driveways, but how many survivor cars I see on the road. It's car lovers paradise. Car shows almost every weekend. Restos, Resto-mods, survivors, Rat Rods, stuff I can't describe... There's a guy down here that has a hearse that's towed behind his Harley. He uses it too, especially for veterans and public safety people who want something different.

 

This coupon is actually good for any winch including the ATV winch and the bigger Badlands winch that it has the composite line. which in all honesty, the one that has the composite line for 40% off is a really great deal.

 

That definitely changes things...

 

Does anybody even use wire rope anymore?

 

Commercial

 

I was pondering getting it cause 80% of my winching is not going to be in recovery scienarios. I use it more to moves rocks and trees around my property.

Wire cable isnt as dangerous as people think as long as its properly maintained and used correctly, just like anything.

 

It isn't, and basic precautions mean that even when it does fail catastrophically, it isn't doomsday. I think that part gets oversold in the wire vs synthetic debate because the (to me) real advantage, the weight, is not worth the $$$$$$$ to the majority of people who really only use the damn thing once in a great while or never, and are scared it will blow up and kill them if they ever do use it.

The weight savings is really multiplied, too, if you carry stuff for compound pulls. An aluminum donut is a heck of a lot lighter than a steel pulley, soft shackles are a lot lighter than steel shackles, etcetera. It adds up quick.