A time to break down, and a time to build (the LJ) up

[MountaineerTom]

You can buy a new bearing and press the old one out and put the new one in and have a spare.

I’ll see if I can find the part number of the new bearing...

 

[TRevs]

You can buy a new bearing and press the old one out and put the new one in and have a spare.

I’ll see if I can find the part number of the new bearing...

I'd read that before but I don't have access to a press and I didn't mind buying the new tensioner. I'm doing a lot of things on the Jeep for the first time and I'm a pretty inexperienced mechanic. So I'm doing some things the OEM/expensive way, at least for the first time.

 

[TRevs]

Also the gear oil was of indeterminate age, so I figured I could handle that.

I bought Mopar gear oil, with the LSD additive for the rear, and the Mopar silicone gasket. Probably the most expensive way, but again I'm going by the (FSM) book at least for my first go-round. There was quite a bit of silver glitter in the initial gush of oil though...

And no leaks at the end! Very gratifying.

 

[MountaineerTom]

I'd read that before but I don't have access to a press and I didn't mind buying the new tensioner. I'm doing a lot of things on the Jeep for the first time and I'm a pretty inexperienced mechanic. So I'm doing some things the OEM/expensive way, at least for the first time.

I didn’t use a press. It was this bearing.

I got this information from @CharlesHS on how to replace it.

“Previously I replaced the idler pulley on the '01 TJ 4.0L and kept the factory one to rebuild.
Not sure how many members have done this, but I decided to replace the bearing and keep the rebuilt pulley as a spare.
Remove the long bolt and fender washer that holds the spacer to the pulley which then allows you to slide the spacer out of the pulley bearing. Then use a 30 mm or equivalent standard socket to press out the bearing with a vise. I chose 30 mm since it will allow clearance in the hole that the bearing is pressed into.
The bearing is a NTN 6203LU with a double seal made in Japan, but I found out that all the bearings that I could locate only sealed the bearing on one side instead of both sides.
I purchased a NTN 6203LLBC3 (PN 6L025) at Grainger for $7.15. I used scotch brite to clean up the surface that the bearing would be pressed into. Used the 30 mm socket and vise to press the bearing in and then reattach the bolt, fender washer and spacer.”

 

[TRevs]

While the front diff cover was off, I wanted to investigate a drive train noise I've had since I bought the Jeep. It's a clacking as the drive train is alternately loaded and unloaded, much more noticeable in lower gears. In fact, it can be reproduced in 2H 1st gear with aggressive pulsing of the throttle but otherwise doesn't happen except in 4LO, when it is constant. Not really knowing how to investigate it, I checked all the U-joints which appear sealed and tight. The rear drive shaft has minimal rotational play, but the front shaft has significant play. So I had my kid rotate the front shaft with the diff cover off:

I don't know whether that is the source of my clack or if it's normal.

I could reproduce a similar sound by rocking the Jeep back and forth while parked in 1st gear. That sound seemed to be coming from the transmission itself, although it's hard to rock a Jeep back and forth while lying down underneath it.

I'm not terribly concerned about the noise; maybe it's normal and the driveability is normal. I'll probably have a shop look at it when I re-gear someday, if nothing catastrophic happens sooner.

 

[TRevs]

Good-bye Mickey Thompsons, Hello Ravines!

I've never particularly liked the wheels that came on the Jeep; I recently decided to put it back on Ravines which were its factory wheel according to my build sheet. I scrounged Craigslist, FB Marketplace and found nothing anywhere, but car-part.com showed me three were available at a local salvage yard.

Dirty but cleaned up pretty well. I found another pair at a yard in Idaho which cost less including shipping than I paid in San Antonio. They were a bit rougher but still acceptable.

I like the look much better!

 

[TRevs]

Discount Tire mounted them for me and I got a bit of rubbing up front which I expected, but halfway home I smelled burning rubber! Turns out a factory rear trackbar pulls the axle rightward enough with a 2.5" OME lift to rub the sidewall on the upper spring perch.

I ordered Spidertrax spacers ASAP, and decided it was time to install the adjustable rear trackbar. I have less than 1/2" of clearance total between each tire and the spring perches, so it was a lot of trial and error adjusting the trackbar length to clear each side. Definitely need those spacers, but at least I know my rear axle is centered down to about ~1/8"!

