Join Christian Hazel on this episode of 4x4 Garage as takes the Cherokee Chief out for an off-road shakedown run after finishing up the build.
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MotorTranscript
00:00 (rock music)
00:02 Well that is a success.
00:08 The LS swap we did here at Woods Off-Road
00:11 totally transformed the way this vehicle drives.
00:13 It is now a pleasure to go down the road in.
00:16 I can't wait to get it out on the trail.
00:19 One thing I do have to do still,
00:21 we kept the factory radiator.
00:23 It turned out being a little questionable.
00:25 It doesn't run hot, but it was full of junk
00:27 and the core's looking a little rotted,
00:29 so I ordered a brand new one from BJ's Off-Road.
00:32 It arrived, so I'm gonna swap that today
00:35 as soon as this thing cools down.
00:37 And while I'm doing that, the gang here at Woods Off-Road
00:40 are gonna attack a 2022 Chevy Silverado.
00:44 We're gonna do a six inch super lift suspension,
00:47 a Flowmaster after cat exhaust,
00:50 upgrade the wheels and tires,
00:51 and add some off-road lighting.
00:54 Then we're all gonna meet out in the desert
00:56 in Johnson Valley and have some off-road fun.
00:59 (drill whirring)
01:02 We're gonna grab a bungee cord
01:09 so we're not hanging off the brake lines here.
01:11 And when you're doing this kit,
01:13 you wanna make sure all these lines
01:14 are disconnected from the knuckle,
01:15 'cause we're gonna go ahead and replace this
01:17 with a super lift one.
01:18 Got one piece of the puzzle done.
01:22 There's an O-ring in here we wanna make sure to not damage.
01:26 (metal clanging)
01:28 Perfect, so we got an O-ring here.
01:30 You make sure to go into the new spindle,
01:32 the ABS sensor that's in there.
01:34 Make sure there's no fluid, water damage in there.
01:37 Got it.
01:42 So we have almost everything loosened up.
01:48 I'm gonna go ahead and take the drive shaft
01:50 off of the differential.
01:51 There is some modification that needs to happen
01:53 to the frame in order for the differential drop
01:55 to actually work.
01:55 Rear cross member will not be reused
02:00 because it'll be part of the new subframe.
02:02 And then what we have to do, measure three inches,
02:06 and then we're gonna cut to be able to let
02:08 the differential come down and the pinion,
02:10 clear the chassis, and then the new mount
02:12 that gets replaced is now on the new cross member.
02:15 Now we're at the point where we're gonna install
02:18 these differential drop brackets.
02:20 Come through, I wish that was like shorter.
02:23 No, I mean, it's only sometimes being short is good.
02:28 Okay, a little more.
02:29 Wait.
02:30 The original lower controller mounts
02:33 have cam slots in them.
02:35 These special washers here have an indexing hole
02:38 for the pin on the chassis.
02:39 These are gonna eliminate that slot
02:42 so that there's no moving around.
02:44 What this drop bracket's gonna do is it's gonna keep
02:48 the differential pointed at the transfer case
02:50 and it's gonna correct drive line angle as well,
02:52 so you won't have to worry about any of that.
02:54 Anytime you guys put air to something,
03:01 never trust your air tools.
03:03 Just because it feels the same on the air tool
03:05 doesn't mean it's right.
03:06 Always put a hand tool on it afterwards.
03:08 So we got the strut, we're gonna run the strut spacers.
03:11 We'll come through, and that would be a real pain
03:13 to try to hold that up, fit it in there and everything,
03:15 so they come with these little nice, fancy clips.
03:18 So we'll set that in there.
03:20 Always got a little trick, take a socket,
03:22 set 'em in there so that'll hold real nice and tight.
03:25 Then we'll take the factory hardware that came out with it
03:28 and that's what'll sit on there
03:29 'cause it's got a larger washer already built into it,
03:32 and that'll be the factory hardware into the factory hole.
03:34 Perfect, check it again, just to make sure.
03:45 See, that's why I always check it again,
03:48 'cause I just got a little bit more out of it.
03:51 Perfect, 44.7, we'll be good.
03:53 Johnny's up top right now.
04:00 He's got the keys in the forward position.
04:04 We're gonna lock the locker full droop
04:05 to be able to check the brake lines
04:07 to make sure that they're not gonna be pulling,
04:09 getting tight and have a chance of rupturing down the line.
04:12 This point right here will never change
04:14 because the caliper stays on the spindle,
04:16 so this could always be a little taut,
04:18 but right here we've got all this movement,
04:20 and this'll be the longest stretch that we have
04:22 because we're gonna be full clock left
04:24 and it'll be stretching,
04:24 so I wanna have Johnny go,
04:26 you go to the other side, go passenger.
04:29 So we make sure everything's all good.
04:30 We clearly make sure that it stays away from everything.
04:33 Perfect, once we set it on the ground,
04:35 we'll be able to tighten the lower control arms
04:37 and the upper control arms since they are bushing,
04:39 and now we're getting ready to move to the rear.
