I got a new Jeep! - Page 33

GTX · #**801** 06-07-2012, 02:12 AM

I got the bellhousing back from Novak today and it looks good. Installed it and the trans but the tcase is still sitting on my workbench. It has to dry before I can refill it with gear oil and then I can see if the 4.0 will start. *crosses fingers*

Cleaning and draining the D300, new rear output seal and the Right Stuff about to go on

My fantastic girlfriend bought me a bunch of posters and I decided I need more tool storage. Getting the garage organized finally gave me room for a rolling workbench. This is from Home Depot and is a Husky brand but it seems to be great quality. I've bought Craftsman in the past but they've gone downhill lately and Husky hasn't let me down. I've had their pro series tools for about 2 years now without any broken pieces.

And finally I got my rear axle side shock mounts tacked in place. I am not sure if I am going to like the design so they've only got large tacks for now. Here's the design again, all bolted up-

hctechno · #**802** 06-07-2012, 10:09 PM

interesting idea with the adjustable position shock mounts. i dont think ive see mounts like that before. I finally manned up and bought a welder. I ordered a Hobart handler 140 and got a good deal with free shipping. I know you have a Hobart but i dont remember which one. The good news is the company i work for uses central welding so ill get a discount there when i but a tank and other supplies. A friend of mine at work is a welder so he's going to get me one of the welding jackets they use. After wheeling last weekend and breaking one of my mud flaps( i forgot to remove them

) i decided it was time to get a welder since pretty much everything needed on my truck requires welding. I only got a few pics but no action shots.

came up on this guy who was wheeling alone. We got him right side up and running again. His windshield frame was trashed though. It was pushed over about 4 inches and the windshield was destroyed.

So your update was yesterday. Did you get your t case bolted up yet and does she fire now?

hctechno · #**803** 06-09-2012, 10:22 PM

The Rubicon is officially gone...and i couldn't be happier

I traded it in this morning for a 2010' Mustang GT.

(Ignore my sister)

GTX · #**804** 06-10-2012, 02:59 AM

Nice flopped Jeep

AND I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SOLD THE JK!!!!!!!!! Is that 5.0 at least?

GTX · #**805** 06-10-2012, 03:05 AM

Whew, time for an update.

First, the Jeep runs. It still doesn't start from the key but it runs. I have to jump the starter relay but at least I know it's firing and idles.

This is the mess from under the dash and I already pulled out about 100ft of wire before this:

Pulled out all of it and said goodbye. This is without the two gigantic "brain boxes" that were shoved under the dash too:

In the lower left corner you'll see three little fuse boxes. Yeah, those were shoved deep under the 4.0 and were just a GROUND. *facepalm* notice the one on the right!

And this is what under the dash is supposed to look like after I repaired it:

This brings us to today's fab and what-not-

carrier bearing mount, tacked together:

welded the nut completely on the other side, I didn't want it coming loose

Doesn't seem like much, but that little piece saved me hours of work and it only took me 30 minutes to draw up!

Sorry for the crappy picture, lighting was terrible. These are the corner extensions. I will also have a lot more room for uptravel and future tire size plus it will accommodate the factory flare until I bend up some new ones-

Tomorrow will be more of the same, hope to finish most of this. I need to pull the top cover off the np435, I think I misaligned the shift forks somehow when I put it on. I have the alignment guide picture somewhere and I'll post it when I find it again. Oh, and it felt great to have the 4.0 fire up and the twin sticks worked pretty good!

hctechno · #**806** 06-10-2012, 09:53 AM

I dont miss the jeep one bit

2011 was the first year for the 5.0 so this has the 4.6. The price jump from a 10' to a 11' was just too much and would have changed my payments drastically. I would have preferred a 5.0 but the cost was more then i willing to pay. My payment on the munstang is $3 more a month and thats with a shorter loan term then where i left off with the jeep.

It says you have exceeded your bandwidth so i can't see any of your pictures.

GTX · #**807** 06-10-2012, 12:12 PM

You'll miss it, give it time

Fixed the bandwidth!

hctechno · #**808** 06-10-2012, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTX

You'll miss it, give it time

Not a chance

I have my yota for wheeling now

That wiring was a absolute mess. Some people should not work on their own vehicle, especially wiring if they dont have the know how.

