Moab 2019 Trail Report

[hagar]

So the problem is just a broken or collapsed lifter ?
Not a cupped lifter on the bottom which would mean a bad camshaft ?
Seems unusual for a lifter to break down like that.

 

[BusaDave9]

So the problem is just a broken or collapsed lifter ?
Not a cupped lifter on the bottom which would mean a bad camshaft ?
Seems unusual for a lifter to break down like that.

I'm no expert so I'd like to hear ideas about my problem. I was surrounded by guys that were much more knowledgeable about this.

This problem came on very fast. The day before my jeep was running good.

Then on Thursday the valve suddenly started making a tapping sound. The oil pressure also dropped to zero unless at higher RPM. You were talking about a bad cam but wouldn't a worn cam be more gradual?

The hydraulic lifter uses oil ,a valve and a spring to keep the lifter at the correct length. A collapsed lifter is no longer the correct length.



after taking off the valve cover we found the push rod to have a lot of free play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQNAvoQ4-T8

 

[Lumpy Grits]

What oil brand & weight are you using?
I would disassemble that bad lifter-take pictures and contact Edelbrock, ASAP.
How does the cam lobe on the bad lifter look?
My concern-This will not be the last of the bad lifters you will have to deal with.
You should do an oil/filter change when you get it going again.
Good luck
LG

 

[mriplaybass]

I would take a look at the cam lobe. Unless it shows obvious signs of wear or damage, I would consider it good. You can go through a lot of trouble using a dial indicator and knowing the cam's lift, measure the travel on the end of the rocker arm once the lifter is full of oil. I always soak new lifters in a can full of motor oil over night prior to installation. Then I coat them with assembly lube prior to assembly. I'm kind of surprised that Edelbrock recommended only replacing the bad lifter, but they know a whole lot more about engines than I do. If you need some help, feel free to give me a call.

 

[mriplaybass]

Here are some of the pictures that we took in Moab/Colorado Springs.


We got to Colorado Springs Wednesday afternoon, and immediately started wrenching on BillD's CJ5 installing a different transmission, and swapping Posi's stock Dana 20 for one with a TeraLow gear set. Not a whole lot of pictures taken, but we had a great time wrenching, talking, and having a whole lot of fun!
Putting the T case back in





Bill recently picked up a 1949 CJ3a. A really nice Jeep! Oldjeeplady was grins from ear to ear when Bill took her for a ride. Something tells me that there might be another CJ in our future!











After wrenching for a few days, Bill took us out on a really nice trail ride Saturday prior to leaving for Moab on Sunday.


Bill going up the Colorado Springs version of Moab









Bobby making it look easy

 

[mriplaybass]

Tuesday: Hell's Revenge/Fins n Things
We had 2 pairs of "newbies" with us this year. My daughter and son in law, Jenny and Mike, and some friends of Bill and Carol's, Gary and Sharon. Although they all thought that we were all crazy after following us up the fin with steep drop offs on both sides leading to Hell's Revenge, by the second day they were all handling their Jeeps like old pros!











Gary and Sharon had a bone stock Jeep. By half way through the second day, Gary was picking his way through the rocks with minimal help from the rest of us.

 

[mriplaybass]

Monday: 7 Mile Rim
This year we decided to try 7 Mile Rim during the day! Without all the locked gates that we encountered late in the day last year, things went a lot easier.






















































Tuesday: Hell's Revenge/Fins n Things
We had 2 pairs of "newbies" with us this year. My daughter and son in law, Jenny and Mike, and some friends of Bill and Carol's, Gary and Sharon. Although they all thought that we were all crazy after following us up the fin with steep drop offs on both sides leading to Hell's Revenge, by the second day they were all handling their Jeeps like old pros!











Gary and Sharon had a bone stock Jeep. By half way through the second day, Gary was picking his way through the rocks with minimal help from the rest of us.

 

[mriplaybass]

Wednesday: Steel Bender Loop/Hurrah Pass
The plan was to do only part of Steel Bender Loop, and then connect with Steel Bender Flat route. However, we came to a double ledge that after considerable discussion between all of us, we decided the ledges were a bit much for short wheel based CJ's, so we went all the way around the entire loop. We were all pretty happy that we did. There were some great obstacles on the loop.
























This is the easy second ledge going down if we had continued. Bobby made it down both ledges, and back up the lower one. But when it came to going up the first ledge, even he had to winch himself up. Maybe next year!

 

[mriplaybass]

Thursday: Flat Iron Mesa
As Dave already said, he had some engine problems, so we had to tow him back to the parking lot. But first, we had to get him off the trail. This was truly a group effort with Bobby doing the towing, Blacky setting up as Bobby's anchor point so he could use his own winch. Bill and I both provided winching since it required setting up in 2 different positions due to a hard curve coming up the hill. Everyone else helped out by throwing a tow strap over the winch lines as snubbers, and chocking the wheels of the anchor and winch vehicles with rocks.












Once Dave and Bobby were on their way, the rest of us continued on with the trail ride.





In his usual annual form, Shooby picks up a rear tire.





