The Goodrums

From the candidates in the Colorado election this year:

• Do you support the nationwide legalization of marijuana?
  Candidate Response: "I support the legalization of cannabis. The term "marijuana" has racist connotations."
  
  
• Do you favor more or less restriction of marijuana than Colorado currently imposes?
  Candidate Response: "... We [Colorado] must become the Silicon Valley of hemp research!"
  
  
• Is state spending on public education too high, too low, or about right?
  Candidate Response: "... We need to prepare students for the 21st century and educate both sides of the brain. The data proves that Arts Education is essential, if one subject were to be offered it should be Dance."
  Forget math, science, reading. Dance is where it's at folks.
  
  
• Is state funding adequate for K-12 and higher education in Colorado?
  Candidate Response: "Absolutely not. We have schools around the state that are falling apart, textbooks that are over a decade old and an incomplete Internet."
  Evidently limits to the comprehensiveness of the internet are attributable to inadequate state funding for education in Colorado. 

Only the best and brightest running for office here in Colorado.

At this point, this blog is long overdue for a medical update. We received the results from my procedure in late May and found that I’m in remission. While this was news worth celebrating, the news came with many qualifiers and in a lot of ways was surprisingly difficult to process.

My case was more difficult than many to resolve, and that comes with a high likelihood of relapse. Relapse means immediate hysterectomy, which is the ultimate outcome but relapse shortens your timeline by about 5 years overnight. Some of my doctors are puzzling about the tenaciousness of the case given my lack of risk factors and have recommended screenings for a series of genetic cancers. The genetic cancer associated with uterine/endometrial puts you at substantial risk for a host of other cancers (and though the long-term prognosis is relatively good for many of those cancers, the prospect of multiple cancers is still intimidating). You find yourself in the strange position of hoping you will just have to contend with one cancer.

In a case like this, you are given a relatively short window of time before you get to say goodbye to a piece of your anatomy – 5 years from diagnosis is the usual limit. You are told that you will need to continue to undergo surgical procedures every 6 months to check for relapse, unless you are pregnant, to your physical and financial detriment.

In all this, you find yourself caught in the in between of wanting to celebrate a recovery, but knowing there is still a long road ahead until final resolution. One chapter of the journey is “over,”  but there are still many more chapters before you can breathe a true sigh of relief.

Following the news of remission in late May, we met with our medical team to find out next steps. One of the next steps was genetic cancer testing. The other next step was family if that was in our plans. Given the treatment I had undergone, we were informed that the chances of becoming pregnant without substantial medical interventions were extremely low. We were sent for fertility evaluations, and especially given all that my body has been through in the last year, the results were not very favorable. We began planning for fertility treatments once the genetic cancer screenings were complete.

But meanwhile, God has a sense of humor.

Introducing our little miracle:

We can take no credit for this little life. All medicine and life circumstance said this would never happen without major medical intervention. But God is bigger than medicine and life circumstance. It has been a rough and very complicated first trimester, complete with some substantial complications. Many times we thought this pregnancy would be lost – and we still don’t know with certainty what the future will hold. But we are trusting and expecting the best.

On the anniversary of last year’s diagnosis, we are 15 weeks along and, so far, the baby appears to be healthy. Over the last year, we have walked a road fraught with bumps and bruises, fear and grief. And one year later, we are so incredibly thankful for improved health and this little gift that should be joining us in March.

So another installment of the Jeep work that I am somewhat chronicling on the blog. With parts in and workbench built and ready, and some help from a few awesome neighbors to hoist the wide-trac Dana 30 front axle onto the bench, it was time to start taking things apart. Throughout the disassembly, and undoubtedly even more during the reassembly, I have made extensive use of Moses Ludel's Jeep CJ Rebuilder's Manual. This book is an excellent guide for anyone wanting to do work on their Jeep, whether it is restoring original parts or upgrading to aftermarket parts. Following fairly detailed instructions in the Rebuilder's Manual and some reference to the Chilton CJ Manual, I spent the last few weeks disassembling the axle assembly so I can put it all back together again, albeit with some different parts. Now, for the three people who are actually still reading our blog and the one person of them who might be mildly interested in the Jeep work, do not fear, I don't intend to make this one of those online tutorials with step by step instructions and twenty-seven 8x10 color glossy pictures with circles and arrows and all that jazz. Rather, I will just highlight a few things in the process and include some pictures for reference.

Taking things apart is fun; especially for the first time so you can gain a good understanding of how it works and marvel that someone designed it to function so well (or sometimes marvel that someone designed it in a way that it functions so poorly). The first things to come off were the hub and rotor assemblies along with the brake calipers and pads. I also took off the tie rod. This left the spindle and brake backing plate on the steering knuckle. As with all work on pretty much anything, stuff doesn't go as planned. The pitman arm tie rod stuck in the passenger's side knuckle and took a lot of soaking with WD-40/3-in-1 and bent one of my pickle forks before it came off. I broke a rubber mallet on the driver side spindle before buying a dead-blow hammer (the right tool) and whacking away for about an hour to release it.

