2005 Rubicon; A Rubi Brother

Despite the setback with the centering yoke, I had a pretty productive day with the Jeep.

Got the exhaust nut and bolt back on. One of those small things that needed attention. The CEL is gone so I’m confident my O2 code was related to that.
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Painted the engine skid parts. My painting has gotten really good using the clear coat. I think I’m going to try my luck on the bumpers at some point.
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The engine went on really easy. It’s kind of like the rockers where you don’t just “bolt it on.” You have to figure out where to line it up on the skid first, taking the exhaust and transmission pan into account. There are grooves pre-cut for the exhaust points, so you have to make sure it clears. I left the mounting hardware on the front loose to get the skid where I wanted. Once I was content with the positioning, I clamped it down to the TC skid, drilled the mounting holes, and bolted it to the TC skid.
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This is where I had fun. I had the skid positioned where I wanted, so I needed to clamp down the mounting hardware. I used my new Hercules 3/8” impact and absolutely sent those bolts home. The power of that thing is insane and had no problem using the bolts to bend the brackets to compensate for the positioning of the skid.
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The exhaust routing is important. You can always grind it if need be, but my exhaust is stock enough it wasn’t necessary and clears just fine.
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I’m going to see if O’Reillys or Napa has the centering yolk so I can get the driveshaft back in. If not, guess I’ll just have to wait, but the list of things I need to do have shrunk!
 
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Jamison C said:
Despite the setback with the centering yoke, I had a pretty productive day with the Jeep.

Got the exhaust nut and bolt back on. One of those small things that needed attention. The CEL is gone so I’m confident my O2 code was related to that.
View attachment 494779

Painted the engine skid parts. My painting has gotten really good using the clear coat. I think I’m going to try my luck on the bumpers at some point.
View attachment 494782

View attachment 494784

The engine went on really easy. It’s kind of like the rockers where you don’t just “bolt it on.” You have to figure out where to line it up on the skid first, taking the exhaust and transmission pan into account. There are grooves pre-cut for the exhaust points, so you have to make sure it clears. I left the mounting hardware on the front loose to get the skid where I wanted. Once I was content with the positioning, I clamped it down to the TC skid, drilled the mounting holes, and bolted it to the TC skid.
View attachment 494785

This is where I had fun. I had the skid positioned where I wanted, so I needed to clamp down the mounting hardware. I used my new Hercules 3/8” impact and absolutely sent those bolts home. The power of that thing is insane and had no problem using the bolts to bend the brackets to compensate for the positioning of the skid.
View attachment 494788

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The exhaust routing is important. You can always grind it if need be, but my exhaust is stock enough it wasn’t necessary and clears just fine.
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I’m going to see if O’Reillys or Napa has the centering yolk so I can get the driveshaft back in. If not, guess I’ll just have to wait, but the list of things I need to do have shrunk!
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You’re doing everything I want to do just ahead of me! The skid is my next mod after the tranny swap (assuming it is a success). Looks nice. Good paint work. Clear really adds a substantial level of protection.

I’ve used hammer and press for ujoints and prefer the hammer method for removal. Less likely to damage an ear and works easily. I like to use a bench vice for pressing the new one in.

I have a centering yoke I’d give you if we were nearer.

Lovely flat belly.
 
JMT said:
You’re doing everything I want to do just ahead of me! The skid is my next mod after the tranny swap (assuming it is a success). Looks nice. Good paint work. Clear really adds a substantial level of protection.

I’ve used hammer and press for ujoints and prefer the hammer method for removal. Less likely to damage an ear and works easily. I like to use a bench vice for pressing the new one in.

I have a centering yoke I’d give you if we were nearer.

Lovely flat belly.
Click to expand...

Man you’re gonna have this thing down in no time. You’ve got so many people here now that can help guide you through it!

The hammer will be my friend next go round. New part will be here this week so I can still take the Jeep out this weekend assuming I don’t break anything else.
 
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Got the driveshaft rebuilt with the new centering yoke, and nothing blew up; yay!
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Aaaaaaaaaaand the not so great part is I still have vibrations. To be honest, I didn't think rebuilding the shaft would solve my vibration issues anyways, but the u-joint caps had fallen off more times than I can count as I worked with it in the past, so it was time.