I finally installed my high clearance crossmember. I'll have to pull the skid plate back off and clearance it for my front drive line. It just barely touches the skid but when i go wheeling and my passenger side droops it will hit hard. Kind of hard to see in the pictures but you can see the clearance gain. plus the skid plate protects the entire t case as where the stock one was only about 3.5" wide.

old

new

GTX · #**809** 06-11-2012, 09:01 PM

That looks better. I always wondered how bad it would be if a rock wanted to *hug* the transfer case on one of those Yotas.

It runs and drives, drove it around the neighborhood in 4lo. Couple things-

destroyed one of the cables on the D300 from the leverage of the twin sticks

definitely going to flat tow it for now, it's LOUD
no reverse, shift fork must not be lined up, easy fix
clutch safety switch bypassed with a closed circuit (some say a fuse is a fix)
starter works intermittently because of above
corners are nearly done, came out well and will use stock flares for now
steering hits the passenger side spring mount, need to trim it
front locker seems to be engaged permanently, like a spool
need to final weld the shock mounts
finish front 2 piece driveshaft
tidy up the welds, flap disc any remaining edges and paint them

Sorry for my lack of pics and tech, I'll add more later. I spent most of the time in the shop from the past three days fixing little issues, tracking down wires, and finally driving around the block.

Carrier bearing mount finished, ready to put in place. The plan for this came together well, the opening I drew happens to be in just the right spot for the bolt to pass through

stubby short shaft of the 2 piece driveshaft

corners, my fantastic girlfriend drilled the holes, what a sweetheart!

The clutch safety bypass, took out the connector and made the circuit complete. Starter works most of the time, feels like the computer or solenoid is fighting the wiring for control over the starter.

I'll be back Friday and will be kicking ass all weekend to get the TJ and Silverado ready for the trip next Tuesday.

hctechno · #**810** 06-12-2012, 09:45 PM

it must have been nice to finally drive it, even if it was just around the neighborhood. sounds like your closer to eliminating all the electrical gremlins as well. I forgot what locker you put in the front of your rig. Even with a lunch box style locker ive never had my front disengage or ratchet like one would in the rear of a rig. are you planning on a shake down run next tuesday?

GTX · #**811** 06-13-2012, 12:36 AM

I have a lockright, but I do remember it being unlocked when not under power previously. I will jack up one tire and see what I find. Yeah pretty much all of the previous hackjob is gone and most of the wiring gremlins are gone. Need to get reverse fixed and the other minor things before the shake down tues-thurs next week.

Biggest challenge now is to set it up for flat towing and get the front driveshaft fabbed and installed. Considering I'm going to remove the driveshafts and flat tow it, I should be able to manage it in the 3 days I have off prior to the trip.

GTX · #**812** 06-22-2012, 09:30 PM

Alright here's the update...

I picked up a HF tow bar and magnetic light kit then made my own mounts that bolt to the factory bumper mounts. It's all 3/8".

Here's the total pain in the ass 2 piece shaft

The couple days before the wheeling trip are a blur. I was in the shop no less than 14 hours each day, throwing things together, drilling, welding, etc. I got most of it finished to go to the shake down run but didn't get to test the front shaft. Then the front locker wouldn't disengage :shaking: So I had to pull the shaft from one side in order to flat tow.

Filled up and heading out

Had to take the pass in order to get to the trail

After settling in I tore apart the front end to see why the lockwrong was acting up

I had the damn thing apart for 5 hours and rebuilt the diff but it still won't unlock. Springs are pretty fresh, I replaced them a few runs before the rebuild.

GTX · #**813** 06-22-2012, 09:53 PM

Side shot, the wheelbase felt great

Onto the wheeling...

Couple things to note - I didn't have FWD. Front driveshaft wouldn't stop moving, more specifically, the carrier bearing wouldn't stop moving inside it's mount. I couldn't get the damn thing to stay in one spot and the angle was too much. I wish I would have had more time to test it but the front locker put me out of the game anyway. It's hard as **** to drive a spooled front end - unless you have twin sticks. Wanna guess which cable shifter broke the other day? Yeah, the front stick. haha

So, screw it, I'll wheel in RWD. Air'ed down to 6psi and hit the trails. Only ONE hill denied me and I almost made it! I got it on video, I need to do some editing though. I also got a GoPro Hero 2 from my fantastic girlfriend so I got footage there too.