 Getting off the spindles and backing plates and pulling the axle shafts brought me to the point of getting off the steering knuckles. Here is a picture of the disassembly down to the knuckles (note the snazzy orange dead-blow hammer on the bench).

If I thought that the pitman arm tie rod or the driver's side spindle were tough, removing the knuckles was an even better challenge. I had to laugh at Ludel's comments about removing the knuckles in the Rebuilder's Manual because he was obviously working with an axle that hadn't actually been used on a Jeep for the last 20+ years. He said once you loosened the castle nuts on the ball joints (and the locknut on the lower ball joint) that "a few good whacks" with the dead-blow hammer would drop the knuckles. Well let's just say I gave it more than few really good whacks and nothing happened. I got out the 10 lb. sledge hammer and gave it some more whacks. Nothing. I Googled ways to get off siezed ball joints. The answer was basically unanimous across multiple forums: "get a BFH". I'll let you decide what that means. Of course, the last time I checked, a 10 lb. sledge hammer was a pretty BFH so internet wisdom was failing me. I eventually decided I was going to be replacing the ball joints so I would just cut off the rubber dust boot and get out the pickle fork (it wouldn't fit with the dust boot in place) and see what I could do. After driving the pickle fork in as far as possible from different directions, whacking with the dead-blow hammer, the BFH, moving the knuckles, lots of penetrating oil, etc. I finally got the knuckles to drop. Whoop.
That brought the final part of the disassembly: removing the carrier and the pinion. The carrier came out no problem; I just pried a little with a long flathead screwdriver and out it came. The plethora of tools from my dad then became indespensible, as long as I remembered I had them. After a brief period of forgetting I happend to have an electric impact wrench that my dad gave me, I dug it out and put it to work removing the pinion yoke nut and then with what truly were a few good whacks from the dead-blow hammer, the pinion was free. Out came some bearing races and some axle seals and the axle housing was stripped and ready for more thorough cleaning.

With the housing stripped, I got to put together the shop press I bought from Harbor Freight for about $120 so I could get the inner pinion bearing off and recover the shims. I had inquired of some local shops about the cost of having some bearing press work done through the course of the rebuilding and the figures I got back all had more than two zeros associated with them. So, spending $120 for a 12-ton press that would do all the work I needed (I think) was deemed a worthwhile purchase. I just have to figure out where to put it once I'm done...


The press and some bearing collars worked great for removing the pinion bearing but I've run into another snag in pressing off the carrier bearings to recover those shims which will require fabricating a support structure to raise the carrier. At this point the housing has been cleaned and degreased and is ready to be painted, along with the knuckles and some other components. I'll give things a fresh coat of paint and then the precision work of rebuilding really begins. To set the gears I need to pick up a dial indicator and then decide if I can successfully make some "set-up" bearings from the old ones or if I should just invest in a set-up bearing kit.

"When Solomon said there was a time and place for everything, he had not encountered the problem of parking his automobile." - Bob Edwards

So back at the beginning of May, I put together a post about Hank and the work that I (and my dad) have done over the years. I also alluded to the next big project that I am undertaking; rebuilding a set of axles and swapping the suspension system. This has been several years in the making and I have been blessed to arrive at an intersection of time, funds, available parts, and garage setup as to begin the actual work.

As I mentioned in the previous post, the 1983 Jeep CJ5 was made with an AMC 20 rear axle that had a two-piece axle design. Hank received one-piece axles several years ago after my dad and I "spun" a hub at the Canadian River back in Amarillo. Later, we installed a limited slip differential (together with my Uncle Mark) and I think that somewhere in that process we got a bearing race cocked in the housing which resulted in the bearing seat being a bit chamfered. What all that means is I have had an unusual number of bearing failures on the rear axle. The solution contrived many years ago was that maybe I would just replace the axle with something a little stouter. I decided to go with a Dana 44 rear axle. At this point, you could debate on whether the AMC 20 with one-piece axles is more stout than a Dana 44, and different sources will give you different answers, but my decision was a Dana 44. The old Jeep CJs were made with Dana 44 rear axles up until 1976, when the AMC 20 came in. The Dana 44 did show up again in 1986 on some of the CJ7s. So there were options for a Dana 44 that would "bolt-in" for Hank.

This is a good time to talk about the front axle. One of the improvements for Hank includes 33"x12.5" BFG Mud-Terrain tires. These are larger than stock and quite a bit wider too. As with many things I've done on Hank, I learned that the 33" tires weren't the best after it was too late to do much about it. The tires are wide enough that they rub the springs near max turning, so they actually limit the turning radius for Hank. Well it turns out that CJ5s (and a lot of other CJs) were made with what are known as "narrow-track" axles. These axles measure about 50.5" from wheel to wheel. Some Jeeps (primarily after 1981 I've read) were also made with what are known as "wide-track" axles, which measure 54.5" from wheel to wheel. Well, adding 2" between each tire and the springs seems like a good solution to the spring rubbing problem and I've read that other CJ5 owners have use a similar approach.

