Ultra4 4628 Race car - Sherpa Motorsports

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

For the 4Lo and CDL flashing lights on the dash, I found the wires for them coming off the 4WD ecu and un-pinned them from the plug. Then I made a new harness to plug them into the FJ tcase switches so that when I shift into 4Hi, the CDL light comes on and 4Lo turns on the 4Lo dash lights now. It's pretty simple actually.

They are in the left hand plug when you have them facing you to unplug. Not sure if the wire colors are consistent across years for the 4th gens or not but my 2003, it was the green w/ red stripe wire for the CDL light and the brown w/ white stripe for the 4LO light.

We actually have nearly all of the 4wd computers deleted. With them all gone now, the dash lights are off as well. This thing is pretty bare bones in that regard. Most all of the traction control, ABS, 4wd computers were only going to hurt us so off they went.

 

[Jayson44]

I commented on YT, but I was curious if you think the breakage was because of the stock components being weak, or if it was "driver error/trail error" so to speak. not knocking your driving skills, I just mean sometimes adding a little too much gas breaks things or getting bound up, etc. strong parts can break in extraneous circumstances, or just dumb luck sometimes.

I finished my 35s/phase 1 build this summer and wanted to hit up Moab soon. just wondering if I should take it easier out there because of weak stock parts.

J.

 

[xtremewlr]

We actually have nearly all of the 4wd computers deleted. With them all gone now, the dash lights are off as well. This thing is pretty bare bones in that regard. Most all of the traction control, ABS, 4wd computers were only going to hurt us so off they went.

I'm really tempted to do something similar. I want to be able to turn off VSC/TRAC/ABS when I'm offroad but still want them available for on road since the 4R is still my daily driver for now. Toying with the idea of getting a 2wd V8 engine ECU and removing the 4wd computer completely since I don't need it any longer. 2WDs have a TRAC off button and I think I can make it work with that.

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

Well, we are officially registered for the 2021 Ultra4 King of the Hammers. It is going to be a wild one this year. Definitely different from years past but myself and the rest of the team are beyond excited to show some IFS love in the stock class. May even be up against some pretty crazy 2021 Bronco builds this year!

We have some work to get done on the car in the coming month, and by some I mean a good bit. Here is a quick rundown of our to do list including things that are on their way to us.

First thing we wanted to address for this race is our rear axle. We went ahead and during black friday ordered a Trail Gear Rock Assualt 9" Free Float rear axle kit, we are going to pair this with a custom 4 link kit, a 35 spline axle set and spool with 4.86 gears from Yukon Gear and Axle.

Next, we partnered with Yota Mafia and Total Chaos to get a 3.5" Race Kit under the front of the truck. This setup is going to really strengthen up our front suspension components and get us those much needed travel numbers to be a lot faster in the desert sections. The added track width may prove more difficult in the rocks but the trade off will be worth it. We know many people who wheel hard on this kit and it holds up well.

Along with the LT we are getting Chromoly axle shafts for 3 CV's so we have at least one spare. Then, a Yukon 4.88 gear set, ARB Locker, Solid Spacer, etc, etc, for the front diff. We also did not want to skip out on the steering, we are installing a 200 Series Landcruiser steering rack and doing custom hiem joint tie rods to a double sheer mount on our spindle. This is really going to beef up the front end and allow us to run the car a good bit harder in the nasty stuff.

Outside of that, McNeil Racing fiberglass fenders, some maintenance, new radiator, power steering reservoir, fluid changes, engine cage, more bracing, armor additions and some fixes to our body and frame.

Let the crazy busy weeks ahead begin!

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

I commented on YT, but I was curious if you think the breakage was because of the stock components being weak, or if it was "driver error/trail error" so to speak. not knocking your driving skills, I just mean sometimes adding a little too much gas breaks things or getting bound up, etc. strong parts can break in extraneous circumstances, or just dumb luck sometimes.

I finished my 35s/phase 1 build this summer and wanted to hit up Moab soon. just wondering if I should take it easier out there because of weak stock parts.

J.

We totally bound the truck up, you could see it in the video. Between the welded rear diff and the overhang on that rock we basically put all the power to that one corner and popped the axle shaft like a toothpick. Definitely a combination of many factors but we bit off a big line for sure.

 

[awhitney1]

Wow, can't wait to see the install process for these upgrades! Can you fit a 200 Series Landcruiser steering rack in a 4th gen?

Well, we are officially registered for the 2021 Ultra4 King of the Hammers. It is going to be a wild one this year. Definitely different from years past but myself and the rest of the team are beyond excited to show some IFS love in the stock class. May even be up against some pretty crazy 2021 Bronco builds this year!

We have some work to get done on the car in the coming month, and by some I mean a good bit. Here is a quick rundown of our to do list including things that are on their way to us.

