The lights before lockers build: double tough 97 Sport

Got the JB Conversions SS SYE installed. When I opened the box the speed sensor wasn't included. Shot a quick email to JB Conversions service department and they answered me on a Sunday and said they will be shipping a sensor out to me tomorrow!
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That's great customer service, especially since I ordered the SS SYE in January, but didn't check the contents of the box till Friday. I wouldn't have blamed them at all if they had said it wasn't their problem this long after the sale, and even offered to buy one from em if they'd ship it out. But them boys in Sulphur, LA are stand-up guys.
 
I've been centering my axles and making sure my lower savvy control arms are set this morning. I have 2 observations:

1) ratchet strap and jumping on the bumper gets you amazingly close when centering the axles.

2) I finally understand what @Chris meant when he said that starting measurements for setting your control arms really don't mean much. I've gotten my rear lowers dialed in and the uppers close, but the uppers will be fine tuned once the drive shafts from Tom Wood get here.

Taking a water break then I'll go work on the front end, setting lowers and getting the Correctlync set properly.
 
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Well, after dialing everything in today, I rechecked everything, and my carefully measured front driveshaft length of 37.5 inches increased to 38.25 inches.😡 I really shoulda waited till everything was dialed in before ordering from Tom Wood's, but I jumped the gun. I called to check if this would be a problem, and Josh answered the phone. He told me that 1/2 an inch difference is about the max you want to change from ordered length. D'oh! I asked if it had been made yet, and he told me it had but UPS hadn't picked up yet. I asked if I could pay to get it modified to 38.25, and he said no, but he'd be happy to do it and not charge me if I didn't mind it not shipping till tomorrow.

Woah, man. Talk about customer service! @Shawn at Tom Wood's and his crew has earned a customer for life. Thanks, Tom Wood's!
 
I am SO CLOSE to having Double Tough driveable again! Rear drive shaft came in from Tom Wood's. Install was straightforward. Bled the brakes and once I had clean fluid at all 4 corners, I hooked up the new BMB BBK and purged the lines. I'm waiting on my front drive shaft (TW email says it's expected for delivery tomorrow!) and my speed sensor from JB Conversions, which is expected on the 1st of June. Hoping it gets here sooner, but at this point, what's a few more days?

I can't wait to drive my Jeep again, and everything else (air compressor for the lockers, body lift, cable shifter, morryde tailgate hinges/reinforcement panel, new tires, other miscellaneous small stuff) can be done as time allows on a running jeep!

Man, I'm so close I can almost taste it! It's been down for over a month, and I can't wait!
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I don't know how I've missed this thread. I apologize for blowing up your notifications but this is a hell of a build in such short time. 🍻 I also jumped head first down the TJ rabbit hole. I was fortunate enough to have mrblaine build my LJ right so I skipped out on most of the labor. :LOL:
 
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I don't know how I've missed this thread. I apologize for blowing up your notifications but this is a hell of a build in such short time. 🍻 I also jumped head first down the TJ rabbit hole. I was fortunate enough to have mrblaine build my LJ right so I skipped out on most of the labor. :LOL:
Hahahaha no worries!

I'm sure Blaine would take one look at my Jeep and find a dozen things I did wrong! But, hey, this is how you get experience, right?!😆
 
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I'm not normally one for dick jokes just for the sake of being crass, but a double entendre?

Neither am I actually. I used to roll my eyes at the my shaft's a woody slogan a bit. Maybe it feels more refined now that we've had a professional artist create this design for us. Plus, sometimes you just have to play the cards you're dealt and I happen to have been dealt a last name and a profession that makes for a good dick joke. Fun fact, my Mom's side of the family has the surnames of Dix and Peters. No escaping the last name giggles for me. :LOL:
 
Neither am I actually. I used to roll my eyes at the my shaft's a woody slogan a bit. Maybe it feels more refined now that we've had a professional artist create this design for us. Plus, sometimes you just have to play the cards you're dealt and I happen to have been dealt a last name and a profession that makes for a good dick joke. Fun fact, my Mom's side of the family has the surnames of Dix and Peters. No escaping the last name giggles for me. :LOL:
Way to roll with the punches, man.
!🤣🤣🤣
 
It's running. One little hall effect speed sensor away from a test drive. Too bad the sensor is in Mesquite, TX right now.😒

Oh well, a few more days.
 
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Um, holy shit, what a difference 4.88 gears makes!

I got the sensor installed and took Double Tough out for a shakedown. Toe needs dialed in just a little and steering wheel is slightly off center. But it tracked straight and the steering was responsive but not jerky! Starting off in second was a breeze, I got a usable 5th gear, 1st is now like a granny low, and I was able to hit 50 at about 3700rpms in 3rd gear😮! 50 was a pipe dream in 3rd on 31s with 3.07 gearing.

