My "other" Isuzu, well, Honda lol

[VX KAT]

lol ya I traded it to a guy for the Sierra.

lemme get this straight...Mr. "RAM AIR Z" traded his Camaro for a 2WD Sierra?
just when you think you know someone...sheesh.....

[RamAirZ]

Lol its a better tow/family rig than the camaro, worth a lot more too. Don't worry, ill have another camaro soon

[RamAirZ]

My wife is amazing:



140amp mig welder, comes with mig wire, flux wire, hook up and gauges for running gas, and will weld 5/16" steel! From most of my research, one of the best you can get without going up to 220. I doubt I'll ever need anything bigger, 5/16 is pretty thick, trail-gear sliders and frame plates are 3/16, and pretty sure that's what ARB bumpers are made out of too.

[etlsport]

very cool.. Sounds like a nice welder, mine is similar with what it comes with and the gas/gaseless hookups but a bit smaller I guess, will only do 1/4" which is still plenty for me

you know between the photos you posted and now telling us she got you a welder on a whim, youre gonna have to be careful about bringing your wife to maob or someones gonna try to steal her away!

[RamAirZ]

LOL it wasn't on a whim, early Fathers Day/Birthday gift. She wanted to get it without me knowing but she knew she didnt know much about them so she let me pick it out. And ya 1/4" is still thick. And she wouldn't come to Moab, she'd probably go see her dad while I have fun lol

[off_road_4_me]

well, its cute.

[RamAirZ]

Not as cute as your amigo

[RamAirZ]

Installed my shieldz today:



Getting closer to some real wheel time!

[etlsport]

Installed my shieldz today:



Getting closer to some real wheel time!

I was looking at those a year or two ago... whats the benefit? you dont strike me as the type to do a purely cosmetic mod, they just dont seem like they would offer much more rigidity to the tie rods, why not go with HD tie rods

[RamAirZ]

I got these for $20 so for one they were alot cheaper than the HD rods (this is still a budget build lol), I also wanted to keep tie-rod availability open since Indy doesn't tell you which vehicle they got the end from and supposedly the HD ones bind up when at full droop, the range of movement on the end itself is less "supposedly". The shieldz are supposed to help distribute the forces along the rod ends and adjuster and the inside of the shieldz have a stepped down section around the adjuster. This thick shield keeps one end of the tie rod unit from bending and breaking since once it's clamped down it can't really bend much in any direction. Also it will help against them on rocks.



Now I can't say for sure that they work, but the guys on 4x4wire always swore by them, and I got them cheap and they came with a spare set of complete tie rod units. I see the theory in them and thats enough for me lol

[RamAirZ]

Hooked up the welder and tested it out today. I think she welds pretty good!



Hard starting and working on the bead with the gay helmet they give you. Have an auto-darkening one on the way.

[RamAirZ]

Cut my receiver out of the bumper today and redid it. Straightened it out a bit and added some bracing:





And who said flux welds can't be pretty?


Welding is being done one-handed right now since my other hand has to be holding the stupid mask I have right now.

[tom4bren]

Question on your receiver:

It looks shallow (not much depth between the receiver pin hole and where the curve of the tube bumper starts). Did you cut into the tube for depth or does the receiver curve to match the tube?

It looks like a clean install & 'it don't make no nevermind to me', just concerned that when you need to use the receiver, the hitch will bottom out before you can engage the pin.

[RamAirZ]

Good eye tom, I actually cut a hole in the bumper (which btw is a thick mofo, took forever) and slid the hitch inside. So it allows room for the Hitch to slide in and also acts as side bracing. I also have the lower section of the hitch tied back into the frame for extra support.

[RamAirZ]

I thought about recessing it in more but this bumper was already on my truck when I got it and cutting through it was VERY difficult lol, it's really thick. Plus I wanted to have the receiver out a bit so when I have the ball installed it's out from the spare tire. Also if I mounted it any higher, the spare would hit it or cover it up so I had to mount it low.