Poured rain last nite and this morning, wife and I made a off road detour for quick fun, got stuck water in cab and winched out, on the upside someone got stuck previous and left their tree saver so free tree strap. : ). Down side floor is soaked and might have killed another disc changer, still fun though

 

I installed the gas tank skid plate that I bought from Lucky 8. It needed to be trimmed to fit around the mounts for the hitch. I strapped on the sides of the gas tank with winch straps, removed the factory steel tank support, installed the new skid plate, then cut the straps off (they were left in place to hold the full tank of gas in place during installation).



This gas tank skid plate is really heavy. It is 1/4" thick and galvanized. Where I introduced cuts, I sprayed cold galvanizing spray to keep it sealed.

 

I took my father out to Chimney Rock in Redington Pass, East of Tucson, Arizona. Great views! It was great to lurch over some large smooth boulders today.

The trail goes through ranch property, but there are only 3 gates to go through.




This was a good spot to have lunch.




We went through a couple of mud puddles getting here, and the scenery was great.




Dad was nervous about going up this rock, but he did fine. He's never really 4 wheeled before, just driven on washboard back-roads. The locking rear diffy on my rig really bites the rock. Up it goes!

 

Don't the padlocks defeat the purpose of the quick pin shackles???
Nice thinking on cutting the straps after installing the gas skid!!

 

I need to get smaller ones, don't I? Haaaah! They have those little locks to keep them from being taken when I'm at the mall. They come off of there quickly if needed.

The strap idea worked out pretty well, so I figured that I'd share it. Since I didn't get squished, and the tank was full, I figure that was a success. =)

 

Today I finished replacing the seals and bearing on the front axel, changed differential fluids, installed new brakes up front, bled brakes, installed new tires, fixed the hinges on the good so it will actually close, and under coated the truck. Then I was finally able to take it for a drive. It has some cobwebs that need to be cleaned out, but I guess that happens when thy sit for a year.

 

Today I finished replacing the seals and bearing on the front axel, changed differential fluids, installed new brakes up front, bled brakes, installed new tires, fixed the hinges on the good so it will actually close, and under coated the truck. Then I was finally able to take it for a drive. It has some cobwebs that need to be cleaned out, but I guess that happens when thy sit for a year.

 

After dropping off my buddy's Christmas tree at the recycling place, I was behind him at the light as we went our separate ways. Hah! That freakin' Smart car of his is SO tiny. His sticker on the back that says, 'Actual Size', cracks me up. He used to have an LR3 and he's the one that got me to look into owning a Discovery for myself. Sometimes I let him drive my rig when we go 4 wheeling. He misses having a Rover. I expect to see him in one of his own again in about a year. If I had pulled forward to a normal distance behind his car at the light, all I would have seen of his car was his roof. Haaaaaah!

 

Haha!! That's a funny sticker, good to see he has a sense of humor about those ridiculous vehicles.

I finally got off my lazy butt and tracked down my parasitic draw. Turned out a couple wires at the relay for my Hella 4K's were switched! Somehow the lights still opereated normally, but the relay was juiced all the time.
I also got a brand new DieHard Platinum Marine battery for my rig. Its always reassuring to head offroad knowing your battery is good to go!

 

I finished buttoning up all the details of the transfer case swap and road tested. All good to go! I sort of expected the removing/reinstalling of the exhaust to be the biggest pain, and it was - 2 broken studs in the left manifold and one at the mid-box. But other than that and an epic bout of the flu between the start and finish, it went surprisingly well - thanks in large part to information and advice gleaned from this forum and the replacement case provided by Paul Grant. Thanks all!