First thing we wanted to address for this race is our rear axle. We went ahead and during black friday ordered a Trail Gear Rock Assualt 9" Free Float rear axle kit, we are going to pair this with a custom 4 link kit, a 35 spline axle set and spool with 4.86 gears from Yukon Gear and Axle.

Next, we partnered with Yota Mafia and Total Chaos to get a 3.5" Race Kit under the front of the truck. This setup is going to really strengthen up our front suspension components and get us those much needed travel numbers to be a lot faster in the desert sections. The added track width may prove more difficult in the rocks but the trade off will be worth it. We know many people who wheel hard on this kit and it holds up well.

Along with the LT we are getting Chromoly axle shafts for 3 CV's so we have at least one spare. Then, a Yukon 4.88 gear set, ARB Locker, Solid Spacer, etc, etc, for the front diff. We also did not want to skip out on the steering, we are installing a 200 Series Landcruiser steering rack and doing custom hiem joint tie rods to a double sheer mount on our spindle. This is really going to beef up the front end and allow us to run the car a good bit harder in the nasty stuff.

Outside of that, McNeil Racing fiberglass fenders, some maintenance, new radiator, power steering reservoir, fluid changes, engine cage, more bracing, armor additions and some fixes to our body and frame.

Let the crazy busy weeks ahead begin!

 

[duffdog]

Well, we are officially registered for the 2021 Ultra4 King of the Hammers. It is going to be a wild one this year. Definitely different from years past but myself and the rest of the team are beyond excited to show some IFS love in the stock class. May even be up against some pretty crazy 2021 Bronco builds this year!

We have some work to get done on the car in the coming month, and by some I mean a good bit. Here is a quick rundown of our to do list including things that are on their way to us.

First thing we wanted to address for this race is our rear axle. We went ahead and during black friday ordered a Trail Gear Rock Assualt 9" Free Float rear axle kit, we are going to pair this with a custom 4 link kit, a 35 spline axle set and spool with 4.86 gears from Yukon Gear and Axle.

Next, we partnered with Yota Mafia and Total Chaos to get a 3.5" Race Kit under the front of the truck. This setup is going to really strengthen up our front suspension components and get us those much needed travel numbers to be a lot faster in the desert sections. The added track width may prove more difficult in the rocks but the trade off will be worth it. We know many people who wheel hard on this kit and it holds up well.

Along with the LT we are getting Chromoly axle shafts for 3 CV's so we have at least one spare. Then, a Yukon 4.88 gear set, ARB Locker, Solid Spacer, etc, etc, for the front diff. We also did not want to skip out on the steering, we are installing a 200 Series Landcruiser steering rack and doing custom hiem joint tie rods to a double sheer mount on our spindle. This is really going to beef up the front end and allow us to run the car a good bit harder in the nasty stuff.

Outside of that, McNeil Racing fiberglass fenders, some maintenance, new radiator, power steering reservoir, fluid changes, engine cage, more bracing, armor additions and some fixes to our body and frame.

Let the crazy busy weeks ahead begin!

Is the steering rack a direct bolt-on or do you have to change the internal valving and cut and rethread the holes?

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

Is the steering rack a direct bolt-on or do you have to change the internal valving and cut and rethread the holes?

Wow, can't wait to see the install process for these upgrades! Can you fit a 200 Series Landcruiser steering rack in a 4th gen?

WE honestly are not sure yet, there is not that much information on the web about it. From what we have seen the plumbing is all the same, we just have to redo the mounts. Seems easy enough for our team so we are gonna dive head in on that one on our own.

 

[awhitney1]

Cool, can't wait to see the progress on it!

WE honestly are not sure yet, there is not that much information on the web about it. From what we have seen the plumbing is all the same, we just have to redo the mounts. Seems easy enough for our team so we are gonna dive head in on that one on our own.

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

KOH 2021 PREP JAN 1-3​

We managed to knock out a lot this weekend. So I am very excited about that! While we are still waiting on a ton of parts to show up we knocked out what we could and started preparing for a lot of the parts that are showing up. The first thing we wanted to knock off our to-do list is the engine cage.

We jumped right into this build.

We started by landing some tubes on the coil buckets. This allowed us to keep this engine cage class legal and not modify any body panels. The only ones that we will need to modify are our firewall but for the purpose of tieing it into our main cage, it is acceptable.

We then ran some tubes out to tie into our front bumper, deleting the AC allowed for some great tube pass-throughs without having to change anything on the truck.

Then we replicated this on the other side and built a removable crossover tube to tie the two together. We also ran some tubes up to the A-pillar node on the main cage.

We have plans to now tie our coil buckets into our custom shock towers which will allow us to have both shock hoops technically connected to each other spreading the forces of hard hits etc to each other. This is really going to strengthen our front end. Not only that but our bumper will soon be tied is as well so hard winch pulls or big hits will no longer bend our frame and cause safety concerns. Lastly, our engine is a bit more protected in the case that we roll the truck.

