Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator

John’s Consistently Inconsistent LJ Build

Since I have 5x5 JL wheels I'm stuck with using some sort of spacer with the stock spare carrier. The existing spacer pushes the spare out 2.5 inches and the morryde offset brackets push it out about 1.5 inche. I will probably skip the offset brackets and have a non centered spare until I find the right combo to get the spare centered and tight to the tailgate. I'd also like to have it lower too... when my welding improves I'd like to mod my bumper with a little relief for the spare so I can lower it a bit. Here is a photo with the offset brackets down (too low to clear bumper) and spacer/5x5 afapter removed.
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You could get the Rugged Ridge spare tire carrier and re-drill the 5x5 bolt pattern. I just sold one that I had done this too because I had JK wheels. It is MUCH stronger than the OEM carrier. Just make sure you space out the snubbers to keep the tire from vibrating, no matter the tire carrier you use.

Good looking build.
 
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I sort of finished the tailgate and spare carrier. The snubbers were touching the spare in .y dry fit but are no longer touching once I replaced the third brake light disc and backup camera. I'm going to try a 1.25" spacer 5x5 to 5x4.5 converter in place of the 2.5" spacer/riser/converter and see if I can get the spare tight against the hinge and OEM snubbers. Probably wont be able to work on the Jeep the next few mornings becuase I have to be at work early Tuesday and Wednesday.

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I finally got the JB Conversions SSSYE installed. I had to grind away a little of the old housing to get the lock ring pliers in enough to remove the lock ring. Removing the lock ring, including the time I wasted earlier in the week, took longer than the entire remaining steps SSSYE Install. Here's the finished product. I've emailed JB Conversions about the missing sensor screw. It is smaller than the OE speedo gear screw. I know the TC is filthy on the outside. It is clean where it counts.

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I started the paint work on the Savvy UA. One side of the transmission cross member was bent and needed a little persuasion before I painted it

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I did the trick of taping off all the holes and sloshing paint inside. I used brushable Eastwood rust encapsulator since I already had some. It is also very thin, almost like milk, so it was easy to slosh around. It dries fast too. My tape job was not liquid tight and leaked a bit. I had some leftover Eastwood etching primer and covered everything else. I'll follow-up with black farm implement paint next.
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I started working on installing the Savvy cable shifter while everything was out of the way. I followed the Novak instructions here: https://wranglertjforum.com/attachments/s231-pdf.39047/ since Savvy does not include instructions for anything. I had previously watched a few install videos as well. Some grommets, my long arms, and a cordless ratchet helped me complete the bracket install by myself. I found some grommets that fit the bracket holes well and held the bolt, with the added benefit of helping keep water out. This enabled me to get the bolts in and finger tighten the nuts easily. I then held the bolt heads in place with a box-end wrench while tightening the nuts by reaching under the tub with my Milwaukee cordless ratchet.

Here are pics of the bracket install from inside and outside the tub.

INSIDE

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OUTSIDE

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I then went to install the now SSSYE-equipped TC. I did the "bench press" method, where I slid under the body with the TC supported above my chest by my hands, lifted it into place and slid the studs back into their holes. Worked great and the studs held the TC in place while I placed the nuts on.

One thing I forgot to mention earlier, is that two of the studs, the two located closest to the exhaust, came out with the bolts when I removed the TC. I had decided I'd just reinsert them with the nuts on since the nuts seemed to be rusted in place. Well, the nuts started turning when I went to reinstall the studs, so I removed the TC again. I then threaded the studs in as far as I could with the nuts in place (studs had thread locker on them), then added a second nut to act as a lock nut and got both studs fully threaded back into the TC at the appropriate depth. I had to use a little kroil on one of the studs to get the nut off, but it worked. I now have all of the studs securely in the TC as they should be. I had to stop there as I had to get ready to go to work.

Today will be a shortish workday. We have winter weather comping and we're in North Carolina, so everything is shutting down at 1PM. The kids are already out of school. I still have to telework in the afternoon, but at least I'll be home instead of in the office.
 
I finished the install of the Savvy TC shifter cable. It went pretty well and seemed easy to adjust so that I get a nice positive click in each position. I do not think I realized how much rust there was under the shifters when I did all my other rust mitigation. I cleaned that up and put some rust encapsulator on it after Itook these pictures.
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My wife got me these finger lights for Christmas. I just started using them a few days ago. I put them on over the gloves I usually wear when working on the Jeep. They work great. I only use the left one as it takes a second to put on and take off and I find myself frequently removing my right glove to manipulate something fine or use my phone for something. It is nice to always have light pointing where I need it without a bright spot light in my face or a headlamp in my way.