I'll get the vids uploaded as soon as I can. Overall the Jeep kicked ass! The suspension felt MUCH better than the stock junk. I didn't get a chance to really test flex but I need longer shocks up front for sure. I knew this already since they're only 9" travel but I'll need to have a lot more seat time to know if it's really needed. The np435 was great, low gear is great to have. The D300 is actually a good case despite it's inability to hold fluid.

I'll be redesigning a few things and hopefully have a regular CV shaft up front instead of the time consuming 2 piece and the heavy mount. I'm also ditching the cables and converting to a regular linkage shift for the D300.

hctechno · #**814** 06-24-2012, 11:02 AM

its too bad so many things didnt work the way they were supposed to but its called a shake down run for a reason. im sure you will get those things fixed in no time. its strange about your front locker. I dont have any issues with the spartan locker in my toyota and when i had the front locker engaged in the jeep it wasn't that difficult to steer. does it feel like something is binding?

Ill be in your neck of the woods in a few hours as i go down to rochester to pick up a complete 22r/re rebuild kit from a nww member. it would have been cool to check your rig out in person.

GTX · #**815** 06-25-2012, 01:21 AM

Yeah it still felt good

I think the front locker issue is solved - I don't think I put the shims in the front locker so it won't let the halves spin. Gotta try that but I think that's it!

Wish I would have had time to let you check out the rig! I had to work today and will be busy all week

But I might have money for a Stak case toward the end of summer

GTX · #**816** 09-19-2012, 06:36 PM

ordered a stak replace a case today

hctechno · #**817** 09-20-2012, 10:24 PM

didn't know if you were still around. have you just been saving for a stak before doing anything else? I don't have a wheeler anymore. It was stolen a week before my birthday in July and has probably been cut to pieces by now

insurance isn't doing anything so its a total loss on my end. so much money thats just gone. i've been trying to find another rig/wheeler that i can drive in the winter and start to build.

GTX · #**818** 09-21-2012, 01:00 AM

Yup been driving it and saving. It's a fun rig!

That SUCKS about your rig!!! Did you file a police report? How are they getting away with it??! THIEVES SUCK!!!!! I'm sorry dude.

hctechno · #**819** 09-21-2012, 12:21 PM

yeah i filed a police report. They won't waste their time actually looking though. Unless someone got pulled over driving it or it was abandoned somewhere the police are pretty much useless for stolen vehicles. Im sure it was cut up long ago though. All i can do now is start over.

GTX · #**820** 09-21-2012, 04:43 PM

And the insurance is dragging their feet? With the police report, you should be compensated by your insurance. Are you going with a Toyota again? I know I used to own one, but Toyota guys are either really good people or total scumbags in my encounters with them. Jeep guys are usually stuck up but at least they'll help you off the trail.

HobbyGuy · #**821** 09-21-2012, 05:15 PM

Great looking jeep GTX awesome work

GTX · #**822** 10-04-2012, 02:49 AM

Thanks HobbyGuy.

Got a package today...

GTX · #**823** 10-22-2012, 01:36 AM

Got started on the Stak build. Only a couple small gripes, for instance, the pitting on the case when I got it-

And Stak forgot to include the rubber o ring for the case halves. I had to make my own from my stash of extra o rings-

Other than that, it's a pretty good product and install so far. I had to shorten two bolts also but that's pretty minor. Just swap the guts and use their supplied parts.

Starting from a fully assembled and modified Dana 300 to the finished Stak case was about 6 hours. It's important to note that I also installed a fresh bearing set and had to first remove the existing bearings. I had a 20 ton hydraulic press, pneumatics, and a sturdy work bench.

I still need to fill it with gear oil after I preload the rear bearing. Then I'll need to either make new shifters or adapt my own shifters to this new setup. I'm leaning towards new shifters since I think it will be easier and more compact. I had to notch my crossmember a little bit but after that this new case will pay off.

hctechno · #**824** 10-24-2012, 10:00 PM

thats a purty looking t-case. I wouldn't be too thrilled with that pitting either. Are the case halves machined from a a solid block or are they a rough cast thats machined down?

GTX · #**825** 10-25-2012, 01:37 AM

I think they might be rough casts. Stak says they're aluminum alloy that is machined then hardened, so I'm thinking they machine it to spec then harden it. It would be easier to mill an entire piece if they were using a soft metal first, so there's also a good chance that they start from a solid block. Plus they take forever to machine these....so it's an even greater chance that its from a solid block.

And thank you, I look at it every time I go in the garage