It's been about 2 years since I picked up this '99 Sahara and I'm ready for my own build thread! We've taken it up to dunes in Wyoming, along the Green River in ID, and all over Utah to include a trip to Moab.
I bought the thing with little to no knowledge of Jeeps aside from the 4.0 - I used to fix cars for a living & have rebuilt a few of them, but my automotive experience has been limited to Japanese/German cars & tinkering with racecars back when I used to run some SCCA. Didn't know a thing about lifts, drivelines, or bump stops.
So I picked this little guy up with the goal of riding some trails with the family while we're here in UT, and I think it's done pretty well. I overhauled the cooling system when I first got it, did some minor engine work, & it's been ripping ever since.
It's clanky though. Very clanky. The steering was awful, so I swapped in a ZJ kit at the advice of you all here - that did wonders. But, it still clanks, pops, snaps, and does other weird stuff offroad, so after two years of reading on this board I'm falling for it. The PO installed a 4" procomp lift, the axles are squoze in about 1.5" and off-center about 2. The trackbar rubs the tank, and most bushing are garbage.
The long term plan is a adjustable control arms / trackbars, SYE, TW driveshaft, Dana 44, 4.88 gears with E-lockers front & rear. As of now I'm doing all of it except gears/lockers - I may get to them before Moab this year, if not that's fine too.
So, last August I was cruising KSL (the local version of Craigslist) for random parts as I usually do & I find a Dana 44 & Dana 30 listed for $500. The pics were grainy, but the ad was two minutes old so I texted the guy that I'm interested while I posted on here at the same time to get a second opinion. Turns out it was the real deal, the guy bought a rolled LJ up in WY for the frame. He said he wanted them gone and fast, so I cruised down & snagged them both.
I don't have a use for the 30, but I figure I'll throw it out there for $100 & see if someone needs it.
So fastforward 5 months ( I work a lot), the TJ is in the garage, the poor Big Yellow Car is outside under a cover, and stuff is happening. I dragged the 44 in the garage, cracked it open, and everything looks fine in there. I'd love to go ahead & do some gears while am at it now but I'm on a tight timeline as it is (only have a couple of hours a week to work on it) and I want to get it rolling soon.
I had a couple of hours this morning before the fam woke up so I went ahead & pulled the 35 out of the rear axle (hand tools only, shhhhh!). Everything came out smooth, I really lucked out with minimal rust. There is fucking fluid film everywhere though. The only snag I ran into was the breather hose - looks like it's pinched between the tub & frame and was shredded anyway so I just cut it off.
With that axle out I can get under there for the SYE. Haven't decided if I'm going to do it in the truck or not - I'm leaning towards pulling the transfer case because I despise working on my back (don't have it high enough to sit up under it), but we'll see. I was also intending on dropping the gas tank just to get a good look around, but the lack of rust everywhere makes me think I'll skip it.
I got my control arms & trackbars the other day. I decided to go with Core 4x4, tier 4, in red (matches my pull handles, the chicks are gonna go crazy for it). They were running a deal the other weekend for a full set including trackbars for $1600. Seemed like a good deal so I went for it. The came quick, packaged nicely, even included a drill bit for the front trackbar which was a nice touch, plus like 50 stickers for some reason.
I ran over to Tom Wood yesterday to pick up an SYE kit. What an awesome place that is! Just a regular shop in an industrial complex in Ogden UT. Super helpful folks, top notch service - they gave me the SYE/driveshaft combo discount even though I didn't have measurements yet for the shaft, Shawn said just call him up when I get them & he'll have one turned for me in a day.
That's about it for today, I might get another hour or two this weekend. By the end of next week I'd like to have the SYE installed and the Dana 44 ready to go in. I have to order a few nitnoid parts as well - new brakes for the Dana 44 & whatever brakelines I need to get them to work on my Sahara.
Cheers!
I bought the thing with little to no knowledge of Jeeps aside from the 4.0 - I used to fix cars for a living & have rebuilt a few of them, but my automotive experience has been limited to Japanese/German cars & tinkering with racecars back when I used to run some SCCA. Didn't know a thing about lifts, drivelines, or bump stops.
So I picked this little guy up with the goal of riding some trails with the family while we're here in UT, and I think it's done pretty well. I overhauled the cooling system when I first got it, did some minor engine work, & it's been ripping ever since.
It's clanky though. Very clanky. The steering was awful, so I swapped in a ZJ kit at the advice of you all here - that did wonders. But, it still clanks, pops, snaps, and does other weird stuff offroad, so after two years of reading on this board I'm falling for it. The PO installed a 4" procomp lift, the axles are squoze in about 1.5" and off-center about 2. The trackbar rubs the tank, and most bushing are garbage.
The long term plan is a adjustable control arms / trackbars, SYE, TW driveshaft, Dana 44, 4.88 gears with E-lockers front & rear. As of now I'm doing all of it except gears/lockers - I may get to them before Moab this year, if not that's fine too.
So, last August I was cruising KSL (the local version of Craigslist) for random parts as I usually do & I find a Dana 44 & Dana 30 listed for $500. The pics were grainy, but the ad was two minutes old so I texted the guy that I'm interested while I posted on here at the same time to get a second opinion. Turns out it was the real deal, the guy bought a rolled LJ up in WY for the frame. He said he wanted them gone and fast, so I cruised down & snagged them both.
I don't have a use for the 30, but I figure I'll throw it out there for $100 & see if someone needs it.
So fastforward 5 months ( I work a lot), the TJ is in the garage, the poor Big Yellow Car is outside under a cover, and stuff is happening. I dragged the 44 in the garage, cracked it open, and everything looks fine in there. I'd love to go ahead & do some gears while am at it now but I'm on a tight timeline as it is (only have a couple of hours a week to work on it) and I want to get it rolling soon.
I had a couple of hours this morning before the fam woke up so I went ahead & pulled the 35 out of the rear axle (hand tools only, shhhhh!). Everything came out smooth, I really lucked out with minimal rust. There is fucking fluid film everywhere though. The only snag I ran into was the breather hose - looks like it's pinched between the tub & frame and was shredded anyway so I just cut it off.
With that axle out I can get under there for the SYE. Haven't decided if I'm going to do it in the truck or not - I'm leaning towards pulling the transfer case because I despise working on my back (don't have it high enough to sit up under it), but we'll see. I was also intending on dropping the gas tank just to get a good look around, but the lack of rust everywhere makes me think I'll skip it.
I got my control arms & trackbars the other day. I decided to go with Core 4x4, tier 4, in red (matches my pull handles, the chicks are gonna go crazy for it). They were running a deal the other weekend for a full set including trackbars for $1600. Seemed like a good deal so I went for it. The came quick, packaged nicely, even included a drill bit for the front trackbar which was a nice touch, plus like 50 stickers for some reason.
I ran over to Tom Wood yesterday to pick up an SYE kit. What an awesome place that is! Just a regular shop in an industrial complex in Ogden UT. Super helpful folks, top notch service - they gave me the SYE/driveshaft combo discount even though I didn't have measurements yet for the shaft, Shawn said just call him up when I get them & he'll have one turned for me in a day.
That's about it for today, I might get another hour or two this weekend. By the end of next week I'd like to have the SYE installed and the Dana 44 ready to go in. I have to order a few nitnoid parts as well - new brakes for the Dana 44 & whatever brakelines I need to get them to work on my Sahara.
Cheers!
