Oso Build Thread

dchew

Caught the Bug
Dave, thanks a ton for the very thorough instructions! The tabs that come with the ram should be good, right?
http://www.pscmotorsports.com/1-75-x-6-75-assist-cylinder.html//

Oh yeah those will be fine. You can just weld those right to the face of the EVO bracket; forget the flat plate I rambled on about. The tie rod clamp for the driver side is not shown in their pick. I think you will need one of those. See the pic below. If they don't have one in the kit and you can't get one, I got an extra from a Fox SS kit you can have.

Dave

IMG_0522.jpg
 

dchew

Caught the Bug
One more thing. The PSC install instructions harp about keeping the ram horizontal and mounting it so it does not angle forward or backward at either end. My tie rod clamp is mounted after the kink in the factory tie rod, so it angles slightly forward (toward the front of the vehicle) at the driver side when on center; when fully turned it is just about square. You cannot mount it right on the kink; it doesn't fit well there. So you have to choose a spot either before or after the kink in the tie rod. Before the kink would be a little better, but there was not enough room for all the stroke in the ram to fit it there.

If you moved the passenger mounting tabs further "east" - or starboard, like to the other side of the 5/8 bolt, you might be able to get it to work before the kink. But it would be tough and you could not get to that bolt in the face of the EVO bracket without removing the ram. I think mine is fine, but I wanted you to be aware of the choices. Our favorite saying during this build was, "Hey, we aren't building a watch here." ;)

What you need is to mock up the ram turned full right and full left. Make sure it hits the steering stops before you run out of stroke turning left, and before the cylinder bottoms out turning right. It is full of fluid, so you have to remove the shipping caps to move the ram. Do this with some hose attached to the in/out of the ram or you will shoot fluid to the ceiling without anything on the fittings. Ask me how I know...

Dave
 
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dchew

Caught the Bug
Actually Prime8, if you want to be my hero, you would flip the tie rod end for end, and mount it above the knuckles (just like the reverse drag link). Then figure out a way to mount the passenger side ram higher on the EVO bracket. This would give you a poor man's high clearance steering set up. I bet the whole thing would be up about 2". :thumb:
 

dchew

Caught the Bug
Killer build. I love it.

Thanks Wartoy! Now that it is winding down and I'm driving it every day, I must say it was a helluva lot of fun to do myself vs. sending it off to a shop. I know my Jeep so much better now than I did before.
:yup:
 

Prime8

New member
Actually Prime8, if you want to be my hero, you would flip the tie rod end for end, and mount it above the knuckles (just like the reverse drag link). Then figure out a way to mount the passenger side ram higher on the EVO bracket. This would give you a poor man's high clearance steering set up. I bet the whole thing would be up about 2". :thumb:

I asked Eddie once about flipping my tie rod up and over for more clearance. He said you need a specific type of tie rod and that my RK (or any typical tie rod) would not work. I would imagine it has to do with the movement in the rod ends being inhibited, but I'm not sure... Anyways, I already have the RK tie rod and the RK tie rod clamp, so I'm good to go with that. I too have a Fox SS shock that will be up for sale once this hydro gets installed... I will post up a thorough write up about it since I'm piecing it together for about $600, with NEW PSC parts, nonetheless.
 

Prime8

New member
I believe it's the first week of August that I'll be coming to Pittsburgh. The weekend is booked, but if you could take a day off work (any day, doesn't matter) I would love to wheel with you and a small group. Anywhere near PGH worth going to?
 

PGH08JK

Member
I live outside of Pittsburgh. I have a ton of places to wheel if anyone is interested. I tried reading back, but can't on my iPhone. Are you talking about banthamjeepfest?
 

Prime8

New member
I live outside of Pittsburgh. I have a ton of places to wheel if anyone is interested. I tried reading back, but can't on my iPhone. Are you talking about banthamjeepfest?

No. I grew up in the Burgh and most of my family still lives there. Coming in for my grandmothers 90th birthday extravaganza! Haha, that's why the weekend is booked.
 

PGH08JK

Member
My wedding is the 9th, which is Friday. And I took that whole week off. So I'm sure my group and family will be doing quite a bit of wheeling. If you're interested you're more then welcome to come along. Ill take you to some cool stuff.
 

Prime8

New member
My wedding is the 9th, which is Friday. And I took that whole week off. So I'm sure my group and family will be doing quite a bit of wheeling. If you're interested you're more then welcome to come along. Ill take you to some cool stuff.

Sounds good! We are bringing my rig from Illinois, instead of driving my wife's much-more-comfortable Subaru outback so that I can wheel one of the days. Dave (Oso's owner) and I wanted to meet up for wheeling that week.
 

dchew

Caught the Bug
That week is good for me. So lets plan on a place in PA. Of course you can stop in here too either on your way in or out of Pittsburgh if you like.

Dave
 

jeffj

Caught the Bug
Prime8 said:
I believe it's the first week of August that I'll be coming to Pittsburgh. The weekend is booked, but if you could take a day off work (any day, doesn't matter) I would love to wheel with you and a small group. Anywhere near PGH worth going to?

Man I'm about an hour from Pittsburgh, if I can work it out I would love to partake in the fun.
 

dchew

Caught the Bug
Great build!!!! Love those wheels, might have to reconsider my all black theme.

Thanks! I don't know; all black can be pretty cool. Hey my sister in-law lives in Kingsport and of course works at Eastman. :)

They are great wheels as long as you can put up with a few quirks. They are fairly easy to assemble but a real bear to get apart. I had one that was losing air so I had to dissasemble it and clean the oring grove. Took me a week of trying and giving up before we got it apart. The beadlock is an internal rubber ring that clamps both beads in place. So you cannot simply put weight on the tire to pull the bead off the rim. It just isn't going anywhere!

Another problem I have is the TPM sensors. I bought a new set of sensors from the dealer for these and now have a TPMS warning light that won't go away. It reads all the sensors fine but thinks there is a problem with the system. The dealership has been great helping me under warranty but I think they are about to give up. Chrysler is blaming it on the wheels. I didn't have a problem until I installed these so I can't necessarily argue with that.

But the wheels are well-designed and I love the look. I bet I could go to 6 or 8 psi and destroy the wheel but not lose a bead. :yup:
 

Moparman

New member
Thanks! I don't know; all black can be pretty cool. Hey my sister in-law lives in Kingsport and of course works at Eastman. :)

They are great wheels as long as you can put up with a few quirks. They are fairly easy to assemble but a real bear to get apart. I had one that was losing air so I had to dissasemble it and clean the oring grove. Took me a week of trying and giving up before we got it apart. The beadlock is an internal rubber ring that clamps both beads in place. So you cannot simply put weight on the tire to pull the bead off the rim. It just isn't going anywhere!

Another problem I have is the TPM sensors. I bought a new set of sensors from the dealer for these and now have a TPMS warning light that won't go away. It reads all the sensors fine but thinks there is a problem with the system. The dealership has been great helping me under warranty but I think they are about to give up. Chrysler is blaming it on the wheels. I didn't have a problem until I installed these so I can't necessarily argue with that.

But the wheels are well-designed and I love the look. I bet I could go to 6 or 8 psi and destroy the wheel but not lose a bead. :yup:

I hope you get the bugs worked out of your wheels. That is where I live and work also. I am a maintenance mechanic there. It's a pretty cool place to work and the money is good. It keeps me in my hobbies too. Lol!!
 
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