The weird part is the vibe issues only started when I replaced my front control arms with the Savvy arms. My regear and rear Savvy arms had no effect. I'm going to start a thread in the main forum to see if I can figure this thing out. But at least I'm off road capable again and that's the most important part!
 
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Jamison C said:
Got the driveshaft rebuilt with the new centering yoke, and nothing blew up; yay!
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Aaaaaaaaaaand the not so great part is I still have vibrations. To be honest, I didn't think rebuilding the shaft would solve my vibration issues anyways, but the u-joint caps had fallen off more times than I can count as I worked with it in the past, so it was time.

The weird part is the vibe issues only started when I replaced my front control arms with the Savvy arms. My regear and rear Savvy arms had no effect. I'm going to start a thread in the main forum to see if I can figure this thing out. But at least I'm off road capable again and that's the most important part!
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It sounds like you need to adjust your pinion angle a bit.
 
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Well I took a break from mechanical stuff today and completed a task I’ve been postponing forever; Savvy tail lights! I’ve had these for a couple of years and while Blaine’s new design is phenomenal, these will do just fine for now. These are also his design anyways.
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In another thread, @psrivats said this Novita LM470 flasher is guaranteed to work for these kind of lights. He was spot on. It’s pricey at $35, but it gets the job done without any other special mods and testing. I just have to get used to the new click :)
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Here’s the finished product. Man these are quality!
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I’m purchasing the new BMB license plate relocation kit from Blaine. That thing is so sweet and so well thought out. I’ll probably repaint my OEM license plate holder in the interim just to clean it up.

I think I’m gonna take it out this evening and see how it does off-road. It’s been months and it needs a good shakedown.
 
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Well my ROTM goodies showed up today from @mrblaine and it’s good looking and good quality. I have an aluminum winch plate in bound which means I can hopefully get the winch in place next week and the new line spooled.
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This also means I need to purchase a new battery and cables. Boooooo.

I had started a thread awhile back on if a winch can affect alignment since it probably adds 100lbs or so to the front. I think I will add my Currie steering at the same time and knock the alignment out. It would probably be negligible, but I’m anal so I would have done it regardless of what steering is in place.

Also, Mark at @Wranglerfix sent me a tumbler and you can bet your ass this thing is going to job sites with me as the old school contractors look on in horror.
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I mean, who better to come out of the closet than the guy that sold the closet door in the first place??

“OMG ITH THO THPARKLY!!!” 🏳️‍🌈
 
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Jamison C said:
Well my ROTM goodies showed up today from @mrblaine and it’s good looking and good quality. I have an aluminum winch plate in bound which means I can hopefully get the winch in place next week and the new line spooled.
View attachment 498946

This also means I need to purchase a new battery and cables. Boooooo.

I had started a thread awhile back on if a winch can affect alignment since it probably adds 100lbs or so to the front. I think I will add my Currie steering at the same time and knock the alignment out. It would probably be negligible, but I’m anal so I would have done it regardless of what steering is in place.

Also, at @Wranglerfix sent me a tumbler and you can bet your ass this thing is going to job sites with me as the old school contractors look on in horror.
View attachment 498949

I mean, who better to come out of the closet than the guy that sold the door in the first place??

“OMG ITH THO THPARKLY!!!” 🏳️‍🌈
Click to expand...

Brother, if you are gay, I'll still go wheelin with you.
 
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Went out wheeling last week and had a blast, yay! My rock sliders finally saw a little use. Better them than my tub!
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There was lots of mud and water to play in as well. Most of you know I’m pretty meticulous with keeping the engine and undercarriage free of anything gross, so I tried something different today and took the wheels off during my power wash to help access certain areas. I’d say this is something I’ll do more often; mainly if I’m playing in mud.

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Of course, both my Jeep and truck got some engine love too. Idk, deep cleans like this just give me such a sense of satisfaction.
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BTW, that 4.7 V8 would be such a kickass engine to put in a Wrangler.
 
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