What did you do to your TJ today?

Got my free knit cap from OnX for taking a survey via Facebook! Even though I use Gaia I’ll still wear the cap👍🏻
Off topic I know but at least I have my TJ in the pic😎

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Did you swallow a troll doll ?
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Peeked out the window at my TJ. Whoever said the new strains of Covid are mild like a cold are FOS. I've never been so sick as I've been the past 3 days. :( 😷

I'm with you on this.. I was down with Covid over Thanksgiving week, with my wife and daughter all positive as well. Felt like I was run over by a bulldozer.
 
With a TON of help from @hosejockey61 I was able to almost successfully finish my first regear today.

The project was swapping my truetrac from my current LP30 to my new HP30 out of a 96 XJ. I was installing some 4.88’s to match the rear axle.

After realizing I was adding shims to the wrong spot on the pinion and adjusting the preload instead of the depth, I got the depth figured out with dumb luck that the pinion head shim from the original XJ gears worked almost perfectly with my new 4.88 gears.

Then with some more luck I only had to make adjustment to each carrier side shim once before I had good preload on the carrier bearings and had a pretty good pattern. That being said it’s not perfect as my backlash is right at 5-5.5 thou. Tomorrow I’ll tackle adjusting the carrier shims till I get it dialed in just right.

Overall was an awesome day of learning tons and tackling one of the most intimidating installs. Glad I’ve done it once as now when I do it next time it’ll be much easier.

The first two pics are of the pattern before I got the pinion depth set right and the last two are as it currently sits.

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After realizing I was adding shims to the wrong spot on the pinion and adjusting the preload instead of the depth, I got the depth figured out with dumb luck that the pinion head shim from the original XJ gears worked perfectly with my new 4.88 gears.

Then with some more luck I only had to make adjustment to each carrier side shim once before I had good preload on the carrier bearings and had a pretty good pattern. That being said it’s not perfect as my backlash is right at 5-5.5 thou. Tomorrow I’ll tackle adjusting the carrier shims till I get it dialed in just right.

I wouldn't say the old shim worked perfectly, but it did get you what most shops would consider a runnable pattern. If it were in my shop I would have taken it a couple thou deeper to see the difference. Open up that backlash just a bit and run a pattern in 3 different spots with a whole lot less paint. I would even thin it out just a little bit more than you did. Wipe excess off brush and then paint. Don't forget the more resistance the better the pattern will show.
 
I wouldn't say the old shim worked perfectly, but it did get you what most shops would consider a runnable pattern. If it were in my shop I would have taken it a couple thou deeper to see the difference. Open up that backlash just a bit and run a pattern in 3 different spots with a whole lot less paint. I would even thin it out just a little bit more than you did. Wipe excess off brush and then paint. Don't forget the more resistance the better the pattern will show.

Will do! Looking forward to tomorrow night after work so I can get it setup properly.
 
I can't for the life of me get my driveline vibration to stop. It didn't vibrate with the stock arms on it, so I started with the same lengths by adjusting the new arms until the bolts dropped through the same holes. I drove it like that for a day and it had vibrations. Then I adjusted them to get the angles right. It basically doesn't matter what I do. Too little rear angle, too much, just right. It has the same vibration intensity at the same speeds.

I think I'm going to put the stock rear arms back on and see if it goes away again since I put several thousand miles on the Jeep after my lift with no issues. Then figure it out from there.

If I had vibrations with the stock rear arms, I would think it was the lift being too much for the stock shaft and would have fixed that earlier. I bet if I put the stock arms back on I'll have vibrations now. Moral of the story, if it's not broke, don't fix it.
 
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Reactions: Kiwi TJ and RINC
Is this the first time you have had it?

I got it really bad in 2020. My wife works at a surgery center and 30 people there have had it. They let them come back to work without taking a test to see if they're negative. I guess she didn't want to suffer alone so she brought it home to me. Sharing is caring. :(
 
I like that combo cowl light and antenna mount set up.

I have the same GMR ass radio on my gladiator, also with a ghost antenna. Looking to get a set up for the TJ as well to replace the CB I no longer use.
 
Got a bit further down the lift road this weekend. Finished installing the new-to-me Rokmen arms. Did some rework when I finally figured out, I should have used new grade 8 bolts and rolled the zerks to the top instead of letting them hang down. Live and learn.... Figured as long as I was there, I should weld in the front control arm skid plates that I got for Christmas. Pics in my build thread.
 
I like that combo cowl light and antenna mount set up.

I have the same GMR ass radio on my gladiator, also with a ghost antenna. Looking to get a set up for the TJ as well to replace the CB I no longer use.

Thanks! Really wanted to get it out of the way and thought it would look good there. Ordered the drop bracket from Amazon and routed all the wires through the cower area. Great place to hide a few extra feet of antenna cable, and super easy to use the drivers side wiper wiring grommet to get it into the cab.