05 Flame Red TJ Build

[JMT]

I look at it this way, how much labor is it to rip the frickin dash completely apart to change that biotch, so I can save $200? I ain't going there brah! It will be a Mopar unit, and you might as well replace the heater core as well while you are there. I know you didn't want to hear that, but I've been struggling with it for months. I have to have AC, for my bride, and my dog, otherwise, might as well put a FOR SALE sign on the POS.

I put it up for sale in post #497. LOL!

I just know this, I ain’t fixing it anytime soon. That’s the real downer. My money is set for a schedule and I have to get other stuff done. So I’m POffed. I’ll get off the ledge. I’ve been there before. Got down, but not without damage. LOL

 

[JMT]

I'm guessing...some sort of roof rack setup? Haha.
Looking forward to it, there are so many cool little surprises in many build threads right now!

You know I looked at your very detailed and solid roof rack. If I were to ever do it, I’d do what you did.

 

[JMT]

Understood bobthetj03, JMT would never sell that beast , just going thru a rough patch. I can relate, I just got took for a complete tranny rebuild when it was just the torque convertor $1300 ouchers

Ouch. Man, I hate that for you. This has got to come to an end. It makes me even madder

 

[KCsTJ]

Ouch. Man, I hate that for you. This has got to come to an end. It makes me even madder

I am going to find a good Jeep dood up here if it kills me. No more trusting 'professional shops'.
Ok done with rant on with life :-/

 

[JMT]

I am going to find a good Jeep dood up here if it kills me. No more trusting 'professional shops'.
Ok done with rant on with life :-/

Yes sir, rant over, on with life. Interesting thing was my mechanic is a good guy. I’ve probably given him ten or more repeat customers. This one just went south. You’re is much bigger loss than mine, but I guess it works. Mine still broke

 

[KCsTJ]

Yes sir, rant over, on with life. Interesting thing was my mechanic is a good guy. I’ve probably given him ten or more repeat customers. This one just went south. You’re is much bigger loss than mine, but I guess it works. Mine still broke

Im too lazy to put the top on so I don't use my a/c. ...and its cold. I only drive it in the morning on hot days. We should trade jeeps for awhile..lol
Yah that 13 hundred was going towards new wheels n tires too... aaargh
Ok back to following the adventures of the red beast..

 

[JMT]

Im too lazy to put the top on so I don't use my a/c. ...and its cold. I only drive it in the morning on hot days. We should trade jeeps for awhile..lol
Yah that 13 hundred was going towards new wheels n tires too... aaargh

That’s so not cool. I was looking forward to seeing what you came up with the tires and wheel mod. I guess we’re back to square one on moving forward. My best to you...and your four angry squirrels!

 

[KCsTJ]

That’s so not cool. I was looking forward to seeing what you came up with the tires and wheel mod. I guess we’re back to square one on moving forward. My best to you...and your four angry squirrels!

My 2.5 runs very well. All this bleep did was set me behind in my jeep mod/upgrade schedule about a month and a half .. :-/

 

[KCsTJ]

That’s so not cool. I was looking forward to seeing what you came up with the tires and wheel mod. I guess we’re back to square one on moving forward. My best to you...and your four angry squirrels!

I really like your Tjs wide stance. I'm shooting for that look for mine. Im still lusting after 12.5s, although more weight is not what I need, we will see, $$$$ willing .

 

[KCsTJ]

@JMT That Dana 44 will make your red beast more stout and maybe give you.more confidence when wheeling in the Tx hill country?
I'm still learning but won't the Dana 44 also give you the option to go to 33s should you ever choose to and maybe also 35s??

