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All the stuff I did to my deuce, right here

sewerzuk

Member
524
10
18
Location
Seaside, OR
It has been a while since I did any real work to the Deuce; but I did pick up a new set of LED lights from Beerslayer last week...they were a 5 minute install and a HUGE upgrade over the factory lights. I picked up a couple of sets, and installed one set in my Samurai, too.
 

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sewerzuk

Member
524
10
18
Location
Seaside, OR
Matt,
How did you convert your 12 volt Sami to run the 24 volt lights? Both rigs look real nice.
I purchased a 12 to 24v switching power supply. It powers on whenever the headlights are turned on. I used a relay to switch its power between high and low beams. Seems to work pretty well. It added a few $$ to the cost, but still way cheaper than purchasing the 12v lights new...
 

sewerzuk

Member
524
10
18
Location
Seaside, OR
It is time for my annual trek to Mudfest!
I've been to this event twice before with the deuce; I haven't made any major changes to the vehicle this year, but I plan to go through my normal annual maintenance. I plan to take an extra full day to drive down there, with several stops and side trips planned along the way.
Mudfest is kind of an annual ritual for myself and my friends; it involves a few hundred road miles, a full day off road, and a lot of pulling other people out of mudholes! Because of the road miles, I tend to do a pretty thorough inspection of the truck before leaving.
A few things of note this year:
1. I put fewer miles on it this year than last year; not by much, but a few hundred less.
2. My speedometer quit working a few months ago. It was never accurate since I put the 395's on, but at least I was able to mentally calculate an accurate speed. I purchased a new one from Saturn Surplus, AND a speedometer correction converter from PATC. Pics and details to follow in a post in the next couple of days, but it steps up the speedometer speed to compensate for the larger tires.
3. I am paying extra attention to the wheel bearings this year.
4. I noticed two of the hydro steering hoses were rubbing together and wearing flat spots on both hoses. I added some large diameter heater hose to both lines, and a couple of zip ties to eliminate the abrasion.
5. I noticed some loose bolts throughout the truck; one was on one of the rod ends for the steering. Important bolt to check!
6. I rotated the tires (that was a MUCH bigger job than on any of my other vehicles)

Musfest is this weekend; I'll be sure to get some good video and pics and post them up here.
Here's some highlights from last year:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibZYu9_HRrM
 

DeucesWild11

Active member
1,265
12
38
Location
Putnam County, NY
Sewerzuk, cool video, thanks for posting, now you just need one of these snorkels! Not that you may go through water that deep but for the cool factor and I got a nice boost in power from the Ram Air. However, unfortunately my supplier can no longer get the 4" ram air scoop, but there are others out there..

I can't wait for your info on the speedometer correction converter from PATC. Please post info on where you got that, I am not familiar with PATC.
 

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sewerzuk

Member
524
10
18
Location
Seaside, OR
speedometer correction

As promised, here are the pics and details on my speedometer correction:

I purchased a new speedometer from Saturn Surplus to replace the failed one. It had about 2 miles on the odometer...so it must not quite have been NEW new, but close enough :)
Installation was straightforward and only took a few minutes.

Since I switched to 395's, my speedometer has always read too slow (as expected). I contemplated several solutions:
1. GPS speedometer (expensive, and I do like the vintage gauges in the deuce)
2. A 5 ton speedometer 90 degree .200:1 adapter (part number 7065893, NSN 2520-00-404-3098 ). The factory deuce adapter is a .187:1 adapter, so this provides roughly a 7% increase in the speedometer reading. It gets it close, but isn't quite enough. The advantage is...it is easy. No work required, other than some online searching for the part.
3. Have the speedometer itself worked on (too much hassle for me, and likely too expensive, although I didn't get any quotes)
4. Order a custom speedometer correction gearbox (this is what I did)

Using the old speedometer's error, I calculated that I needed an 18% increase in the speedo reading. The closest one they had was a +20% adapter...so my speedometer would read 1 MPH fast at 50 MPH. Close enough for me!
The box I ordered was a universal gearbox from PATC, http://www.transmissioncenter.net/speedometer_calibration_______va.htm
They provide custom ratio adapters, and are able to adjust the speedometer reading up to 200%. I had hoped it would be a simple bolt on, but I did need to spend about 20 minutes customizing a few parts.

The problem was that the deuce's speedo cable was slightly smaller than the drive keys that came with the gearbox. So, the speedo cable fit a little too loosely in the gearbox, and the supplied key didn't fit inside of the deuce's angle adapter. I chose to make my own new drive key on the lathe...but it would have probably been quicker and easier just to take a sander and sand down the supplied drive key. I am guessing it would have taken me about 5 minutes to do this. It only needs a few thousands taken off of it.
To compensate for the cable's loose fit, I just took a piece of nylon tubing, cut a slit in it, and then drilled it out to match the OD of the speedo cable. I actually think it would work fine without this...but I think that it may wear out more quickly.

I put it all together, and took the deuce out on the highway with the GPS. I ran it up to 60 MPH, and the speedometer was dead on. No error at all.

Some pics:

DSC02867.jpgDSC02866.jpgDSC02864.jpgDSC02865.jpgDSC02878.jpgDSC02872.jpgDSC02876.jpg
 
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sewerzuk

Member
524
10
18
Location
Seaside, OR
Another mudfest in the books! My new speedometer now has about 450 miles on it :driver:

The deuce ran perfect for the entire trip; Warn's photographer was there again, so I'll probably get some face time on their blog, website, and facebook pages.
We've had a relatively dry February, so the mud wasn't as deep this year. I always pick my lines with some caution (I do need to drive it 200 miles home after the event is over), but I will drive the deuce just about anywhere. This was the first year I managed to stay "stuck-free" for the entire event. I had the tires aired down to about 5psi in the rears and about 12 psi in the fronts. I did drop it into some really deep holes, but the tires always managed to grab something and pull me right out again. The lockers worked GREAT; there were some off camber climbs and ditches that I went through that would have stopped me without power to all 6 tires.
The passenger window got stuck in the down position, so I had to drive home with it open. Snowflakes were blowing through the cab (literally) as I drove over the summit of the coast range, but otherwise there were no problems.
This was also the first year that I left my other vehicles home; I have always brought my Samurai with me in the past. It does make the ride a bit smoother, but the lack of weight and wind resistance meant that I could pull 55 for the entire drive. It was nice not to be downshifting for every little grade. I think I will be leaving it home for future events.

I have a lot of video footage and pics; I will edit and upload them soon. For now, here's one that the Warn photographer shot:

mud.jpg
 
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