Building Homer (2005 TJ Build Thread)

The teardown of Homer started in early 2021 in the garage. At the time, my wife and I were in the middle of an IVF journey trying to have children.

We were blessed with good results during the journey in 2021 and prepared for a transfer attempt in early in 2022.

IVF Transfer went as well as we could hope —-> We had a Baby on the way!! 😍

.
.
.
.

A couple ultrasounds later, that baby went through a seismic change…

We now had TWO buns in the oven! 😱🤯

60 - ultrasound.jpg


Pregnancy went well up until 29 weeks when my wife was hospitalized with high blood pressure. A few days later, the doctors diagnosed preeclampsia and the babies were set to be delivered within hours…

Talk about a terrifying time. Luckily the boys and my wife were all healthy following the delivery. 🙏🙏

Very happy new father:
60b - NICU.jpg


My wife left the hospital after a few more days due to further complications. The boys spent 3 months in the NICU. They finally came home in October and have been growing like crazy. Time truly does fly. They are our miracles!

As you can imagine, progress on Homer stalled pretty much to a stop.
 
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FarFire70 said:
The teardown of Homer started in early 2021 in the garage. At the time, my wife and I were in the middle of an IVF journey trying to have children.

We were blessed with good results during the journey in 2021 and prepared for a transfer attempt in early in 2022.

IVF Transfer went as well as we could hope —-> We had a Baby on the way!! 😍

.
.
.
.

A couple ultrasounds later, that baby went through a seismic change…

We now had TWO buns in the oven! 😱🤯

View attachment 418420

Pregnancy went well up until 29 weeks when my wife was hospitalized with high blood pressure. A few days later, the doctors diagnosed preeclampsia and the babies were set to be delivered within hours…

Talk about a terrifying time. Luckily the boys and my wife were all healthy following the delivery. 🙏🙏

Very happy new father:
View attachment 418421

My wife left the hospital after a few more days due to further complications. The boys spent 3 months in the NICU. They finally came home in October and have been growing like crazy. Time truly does fly. They are our miracles!

As you can imagine, progress on Homer stalled pretty much to a stop.
Click to expand...

Congratulations. I couldn’t imagine what you went through with that. Glad everyone is healthy.
 
Apparition said:
Congratulations. I couldn’t imagine what you went through with that. Glad everyone is healthy.
Click to expand...

Thank you! It was without a doubt the most trying time in my wife and my life. These kids gave us a high-dose of the stress they will be giving us for the rest of our lives... Couldn't be happier to be through that part of the journey and having the home and health.

Now my focus is on getting Homer drivable to take them on a ride on their 1st birthday in July. (y) I've set myself a deadline for sure.
 
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During the midst of the teardown, I also pulled off the steering wheel as it was worn down at the top of the wheel where I typically hold the wheel.

You can see the leather breaking down here, added texture at the top of the wheel.
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You can see how the stock leather spin on the wheel over 150k miles...

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Used Redline leather and their install service (pic from Redline after they installed the new leather):
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Excited for the new wheel once he’s drivable again.
 
In March 2023, I was due for an emission test. I had been able to get it extended during Rona from Nov 2021 multiple times (since it wasn’t drivable). I was finally told that I could no longer have any extensions. So pressure increased to get the testing done or pay a fine for each month he was delayed in testing…

So, work on Homer resumed to get Homer drivable again!

——

The garbage JKS BL lift product let the body flex too much and one of the results as the torque box cracking above the middle body mount on the passenger side. So, I wanted to repair it before getting the Jeep back on the road.

While the boys were in the hospital, I started cutting the rust out and welding the repair. That’s about when I stopped progress on Homer. My restarting point was to get that area reliable again.

At this point ‘good enough’ on bodywork became the de-facto position. I WILL return to the repairs but I need good-enough that damage won’t increase (outside of existing rust doing it’s job further).

Grind, weld, grind, weld, add material & weld, grind, weld, etc.

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You can see that as I welded (especially on the left) that more rust exposed itself that must be removed. As you saw in my earlier bodywork, I didn't remove the cancer enough then on that spot...

I know I need to remove the cancer here but I don't have time to get the Jeep through emissions or risk losing my registration, which would require a new safety inspection and registration fees... So, good enough repair, knowing I'll return.
 
With that wrapped up, it was time to turn back to the TT, so the exhaust packet needed to be modified. Recommendation seems to be 1" so I went with that in welding up the mount.


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UCF Aluminum TT going in. I previously (pre-kids) did a dry fit of the TT but the exhaust wasn't an issue because I still haven't re-hung the exhaust after replacing the manifolds.
 
Time to get the brake lines in.

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Pulled the master cylinder to bleed it before filling the lines once the axles go under the Jeep again. @mrblaine was able to set up me with a set of plastic screws to match the line ports to help with the bleed.

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I picked up SS lines from Classic Tubes and all new softs lines front & rear. Even through I ordered the right kit for my setup, the rear lines on the axle didn’t match up to the stock setup so I picked up a set from Crown.
 
