2005 Rubicon; A Rubi Brother

Well I got under my Jeep for something last week and alas, my rear pinion seal was leaking horribly. Decided it would be easier to do myself than to schedule a time to take it back to the shop and have it replaced. Ordered a spicer unit and it took me a couple of hours to do. It’s a pain, but pretty straightforward. Drove it to work today and didn’t notice any leaks. Made a huge mess of the undercarriage though which I now have to clean up :(

So the new seal the shop put in leaked?
 
So the new seal the shop put in leaked?
Yeah but to schedule to drive it back down, with it leaking and slinging gear oil everywhere didn’t seem like an attractive option.

And FYI to anyone reading. I marked the pinion, nut, and yoke with a paint pen so I could line everything back up when it all went back together. Counted the exposed threads and torqued it back down to where I found it. Manual calls for an extra 5 inch pounds when reinstalling the nut, so I gave it an extra 1/32 of turn past the mark on the pinion. No noise or abnormal feeling as of yet.
 
Starting the RMS tonight, wanted to get it done before snow tomorrow but I wanna make sure everything seals properly so I’ll probably just disassemble tonight and reassemble tomorrow.
 
This is where I stopped for the night. I have a tendency to try and plow through projects, so I’m trying to get better at doing them in phases. I’ll pick up on all of the cleaning and reassembly later on.
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Well it's been a crazy couple of weeks but, I wanted to update you all on the RMS issue.

Long story short, no drips as of yet, which seems like a very good thing. Last time I attempted this, there were oil drips within the first day of adding oil. I've already driven a couple hundred miles so I think I'm in the clear.

So thanks for the encouragement everyone! I'm glad I decided to spend the extra time to take one more swing at it because I am $1k richer for it!

Terrible photo, but it's clean and dry.
IMG_6331.jpg
 
Well it's been a crazy couple of weeks but, I wanted to update you all on the RMS issue.

Long story short, no drips as of yet, which seems like a very good thing. Last time I attempted this, there were oil drips within the first day of adding oil. I've already driven a couple hundred miles so I think I'm in the clear.

So thanks for the encouragement everyone! I'm glad I decided to spend the extra time to take one more swing at it because I am $1k richer for it!

Terrible photo, but it's clean and dry.
View attachment 377987

Way to keep after it!!!!!!!
 
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Way to keep after it!!!!!!!
Awesome dude, knew all along you could do it. Great job.
There was a lot of encouragement and I appreciated that.

On another note, I went ahead and bought some springs today. I still eventually want to go 33s and 3” springs but I’m gonna cross that bridge when either a). I wear out my current tires or b). If my wheeling begins to heavily exceed what my rig is built for.

So I bought some 3” F and 2” R BDS springs so I can eliminate the stock springs and 2” spacers, level out the rake, and utilize the most travel I can get.

I’ll also be installing my adjustable control arms, my UCF skid to get rid of the shovel (probably with a small TC drop), and my adjustable track bars.

Once I have my suspension adjusted and dialed in, I’ll measure for shocks and probably order the Skyjacker BM ones. They seem to ride the best.

I’m going to try to finish all of this in three weeks so it’s ready for a trip I’m taking on the 10th.
 
The Rubibro special designed by @AndyG came in today. It is a RC front track bar as the base, a Moog JK bushing for the axle side, and a Moog TRE on the frame side. Totals about $160 when all said and done. Here it is along with a RJ rear track bar courtesy of @starkey480 . The RJ rear is necessary to play with the tuck and Savvy GTS.
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My springs come in tomorrow and I already have my adjustable control arms. My plans this weekend are to;
  • Install springs.
  • Drill out the control arm mounts while doing the spring install.
  • Swapping out the arms while I have the axles accessible.
  • Install track bars.
  • Once I have everything in place, I will measure for shocks, order, and install those.
After this weekend;
  • Do a mild tuck with my UCF skid (might get an engine skid for Black Friday…).
  • Set control arms for squareness, pinion, and caster.
  • Measure and adjust bumps.
  • Measure for new DS f+r.
I think at that point I’ll have a rig that handles and performs nicely. No way I’m gonna get this all done in three weeks like I thought but at least I have a well laid out plan with most of the parts on hand.
 
