4x4Wire

There comes a time when venturing off road that leaf springs do fail.  Your day of 4x4 fun comes to an abrupt end.

Such an occurrence recently happened to me. Luckily, the main leaf spring did not completely break and I was able to make it home after some scrounging and rigging a "splint" to keep the spring from flexing and completing the break.

Time for a little break analysis.  For starters, the springs were new when installed with the spring-over lift in November and had seen 6 days of on the trail use.  Springs are designed to flex and should offer trouble free action over an extended life.  Spring failure can result from abnormal stress or metal weakness due to improper tempering.

While cycling through vehicles to check fluid levels, hoses, and belt condition, I noted seepage from the thermostat housing on my YJ. No problem, I had a couple gaskets and it was time to swap the stock housing for the hi-flow thermostat housing that has been taking up shelf space for several years. And, while I'm at it, a new fan belt as the one on is cracking and showing signs of wear.

Click here for more information about Jeep Tech Axles from the 4x4Wire Archives.

The 4x4Wire JK recently underwent a slight transformation - from stock to gears, lockers, and lift. That change included new (larger) tires. But, that change did not include replacing the steering damper. Extended road driving pointed out the need to upgrade the steering damper in order to reduce vibration caused by the larger tires on certain sections of road.

Seat belts have been around since the front lap belt was required on 1965 and new vehicles with front shoulder and rear lap belts appearing in 1968.  The traditional 3-point front belt became standard in 1974. One of the more important pieces of safety equipment in an off-road vehicle is the seat belt.