Jeep started to come together. I installed the rear TB bracket and burned it onto the axle.

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After that, an order went into the BMB for some new upgrades I decided to go after while the axles were already out.

  • Sway bar brackets for tie rod flip
  • Parking brake reverse kit (install in prep for a future outboarding)
  • Brake bleeding lock-out tool
  • Added a set of soft shackles (since I was already ordering parts and their a great deal from WRG)
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@mrblaine was great and swapped out my uninstalled Vanco knuckle with one reamed for a tie rod flip.
 
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After seeing many mention the JJs come pretty dry, I torn into all of them for the lift kit to open them up and lube them.

Yup – pretty dry in there from the factory…

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Beginning:

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End:

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Took a good day's worth of work. Also anti-seized the threads into the Savvy arms. The JJ Tools from Currie are worth their weight in gold for this job!

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I had picked up a used set of Dana 44 axle shafts as trail spares. I figured I'd keep the original axles as spares and put new bearings on the old spares.

Well it's a good thing I never needed them because I didn't realize that the mounting plates weren't right for my axle so I doubt I would have been able to get them on the Jeep if needed on the trail... Live and learn to do more research...

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During this week, things really started picking up after I was able to start surgery on the axles.

My passenger rear lower control arm mount had a pretty good bend in it from a previous off-road trip and I was ready to upgrade so I went with the Iron Rock Offroad mounts for front & rear axles.

Front axle before surgery:

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Mocking up the new mount:

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I removed the one, mocked it up and welded about an inch on it. Then went to remove the other one and burn an inch on it for the first one to cool. Then back to the other side for a second inch. Trying to keep from putting too much heat into the axle tubes and minimize any warping.

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Still needed to finish welding these on.

I'm very impressed with the Iron Rocks Offroad mounts. They are even pre-angled slightly inwards, matching how the stock mounts are angled.
 
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Finally! We are caught up in this build thread to today! 👍

Started the day by finishing the welds on the front axle lower control arm mounts. Needed to trim down the mini skids that were on the previous mounts.

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Next turned my attention to the front axle’s sway bar links. Burned in the new BMB brackets.

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And then out with the old sway bar brackets.

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Rear axle up next. Time to get the bent bracket gone. (Didn’t get a good picture of the damaged one. Damage wasn’t terrible but there wasn’t a clean way to get something on it to bend it back into shape with some heat. So in with the new, thicker mounts.)

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Finally some paint to cover all the new parts. Still putting coats on throughout the evening.

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While waiting for the rear axle mounts to cool between each inch of weld, I installed some additional clamps to keep the brake lines from rubbing. 3/16" rubber clamps and self-tapping screws (with a small pilot hole to help).

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You can see the stock plastic bracket cracked when removing the old lines, so this is a great solution to hold the lines.

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Next is re-positioning the rear upper spring perches. Hope to start the perch removal tomorrow.
 
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Good stuff here. Moving fast!

Are those double adjustable lower CAs? I didn’t know those were a thing. Thats pretty cool. I also actually have a set of those gusseted CAs (in your one picture) on my TJ. They are a discontinued XJ Currie model.

Do you have a part number for that Durango alternator from Napa? I may be looking to upgrade there soon.
 
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jazngab said:
Good stuff here. Moving fast!

Are those double adjustable lower CAs? I didn’t know those were a thing. Thats pretty cool. I also actually have a set of those gusseted CAs (in your one picture) on my TJ. They are a discontinued XJ Currie model.

Do you have a part number for that Durango alternator from Napa? I may be looking to upgrade there soon.
Click to expand...

Yes indeed, double adj CAs all around. JJs with aluminum arms. Went with the 3" edition of Savvy's kit originally then purchase 4" Currie springs when I switched plans to 35s. Savvy's Kit

Hmm. Good to know about the arms. I bought them used through a buddy years back and was told they Skyjacker for a TJ. Wouldn't surprise me if they were for an XJ, since the XJs use the same arms as the TJ. I purchase many an XJ arm from the boneyard to replace my lowers after a offroad trip before I put those fixed tube arms in. Those were definitely longer than stock and added to my rear shimmy that I lived with (and dropped the TC to 'try' to help) for way too long.

NAPA P/N for Alternator: RAY 2139471. Fits Dodge Durangos 01-06. Removing one of the mounting lobes makes it compatible with the 4.0L. There are how-to's out there. Soon enough I'll post up how I modified mine to fit - once it goes in.
 
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Was able to clear some time today to work on the rear perches. Removal was ok on the passenger side. Before I ground down the frame remnants, I figured I'd fill in the stock dirt catchers to avoid future rust.

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Well, I also found a small spot with some rust damage in the top, so I figured - let's just burn some metal into that too.

As I started to weld, it sputtered and sputtered...

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Huh, I guess I could have looked before I welded... Nah, still learning that lesson from early about living & learning - this time about looking before I throw down hot metal... <shrug>

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Removing the driver side, it wasn't in any better shape.

