James & The Sahara Build Thread

Another update today! Started off the day getting these off my patio :D. They really need some love and to be repainted but for now they function great. Figured while I had the jacks out I would get em on.

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I got the brake lines cleaned up, double flared, & installed. I sadly don't think I thought out my cut very well and my shock at half travel will hit the mount, however I am extending the shock mounts so I think I will be ok:

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I bled all 4 calipers, the brake fluid was beyond gross. I tried using a Mityvac but found gravity bleeding to be much more consistent and easier.

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Put the finishing touches on my BMB system

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Here are some pictures of the MetalCloak Rear Track Bar, its pretty solid:

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Teraflex E-brake cables being mounted & ran.

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So something really funny happened, remember all those notes saying "empty put fluid in before driving" on the axles? Yeah I don't know why that note was on the 44, it was full of fluid LOL:

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And with every project I hit a pretty stupid set back today. The Jeep can be driven in FWD, but not RWD because I still can't connect my rear driveshaft. The U-bolt I bought would not work, because my driveshaft is a 1310 and my dana yoke is a 1330 (UGH). I am going to solve this by purchasing: Dana Spicer 2-4-8091x (1310 series) & Dana Spicer 2-94-28X (U-Bolts for for 1310/1330 series). I also found out my transmission mount has completed failed and is barely hanging on so I will be replacing that. Hoping to have her drivable on Sunday if I can get the parts (Can't on Saturday because of other obligations :().
 
Hey, you have a TracLok in the rear. Not the best but hell of a lot better than open. You can run straight 85-140, no lsd additive, to make it a bit grippier if you want to.
 
Wait I do, did they rebuild it? I didn’t pay them to rebuild it... did I? Lol.
Hell if I know :D Nice little surprise bonus for you. Throw the tires on, have one person hold one, and you try to spin the other. Should have pretty good resistance trying to turn the tire. If so, you are good. If it turns easily, now is the time for new clutches.
 
Hell if I know :D Nice little surprise bonus for you. Throw the tires on, have one person hold one, and you try to spin the other. Should have pretty good resistance trying to turn the tire. If so, you are good. If it turns easily, now is the time for new clutches.
Interesting, thanks for telling me that I will check it Sunday. Let's hope for the best!
 
TODAY WAS THE DAY!

Excitement can't be contained, I drove the Jeep for the first time in a exactly 7 days :D.

Here's how today went down:

I took off the old pinion nut, driveshaft yoke, & rear driveshaft:

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I called nearly every dealership/parts store/drive train shop looking for that yoke & managed to find one in Columbus Ga (Foreman Powertrain). Here are some photos of the parts I picked up:

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Installation of driveshaft equipment:

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I drove her around & followed Motobilt's & BMB's break in procedure. Gearing was way weird, I was actually driving around town in gears other than 1st & 2nd :D. I do have a rear end clunk/thud going over speed tables so I will evaluate the rear suspension on Sunday and see what's hitting. The shocks don't show any markings from hitting the brake line tabs but that would be my first guess (Even though that would require more than 1/2 shock travel over a speed bump?). Could also be the track bar, hard to tell from inside the vehicle. All in all, really excited having new brakes & gears, hoping Sunday I'll have a more coherent experience!

Any who, I got back from the test drive & re-torqued every single bolt. While re-torquing one of caliper bolts in the rear, it snapped. I was lucky I used grease and was able to extract the small amount sticking out, but you guys can only imagine how happy I was when it occurred:

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So starting on Sunday I will be trying to determine that loud clunk/thud, getting new caliper pin bolts, & fixing this awful mess (Yes they are sheared off, if you look to the right you can see part of the remains & still have no clue when this happened):

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Thanks!

The description doesn't mention having to use a cassette to use the aux. However, you are saying you have to?
In order to use aus you must have a cassette it. Thats how the function switcher works, without a cassette in the radio will just use regular AM/FM. Its actually nice and doesn’t limit the stock radio with added functionality :).
 
How did you re-torque the pinion nut?
I marked on the pinion threads where the previous nut sat and removed it. Replaced it with spicer nut and washer and tightened it back to the same point. Then used a torque wrench to check the value: 180ftlb. Checking online this seems to be the universal constant and because the yoke is shimmed/not crush sleeved this will work just fine.
 
I marked on the pinion threads where the previous nut sat and removed it. Replaced it with spicer nut and washer and tightened it back to the same point. Then used a torque wrench to check the value: 180ftlb. Checking online this seems to be the universal constant and because the yoke is shimmed/not crush sleeved this will work just fine.

Got it. I'll be doing this soon in an effort to eliminate the yoke as my vibe issue. How did you hold the yoke tight while you were torqueing the nut down?
 
Got it. I'll be doing this soon in an effort to eliminate the yoke as my vibe issue. How did you hold the yoke tight while you were torqueing the nut down?
I left the vehicle in gear, vehicle not jacked up, all 4 tires on, ebrake set, the yoke moved a little maybe 1 degree left/right but it remained steady for the most part. Its a 1-1/8” drive so make sure you have a proper sized socket that will fit your torque wrench and ratchet!

It's coming along well! You're going to like having those axles in there.
Thanks! Yeah I hope so! Hoping I can get all these small things knocked out & enjoy it! :D
 
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Another big update!

Got the replacement caliper bolts from Napa & got them installed safely lol (No photos this is easy stuff!).

I removed the belly skid to remove the transmission mount & replace it. Judging by the pictures you can tell it was kinda gone at this point lol:

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Onto the important part of today, figuring out what that loud clunk was going over speed bumps. Standard protocol I removed the rear spring & started checking bump stops/interference (Ignore the shocks my Currie extensions for them are coming tomorrow but I know these aren't the cause of the loud clunk):

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The Track Bar seemed to be clearing just fine even at full stuff. So I checked the other side, and by golly I did something stupid. I installed the rear sway bar in the wrong orientation so when it moved, it clunked against the spring. Super easy fix and glad it was found with ease.

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Now put in the correct orientation:

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I drove her around town and a little bit of highway and she drives great. I haven't noticed any type of serious vibration & the gears seem to be doing their job so I will responsibly break them in. I did want to note I have left Motobilt a voicemail as the front pinion seal seems to be weeping after driving it these past two times.

Bonus: Remember that wheeling trip I did a little while ago? Well I finally got some of the photos, here's an idea of the Alabama countryside :D:

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(That is my girlfriend and great buddy in the Jeep with me, they had both never been off road and was a great experience for them I hope :D)

I will update accordingly tomorrow as I am going to do the u-bolt conversion on the front yoke, install my speedometer gear, & extend the rear shock mount to clear the spring perch/brake line tab. I will be getting her aligned on Tuesday & should be good to go!
 
It is possible you damaged the seal when swapping yokes. Another posibility, many seals have a spring to keep tension in the sealing lip and they are easy to knock out.