04:46 The kit was supplied with a bracket
04:48 that drops the brake lines down.
04:50 Make sure when you're done
04:55 that you check your brake lines again,
04:58 make sure nothing's out of place,
04:59 and then when you torque your U-bolts,
05:01 each diameter U-bolt has its own torque spec,
05:04 and then one most important thing is do not reuse U-bolts.
05:07 I've seen a break on the trail and it's catastrophic.
05:09 It's bad.
05:10 Little bit of lube on the bushing,
05:15 that'll go pressed in.
05:17 My little trick, if you try to sit there
05:19 and push the bushing in, it'll jump out most of the time,
05:22 so I'll just get on a flat piece of surface,
05:24 use the shock 'cause it's got bigger surface area,
05:27 tap into it, come to the edge.
05:30 Always use a dead blow or a rubber mallet
05:34 just to be able to see it don't mar or anything.
05:36 Fine home, use a hourglass,
05:39 and then at that point, lube up the sleeve
05:42 and the factory hardware, let's slide right in there.
05:44 (drill whirring)
05:47 We're gonna go ahead and start taking off the old setup.
05:54 Got it.
05:57 We're gonna go ahead and install this Flow X muffler system
06:06 that we got from Flowmaster.
06:12 Not too tight 'cause we still gotta position a little bit
06:15 for the ones that go up and over the axle,
06:16 which is Johnny's getting right now.
06:18 We just got the tires back from the tire shop.
06:32 We are gonna be running Yokohama Geolanders
06:34 and we got hooked up with a set of Pro Comp wheels.
06:36 As you can see, the tires are larger.
06:39 So the factory tires are just underneath 33 inches.
06:42 These Yokohama Geolanders are 35s.
06:45 The tire package is not so heavy
06:47 that we're gonna have to worry about any sort of power loss
06:49 and we're not gonna have to worry about gearing.
06:52 Making sure that the tires are all settled
06:54 'cause the IFS suspension, when it comes off the ground,
06:56 what it likes to do is it likes to point like this.
06:58 So when you set the vehicle down on the ground,
07:00 the rubber makes it stay like that.
07:02 So you wanna push the car back and forth
07:03 and let those tires kind of pull out
07:06 because we don't have an alignment rack here
07:07 and it's gonna be driving a couple miles
07:09 to our alignment shop.
07:11 We don't wanna eat up the brand new tires.
07:12 So we're gonna eyeball and get them real close
07:15 as much as we can and then it should be good.
07:18 Otherwise, if we drive it real pigeon-toed,
07:20 it's gonna chew up the tires right out of the gate.
07:23 Usually these curvature light bars
07:26 are to go above the windshield.
07:28 But when you do that, especially on the newer vehicles
07:31 where you can see the entire hood from the driver's seat,
07:33 what ends up happening is it lights up the hood
07:35 and then it defeats the purpose of having a light bar.
07:38 We went ahead and chose to do it
07:40 right in front of this grill.
07:41 Matches the curvature pretty closely.
07:44 It's not gonna blind the driver
07:45 and it's gonna give us a good field of vision
07:47 at night being in this location.
07:50 Shane has already marked the tabs
07:52 while I held it in place, centered and level.
07:55 And then we're gonna dimple the holes, drill,
07:58 mount them and then wire this thing up.
08:00 Pretty easy.
08:01 (upbeat music)
08:03 So we're gonna have to wire this inside the car somewhere.
08:10 Figure out where to put this guy.
08:12 Little button, comes with its own relay.
08:14 I was able to find the grommet in the firewall.
08:19 It's got like an extra little nubbin
08:21 just in case you wanna run some wires into the cab.
08:23 So I just cut the end of that off.
08:25 It actually runs inside of the car, which is perfect.
08:27 I don't have to drill any holes.
08:29 I'm not trying to make anything crazy.
08:31 (upbeat music)
08:34 Perfect, we're all wired up.
08:36 Come through.
08:37 Come on, Johnny, let there be light.
08:39 Ooh.
08:42 All right, so that wraps up the build
08:45 on this 2022 Silverado.
08:47 The guys are gonna take this thing off-roading
08:49 up in Johnson Valley.
08:51 They're gonna have a blast.
08:52 (upbeat music)
08:55 (upbeat music)
08:57 Okay, it's game day.
09:05 We're here in Johnson Valley.
09:07 The guys got here last night,
09:08 found a really cool camping spot,
09:10 had a great night under the stars, campfire,
09:13 made some breakfast this morning.
09:15 I rolled in on the Cherokee Chief,
09:16 the Chevy Silverado's here.
09:18 Unfortunately, the transmission
09:20 completely went out in the Bronco.
09:22 So Cody brought his really cool stepside.
09:25 We have some friends from out of town here with us
09:27 who've never been here.
09:28 So we grabbed our OnX off-road app,
09:31 hit Johnson Valley,
09:33 and we planned out some cool things for them to see.
