TowndawgR50

Thanks Bunchie.No spacers in the rear. Only the front to allow everything to clear the strut.

Cle Elum

Elbe was definitely intense. I didnt take my truck and I probably wont ever because the trails are so damn tight. Summer would be preferable as the water levels were pretty high in some ponds/puddles due to the buggies with 40"+ tires ripping everything up. Its a great spot for small, short wheelbase rigs like the Suzuki's, who had no problems getting through with 31's and lockers but unless you dont mind body damage I would carefully consider which trails u attempt off the main route when taking an R50.

Elbe was pretty rad. Didnt make it very far before the day turned into repeated recovery practice. One Geo tracker ripped off a front bumper and broke a CV axle. The rest of the days shenanigans revolved around getting a unrelated group of 3 totally unprepared and mechanically challenged Toyotas out of a bad spot.

Ive been out doing some field work for my company on a WA Dpt of Transportation project. Pretty damn cold but scenery has been epic.

Thats what I was thinking. Make a template of sorts to transfer the hole pattern. Good to know it worked out. Now I just need to find a R50 with a tire carrier at a wrecker here in the PNW.

Been looking into this one. Seems pretty rad. Not really a hard wheeling trip but fun, scenic and it stretches across the entire state, north to south. It can be done in its entirety or in sections as it crosses hiways throughout. 600+miles. Im eager to explore the state and would love to do it with some other folks. Anyone done any part of this route? I hear july/September is best. Any interest in making plans to run it or parts of it?

Tahuya is next Month.

No worries, im not taking my R50 but will be riding with other club members. Tahuya is next month i think. Think you'll be ready for that?

Elbe trail run with my local 4x4 club this weekend. I havent been to the area yet, but I hear its a a tight fit in some spots and full size rigs arent recommended. Let me know if you'd like to join. All makes and models are welcome.

The front and rear sway bars are still on. Never took them off. The bags are filled via a Schrader valve on trailer hitch. I keep them at 30 psi because I prefer the ride quality at that pressure.

Bilstein 24-185509

No issues. They fit great. They're old and Im not sure what brand they are. They were on my old Datsun pickup and I kept them when I sold it.

I ran 33s with a 2" lift and cleared, but was going through CVs when I would go 4 wheeling. The OME springs claim 1.75" of lift so with a spacer on top of that you might have binding problems. It seems to be hit and miss. Others have run that combo with no problems.

A bearing race is a conical metal ring that the bearing rollers ride on

Aside from the tire pressure, front manual hubs and vehicle maintenance like everyone has mentioned Id suggest drafting semi trucks. These vehicles arent very aerodynamic and drafting big rigs made a huge difference on the 2000 mile trips i was taking between San Francisco and Seattle. But if you want to do 80-90pmh thats out of the question.

If you want to get technical this has everything you need to know. A magnetic base dial indicator is a very valuable tool for the DIY'r. Harbor freight might have one if not check www.Shars.com for affordable precision measurement tools

Factory service manual says to...

Bearing and race replacement is pretty straight forward. I would also consider replacement of ALL SEALS. CV axle outter seal and wheel bearing seals. The inner wheel bearing seal is a must as its removed to install the relevant bearing. Just be patient and leave plenty of time to do it. remember all the steps for removal and do them in reverse. Having a cell phone or video camera going to document the process for reference helps a lot during reassembly. I don't remember the entire process exactly, but what I used but is something like this: 17mm socket or wrench 19mm socket or wrench metric allen wrench set small punch c-clip pliers soft mallet or Hammer Philip's screw driver flat head screw driver bailing wire brake parts cleaner wheel bearing grease 2 bearing sets, 1 is a kit the other is 2 separate parts. bearing seals CV axle to hub seals 1) remove the wheel 2) remove the brake caliper and hang it with bailing wire off the spring or something close by so its not putting pressure on the hose 3)remove the wheel hub grease cap(assuming you haven't installed manual hubs) 4)remove the grease so you can see the C-clip holding the axle 5) remove the wheel hub nut by removing its locking plate with the philips screw driver, then rotate the nut counter clockwise until it comes off 5)grab brake rotor and gently pull or tap it towards tou until it and the hub come off together. outter wheel bearing will most likely fall out. 6)remove hub from brake rotor(optional but makes it easier to work with 7)pull seal from hub and remove inner bearing 8)with the outter face of the hub facing you, use punch to tap the inner race out. Be very careful and take your time, shifting taps from one side to the other to push the race out evenly. 9)flip the hub and do the same to the outter race. clean and degrease HAND LOAD NEW BEARINGS WITH GREASE. PACK THEM WELL. BE GENEROUS. THIS IS CRITICAL. 10)install the new races using old ones by placing new race in appropriate location, set the old race on top and tap evenly until its seated. 11)install inner bearing and wheel seal 12)Flip and install outter race. 13)reinstall the brake rotor and hub 14)slide new bearing packed w grease onto the spindle thread spindle nut on until the rotor wont turn and turn back 1/4 turn or until there is no play from thrusting rotor back and forth. 15)install spindle nut lock plate 16) install hub cap and brake cailper etc etc. Might have missed a few steps but that's the gist of it

That looks like a ton of fun. Wish there was more video.

Thats awesome. Featured in 4wheeler on what looked to be an epic trip. Have fun with that rig!

No, just 4". Thinking about going to 6 just for a short time to see how many CV's I break before I rip it all out and stuff an axle under there.

Very cool. If love to get more in depth info on the swap setup. Headed towards a SAS soon myself.

Yup. Stuck F series w no 4x4.

Front is locked. Have the a lunchbox setup for the rear to be installed