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Next up was the SpeedoHealer kit I purchased from Poly Performance. Here is what the package looked like.

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Here is the completed install near the TC. I covered the wiring with split loom before I started. I drilled a 1/4" hole in the tub where I knew it was safe to do so and used a push mount cable tie to get the cables up and out of the way.

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Finally, I installed the SpeedoHealer controller under the hood. I cleaned the raw aluminum on the MC inner fender really well to ensure the Velcro tape on the SpeedoHealer would stay stuck. I ended up having to move it about an inch to the right becuase the hood would hit it where I installed it originally. I did not take pictures, but I also used a few more push mount cable ties to clean up the wiring and hoses that I never secured after Installed the MC fenders.

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The last thing I did today was start work on the Savvy UA install. One side at a time, I removed the main body lift/mounts, loosened the rear mounts and left the under grill mount alone. I raised the tub enough to remove the center main body lift and placed the Savvy UA outer C in place. It took me a second to figure out which went to which side but realized there was a hole for the center skid plate bolt that would only line up in one orientation. A couple of blows from a dead blow hammer got the outer Cs in place. I replaced and retorqued all the body mounts. Here is one of the outer Cs in place.

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I had to free up the various cables and tubing on the driver side to accommodate the inner C. Based on advice from a few threads here and YouTube videos, I fit the inner Cs and slid them out of the way. I then worked on getting the cross member dry fit. I removed my exhaust after the CAT and jacked up the transmission until I could get the cross member in place. This also required me to use a ratchet strap to keep the transmission/TC centered as it wanted to drift to the passenger side as I lifted it. Once I got it high enough It was not too difficult to get the crossmember in place. I put it at an angle (front to rear, not up and down) with the driver side going first so I could move the cable and tubing out of the way as I slid it in. Then I was able to rotate the passenger side into place. Once it was in place, I was able to slide the inner Cs into place.

I raised the jack stand I already had under the transmission bell housing high enough to support everything and lowered the jack and took some tension off of the ratchet strap. Right now the crossmember and Cs are held in place by friction and gravity and all the weigh of the transmission is supported by the jack stand.

Tomorrow I will work on getting the transmission mount and exhaust hanger in place, dimpling the tub, and getting everything bolted in place. I will then measure for my drive shaft and get it ordered. I have a transmission cooler that I will install while I am waiting for the drive shaft and will likely get after what appears to be a slow leak on the transmission pan while I'm doing that. I'll install the actual TC skid and engine/oil skid when I'm sure I'm done with everything else down there (I'm sure my exhaust will need some work). Here's a shot of the friction-fit crossmember and Cs.

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This morning I finished getting the crossmember bolted in place. It took a bit of persuasion to get everything in position and lots of help from some drift punches to get the holes lined-up. Since there are no instructions, I looked up torque settings online for the size and grade bolts used at each location.

A couple of observations:

1. I did not have to dent the bed for clearance anywhere. I checked the TC and transmission and there was over 1/2" clearance everywhere. Maybe it's becuase it's an LJ there's a little more space?

2. When I had the transmission jacked up during the install, which was about 3/4" higher than its final position, I noticed the radiator fan would just barely hit the bottom of the shroud even with the 1" MML. Once I got the transmission to final height, the fan cleared the shroud by about 1/4". This skid kit really pushes the tummy tuck to its upper limits.

Here are some shots of everything but the actual skids installed. They will go in after I'm sure I'm done with the underside.

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Next I used my control arms to get the rear diff mostly pointed towards the TC. I loosened the lock nuts on the track bar and upper control arms. I did not change the regular trackbar relocation bracket for the JKS relocation bracket yet (the regular one just raises it whereas the JKS and others like it raise it and rotate it forward a bit) as I read that some folks say it is not needed on an LJ. Well, it appears to be needed on an LJ with a Savvy UA install as the trackbar is definitely going to hit the tank skid when the suspension articulates. I already have the JKS bracket and will swap it in when I put the new drive shaft on and get the pinion angle set. I made an X on the upper control arms with a sharpie and adjusted them together until the diff was pointed at the TC near to where I think it will be with the DS installed.

I measured the distance between the Yokes according to the instructions on Tom Woods' site and ended up with 28-5/8" as an average. I ordered the DS with the XB spline and non-greaseable U-joints. I ordered two strap and bolt sets in case I have to remove it several times (I will when I get around to doing my regear). I held off on ordering a front DS as the one I have looks to be in decent shape and has plenty of articulation in it when I stretched and compressed it.

Here's a shot of the control arms in their final (for now) position. Note the green X that I used for reference to ensure I turned both sides together.

