Confused? E-mail your questions about trucks, 4x4s, and off-roading tech using "nuts, i'm confused" as the subject and include a picture (if it's applicable). Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TiFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file. Also, I'll be checking the forums on our Web site (www.4wheeloffroad.com), and if i see a question that i think more of you might want to have answered, i'll print that as well. Otherwise drop it old-school style with the envelope addressed to the address below. Letters published in this magazine reflect the opinions of the writers, and we reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, brevity, or other purposes.
Write To:
Nuts & Bolts
4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704.
E-maiL To:
nuts@4wheeloffroad.com
Question: Yeah I just wanted to know what is the paint code for that orange used on the project uaJk wheels?
Cody
via 4wheeloffroad.com
Answer: Believe it or not, it's just orange spray paint. We used rustoleum painters Touch real Orange (pn 1953830).
Question: I am a college student and i have been saving up some money to start to build my truck. i have a '94 extended cab chevy 1500 Z71. it is completely stock with a 350 TBi and an automatic transmission. i want to build it for hunt-ing and mild trail use. i want 35-inch tires but i don't know if i should put in a solid front axle or stick with the iFS. if i stick with the iFS, can i put an axle out of a 2500 or 3500 in place of the one it has now?
Greg R.
via 4wheeloffroad.com
Answer: If it was me, i would not lift this truck, especially with what i have learned from four-wheeling my iFS chevy truck. I would instead get a small body lift, no more than 2 inches, and/or i would trim the body to clear the 35-inch-tall tires if you are dead-set on that size tires. Many independent front suspensions when lifted do not preserve the geometry needed to keep the iFS axles alive, and even if you could swap in the bigger 2500 or 3500 iFS parts (which is not an easy bolt-in task), they will not survive either if you wheel this truck on anything more difficult than a dirt road. (I've broken my entire front axlehousing.) probably the best advice i can give is to save up to do the solid axle swap and until then try wheeling it stock with a set of 31- or 32-inch mud tires. you'll be amazed at what you can do with it until you get the funds together to really build it right.
Question: I'm looking for a "topless" fourwheel-drive, preferably with the quality of Japanese manufacturing. Other than old Toyota FJs, what are the best options? is it possible to remove tops from Tundra's and the like?
Paul A.
via 4wheeloffroad.com
Answer: Topless 4x4s include the following: Toyota FJ-40 and FJ-45s, Suzuki Samurais, and nissan patrols. also consider Land rover Series and Defender models, Jeep cJs, commandos, and Wranglers, pre-'78 Ford Broncos, pre-'76 chevy Blazers, Dodge ramchargers, and international Scouts. The Dodge M37, American Motors Mighty Mite, aM general humvee or M151a1, Mercedes 404 unimog, and Jeep M715 were military vehicles with removable tops offered from the '50s to today. also some 4x4s have partially removable tops like the later Blazers, Broncos, mid- '80s Toyota 4runners, and isuzu amigos. removing a top from a solid-cab vehicle like a Tundra can be a problem because the roof is often an integral part of the body structure and removing it can have dire effects on the stiffness of the vehicle.
Question: I drive a four-wheel-drive '97 Ford F-250 crew cab and was wondering if i can run tire chains on all four tires. Someone told me you shouldn't run tire chains on all four tires because of the difference in gear ratios of the front and back. i hear of all kinds of guys running chains front and rear and never having problems. Can you tell me why or is it just a myth?
Gary D.
via 4wheeloffroad.com
Answer: It's a myth. you can run chains on all four tires, no problem, especially in key conditions, and your friends are mistaken because the front and rear axle of your truck should have the same gear ratio. now if you only have one set of chains, i would probably put them on the front axle of your 4x4 and then drive in 4WD in the snow. your front axle steers and stops where your rear only pushes. That being said i would recommend using them on all four tires if possible.