Well, today was the first real hiccup I've had with the Jeep while wheeling, and it was ultimately my fault. Since I've done the skid plates, I haven't had the Jeep out. So we loaded up and went to Tahuya for the day, and the weather was fantastic. The new truck towed great!
We got there and it wasn't busy at all. Got everything loaded into the Jeep and aired down. Tried out 8 today with the new beadlocks and was really happy with how they performed.
We got 10-25 minutes into the trail and I commented that the temp seemed to be a little higher than normal. Turned down Trail 55, and turned the lockers on to climb a little rock pile that I've avoided without an engine skid. First line didn't work because the rear diff hung on a rock. Got repositioned and was really crawling it, when I looked down and saw "Check Gauges" and the temp was in the red. Luckily about that time, I popped up and over the rock onto a flat spot and I killed it (the heat had already been on). I could hear it boiling and just knew it was going to blow a hose or cap. I carefully popped the hood latches without walking around the front but left the hood down so I wasn't exposing myself.
We walked around picking up garbage for 15-20 minutes, while I kept everyone away from the front of the Jeep. I was convinced that the water pump had finally given out and our day was over. Once it was back around 220, I popped the hood. I started wondering if maybe the thermostat had stuck and might work loose. Once it got below 210, I started looking around. I reached over and turned the fan by hand and noticed it was stuck. I thought the clutch or water pump were seized up. Then, it gave way. It turns out, when I put the tummy tuck skid on, it raised the motor enough to contact the bottom of the fan shroud and I never even thought to check it.
I started trying to come up with a plan and broke out the tools. My first thought was to loosen the shroud, and try to lower it. That's when I found out that my passenger upper shroud bolt is 3/8, which I have, but the rest appear to be 11mm which I only had a wrench for and wasn't going to work. My next thought was to lay underneath and cut away the portion of the shroud that was contacting. I had a razor knife, a pocket knife, and a fixed blade knife. None of those were going to be a safe or effective way. That's when I decided that I could take a small adjustable wrench and snap off pieces of the shroud until it cleared. This did the trick! Was it the best option? Of course not, but it worked and we wheeled the rest of the day. Though it did still hit twice, briefly.
So, now the bottom of my shroud looks like it was chewed on by a deranged beaver, and I need to figure out a better solution, or at least trim it up neater. As you can see in the picture, at least I stayed in a positive mood! I need to add some tools to my kit, and something good for cutting plastic wouldn't be a bad addition.
View attachment 667535
View attachment 667536
The rest of the day went great, with lots of garbage cleanup! Oh, and I cleaned up all of the little plastic bits I broke off of course!
View attachment 667537View attachment 667538
That and the fact that I was able to do it!
