2011 HDI project

[foxvalley]

Sounds like your movin right along. What did you figure out for repairing the holes in the tub?

Hey bone,

I have two pieces of uncut mudflap material that looks like its going to work. At first I was going to put it under the rear seats,but that would leave all the tatered plastic exposed to the tracks,and more than likely caused more damage. So now the plan is to take the "mudflap" and pop rivet it over all the damage,so the entire mudflap will be exposed under the tub,between the tub and the tracks. This makes a real nice,smooth surface,also a thick surface to be exposed to the tracks. I plan to bevel the front and back of the flaps, so the tracks don't catch here, and tear the flap out. I will use plastic epoxy also on the front and back,and then I'm tossing around the idea of spray foam in between the damage, and the mudflap to help make it as waterproof as you can with so much damage.

All the chain is on, except for one length of double roller,as one of my tensioners is bent and damaged,so I will order a new one and finish the chain work then. Besides, Iv'e seen enough chain for one day.
The axle and bearing assembly is in,and finished,and all the external bearings greased. Noticed that the air filter housing got hot from the exhaust and melted a hole thru it, so one more thing to order.New HD belt is on.Tommorrow I will put on the new brake,taillights,the cable and shifter for the hi low range,and the new ignition.

[tbone9]

Sounds like a plan. A friend of mine used a plastic welder on his and said it worked good also. Sounds like they need to service this thing more often.

[msafi65]

Check the body support behind the seat. I just had a broken one that had the tub rubbed through by the tracks. I think they were hauling an excavator bucket in the Argo. The newer ones have rear braces that bolt into the frame. I believe it's available as a kit from Argo. I filled one wheelborow with mud and trees from behind the one track. Don't you just love company vehicles?

[foxvalley]

Check the body support behind the seat. I just had a broken one that had the tub rubbed through by the tracks. I think they were hauling an excavator bucket in the Argo. The newer ones have rear braces that bolt into the frame. I believe it's available as a kit from Argo. I filled one wheelborow with mud and trees from behind the one track. Don't you just love company vehicles?

Thanks msafi65, looked, body support all good. Who knows what they do to these things,LOL. Your right, bone, I guy could really use a plastic welder.
Well, the brake-tail light kit is on,as the tail lights were busted off,but the wireing was all there,thought about putting on just the reflectors,but it came from the factory with the kit,so thats what we did.
Also put a new high-low range cable and shifter on,that made a huge difference, as the old one was really sticky,shifts like a champ now. New ignition in. The switch for the lights was bad, so replaced that.
Tried to bend the winch bracket back up into original position by jacking on the bracket,bad idea, just lifted the unit off the jacks,and almost "lost it".Ended up taking the bracket off,bending it back to the original shape,then cut a piece of plastic and putting that on the body where the bracket support went thru the tub. Used plastic epoxy to fill in the hole,should be water tight now, or better than it was,LOL.
Once the rear tubs are fixed,the double roller chain and tentioner are on,air filter unit replaced,oil,filter changed,track tuners on,should be down the home stretch with this one.

[tbone9]

Sounds like that thing is 20 years old. Glad you're almost done. Don't forget to put a note on the dash that says " drive it like you own it.....not stole it!"

[foxvalley]

Finished repairing the wheel well tubs,ended up taking the mud flap material and sticking it between the top and bottom halves of the argo, under the rear seats.The one side was really bad,the hole was 7" wide at the largest point, and was 18" long,and was cut right on the corner of the tub. I pop riveted the mud flap to the tub,screwed the cut end to the mudflap to keep the joint together,then used plastic epoxy to seal the joint. Then because the damage was so bad,I drilled holes about an inch above the cut,and used urathane foam to fill the whole cavity above the well. Now,even if the joint fails,the foam will keep the tub and the repair together, and somewhat watertight.

[foxvalley]

Got everything together,tracks on, and took it for a test ride. Everything went well until it reached operating temp, then the brake pads started to lock up on the right steering rotor, also the hand brakes locked up.
Somebody had used the wrong brake fluid, guessing DOT 3, after they had replaced the brake pads on this side,as they are new. The other side is still fine. The hand brake calipers seem to have damaged seals,especially on one side, so we are just going to replace them, and also they were in need of pads.
Other than that, the unit runs like a champ. We did have to replace two tires,as they were damaged on the sidewall.

[tbone9]

Glad you're almost done. Sounds like quite a project.

[Sol]

Man you cranked this thing out. Hats off to you.