 

[JMT]

I spent quite a bit of time over the last 4 months researching the S35 and lockers. I had quotes from 4 different shops to regear the front, rear and super the 35 with an e-locker. I had the money ready to go ($2700 out the door), but could never pull the trigger. It’s not that I don’t believe in the S35. I think it’s a reliable axle up to 35’s. But the reputation is just not there. The Dana 44 has the reputation. And as many threads as I read about “polishing the turd,” I just couldn’t take the plunge. So I waited, went ahead and pulled the trigger on my JCR Crusader Rock Sliders, painted those up with 2K Ceramic in black satin, they turned out perfect, and the paint is so hard you can walk on them all day long with rocks in the bottom of your shoes and you’re not going to scratch them. I kept watching Craigslist and finally found a Dana 44 for a TJ, 3.73 gears (same ratio as my current gearing). He as asking $900. I sat on it for 4 days and finally texted the guy with an offer, “8 Benjamin’s.” He sent me a pic of the axle, told me the spider gears were welded, but he’dgive me a trac-lock carrier. It’s 90 miles to Austin and it just happened that we were passing through to go to Houston the next Friday. We never go there. And it just happened that he was located literally 500 yards off of 71, the HWY we were passing through to get to Houston. So I set out. Another guy from Buda was bugging him about the axle, wanted it real bad, but thankfully he told him he’d been talking to me for a week about this axle (we had lots of texts during the week, he’s a cool guy, just 22 yrs old, but knows tons about Jeeps. I found out it was his dad who wheeled for years and they built tons of Cherokees and TJ’s up. When I got there I looked at the axle, pulled the shafts, the splines were perfect, looked brand new, just a few burrs from teh welded spider gears that you can brush off. The gears look perfect too. ALSO got disk breaks. It’s basically a bolt on affair. So, I bought it, and took a huge step forward in this build. I will now have limited slip in the rear, once I get this bad boy in, and one more mod and I’ll be ready for Moab next year. Thanks for following....

All surface rust. I’ll have it cleaned up in an hour. I’m thinking of painting it, brush on Eastwood’s Ceramic 2K. Or maybe just bolt on and go!

 

[JMT]

@JMT That Dana 44 will make your red beast more stout and maybe give you.more confidence when wheeling in the Tx hill country?
I'm still learning but won't the Dana 44 also give you the option to go to 33s should you ever choose to and maybe also 35s??

I could easily run 35’s on the Dana 44. I’m already on 33’s with the Dana 35, and it’s one of the reasons I wanted to upgrade. The stuff we’re doing could break an axle. Of course, I could always just buy another shaft and keep on wheelin, but this upgrade sets me at ease wheelin our parts, AND getting ready for Colorado and Moab next year. Then the Rubicon and countless other adventures to come...

 

[KCsTJ]

I could easily run 35’s on the Dana 44. I’m already on 33’s with the Dana 35, and it’s one of the reasons I wanted to upgrade. The stuff we’re doing could break an axle. Of course, I could always just buy another shaft and keep on wheelin, but this upgrade sets me at ease wheelin our parts, AND getting ready for Colorado and Moab next year. Then the Rubicon and countless other adventures to come...

My mistake, for some reason I thought u were on 31s, thanks for the detailed answer, wow, Co and Moab nice!

 

[JMT]

Me and my boys are taking the trip. It’s a boys become men trip for us. I’m still working on the details. We’ll also be MTB along the way, especially around Roswell, NM, Durango, CO, and Moab, of course. We’ll do the Alpine Loop among other things i need to investigate in CO, then on to Moab, and possibly Grand Canyon afterward. Camping the whole way, so it will be some major bonding time

 

[KCsTJ]

Me and my boys are taking the trip. It’s a boys become men trip for us. I’m still working on the details. We’ll also be MTB along the way, especially around Roswell, NM, Durango, CO, and Moab, of course. We’ll do the Alpine Loop among other things i need to investigate in CO, then on to Moab, and possibly Grand Canyon afterward. Camping the whole way, so it will be some major bonding time

Ah, ok I was just fixin to ask how you were gonna fit the lovely Mrs. Jmt and 5 kids in the Red Beast with you driving...lol
That is gonna be a great trip
And it sounds like you'll need a trailer of some.sort?