The Rubibro special designed by @AndyG came in today. It is a RC front track bar as the base, a Moog JK bushing for the axle side, and a Moog TRE on the frame side. Totals about $160 when all said and done. Here it is along with a RJ rear track bar courtesy of @starkey480 . The RJ rear is necessary to play with the tuck and Savvy GTS.
View attachment 379020

My springs come in tomorrow and I already have my adjustable control arms. My plans this weekend are to;
  • Install springs.
  • Drill out the control arm mounts while doing the spring install.
  • Swapping out the arms while I have the axles accessible.
  • Install track bars.
  • Once I have everything in place, I will measure for shocks, order, and install those.
After this weekend;
  • Do a mild tuck with my UCF skid (might get an engine skid for Black Friday…).
  • Set control arms for squareness, pinion, and caster.
  • Measure and adjust bumps.
  • Measure for new DS f+r.
I think at that point I’ll have a rig that handles and performs nicely. No way I’m gonna get this all done in three weeks like I thought but at least I have a well laid out plan with most of the parts on hand.
The beauty of that set up is the frame mount is never drilled out and he can walk into any parts store and get parts to rebuild the track bar
 
I’m going to tell you guys the deal.... The TJ is pretty much history for rough country as far as product development-

But the real problem is one of their weaknesses is not that they don’t make good components- it is that they save money with outsourcing the bushings. This track bar is a good example- it is a very strong bar and it really works good with the other components as far as the bend- The problem is the connections- and basically good connections are everything under a TJ.

What disappoints me is they are so far below the competition on price they could put premium components in the product and still be ahead of the competition

This is not the only weakness with Rough Country but it is one of the biggest concerns I have with their product lines. They get sales volume from selling affordable lift kits to kids with 1/2 ton trucks. TJ owners want quality and need more precision in the design and set up, not a general “this is close enough” approach. A TJ is pretty unforgiving of bad lift geometry and sloppy connections.
 
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The Rubibro special designed by @AndyG came in today. It is a RC front track bar as the base, a Moog JK bushing for the axle side, and a Moog TRE on the frame side. Totals about $160 when all said and done. Here it is along with a RJ rear track bar courtesy of @starkey480 . The RJ rear is necessary to play with the tuck and Savvy GTS.
View attachment 379020

My springs come in tomorrow and I already have my adjustable control arms. My plans this weekend are to;
  • Install springs.
  • Drill out the control arm mounts while doing the spring install.
  • Swapping out the arms while I have the axles accessible.
  • Install track bars.
  • Once I have everything in place, I will measure for shocks, order, and install those.
After this weekend;
  • Do a mild tuck with my UCF skid (might get an engine skid for Black Friday…).
  • Set control arms for squareness, pinion, and caster.
  • Measure and adjust bumps.
  • Measure for new DS f+r.
I think at that point I’ll have a rig that handles and performs nicely. No way I’m gonna get this all done in three weeks like I thought but at least I have a well laid out plan with most of the parts on hand.

You've got your work cut out for yourself for a few days with that list.
 
Well this is the only picture I was able to snag today. Didn’t even get to touch the front.
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I have the rear control arms dialed in for now until I go to tuck. Setting adjustable control arms up is extremely tedious. The flag nuts make torquing things down so much easier but you lose that convenience when you ditch the stock components.

My frustration comes from the uppers and track bar. The jam nuts were frozen stiff and I could not get them to break loose to save my life. Hoping that won’t be an issue when I do the tuck because they felt seized on there. Any suggestions on how to loosen them up?
 
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Well this is the only picture I was able to snag today. Didn’t even get to touch the front.
View attachment 379686

I have the rear control arms dialed in for now until I go to tuck. Setting adjustable control arms up is extremely tedious. The flag nuts make torquing things down so much easier but you lose that convenience when you ditch the stock components.

My frustration comes from the uppers and track bar. The jam nuts were frozen stiff and I could not get them to break loose to save my life. Hoping that won’t be an issue when I do the tuck because they felt seized on there. Any suggestions on how to loosen them up?

Liquid wrench applied judiciously a few hours before you start. Heat too. I can’t imagine any factory fasteners seized on that cream puff you have. They can be a bit stubborn, so make sure you have a good strong wrench with a lot of leverage (or a good impact).