 

[TRevs]

I like Discount Tire in general, but I've learned never to trust them to fill the tires to the proper pressure.

 

[TRevs]

I got the Spidertrax spacers installed. The tires now come right to the edge of the flares. I like the narrower look and it's nice not getting as much splash on/in the tub when the roads are wet.

I also got the Savvy bumpers installed; more on that to come...

 

[TRevs]

It took about 6 weeks for the Savvy bumpers to arrive. Unfortunately I ran into some issues.

The rear bumper came without the frame tie-in brackets.

I wouldn't have known except there was a thread in here that alludes to them. Michael was apologetic and sent them right out.

I had a heck of a time getting the recovery points in the bumper. There's no good angle to get a socket on the upper two bolts.

I ended up buying a nice set of flex head ratcheting wrenches that did the job. And the wrenches have already come in handy for other jobs.

 

[TRevs]

Then it turns out that the rear bumper was also missing the nut plate for the frame tie in brackets. Again, Savvy responded and shipped them promptly, but it was still frustrating. I lost about 10 days figuring out that I was missing 4 pieces of hardware and waiting on them to arrive. With all the helpful info on this forum, I've dealt with the lack of instructions, but a parts list included would be nice.

The rear crossmember was a bit rough, so I took the opportunity to sand and paint it.

Getting the bumper over that crossmember was hard. It was a very tight fit and took some pounding with a wood block, and holding the bolt plate while guiding the bolts through the crossmember was... challenging. I'm sure there's an easier way but I didn't find it. But it's on now and looks great. I left the aluminum raw because I like the look. I'm thinking I should have painted the two (steel?) recovery points... I suppose I'll get another chance to find the easy way to install the bumper after I remove it to finish those recovery points.

 

[TRevs]

The front bumper was a different hassle. I must be the only one using the stock sway bar with the Savvy front bumper. Install was a breeze until I realized that the antisway bar bushing bracket was sitting 1/4" higher at its front bolt than the rear, since the front side was sitting on the 1/4" steel of the winch hoop.

It didn't seem like a good idea to leave the bushing unsupported like that, so I bought some steel plate at Lowe's and cut a rectangular piece to support the bushing and rear of the bracket.

Ahhh, all nice and flat and supported:

That aluminum and steel added 1/2" to the front of the sway bar and flattened the angle a bit. Should I lengthen the JKS disconnects a 1/2"? Nah...

 

[TRevs]

The body lift was next. I was really putting it off. I didn't want to deal with the shifter hitting the console and shredding the lower shift boot. The motor mount lift scared me a bit as a total novice mechanic. I got the JKS pucks with the DPG kit but probably should have gotten the Savvy aluminum....

In the end, I had to install the body lift to get enough clearance at the base of the grill to tighten the rear bolts on those two sway bar brackets.

So off I went. Polyurethane may be inferior, but at least JKS includes a part list and instructions.

Some scary noises as it went up... and a few ounces of dripping coolant? I was afraid I'd cracked the radiator (yes the shroud was disconnected and loose), but apparently it just overflowed from somewhere, presumably the reservoir.

I had detached the fuel filler from its bezel as directed the night before I lifted the body, so I put the gas cap back on to keep vapors from escaping until I returned to the garage the next morning. Naturally, I forgot to remove the cap before applying the jack, so <crack> went the gas cap.

Fortunately that's the cheapest part I could have broken, and hey, gas caps have to be replaced from time to time anyway right? Rock Auto had a Mopar replacement so NBD.

 

[TRevs]

I loosened both sides of the fuel filler hose, at the tank and the steel filler nozzle and extended it enough to secure the filler back to the bezel.

The Brown Dog motor mounts were next; it wasn't easy but not terribly difficult either.

Is everyone's work bench as messy as mine?

So the DPG lift kit was finally complete! Ready to roll, or so I thought. There is that transfer case shifter issue...

[sometime I may post a review of the tips I got from Dirk at DPG; super nice guy and helpful, but most of his "may have to" turned out to be "definitely have to."]

