JD's LJR
- Thread starter JDS123
- Start date
Happy the weather is warm again, was irritatingly cold for a bit there. Haven’t figured out a soft top / half doors / what to do with the hard top yet, but that’s in the works. I had my TJ in permanent summer mode when I had a truck and a garage. Not a massive fan of full doors / hard top. Little more difficult now that I live downtown to stay in summer mode.
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I’m no stranger to the salt cancer. Basically totaled my 2001, but that got sorted out a few years ago. Hoping to drop the 2001 back to 33’s sometime soon, I never really got it setup on 35’s all that well.
Put 160 highway miles on the Jeep on the way to Wisconsin today with zero issues. I couldn’t be much happier with the Jeep. Put the AC on and set cruise control at 75. Like I said in the first post of this thread, this jeep is extremely impressive when it works properly. It’s pretty much no contest when compared it to my 2001. I took some highway corners at 70 mph and was extremely happy with how planted the jeep felt.
The only complaint I have currently is the transmission. I would very much prefer a 6 speed, and plan to figure a swap out at some point. It’s a little out of my wheelhouse right now, but it’ll be possible eventually.
Will be going back over to my shop for some small maintenance items soon. But otherwise we are good to go. Looking forward to taking some longer trips later this year. Definitely plan on using this jeep for its intended purpose as much as possible.
Pinion angle is about 0.2 degrees lower than driveline if my math is adding up. Has a slight harmonic (only audible). If I dropped the pinion 0.5 degrees or so, might be a bit happier. Probably grasping at straws.
Front pinion is 8.5 degrees under. Probably most improvement will come here vibration wise, but would rather not kill caster. Will have to see if vibes go away without the front driveshaft in.
My 2001 has very floaty steering. I’m assuming I could get some caster back in that Jeep given the LJ runs 8.5 under. My 2001 has much less.
The only complaint I have currently is the transmission. I would very much prefer a 6 speed, and plan to figure a swap out at some point. It’s a little out of my wheelhouse right now, but it’ll be possible eventually.
Will be going back over to my shop for some small maintenance items soon. But otherwise we are good to go. Looking forward to taking some longer trips later this year. Definitely plan on using this jeep for its intended purpose as much as possible.
Pinion angle is about 0.2 degrees lower than driveline if my math is adding up. Has a slight harmonic (only audible). If I dropped the pinion 0.5 degrees or so, might be a bit happier. Probably grasping at straws.
Front pinion is 8.5 degrees under. Probably most improvement will come here vibration wise, but would rather not kill caster. Will have to see if vibes go away without the front driveshaft in.
My 2001 has very floaty steering. I’m assuming I could get some caster back in that Jeep given the LJ runs 8.5 under. My 2001 has much less.
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1000 miles of ownership, featuring Wisconsin farmland.
The old KO2’s on the LJ were torched due to the front coming out of alignment at some point under previous ownership. Took a bit of a risk and ordered a set of 35x11.5r17 Toyo AT3 open country’s in load range C. I borderline ruined my TJ with big honking Maxxis Trepadors so I opted for something very street friendly this time around.
Also got a new fuel pump, trans service, a new TW front shaft, and some fluid changes for the new engine and diffs.
About 4.75” backspacing with Rubicon flares.
As an added bonus, my tires no longer crash into the lower links. Much better turning radius. Wasn’t the purpose of the 11.5’s, but nice anyways.
In ridiculous news, Illinois emissions testing won’t test your vehicle if the OBD II port isn’t “firmly secured to the vehicle”. Despite my attempts at persuasion, they refused me service as my mounting bracket is broken. My options are go to the “self service” emissions facility after hours or re-pin the OBD II. I know which one I’m going to choose… always something with the government.
Also got a new fuel pump, trans service, a new TW front shaft, and some fluid changes for the new engine and diffs.
About 4.75” backspacing with Rubicon flares.
As an added bonus, my tires no longer crash into the lower links. Much better turning radius. Wasn’t the purpose of the 11.5’s, but nice anyways.
In ridiculous news, Illinois emissions testing won’t test your vehicle if the OBD II port isn’t “firmly secured to the vehicle”. Despite my attempts at persuasion, they refused me service as my mounting bracket is broken. My options are go to the “self service” emissions facility after hours or re-pin the OBD II. I know which one I’m going to choose… always something with the government.
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