Not a bad idea, take them up on that offer for sure!
I think your track bars will be fine for now.
2006 Jeep LJ build thread
- Thread starter Jeepersteve71
- Start date
Not a bad idea, take them up on that offer for sure!
I think your track bars will be fine for now.
OP
Thanks! We originally painted the Jeepster a dark grey but we had a guy working on the transmission is scratched the body of it from the door all the way down to the rear fender. Figured since we were going to have to repaint it (as we want to do it the right way and not try to just blend it back to the grey we had it painted) we might as will paint it red. My wife and I will be married to years on March 7th. The red really popped when we drove it away after our wedding
. We saw the LJ on a back road driving home one day and I guess you could just say we got lucky it was red as well!
If I understand your English correctly (haha), you're asking if I ran without a track bar in the rear? No, I've never run without a track bar in the rear. However, when I had my 2.5" OME lift, I ran the stock track bars off-road, and that was just fine.
Hate typing on a little bitty screen that only shows one line at a time.
Gottcha. Not the way I read that
OP
Well luckily the LJ is just a third vehicle for my dad so we haven't addressed the death wobble just yet. We are taking it to a good local 4x4 shop in the area on Friday. The owner is super nice and knowledgeable of these TJ's. not only does he own a decked out LJ but also a brute conversation. Off roads the piss out of both of them too! He said he wanted to put it on the lift and inspect everything free of charge. Would tell us what needs to be replaced so that way we don't replace something unnessasary just to have to replace something else.
So in the meantime I went ahead and installed our JK headlight conversion and our KC windshield light brackets. I'd say it turned out well and I'm very pleased. The goal is to put the KC HID's off the Jeepster on the windshield of the LJ and to buy a cheaper set of halogen KC lights to go on the Jeepster. This way the LJ will have a fog pattern light bar on the front and 2 spot pattern HID's on the windshield. Pumped about the factory switch set up as well to have a nice clean install. We don't really take our Jeepster off road and it is more of a car show cruise around town kind of Jeep. Will be nice to have some street legal fog lights on the front bumper to keep things more visable with the sealed beam head lights.
More updates to come once we get the steering all lined out and what we decide to do. Until then enjoy the pics. The white LJ and Brute are owned by the owner of Screamin Lizard out here in Dallas. He is a certified AEV dealer. A pic of the KC light brackets installed, headlight change against the garage door (top is before and bottom is after), and the finished product on the LJ.
So in the meantime I went ahead and installed our JK headlight conversion and our KC windshield light brackets. I'd say it turned out well and I'm very pleased. The goal is to put the KC HID's off the Jeepster on the windshield of the LJ and to buy a cheaper set of halogen KC lights to go on the Jeepster. This way the LJ will have a fog pattern light bar on the front and 2 spot pattern HID's on the windshield. Pumped about the factory switch set up as well to have a nice clean install. We don't really take our Jeepster off road and it is more of a car show cruise around town kind of Jeep. Will be nice to have some street legal fog lights on the front bumper to keep things more visable with the sealed beam head lights.
More updates to come once we get the steering all lined out and what we decide to do. Until then enjoy the pics. The white LJ and Brute are owned by the owner of Screamin Lizard out here in Dallas. He is a certified AEV dealer. A pic of the KC light brackets installed, headlight change against the garage door (top is before and bottom is after), and the finished product on the LJ.
OP
Thanks! Figured everyone would love to see this guys LJ and Brute. After seeing these in person I knew I wouldn't want anyone else working on our Jeeps. He is also very reasonable on prices too.
That Brute is a work of art brah! I'm working on getting a fairlead LED soon. Have the mount already. Just need to buy the light and a switch.
OP
The Smittybilt winches already have holes in the fairleads for the light mounts! We picked up our KC light bar at the Truck and Jeep fest convention last summer for $140. And it came with a switch and all the wiring needed. Super easy and simple install too!
The death wobble is a scary thing... I'll share what fixed it for me, maybe it will help? I bought my 2006 Unlimited Rubicon LJ with only 28,000 miles on her 2 years ago. Box stock, and like new. Drove like a dream. Never one to leave well enough alone, I installed a 4" long-arm system. At about 40mph, I hit a very small bump in the road and started a death wobble that was so violent it ripped the wheel out of my hands! I jumped on the brakes and steered off the road to stop it, then drove home at about 30mph scared to death!
Turns out the excessive toe-in was the problem. With the inverted Y tie rod/drag link system, lifting the Jeep had yielded over 1/2" of toe-in. I don't think this would be a problem (other than tire wear) with a one-piece tie rod, but it caused a horrible death wobble in this case. Straightening things out to 1/16" of toe-in absolutely solved the problem. I have since upgraded to 33x12.50's, and it drives like a dream again.
Not sure if your issues are the same, but it's something to check anyway.