So all that to say I was then in search of a Dana 30 front and Dana 44 rear axle, both wide-track, that would essentially bolt right onto Hank and not require substantial modifications like cutting axle tubes or moving spring perches. Enter the "some" 1986 CJ7, which was built with wide-track axles; Dana 30 front and Dana 44 rear. I think you can conclude that these are rare. So, as a bit of a longshot, I decided to turn to my buddy Craig for some help. Craig and I have a great history of good deals: a near new condition 1999 Specialized Allez M4 Pro that included a working computer and a pair of cycling shoes; a 2008 Gary Fisher HiFi Pro with a few upgrades; a complete Yakima roof rack and ski carriers; a FREE piano (NOT free to move...); and most recently a near new condition 2003 Cannondale R800 women's bike with computer. Well, I was fortunate to find an ad for a set of axles from a 1986 CJ7 that were located down near Colorado Springs. I also happened to be traveling through the Springs regularly for work at that point in time so I contacted the seller and arranged to come check out the axles. He told me he had people from all over the country wanting to buy the axles (remember they are rare) but he'd give me first dibs since I was local and he wasn't planning to ship them anywhere. I stopped through Woodland Park and checked out the axles and they were in good enough shape so I bought them. The guy and his buddy were nice enough to load them in his truck and follow me all the way home and unload them in the garage (this was not at all close). Between the rare find and the delivery, I think I got a pretty good deal. This purchase took place in August of 2009, right before I started grad school at CU Boulder. I was fully cognizant of the fact that I would in no way have time to work on the axles for the next couple of years, but like I said, these were rare and they even came with free delivery. So, here is a picture of the axles upon arrival in the Goodrum garage.

 After completing grad school about a year ago, I hoped to begin work on the axles and everything else. However, I had the problem of funding (enter the Mazda) and no real suitable place to do the work. So, I spent last summer doing some prep work in the garage to set the stage. Without a lot of details, because it would be an entire post in itself, I epoxied the garage floor and my dad and I built an aptly sturdy workbench to hold the axles.
Then, in 2013 came the funds. Somewhere between purchasing the axles in 2009 and ordering parts in 2013, I also decided to replace my current suspension. The Rancho 2 1/2" lift my dad and I installed when I was in high school always seemed a bit stiff and didn't have the articulation I would have liked. I figured if I were going through the trouble of swapping axles, this would be as good a time as any to remedy the suspension too. After much research and talking with different folks, I decided to go with an Old Man Emu suspension lift to replace the Rancho. Old Man Emu doesn't make lifts for CJs, only for Wranglers, but like most things Jeep, you can by a conversion kit to put Wrangler springs on a CJ. The Wrangler springs are 1/2" wider in the front, but also longer and supposed to have a much better ride and better articulation than the CJ springs. And Old Man Emu is supposed to be the best system out there. So, that is what you see below.
And finally, in planning to rebuild the axles, I wanted to put in the upgrades I would like as opposed to just building them stock. This means installing locking differentials and changing the gearing. Most CJs from '76 to '86 came with 2.73 gearing which is good for highway but not as good for off-road. A lot of Jeep owners drop all the way to 4.10 gearing for good crawling ratios (the Wrangler Rubicons have 4.10 gearing) but because using my Jeep also involves highway driving to places sometimes, I went with 3.73 gears as a compromise between off-road performance and highway driving. For locking differentials, there is one brand in particular that has established themselves as "the" locking differential and that is ARB. Taking advantage of a sale with 4wd.com, I purchased ARB locking differentials and 3.73 gears and got a free air compressor (needed to operate the differentials). So that brings us to the start of the actual work; parts in, axle on bench, ready to start taking things apart.

This one was just too good to pass up. Michael received the card below for his birthday this year...

Cracked up when I saw this. Death Star uterus - so appropriate for life as of late.... :)

A new favorite. Quick, easy and so good...

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons pesto
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
• 4 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup half-and-half cream
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 8 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and cut into strips
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spread pesto evenly in the bottom of the pie crust. Sprinkle goat cheese over pesto.
2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, half-and-half cream, and flour. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over goat cheese in pie crust. Arrange sun-dried tomatoes on top.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until done.

In honor of the end of the 2013 Colorado state legislative session:

"Being in politics is like being a football coach. You have to be smart enough to understand the game, and dumb enough to think it's important." - Eugene McCarthy

Yesterday was my 4th surgery in 7.5 months. That routine is getting kind of old. We won't find out the results for about a week, but the Doctor's initial reaction was better this time. Some good news-seems like progress; some bad news-quite a bit of scar tissue developing from all the surgeries which made the last two procedures far more painful. Hope to be done with this road soon. We'll update again as we hear more.

2013 has not been an easy year on the medical front. Surgery for me in January, April and May. Michael actually had hernia surgery in February (he had to get in on all the fun!). Sure seems like we're trying to go under the knife every month in the year in 2013. Here's to hoping that will change in the near future, as we can both think of about a million things we'd rather be doing than hitting our out-of-pocket max for the medical insurance only halfway through the year!