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This morning, I started work on installing the Derale 20561 Transmission Cooler. I roughly followed the thread here https://wranglertjforum.com/threads...-transmission-cooler-on-your-wrangler-tj.590/ but mostly relied on the well written instructions.

I completed the pre-assembly. One issue I found was both Jerry’s thread and the instructions stated that the black wire “may” be the positive lead and the blue wire negative. Both sources said there would be a decal on the fan indicating which was which. My fan did not include such a decal and looked different than Jerry’s and a little different than the instructions. Jerry’s thread is from 2016, so there have been some hardware changes since then. I temporarily connected the fan to my battery to determine which way I need to wire it to draw air through the fan instead of pushing air through it. It turned out that my blue wire needed to be wired to positive to do this, which is opposite of how Jerry’s was wired and goes against what the instructions said would be the likely outcome (instructions did not say the black would definitely be positive).

Here’s the cooler with all pre-assembly complete

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I used my own shrink fit connectors in place of the crimp only connectors provided by Derale. Here is a close-up of the connectors.

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I installed the mount on the frame. I want to get it as close to the skid as possible, so I am going to try it in front of the rear main body mount first.

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I think it will just clear the Savvy skid, but maybe not once the back part (rear crossmember?) of the skid is installed. The mount has two sets of holes to mount the cooler a “front’ set and “back” set, so I can move the cooler a littler further back without remounting the entire thing. I will dry fit the skid, but I think the rear crossmember will not be an issue since the skid flares out past the crossmember where the cooler will be. We’ll see.
Here's the cooler mounted. You can just see the rear most skid rivnut to get an idea of how much clearance I may or may not have once the skid is installed.

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My next concern is clearance of the drive shaft. I think, in a non-tummy tucked install, the cooler would be above the yoke and well out of the way. Right now there is – with me running a thread from the TC yoke to the Diff Yoke, about 1-1/4” of clearance. I think the DS with the bulge created by the DC (DC DS is ordered per last post) will stick out about 7/8” wider than the TC yoke, if it is like the front DS. This will give me only 3/8” clearance, but I guess 3/8” is enough if both are static. That said, I may still move the cooler to the rear mounts which will give a smidge more clearance since the DS will be lower at that point as sit slopes down to the diff, and it may be clear of the DC by then as well.

Here's a shot from directly below the TC and cooler to show the clearance.

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I will probably stop the install here until the DS comes in so I can be absolutely sure of where I want to place the cooler. I have tons of other things I can install in the meantime. Here are some shots of the cooler from other angles.

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EDIT: ^^^^ Looking at this photo, I think I may need to go ahead and fill the TC with ATF+4 before I finish installing the cooler as it looks like it will be in the way. I did not notice this until I posted the photo.



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Doing other things while I wait for my new DC drive shaft to arrive.

When I purchased the Jeep in the fall, the PO tried to show me everything he could. One mystery was this switch on the panel under the steering column. He did not know what it was.

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I then asked him about this antenna on the A column. He never realized it was there. I assumed it was an AM/FM antenna, despite there being a stubby rubber antenna on the passenger side exterior.

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Today, since I was already digging around the steering column since I was going to change the flasher so I could use LEDs. I figured I’d remove the switch as it is probably connected to nothing. Turned out it was connected to this box.

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It is an auto command remote starting system (had to google it) that is still wired to the Jeep. The PO had no idea it was there. It is connected to the switch, the mystery A column antenna, the ignition switch, and a few other places I’ve not traced yet. I really want to remove it but will save that for another day. For now, it will get tucked back in place when I finish changing out the flasher.
 
TLDR: Trust the manufacturer’s directions (usually) and the ignition must be on when testing turn signals.

As I was typing this, I got a shipment notification from Tom Wood’s Custom Drive Shafts that my order shipped. Fast turnaround for custom work!
After the remote starter mystery box fiasco, I still had some time left before I had to get ready for work so I figured I’d work more on the exterior lighting. I had to replace the headlights since I removed them initially to retrieve a screw I lost in the grill and left them off while I painted the area where the OE fenders were removed.

Before:

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The PO had already swapped out the OE headlights for these unmarked LED headlights. They work fine and don’t look horrible, so they’re staying for now.
After:

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When I purchased the Metalcloak fenders, I also purchased two pairs of their LED dual function LED marker/blinker lights and their LED flasher relay. I installed the flasher when I was messing around with the steering column earlier.

The kit is rather nice. The LEDs appear to be made by Maxxima and have all the required circuitry to make them work already there - I assume in the molded area with the “Maxxima” marking between the bullet connectors and the LEDs.

