High Mileage 2001 Sahara Build

[jodomcfrodo]

Gave the Jeep some new 5W-30 in preparation for Winter. Then got started on my Savvy engine skid install by removing my Teraflex skid. If anyone wants a very lightly used Teraflex oil pan skid, I will give it away for pickup or send it for the price of shipping.

@mrblaine , can you check over my mounting orientations here. When I bolt the skid up the way I see online, its natural position is not square to the t-case skid. If I force it to be square, the engine skid is not centered to the t-case skid and the arms are not square to the engine mount brackets. I understand that the skid is going to be different on different Jeeps, but this seems very out of alignment to me.

I have the long arm on the drivers side. The drivers side engine mount bracket has the mounting hole towards the rear. The passenger side bolt hole is towards the front bumper. I hit the drivers arm with the bench grinder to let it clear the bolts heads that hold the engine mount bracket on.

The passenger side of the engine skid is very close to the upwards turn in the t-case skid.

The drivers side is a couple inches away from the upwards turn.

With the engine skid clamped square to the t-case skid:

Funnily enough, this orientation works damn near perfect. I don't want to start drilling into the skid until I'm happy with the way it is mounted up front. This clearly isn't correct, but it works...

 

[Vasq]

Just read through your whole thread. Really good read, loved seeing your progress

I've also got a high mileage road tripper, I think im at 229,8xx

 

[jodomcfrodo]

Just read through your whole thread. Really good read, loved seeing your progress

I've also got a high mileage road tripper, I think im at 229,8xx

I believe my odometer sits at 229,910 right now, so I have you beat. Try to keep up .




Also, I found on another thread here the same exact problem I'm having with my engine skid. Appears that he just tightened the hell out of the engine mount tab after everything was squarely installed. I assume it just slightly bent the tab into alignment. I'll have to try that method later today if I get a second.

I am also fairly worried that my exhaust is going to smack into the skid when I put my foot down. Looks like I might have to hit the skid with the angle grinder to fix that, but we will see.


Otherwise, since I want to keep most of my good Jeep photos in my build thread, here are a couple more from my recent Colorado trip. Not sure if these are uploaded somewhere else, but putting them here makes them easy to keep track of.

 

[Vasq]

I believe my odometer sits at 229,910 right now, so I have you beat. Try to keep up .

Gah! I need to get back on the road!!

 

[Andre.0723]

Gave the Jeep some new 5W-30 in preparation for Winter. Then got started on my Savvy engine skid install by removing my Teraflex skid. If anyone wants a very lightly used Teraflex oil pan skid, I will give it away for pickup or send it for the price of shipping.

Do you still have that Teraflex oil pan skid?

 

[Paparock1]

Nice jeep and enjoy following all your trips. Keep taking pics.... one question, what LEDs do you have in the rear bumper? They look bright in the pics from the carwash.

Second question, With all the miles you put down looks like those tires are wearing well?

 

[jodomcfrodo]

Nice jeep and enjoy following all your trips. Keep taking pics.... one question, what LEDs do you have in the rear bumper? They look bright in the pics from the carwash.

Second question, With all the miles you put down looks like those tires are wearing well?

The LED's came with the bumper from Genright. It is an option when you buy the bumper. They are super bright. Too bright almost. But you can sure see behind you.

The Trepadors are god awful and I would not recommend them to anyone. They were almost torched after 5000 miles, wear horribly. After my Colorado trip, they don't look too bad to my untrained eye since they were rotated front to back after my Wyoming trip. You can't do a full rotation since they are directional.

Even if they lasted for 1,000,000 miles, I wouldn't buy them again. The on-road characteristics are horrific, much much worse than my KM2's. I can't drive the Jeep in even light snow and rain is questionable. The KM2's were pretty good in the snow and fine in the rain. They were within in 1/16 of an inch when I swapped them out with ~32,000 miles on them. Plenty of tread left too. When I swap these Treps out, I'm going back to KM3's.