09:35 We're gonna hit some dunes,
09:37 drive some whoops,
09:38 maybe do some power slides on the lake bed.
09:40 And then Johnny and Shane
09:42 are gonna take their rock crawlers up Jackhammer.
09:45 (upbeat music)
09:50 (upbeat music)
09:53 We invited a bunch of friends to come out
10:07 and what we wound up with
10:09 is a really cool group of four by fours.
10:11 We've got everything from a brand new 2022 Silverado
10:15 that you could drive across country in extreme comfort
10:19 all the way up to some really specifically built
10:22 rock crawling rigs.
10:23 Johnny Wood brought his 2000 Ram.
10:29 He's got that thing so dialed in.
10:31 He drove it on Ultimate Adventure in 2018
10:34 all the way from California to the start in Maine.
10:38 It can tackle any trail in the country
10:40 and he's proven it by driving every trail in the country.
10:44 It's really built with one-ton axles, crawler gears,
10:49 onboard air, he's got a welder in that thing.
10:51 It's really bitching.
10:53 Shane Wardle, he's got his 77 Cherokee Chief.
10:57 Unlike my Cherokee Chief, he built his to the next level.
11:01 He's got one-ton axles under it.
11:03 He linked the front suspension.
11:05 It's on 40 inch tires and like me,
11:08 he's got the LS swap in there.
11:10 But he's got a more modern transfer case.
11:12 I kept the Quadra-Trek.
11:13 Like Johnny's rig, Shane's is kind of at the upper limits
11:17 for daily driving, but they still drive them on the street.
11:21 Cody was gonna drive the Bronco,
11:27 but unfortunately the transmission in that thing
11:29 just completely went out.
11:31 So we had to up the schedule
11:32 on getting the Gear Star installed in it.
11:35 In lieu of the Bronco,
11:36 he drove his really bitching blue 73 Chevy Stepside.
11:40 The thing has a 383 stroker injection.
11:43 It's got a 4L80 transmission.
11:46 His rear axle is a really cool semi-float 14 bolt.
11:49 That's a good upgrade for a six lug half-ton GM
11:52 if you don't wanna change the bolt pattern.
11:55 So he drives that thing everywhere.
11:56 It's got a lot of power and it's super reliable for him.
11:59 Corey's got a ton of LS powered Scouts, off-road cars,
12:05 but what'd he drive out here?
12:06 He took his wife's Rubicon.
12:08 I mean, who could blame him?
12:10 He's got a beautiful interior, working AC,
12:12 all the amenities, but he's still got 40 inch tires
12:15 and a really capable suspension, front and rear lockers.
12:18 I mean, it's hard not to have a blast in that thing.
12:21 Cody's buddy, Bob, brought out
12:22 his 7.3 liter Power Stroke Excursion.
12:26 Those things are super rare.
12:27 They didn't make very many of them.
12:29 And those ones with the 73 diesels
12:31 are worth a fortune nowadays.
12:34 Honestly, I couldn't be happier
12:35 with the LS swap in this thing.
12:37 It's just a joy to drive.
12:38 Got plenty of power, super fun, more economical.
12:42 So it's just a win-win all around.
12:44 The only thing I have left to do,
12:45 I wound up with a little bit of rear driveline buzz.
12:49 So I ordered a new CB drive shaft from Quigley.
12:52 Unfortunately, it didn't come in time for this trip,
12:55 but it's gonna arrive pretty much as soon as I get home.
12:58 And once I get it installed,
12:59 this thing should drive as smooth as silk.
13:01 We're gonna get out here.
13:03 We're gonna rev up the OnX off-road app.
13:06 Everyone's got the app downloaded.
13:08 And so all they have to do is open it up,
13:10 pick the point we've already told them to meet at,
13:14 and then just follow the line.
13:16 We use OnX off-road to navigate on Ultimate Adventure,
13:19 do it on weekend trips like this.
13:21 I mean, it's a great tool if you're an off-roader.
13:24 Why not download it and pay the subscription?
13:26 It's really worth it after a couple trips,
13:29 especially when you can tell your buddies,
13:30 "Hey, here's where we'll be. Come meet us."
13:33 (upbeat music)
13:37 (engine revving)
13:40 Well, that's the end of a killer day here at Johnson Valley.
14:04 We used OnX off-road to get the group here together.
14:07 Had some crazy fun with the vehicles we built.
14:09 Met some cool friends, made some new ones.
14:12 What a great day.
14:13 Fortunately, I gotta get to getting on Ultimate Adventure
14:15 to make that happen.
14:16 So I'm gonna kick this show over to my buddy, Ian.
14:19 He's got a really sweet build going on
14:21 that I think you're all gonna really dig.
14:23 (upbeat music)
14:26 (cheering)
14:28 (upbeat music)
14:31 (upbeat music)
14:33 (upbeat music)
14:36 (upbeat music)
14:38 (upbeat music)
14:41 (upbeat music)
14:44 [BLANK_AUDIO]