I'm currently using a speedometer app but will install my Speedo healer as soon as I get good tires on the rig.

White craigers and BFG KM3 35's are next up. While saving for those, I'll be doing a lot of little stuff like installing the ARB air pump to run my lockers and putting my Morryde tailgate reinforcement kit on.

Holy smokes, this thing is like a new Jeep!
 
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Well, today I did some minor things. I re-checked the diffs and the t-case fluid levels. All is well there!

I pulled the tire carrier off. It preps the way to put on the Morryde tailgate reinforcement kit, and I didn't see the point of running the carrier without a spare, so I will be cruising like this for a few weeks until I order tires and wheels.

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I tweaked the toe and centering of the steering wheel. They were both a little off.

Took another cruise and got it on a highway. Man, the new gears are awesome. I can actually pass cars now! Revs in 4th and passing were a little high for my liking, about 3500 rpm at 65. I think 35 inch tires will get me in the sweet spot for the AX-15 and 4.88's.

I noticed a whine coming from the front of the jeep under mlid acceleration. Unsure if coming from front diff, driveshaft, or something else. The axle I swapped in had the 4.88 gears already installed, and they were a bit shallow. The driveshaft is a brand new TW.

Front Pinion angle is 9.1* and Front DS angle is 8.2*.I'm wondering if it could be pinion angle? I could have sworn when I set it up my pinion was a degree below my DS angle but when I re checked, it was 1 degree above the DS angle. Again, I'm getting no vibes, but if changing that could fix the whine, I'm happy to crawl around under there for a half hour and fix it.

Or is it possibly the way the gears are meshing? There are zero vibes, and like I said, it only happens when my foot is barely on the gas. As soon as I let off the pedal or give it half the pedal the whine goes away.

Also, the tires are pretty clapped out. I'm definitely replacing them soon, but you can hear the tires roaring all the time, and the whine sound only happens under mild acceleration, so I don't *think* it's tire related but I could be wrong.

Any suggestions, I'm glad to hear em. Video link below. Sound starts about 4 seconds in.

Video

also FYI, rear driveshaft, no vibes, and no noise. DS angle is 15.0* and pinion is 13.2* so with no vibes or noise I feel like it's about perfect.
 
Fixed my front Pinion angle. It is now 7.3* and DS is 9.1*. It didn't make a difference in feel or stop the weird whine. But I feel better knowing the angle is more correct.

I did notice that the whine is not present if I drive more aggressively. Basically it is only present when maintaining a given speed with no load on the engine. It is not increasing in noise the more I drive, so I'm going to live with it barring any suggestions for things to look at. I'm so used to putting around with the 3.07 gears that I guess I'll just have to learn to drive a bit more aggressively to largely avoid the whine.
 
So I've been driving the Jeep around town for the past few weeks on my days off. The whine is still present, but has reduced considerably. I am no gear expert, but I can only assume that the front gears are settling in after having been unused for about 3 years. Even if the noise doesn't reduce any more, it has become tolerable. I don't feel like anything is gonna explode, so I'm gonna run 'em.

Got my new wheels in today! It's a set of Craiger Nomads. 15x8. Very much an "old school wagon wheel" look.

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They will go well with my trailer.😎

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Going to order BFG KM3'S in 35x12.5r15 in a couple weeks. I'm waiting to see if anyone is going to have a 4th of July sale first.
 
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Got the Morryde tailgate reinforcement and hinge kit installed... well, mostly installed. I haven't mounted up the spare tire carrier yet, I'm going to wait until I have my new tires. Also stripped the wires out for a sub and amp that a PO must have run at some point. Fixed the passenger rear seatbelt also. Dust got in it enough to not let the retractor work properly. Figured since I had it removed to install the brace for the tailgate kit, I might as well tear it apart and fix it. All in, not a bad way to spend a few hours in the carport.
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New meats came in! 35x12.5r15 BFG KM3's. Going to get them mounted early next week!

Once they are on (and I finish rebuilding my back deck... gotta keep the wife happy) I can work on tackling the last 3 major parts of this build: body lift, cable shifter, and plumbing the ARB pump to the lockers! I can't wait!

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Ok, this thing is like a new vehicle! Ground clearance! Articulation! Stance! I'm loving all of it.

The new gearing to 4.88 and tires and lift are all awesome.

But the swayloc? Damn, it brings this jeep to another level offroad. I truly didn't know what I was missing. 😳

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Obviously I still need to get my pump plumbed in for my lockers and get my body lift on, but damn, this thing in nice!