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I'll be doing some research on the forum for recommendations. My first gut feeling is to see if Iron Rocks has them, given how much I like their control arm mounts - but I'm reminded of that lesson to learn and research...

See, I'm trying to learn the lesson that keeps hitting me in the face. :p

So the flap disc took care of the frame. Filled in some low spots with some hot metal and then everyone got a coat of Rustoleum flat black (still wet in these pics)

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Moving the catback that was sitting on the floor to get at the perches - Hey! Another place needing hot metal!!! (What was that lesson again... Meh. Let's get to the sizzle!)

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Weekend plans included a family b-day for a cousin's 1-st born's 1st b-day. First party for the twins and they were rockstars. Gained plenty of attention and were quiet as saints all party!

Sunday was planned for the NASCAR Dover race for wife and me - - But NASCAR decided to ruin Dover in the past few years —> from 2 races a year to now just 1 per year and it's in the DE rainy season.... 🖕 So second year in a row Dover ran on Monday.

We didn't have the sitter (grandma) for Monday for wife and me to run for the postponed race so we came home and watched the race on TV instead. Still already paid for tickets for next year... 🙃
 
Had a few minutes today before the race while the wife ran out to pick up the dog from a family friend who was watching her. Kept the door open while the boys slept (even while I wailed on the pickle fork... :))

Got the OEM drag link off. I've used junkyard ZJ V8 tie rods for years (and bent at least 2 of them...). Put on a Moog ZJ tie rod when I did the engine replacement.

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I don't know what happened here. Somehow the castle nut got knocked off at some point and the threads got damaged. There goes trying to re-sell it.

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With the tires out of the way and the steering off, Hover Jeep-mode is engaged! ;)

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Ready to slide the front axle in when I get in the garage next 👍

Found that the power steering return line is rusty and leaking. Replacement ordered.

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I previous saw the pressure line showing signs of leaking at the pump where the hard line joined the soft tubing. After cleaning it, I haven't seen fluid. But, I bought the tube at the time anyway.

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In the above image, I assume the fluid on the pressure line near the pump is from the return line leak. But, I have it already, so it will go it with the new return line.
 
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All right, time to catch up this thread. Been meaning to get back to updates but focused on the build during wrenching and then life (twins) during non-wrenching times.

For May:

Ordered the Ballistic Fab rear perches.

Primed:

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Welded perches together

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Installed the nuts for the upper bump stops:

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Started Primed the BMB Tie Rod. I bent my tie rod way too often on previous trips so even with the tie rod flip, I still wanted strength to avoid bending it any more (hopefully).

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During May we took the time to get the boy baptized!

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Got the front axle in place, this way I could comfortable torque the BMB knuckle to spec without the axles on jack stands and flopping all around. Big thanks to @mrblaine for being willing to swap out my non-flip knuckle 2 years after I received the kit (but did not install) when I decided to go with the flip.

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While the Dana 30 was out I looked over the TB/Steering Stabilizer bracket & thought it looked flimsy overall. Searching on the forum, I saw that @mrblaine had created a bracket with his hydro assist kit and ‘stole’ his design for my own attempt.

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Rustoleum paint on the tie rod

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Rear perches install

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Got the stainless hard line brakes installed. I'll find some better pictures. Used the self-tapping screws & rubber-lines clamps @mrblaine recommends. Made the install a breeze where I couldn't re-use the stock brackets.

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FarFire70 said:
All right, time to catch up this thread. Been meaning to get back to updates but focused on the build during wrenching and then life (twins) during non-wrenching times.

For May:

Ordered the Ballistic Fab rear perches.

Primed:

View attachment 451507

Welded perches together

View attachment 451508

Installed the nuts for the upper bump stops:

View attachment 451509

Started Primed the BMB Tie Rod. I bent my tie rod way too often on previous trips so even with the tie rod flip, I still wanted strength to avoid bending it any more (hopefully).

View attachment 451510

View attachment 451511

During May we took the time to get the boy baptized!

View attachment 451513


Got the front axle in place, this way I could comfortable torque the BMB knuckle to spec without the axles on jack stands and flopping all around. Big thanks to @mrblaine for being willing to swap out my non-flip knuckle 2 years after I received the kit (but did not install) when I decided to go with the flip.

View attachment 451514


While the Dana 30 was out I looked over the TB/Steering Stabilizer bracket & thought it looked flimsy overall. Searching on the forum, I saw that @mrblaine had created a bracket with his hydro assist kit and ‘stole’ his design for my own attempt.

View attachment 451515

Rustoleum paint on the tie rod

View attachment 451516

Rear perches install

View attachment 451517

View attachment 451518

View attachment 451519

Got the stainless hard line brakes installed. I'll find some better pictures. Used the self-tapping screws & rubber-lines clamps @mrblaine recommends. Made the install a breeze where I couldn't re-use the stock brackets.

View attachment 451520
Click to expand...

Not that it matters now but you didn't have to "steal" the design, I've sent out several and you would have been welcome to one as well.
 
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