 

[ac_]

Nice Jealous!!

By the way, I looked up front and rear lockers, S35 axles and front and rear gears(456), and at AOR it comes to about $2600 if I do all of the work myself. That doesn't include fluid, wiring, and necessary random parts. Yikes.

so turns out your 2700 dollars was a good price.

 

[JMT]

Nice Jealous!!

By the way, I looked up front and rear lockers, S35 axles and front and rear gears(456), and at AOR it comes to about $2600 if I do all of the work myself. That doesn't include fluid, wiring, and necessary random parts. Yikes.

so turns out your 2700 dollars was a good price.

It’s a good price, rear locker ONLY included in that price, no front

The route I went with the Dana 44, I have time to save for a regear, and I can just leave the rear limited slip. I have another plan to make it all work. Should be very capable.

 

[JMT]

Ah, ok I was just fixin to ask how you were gonna fit the lovely Mrs. Jmt and 5 kids in the Red Beast with you driving...lol
That is gonna be a great trip
And it sounds like you'll need a trailer of some.sort?

Yes, I’ll be taking a trailer. I went through every scenario trying to avoid it, including roof rack and cargo carrier and a half rear seat. Maybe with all those together we could do it, but it’s too expensive and I already have a trailer. It’s a 5x11 and we pull it regularly.

 

[Mike_H]

I spent quite a bit of time over the last 4 months researching the S35 and lockers. I had quotes from 4 different shops to regear the front, rear and super the 35 with an e-locker. I had the money ready to go ($2700 out the door), but could never pull the trigger. It’s not that I don’t believe in the S35. I think it’s a reliable axle up to 35’s. But the reputation is just not there. The Dana 44 has the reputation. And as many threads as I read about “polishing the turd,” I just couldn’t take the plunge. So I waited, went ahead and pulled the trigger on my JCR Crusader Rock Sliders, painted those up with 2K Ceramic in black satin, they turned out perfect, and the paint is so hard you can walk on them all day long with rocks in the bottom of your shoes and you’re not going to scratch them. I kept watching Craigslist and finally found a Dana 44 for a TJ, 3.73 gears (same ratio as my current gearing). He as asking $900. I sat on it for 4 days and finally texted the guy with an offer, “8 Benjamin’s.” He sent me a pic of the axle, told me the spider gears were welded, but he’dgive me a trac-lock carrier. It’s 90 miles to Austin and it just happened that we were passing through to go to Houston the next Friday. We never go there. And it just happened that he was located literally 500 yards off of 71, the HWY we were passing through to get to Houston. So I set out. Another guy from Buda was bugging him about the axle, wanted it real bad, but thankfully he told him he’d been talking to me for a week about this axle (we had lots of texts during the week, he’s a cool guy, just 22 yrs old, but knows tons about Jeeps. I found out it was his dad who wheeled for years and they built tons of Cherokees and TJ’s up. When I got there I looked at the axle, pulled the shafts, the splines were perfect, looked brand new, just a few burrs from teh welded spider gears that you can brush off. The gears look perfect too. ALSO got disk breaks. It’s basically a bolt on affair. So, I bought it, and took a huge step forward in this build. I will now have limited slip in the rear, once I get this bad boy in, and one more mod and I’ll be ready for Moab next year. Thanks for following....
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All surface rust. I’ll have it cleaned up in an hour. I’m thinking of painting it, brush on Eastwood’s Ceramic 2K. Or maybe just bolt on and go!

Well done sir. I believe you made the best choice there. Should help with resale, if you ever decide to pursue your LJR dreams

 

[ac_]

Yes, I’ll be taking a trailer. I went through every scenario trying to avoid it, including roof rack and cargo carrier and a half rear seat. Maybe with all those together we could do it, but it’s too expensive and I already have a trailer. It’s a 5x11 and we pull it regularly.

If you are talking about Moab, I am taking my trailer too. Mine is a 4x8 with a RTT.