Good luck!
By the way - I love the Jeepster!!
Turns out the excessive toe-in was the problem. With the inverted Y tie rod/drag link system, lifting the Jeep had yielded over 1/2" of toe-in. I don't think this would be a problem (other than tire wear) with a one-piece tie rod, but it caused a horrible death wobble in this case. Straightening things out to 1/16" of toe-in absolutely solved the problem. I have since upgraded to 33x12.50's, and it drives like a dream again.
Not sure if your issues are the same, but it's something to check anyway.
Good luck!
By the way - I love the Jeepster!!
OP
Thanks for the tip! That's pretty similar to what we experienced too. Took the wheel right out of our hands.
We actually just picked up the Jeep from Screamin Lizard yesterday. Said they took the LJ up to 80 MPH and couldn't get any shaking out of it. Said the steering stabilizer was shot so they upgraded to a teraflex one and did an alignment. Apparently the ball joints we currently have are re greasable and they said everything looked to be tight. Said there is no reason to replace anything because if it is tight it is tight. I think we are good for now but if it happens again you better believe we will be right back in the shop asap lol.
I'm still going to double check our rear trackbar's integrity on my own as they stated it was fine but there is some clear popping noises going on. When my dad shook it for them they said the popping sound was coming from the axle. Said this is common with TJ/LJ's. said due to the hub being tied in with a lock pin it has to have a little bit of room for it to be placed in. Said JK's are 4 bolts instead and that's how they fixed that problem on the newer models. Again going to check for myself but it kind of makes since??
OP
Since I already have the 1 inch body and 1 inch MML I want to continue to pursue doing the tummy tuck. I've seen some people on here saying an SYE kit will be needed and others say an LJ won't need one since it has a longer driveshaft. Chris, what are your thoughts? 2 inch suspension and 1 inch body on an LJ. If I need one I will invest in the SYE and a new Adams drive shaft. I will also save for the Rokmen or the Teraflex skid plate for the transfer case. If not I'll just get the skid plate for the transfer case and the gas tank skid that raises the gas tank up an inch-inch and a half.
I guess you could say I have real first world problems. Enjoy the photos from the expo below!
OP
Sweet man!!! And you won $500? Can't complain about that, how awesome.
I think it's a crapshoot on the SYE. On a n LJ, the driveshaft angle in the rear isn't as extreme as it is on a TJ. So yes, with the MML you may be able to get away sans SYE. However, you might also end up needing it. Put the tummy tuck on and see what happens. I almost think you'll be fine without the SYE for a while.
I think it's a crapshoot on the SYE. On a n LJ, the driveshaft angle in the rear isn't as extreme as it is on a TJ. So yes, with the MML you may be able to get away sans SYE. However, you might also end up needing it. Put the tummy tuck on and see what happens. I almost think you'll be fine without the SYE for a while.
OP
Well I bit the bullet today! I ordered the Rugged ridge slip yoke eliminator off of JCWhitney with the gift card I received and had enough left over to buy the water pump replacement for the Jeepster. I would have preferred the advanced adapters kit but free sounded better
. Will be buying the Adams rear driveshaft sometime soon and I'll save up for the skid plates. Hoping to get the transfer case skid and gas tank skid at the same time. That way around May or June I can just install everything all at once. If I get impatient I'll go ahead and knock the transfer case and drive shaft out and just install the skids on a later date. Before I get into the skids and drivetrain of the LJ I'm going to replace the Jeepster's water pump so that way we at least have one Jeep on the road. I'll also swap the lights as I've mentioned before, install another factory style switch and install my new ultra hook. Pictures will probably be uploaded on Sunday night of all the progress.
OP
Well today I went ahead and installed the lights on the windshield. Really happy how clean they came out. Wiring wasn't to bad... except I can't get the switch light to come on when I turn the lights on.. I've tried just about everything I can think of. I think I'm just electrical illiterate lol.
When I was working on the lights I noticed our negative battery terminal was shot. I went ahead and replaced that while I was at it. It really kicked my butt! It kept falling apart in my hands. I hit it with the PB blaster and the blow torch until it broke loose.
Last but not least I also installed the poison Spyder steering box skid plate. It's really stout and I like how it's universal for whatever bumper you are running. It's really stout and I have no fear of rocks hitting it now! Big things are coming this next week. More pics to come soon!
When I was working on the lights I noticed our negative battery terminal was shot. I went ahead and replaced that while I was at it. It really kicked my butt! It kept falling apart in my hands. I hit it with the PB blaster and the blow torch until it broke loose.
Last but not least I also installed the poison Spyder steering box skid plate. It's really stout and I like how it's universal for whatever bumper you are running. It's really stout and I have no fear of rocks hitting it now! Big things are coming this next week. More pics to come soon!