04 LJK Repair, Redo, Recycle - The 3 R's of a First Build

[starkey480]

Ahh perfect! @starkey480 thats who it was. I think I even commented on it that I need to do this… do you have a link for pic / process?

Essentially just cut 1/8” deep notches on the bottom of the diff to give the welds something to bite to. Lay beads down. Put new diff cover on and grind the welds flush ti it. I bolted a thick piece of aluminum to the face of the housing so that I could weld right up to the edge

 

[B00mb00m]

I ended up pulling all the rear JJs off as well. The ones on the lower end of the LCAs were pretty rusted. Not a single joint had grease in it and they have maybe 5k of driving. I used the AMS oil moly grease. Recording mileage here for posterity of 98,850 miles. Will report back how many miles before they start creaking again. I wire wheeled the rust off the two balls that were getting corroded.

I did a once over and found lots of stuff: transmission to xmember bolts were quite loose, rear LCA jam but loose, skid plate bolts loose, steering wheel still not straight, apparently I had been at 2 deg of caster!! I moved the axle around to get a bit over 7 deg now I think.

The SWAYLOK end link was fatter than the Currie version I noticed at full droop it limits my steering. I had one extra link rod from the anti rock in my supply bin. Ordered two new female end links from Summit and made a new link that is skinnier. It will likely still contact but less.

And with that week of maintenance I believe I am ready to wheel this spring! Balljoints feel good/normal.

 

[sierradmax]

@B00mb00m , have you ever had a bit of fear with the single shear track bar attachment? I have alot of "nay-sayers" on the interweb of trolls claiming it will fail.

 

[B00mb00m]

@B00mb00m , have you ever had a bit of fear with the single shear track bar attachment? I have alot of "nay-sayers" on the interweb of trolls claiming it will fail.

It’s been a while but doesn’t every stock TJ have a single shear mounted track bar at the frame side?

You can follow the design that I copied from Blaine above pretty close but just an extra tab off the end if you were worried about it. What you see above is a 3/4” Grade 8 bolt. What gave me the most confidence it I saw all the instances of Blaine using it and it seems to not break. You want to be sure you don’t max out your heim joint and turn the track bar into a pry bar.

 

[sierradmax]

It’s been a while but doesn’t every stock TJ have a single shear mounted track bar at the frame side?

Noted. using the same.. 3/4" grade 8.

 

[B00mb00m]

Since my BJ delete i've been dealing with jeep wandering / twitchy steering. When i did the deletes, i changed caster, adjusted toe, put a new unit bearing in because i was there anyway and had one on the spares shelf. The best way i can describe it is the jeep starts to wander a bit, then i correct, then it wants to oversteer a bit and the correction turn into like a back and forth almost harmonic.

I found this quote from the balljoint delete facebook group, "So I finished installing the shim upgrade for the Dana 44 lower delete. I have been having issues with return to center and wandering at highway speeds. This little upgrade {hes speaking of this new shim kit} made a world of difference. The steering feels firm but not overly tight. I’m still breaking in the bearings so return to center is still slightly off but a very noticeable difference after new shims. Highway speed was no issue. Was not having to struggle to keep it straight. At times, even lane changes on the highway were sketchy. I’m very happy with these shims and the deletes as a whole. No more steering wheel death grip. If you are having any wandering on the highway or difficulty with return to center, try these out. I cannot express how relieved and happy I am now with my steering."

So this is like exactly what i've been dealing with. I currently have 8 deg of caster, tires are at 30psi and toe is zero. Some other people say as the joints wear in this goes away. It doesn't make sense to me how draggy balljoints would make it wander though. The owner has a new kit that changes the way the lower is installed that supposedly may help according to the above. Otherwise everything seems tight on my end and i really have toe and tire pressure to play with.

Also here's a gratuitious pic from wheeling at Reiter right before my dumb ass got high centered.

And a cool flexy one.

 

[sierradmax]

Good to know. I think I have some of Josh's early Dana 44 BJD's so I suspect I'll experience similar.

 

[B00mb00m]

Good to know. I think I have some of Josh's early Dana 44 BJD's so I suspect I'll experience similar.

I talked to Blaine about why this would happen, he explained the mechanism instantly... tectonic plates. If you have too much friction in the knuckle bearings the force has to ramp up to over come the stiction, then it breaks loose. That is exactly what i've been experiencing. I start adding steering input until it corrects then the steering takes off in that direction. Now, i did check friction in some manner when i installed the knuckles because i had read friction can be high at first but it wasn't under load (obviously).

AIO has the new washer kit for $10 on his site. I bought a new pair of the plated bolts while I was there.