mike83bratgl

Exactly what ive been thinkin on the fenders but a more permanent bumper/skid plate to protect my motor mounts and exhaust has kept me from hackin sofar. And to the heat treated cv cups i plan on a bolt on collar cuz its the end of the bell that fails due to overextended axles in my case. I can say they hold up better than the d/r 5s i keep tearing up. I want advice on how to keep my 5 speed from breaking. And its not the gear box its my front diffs im wearing out from spinning or just gettin it in the mud high and low range 2wd. And thank you for input and ideas. Any thing cheap is welcome work is no concern its a hobby.

Exactly what ive been thinkin on the fenders but a more permanent bumper/skid plate to protect my motor mounts and exhaust has kept me from hackin sofar. And to the heat treated cv cups i plan on a bolt on collar cuz its the end of the bell that fails due to overextended axles in my case. I can say they hold up better than the d/r 5s i keep tearing up. I want advice on how to keep my 5 speed from breaking. And its not the gear box its my front diffs im wearing out from spinning or just gettin it in the mud high and low range 2wd. And thank you for input and ideas. Any thing cheap is welcome work is no concern its a hobby.

So yea defiantly figured out the CV's.... Just carry a spare simple as that. Atleast with my brat what always breaks is the easiest part to repair and maintain a spare. And i cant say or agree enough its all how u drive it. Knowing and understanding that. I just keep a back up.

Stopped above Detroit lake for a few shots. I dont even know what to say about this thing but i sure do hope all these ol subies are this fun! If II had room id have another.

Mostly. Just put legacy cups on both ends of my rear cv axles. Haven't tried the welded rear diff yet that will be yes or no. Can say 600 miles without changing one. And I am kinda hard on them. Front came pretty easy. I made plates that sit on the lip of the engine carriage that hold the control arms inward just enough to keep from binding or over stretching. Although I do not want to get too cocky and any tips are surely welcome.

Thanks for all the compliments! But credit has to go to this board and well jack Daniels. Rock n roll fellas!

Few more trail pics. Thought id share. Axle testing came out good didnt change one this trip

Made a temporary front bumper out of an old total gym type deal. Came out better than expected. Gotta dosome research on rear cvs and how I can get em to hold a little better atleast. Seems to blow the passenger side rear each time I get on it. Figure it should be better with air shocks to help align them. It squats in the rear because of the heavy bar and box as is any added angle blows em. Fun none the less.

thumbs up on the winch. I plan on stingers front and rear with a single setup I can lock in my box. Have someone lined up for 500 to make whatever I want front and rear.

Just a shot playin in the front yard of my running grounds. And not shure if I ever posted this shot of my roll. Paid 150 to tow it to the road. Tossed on a spare dropped a cv I tore apart. And drove home as this thing has always done. Oh yea wasn't drinking just on my way to drink so kinda worse I guess. Costed me bout 250 to have it mobin again. People are quite amazed that its not worse when I tell em.

I herd that! Ive scrapped a totaled gl wagon and a totaled outback in the prosses of building it. The brat was givin to me but the two totalled ones cost 400 each. Still made money+parts.

Snapped some shots when waiting on yotas to get there bald rump roast tires outta the way. Just brought pressure to 15 rear and 20 front. Was just playin. Seemes harder to make it thru the ruts guys in front made. We call this the panty dropper trail.

The trails made me do it. Makes my buddys start workin on there yotas :-) Thanks man.

4" lift S10 rear shocks D/r 5speed Brand new 27" bighorns Slight cutting and no rubbing Drilled nissan or toyota 14" steels Roll bar I found under a bridge and narrowed to fit Half a full size chevy truck box And bobed 8ish inches Thrush and strait pipe 99 outback sport scoop Rolled only once 108,000 original miles Stock ea81 ngk/ regular healthy tune up Weled rear diff I swap in and out depending on weather Bumpers to come.

4" lift S10 rear shocks D/r 5speed Brand new 27" bighorns Slight cutting and no rubbing Drilled nissan or toyota 14" steels Roll bar I found under a bridge and narrowed to fit Half a full size chevy truck box And bobed 8ish inches Thrush and strait pipe 99 outback sport scoop Rolled only once 108,000 original miles Stock ea81 ngk/ regular healthy tune up Weled rear diff I swap in and out depending on weather Bumpers to come.

Hey all got an 83 gl brat. Every since I rolled it I had an odd clunk or pop when taking off from a stop or turning right or left. Have been thru several sets of wheel bearings cv axles and checked radious rods/ bushings. My only guess is internal damage to the rack and pinion. Ball joints outter tie rods are fine. Wasent too worried w/o lift but the extra echo from the space under the vehicle has made it much more pronounced. Starting to make me wonder will I loose steering some day in the woods. Thanks any comments questions welcome. But ant no novice so keep that in mind thanks.

Rear pic.

Bobbed and lifted 4".

The front wheels had way too much tow in. Found I had about a half inch difference in the front vs rear spacing between the tires. Thanks I've now learned how alignment works. I also had loose/missing motor mount bolts. I later noticed.

It kinda went smooth strait but any slight sway or turn and it sounded like my transmission was going to exploded. It was jerking hard enough to bark the 28" swampers on both sides on my slow voyage home. Not sure how to explain it but I know what broke just gotta have the ol brat goin again!

It crackeld poped and banged all the way home. Cvs r fine hubs are good. I believe it simply blew the spiders and the ring and pinion is still fine. This same thing happened when I blew the diff in my datsun but it didn't drive home. If anyone's got a dl 5speed laying around I'm lookn. Thanks all.

Well pulled out of the parking lot at safeway and boom bang boom. Blew the diff in the transmission! Put it in 4wd to finish crossing the busy street and jacked up each side independently with it in gear and free spin with a slight click. So after blowing a few diffs in my time I am pretty cirtan the spider gears simply failed. So will it be worth having it rebuilt? and or I'm down in salem oregon any referring is welcome! I've never paid for work on my vehicle kinda nervous even tho ill be removing and installing it myself. It is the D/R 5 speed I removed from an 85 gl wagon. Had 250,000 and I pulled another 33,000 before the 28" swampers had there way with it. Advice or help wanted!

alright so first reply nailed 75% of my issue. a few u tube videos and some of the wonderful info i found on this site got both wheels spinning again insted of the wild walking from side to side. even tho it was quite fun to drive that way its much safer getting out in traffic in the middle of town now. i believe i still have something bent. not finding anything but a little sloppy wheel bearing but i had way worse with decant handling still. so the hunt continues! Thank a million guys i saved 75-100 bucks in 20 mins insted of having an alignment shop tell me its too bent which i already know.

hmm good info never really thought about that.ive been trying to find a broken mount. thanks ill check it out a bit more.

Well as the picture shows i rolled it. got some front end damage when i hit the concrete divider. drove it home. but any thing above 40 the front wheels would howl. when i looked at them the driver side was not aligned with the passenger side. bit of adjusting the steering arm fixed that. but now the front end is rising alot under acceleration to the point im spinning tires. didnt happen before i rolled it.nothing visually seems wrong from what i can tell. any pointers or advice would be much appreciated. stock healthy ea81 d/l 5speed 83 gl brat. thanks for reading.