The "I can't believe I'm still on all 4 wheels" look.

 

[mriplaybass]

Friday: Steel Bender Flat route
We all decided that our last day would be Steel Bender Flat route. This is the trail that we had hopped to continue on Wednesday until the double ledge changed our minds. This trail is set up as an up and back trail, but we thought that we would take a second look at going up the ledges when we got there.





















































Mike and Jenny left our group after the Wednesday trail ride. Given that this was their first time wheeling, they were not sure they wanted to commit to anything longer. By Tuesday, they were already checking into seeing if they could rent their Jeep longer! Unfortunately, they could not. But I think that we got them hooked! I hope that they decide to join us again for future trail rides.
Gary and Sharron did great in their stock Jeep. Sharron's wide eyed, white as a sheet look after coming off some of the obstacles turned into her being able to spot Gary herself when going over many obstacles. I guess we all must have done something right! Bill told us that Gary is actually looking for another Jeep set up with all the toys and gadgets so he can keep up with the rest of us instead of using the obstacle bypasses.
Shooby had to leave us early on Friday. He wanted to go to a guitar show in Dallas! So, he and Dave had to turn around about 20 minutes from the turn around point at the ledges.
This was quite the experience for me leading most of the trail rides all week. I have a whole new appreciation for all the work that Posi and Dave do to make these rides happen. I am looking forward to the Ouray ride in August, and already anticipating next springs ride. Only from the gunner position!

Again, I would like to thank Posi for having everything planned out for this trip, and guiding me via telephone and text messages to make this another enjoyable trip!:grinjeep:

 

[Lumpy Grits]

:ty: Bass for the great pictures, and the time it takes to post'em!

LG

 

[Belizean]

Some really great pictures ! Thanks for putting all of them up so the rest of us out there could see them. Some really good angles with the pictures. I could tell these were some challenging trails from the pictures.

 

[BusaDave9]

Where was I?

As you may remember I had engine trouble Thursday. That day it is no exaggeration to say that I rode more trails being towed by Bobbie than under my own power. The shortest path back was not the best route because of the ruts and gullies we would have to cross. Instead a longer route was the better route.

Then Bobbie trailered my Jeep back to Durango. I returned to Moab for one more day of trail rides even though I no longer had a jeep.

There were plenty of people willing to give me a seat for the trail rides. I hopped in with Shoobie. His Jeep is much like mine. We both have CJ 5's (one year apart). We both have a 304 V8, a T18 transmission, Dana 20 TCase with Terra Low gears, similar axles, and an OX locker (or 2). The difference is mine has bigger tires and he has a fiberglass body.

Friday we headed back to SteelBender Trail.

We started at the trailhead further from town this time.











Shoobie had to catch a flight so we turned around and headed back a little sooner than the others.

Shoobie dropped me off in Moab. I hopped in Ben's pickup and headed back to Durango.

It's been a great week of trail rides with a bunch of great guys and gals. Moab offered lots of challenges.

A fantastic vacation!

 

[mriplaybass]

And I know that we all hope you and Ben will be able to join us again next year!

 

[mriplaybass]

:ty: Bass for the great pictures, and the time it takes to post'em!

LG

Glad you enjoyed them!

 

[Belizean]

Glad you enjoyed them!

Excellent entertainment!

 

[BusaDave9]

When in Moab I saw this Jeep CJ3a.
Not much of it is still a CJ3a except for the body.

 

[BusaDave9]

An update about my engine trouble. I had a collapsed lifter. I took off my intake manifold and removed the lifter. It was extremely worn. So worn it had a hole in the bottom.

Now I'm wondering what to do. What else is worn out? I got a lot of good advice from the guys that came to Moab, especially from ColdAir and MrIPlayBass.

Don, the owner of Mountain Mechanical Auto Repair in Durango is a good friend of mine. I went over there to ask for advice. Don was on vacation but I talked to the Ed, a mechanic. He said that front lifter gets less oil due to the slope of the engine. My engine has more slope than most due to my lift. Victory Engine and Machine does the machine work for the shop. I talked to Tony Hill, the owner of Victory Engine and got some great advice. He gave me confidence that it's not as bad as I originally thought. But there are a couple of mods they could do to improve my 304.

He said these AMC 304 engines have problems with low oil pressure. This is worse for rock crawling speeds. The fix is a steel front cover for oil pump. OEM is aluminium. When hot at low RPM the aluminium bows allowing oil to bypass the oil pump gears.

He said I should use heavy oil, "20W-50 is not out of the question".
I asked about cams and told him I've been doing research and talking to support. I was thinking of getting a Lunati Voodoo Cam and Lifter Kit part #10100700LK. He said he could grind a custom cam for low RMP. The cam will be reverse pattern (more intake lift). This reverse pattern will especially be advantageous since I have a carburetor.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

20W-50 might be a bit thick in your cold.
I do run 20W-50 in my 4.2, but I live in the Mojave.
What brand & weight oil are you running now.
Whos engine oil filter do you use?
LG

 

[coldair]

I run 20w50 in my flat tappet engines all year round. You will be good Dave.