 

[jodomcfrodo]

Got the Jeep nice and muddy while testing some race cars yesterday. I messed around in a bobcat for a while building a jump and did some 5000 rpm donuts in the Jeep. Good day overall. Jeep did fine driving 200 miles there and 200 miles back.

 

[jodomcfrodo]

Finally got some time off from school. It has been a crazy time this past few months, so nice to finally think about the Jeep again. Funnily enough, I haven't even driven it in the past 5 weeks, since its been at the shop getting mini skids, a new heater core, and a few other small things.

For this winter, I'm thinking:

4" Springs, Savvy Shocks
Mammoth Wheels and 35"X12.50R15 KM3's (I hate the Treps this much, they're almost new and getting replaced)
Savvy Front Bumper with Hardcore Upgrade
VisionX Headlights to replace my stock ones
Revolution 5.13's


Everything is pretty straight forward besides the additional lift height. I'm worried about the rear track bar hitting the gas tank once my pinion angle is set. I have a JB SS SYE, JKS rear track bar, Savvy TT, and a Savvy GTS. Seems like the fix for this is fairly extensive (IE rotating mounts or even just getting a mid arm and forgetting about the rear track bar). I'm also slightly concerned about the frame side spring perches, but that seems like an easy fix for my shop to chop and weld.

Either way, it should be a good winter for the Jeep. Finally getting to an appropriate lift height will be a good improvement both on-road and off. Better tires, headlights, and gears will take make it a lot nicer to drive as well.

 

[tworley]

Finally got some time off from school. It has been a crazy time this past few months, so nice to finally think about the Jeep again. Funnily enough, I haven't even driven it in the past 5 weeks, since its been at the shop getting mini skids, a new heater core, and a few other small things.

For this winter, I'm thinking:

4" Springs, Savvy Shocks


Everything is pretty straight forward besides the additional lift height. I'm worried about the rear track bar hitting the gas tank once my pinion angle is set. I have a JB SS SYE, JKS rear track bar, Savvy TT, and a Savvy GTS. Seems like the fix for this is fairly extensive (IE rotating mounts or even just getting a mid arm and forgetting about the rear track bar). I'm also slightly concerned about the frame side spring perches, but that seems like an easy fix for my shop to chop and weld.

Currie coils! The free length makes them an obvious choice (IMO). Also, if you're thinking of Savvy's 12" shocks Fox shocks they are a generic TJ tuned shock. I would look into FullStackMotorsports which are priced the same but you get them tuned specifically to your TJ. Plus, he offers a free re-tune if needed (shipping on your dime though).

As far as the diff/GTS interference, I think you will be fine, at the least shortening the CAs should solve any interference. Dont forget to check driveline bind!

 

[jjvw]

I'm pretty sure the Savvy 12" Foxes are their general tune for a TJ. They should be similar in spirit to my AllTech tune, which is different from Paul's.

 

[jodomcfrodo]

Definitely going with Currie 4" coils, but the shocks are staying in their stock mounting locations unfortunately. I don't have nearly enough time to figure that out on my own (my Savvy engine skid has been a 6 month install haha) and I don't trust any shop near me to do it. I'd imagine it may turn out a fair bit of a mess to have some shop figure it out, so I'd rather wait until I can get someone I actually trust to work on it.

Otherwise, I have been considering some Hutchinson Rock Monsters over the Mammoth wheels. If I'm getting new wheels, they should probably be beadlocks. But again, I'll have to understand their road manners more before I pull the trigger. I don't mind tightening some bolts every couple weeks, I do mind not having balanced tires.

The short list for now is definitely springs, shocks, gearing, wheels, and tires.

 

[overit]

thanks for sharing, great pics

 

[jodomcfrodo]

Jeep is back from the shop again (it’s been there since November 17th, so it’s been a while). Got a new heater core, Currie mini skids, and my new differential cover from a few months ago. Had to fix the passenger dash speaker and my shift boot bezel is now broken, but otherwise it seems fine.