I fiddled with the stock T-case linkage, tried the JKS drop bracket every which way, and could not get it to function normally. I finally forced it in place in the stock location and was able to get 2H - 4H -N but 4Lo was out of the question. So back to the Savvy website. ("I wonder if they include instructions for their 231 transfer case cable shifter?")

Shipping was prompt and install was not too bad; I only had to re-do it once which is pretty good for me. I did not drop the skid or remove the front driveshaft. The access was not too difficult and I haven't had rust/stuck bolts on this Jeep,

I've read that others have had trouble accessing the upper bracket nut; that flex-head ratcheting wrench helped me here. I didn't even consider removing the shifter bezel and shift boots.

Getting the rubber grommet wasn't too bad; rather than cutting it, I just used long channel locks and pushed it out while bracing the pliers on the lever.

The lower nut just took wobbly socket extensions.

Removing the nut from the T-case lever wasn't bad with the miraculous flex-head ratcheting wrench ( I should get paid for promoting these wrenches):

Now I can shift the 231 through all the positions. I never had problems with the stock linkage though, until the body lift.

Access for the job was good with the skid and drive shaft in place, although with a tummy tuck or a lack of body lift I'm sure it would have been different.

 

[TRevs]

I removed the nerf bars and overall I like the new look. Narrower stance with more backspacing on the wheels, a bit taller with more room in the wheel wells after the body lift. 100% improvement with the Savvy bumpers over those awful chrome tubes.

It's about ready for the trails, except....

I noticed some steering issues immediately after the body lift; a bit of wandering and slight bumpsteer at highway speeds, and the steering wheel is deviated about 10 degrees CCW as it tracks down the road. I had done the DIY toe-in alignment when I finished the springs/shocks a couple months ago, and a BL shouldn't affect toe, right? After some research, I decided it was worth raising the steering pillow bracket. I don't think this looks healthy:

and while only a few users seem to address this after a BL, it's worth it to me to try the M.O.R.E. bracket. We'll see...

 

[TRevs]

The Spidertrax wheel spacers came in awhile ago and went on immediately to get more room for the Ravines.

Even with the spacers, I had to add a couple washers to each steering stop to eliminate rubbing on the lower control arm.

 

[TRevs]

I knew the winch hoop and the recovery points on the Savvy bumper were steel and had to be painted, but it took awhile to get around to it. I noticed a superficial bit of rust on the hoop last week and that kicked the paint job to #1 priority.

After a bit of prep work and primer, I put this on:

I wanted to approximate the look of the raw aluminum as much as possible; what do you think?

( no crack jokes please )

 

[TRevs]

The M.O.R.E. steering shaft bracket arrived today. It was a bit tough getting the old one off (looked like blue threadlocker from the factory) and I had to do some mild rust mitigation on the plates that surround the bearing. Paint is drying now so hopefullly I'll be able to test drive the new assembly tomorrow.

 

[TRevs]

I installed the M.O.R.E. steering bracket without much difficulty, although I had to buy a T40 socket to get the brake line out of the way of one of the bolts. I couldn't tell any difference in the steering feel but at least the shaft coming through the firewall has a more gentle angle.

Before and after:

That boot looks less awkward now.

 

[TRevs]

Since it seemed have a bit of wandering and maybe a touch of bump steer (and since my steering wheel was off 10 degrees), I figured I'd better recheck the toe-in alignment. I'd done that a couple months ago and haven't hit any curbs. I did some spend a little time on the rocks in a dry creek bed to test the sway bar disconnects.

In any case, the toe-in was measuring barely 1/16" at the 33" tire diameter, but I couldn't shorten the tie rod any further. It would loosen easily but was basically frozen when I tried to shorten it. So I removed the tie rod completely and did see some rust and debris in the threads. I blasted Liquid Wrench into both ends of the tie rod, then blew everything out with compressed air. A fair bit of junk came out and when I reinstalled the tie-rod (with a bit of anti-seize) I was able to get the appropriate length.

The DIY alignment thread by @Jerry Bransford is awesome and one of many I found highly useful.

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/how-to-align-your-jeep-wrangler-tj.85/

The steering seems better and the wheel is straighter without having to adjust the drag link.

I'll definitely look into upgrading the steering, especially since both end boots are ruptured, but that will have to wait until winter when the high country shuts down.