We then pulled our front diff, steering rack, radiator, and a bunch of other stuff in preparation for new parts and some upgrades that are coming.

Excited to keep updating all of you on the new stuff we are doing to 4628 in the near future! Hammers 2021 here we come!

Be sure to follow us on Instagram [MENTION=1381]Sherpa[/MENTION]motorsports , Subscribe to us on Youtube as well, after Hammers, we will have full videos covering everything we did to prep for KOH as well as coverage of the event itself. In the meantime watch our build videos leading up to now as well as the races we have already competed in!

 

[momo.75]

You guys should make/sell some Sherpa Motorsports #4628 Race shirt so we can show support.:rockon:

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

You guys should make/sell some Sherpa Motorsports #4628 Race shirt so we can show support.:rockon:

We definitely need to. It's hard to find time to work on the race car right now let alone sell shirts on the side but I'm sure we can make it happen soon enough.

 

[alextmullis]

Random but, how did you mount that light bar in the spoiler? Looks clean there versus some other mounting locations I keep seeing.

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

Random but, how did you mount that light bar in the spoiler? Looks clean there versus some other mounting locations I keep seeing.

We simply just cut out the area on the back to allow the lights to pass through, drill holes on the bottom, and bolted it in with some washers to keep the plastic from cracking. Holds up great so far.

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

Over the weekend we did some really boring stuff and got started on some really cool stuff!

The boring stuff was ripping the old axle out and cutting all the old brackets off the frame. We also rebuilt our front cross-member that was destroyed, tied it into the cross-member the a-arms mount to as well as got the Addicted Offroad bumper cross-member to our frame as well as the engine cage landing on the bumper.

On to the fun stuff, we designed, cut, and welded our 4 link brackets for the new 4 link. I have lots more pictures coming as well.

Here is a sneak peak.

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

We started to land links last night. We got our upper and lower mounts tacked to the housing, as well as made our lower links. We also got one of our lower mounts tacked on. It was late and a jack stand was blocking the other side so that will go on tomorrow, we are also going to cut and bend our upper links.

For the links we are using Summit Machine Billet Joints, these things are beefy. One side has a threaded bung so we have adjustability, the other end will be fixed and is welded to the link. As far as the link itself it is made of 2" 1/4" wall DOM and the uppers will be 1.75".120 Wall DOM. This should provide us with plenty of strength and longevity with these. The lowers are BEEFY. The upper will also be very beefy when compared to the factory links.

And boy is it wide!!!

As far as the housing goes, we are running a Trail Gear 9" Housing. This is their Full Float Roller Kit so it comes with nearly everything you need to have a roller housing. The housing, the weld in bearing pockets, Dana 60 Hubs, brake calipers with mounts, rotor, and lugs. We then had to buy the Dana 60 hub drive flange kit, a Truss, and the axle shafts which are equal length 35 Spline Chromoly shafts.

We have the 3rd member being built right now along with the front and we will update you on that shortly.

 

[zidaro]

Nice build. Looks like you've been getting some good seat time over the last year.
Your gonna love the ROCKS of JV!!! they big��. Looking forward to seeing your build prep for KOH and all the fun you have in the race. Good Luck, keep it rollin.

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

For those curious, here are the 4Link numbers we landed as close as possible to.

Also, something from Locked Offroad showed up this morning for the front...

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

For those curious, here are the 4Link numbers we landed as close as possible to.

Also, something from Locked Offroad showed up this morning for the front...

Ironically I was trying to learn about Anti-Squat last night and this morning. It looks like you did a pretty good compromise between desert and crawl percentage for the rear axle.
I'm gonna try to stuff some 14" bypasses under mine, but I plan on getting my butt kicked in the beginning, trying to learn the geometry of it all.
Took me an hour to find free software to be able to write into the calculator, finally settling on Apache. It's the one I use the most everyday anyway, I was over thinking it for awhile. Just had to figure out what format I needed. Paying for Microsoft WAS NOT an option what so ever.

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

Ironically I was trying to learn about Anti-Squat last night and this morning. It looks like you did a pretty good compromise between desert and crawl percentage for the rear axle.
I'm gonna try to stuff some 14" bypasses under mine, but I plan on getting my butt kicked in the beginning, trying to learn the geometry of it all.
Took me an hour to find free software to be able to write into the calculator, finally settling on Apache. It's the one I use the most everyday anyway, I was over thinking it for awhile. Just had to figure out what format I needed. Paying for Microsoft WAS NOT an option what so ever.

Its been a huge learning curve for us too. I'm sure we ended up a little off from the calculator but as long as its close I am happy. We wanted to split the difference as this car will certainly shine in the desert much more than the rocks but we will try to make it good at both! Driver mod will be required for sure.