Definitely won’t be driving it much for another few months. I can pick up salt chunks off the roads around here .

 

[psrivats]

I believe my odometer sits at 229,910 right now, so I have you beat. Try to keep up .




Also, I found on another thread here the same exact problem I'm having with my engine skid. Appears that he just tightened the hell out of the engine mount tab after everything was squarely installed. I assume it just slightly bent the tab into alignment. I'll have to try that method later today if I get a second.

I am also fairly worried that my exhaust is going to smack into the skid when I put my foot down. Looks like I might have to hit the skid with the angle grinder to fix that, but we will see.


Otherwise, since I want to keep most of my good Jeep photos in my build thread, here are a couple more from my recent Colorado trip. Not sure if these are uploaded somewhere else, but putting them here makes them easy to keep track of.

View attachment 121031

View attachment 121032

View attachment 121033

View attachment 121034

View attachment 121035

View attachment 121036

View attachment 121037

Great photos. I REALLY have to go visit Colorado.

 

[jodomcfrodo]

Productive day today. Online classes start tomorrow but they're pass / fail (no real grades) so I'll have some more time to work on the Jeep this spring.

Put a new flag on to match my American flag. Not sure if I like two flags at once though...

Swapped my battery. Became a giant pain since the stock battery holder was too big. And then my battery terminals were cracked and wouldn’t make a good connection to the new battery. Not sure who tightened them down so much. Made a run to the parts store and fixed it up.

The wiring is whack and I hate the rubber holder but it’ll do for now.

Then I installed my genright tie downs. You have to drill through the rail for one hole on these. Not really too big of a deal. Just be sure to move the hardtop wiring out of the way on the drivers side and its pretty straight forward.

Then I got my Savvy engine skid installed.

Next up is a toolbox mounted in the back, a Savvy front bumper, 4” springs, a CO2 tank, and some maintenance items.

Enough photos for one post?

 

[tworley]

I really like those tie down brackets, havent seen them before.

 

[mrblaine]

Productive day today. Online classes start tomorrow but they're pass / fail (no real grades) so I'll have some more time to work on the Jeep this spring.

Put a new flag on to match my American flag. Not sure if I like two flags at once though...

View attachment 150802

Swapped my battery. Became a giant pain since the stock battery holder was too big. And then my battery terminals were cracked and wouldn’t make a good connection to the new battery. Not sure who tightened them down so much. Made a run to the parts store and fixed it up.

View attachment 150804

View attachment 150803

The wiring is whack and I hate the rubber holder but it’ll do for now.

Then I installed my genright tie downs. You have to drill through the rail for one hole on these. Not really too big of a deal. Just be sure to move the hardtop wiring out of the way on the drivers side and its pretty straight forward.

View attachment 150805
View attachment 150806

Then I got my Savvy engine skid installed.

View attachment 150807


Next up is a toolbox mounted in the back, a Savvy front bumper, 4” springs, a CO2 tank, and some maintenance items.

Enough photos for one post?

Next up should be to toss those shit terminals in the trash where they belong and get some proper ones on there. We always have issues with that style, don't use them.

 

[jodomcfrodo]

Next up should be to toss those shit terminals in the trash where they belong and get some proper ones on there. We always have issues with that style, don't use them.

I'm assuming you mean the part that clamps the main battery wires down? I didn't really like it that much either, but I guess I can't complain too much since they've never failed me. Whats the fix for that? I'm assuming just getting some connectors on there like my winch cables have.

 

[jodomcfrodo]

I really like those tie down brackets, havent seen them before.

I have access to a waterjet so I guess I could have just made them myself, but I still like them. $80 or so. I filed down the edges and put some 3M tape underneath just to stop rubbing. Haven't tied anything down but they seem pretty solid.