The kit came with several lengths of wire, bullet connectors, butt connectors, and ring terminal connectors with instructions to build pig tails. I originally was going to swap out the bullet connectors for heat shrink spade connectors I had on hand, but since the male bullet connectors were already attached to the lights with molded-on connectors I decided to use the provided bullet connectors and just cover them with heat shrink, which will also help in identifying them with different tubing.

Speaking of heat shrink tubing, if you use an electric heat gun to shrink tubing, you really need to get one of these nozzles. I have used this thing on hundreds of connections between two boats and five cars. It saves time. I place the gun so it is resting on it’s intake (it has feet to allow air flow and is designed to be used this way), I then move the shrink tube wrapped wire into the hot air flow and it shrinks immediately all the way around because it is engulfed in hot air instead of the hot air just blowing by. Of course, you can still use it the normal way and bring the gun to the wire.

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Here are all the pigtails built.

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I was almost out of time but wanted to test one of the lights. I went to connect everything, but it was difficult. Even though the connectors Metalcloak provided were not heat shrink, they still shrunk a little and the bullet connector fit was extremely tight. I used some dielectric grease as lubricant was able to get them together (the fit is so tight the dielectric is not impacting conductivity). I need to work on the connectors some more as they’re still not completely pressed together.

Metalcloak’s wiring instructions were interesting and confused me at first after reading several of the LED marker/turn signal threads on the forum. These lights only use the white/yellow and white/green (driver) white/tan (passenger) wires from what I think was the side-marker light connection (the connection with the small round bulb with two wires instead of the connection with the spade three wire connector, I can’t remember which is which since it has been so long since I removed them). It also has you ground the LED’s white wire to the chassis where the other lights are grounded. They tell you several times throughout the instructions to not cut the other connector and just leave it alone or else! I decided to trust the instructions (there was a typo or two and they forgot to mention the driver and passenger blinker wires were different colors, which through me off, but their wiring diagram was correct). The instructions were also written for someone only installing a single dual function LED on each side, so I had to adjust since I was installing two LEDs per side, which their fenders allow.

Here is the passenger side temporarily wired.

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I wanted to test everything before wasting time splicing two wires to one, so I used WAGO lever nuts in the interim. These things are very handy. I’ve frequently used them on connections that I know will stay dry without issue, but I will need to use something better here. They make 2-wire to 1-wire spade and bullet connectors, but I do not have any and will probably just figure out how to do it with what I have but still make it easy to disconnect.

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After everything was connected, I decided to test it out.

:) Parking lights: marker worked
:) Head lights on: marker worked
:mad: Parking lights, turn signal: NO blinker, marker worked
:mad: Head lights on , turn signal: NO blinker, marker worked

Got mad and thought the instructions were wrong and I’d have to install extra circuitry after all. Then I remembered that the turn signals only work if the ignition is on.

Turned the ignition on…

:cool: Parking lights: marker worked
:cool: Head lights on: marker worked
:cool: Parking lights, turn signal: blinker worked, marker worked
:cool: Head lights on, turn signal: blinker worked, marker worked

I will finish up the install tomorrow and swap out all the rear brake/signal/reverse bulbs for LEDs as well. I decided against new sealed LED fixtures for the rear since changing the bulbs will pretty much accomplish the same thing for much less.
 
When I installed the lights in my MC fenders, took the wiring back to just before it split to the flare lights and cut the wiring. Then I used a 3 way plug (link below) that way the wiring was all grounded and I didn't need to mount a separate wire on the ground lug on the grill. I never plan on installing OEM fenders again and this way cleans up the wiring and doesn't leave connectors that are exposed.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BGQ28631/?tag=wranglerorg-20
 
When I installed the lights in my MC fenders, took the wiring back to just before it split to the flare lights and cut the wiring. Then I used a 3 way plug (link below) that way the wiring was all grounded and I didn't need to mount a separate wire on the ground lug on the grill. I never plan on installing OEM fenders again and this way cleans up the wiring and doesn't leave connectors that are exposed.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BGQ28631/?tag=wranglerorg-20

I have DT connectors in 2, 3, and, 4 conductor version, and my original plan was to use them. I used the 2-conductor version on my rear camera and will use them when I reinstall the behind the spare third brake light (PO used bullet connectors).

What kept me from using them here was it appeared to me that the MC lights had to be fed wire first into the holes and the 3-conductor DT connector would not fit fully assembled, so I would have to remove the pins from the connector to install the lights and again if I ever need to remove them.

I did not try to see if the lights would fit light first from behind the mounting hole with the grommet removed, negating the need to worry about the DT connector. Is that what you did?
 
I have DT connectors in 2, 3, and, 4 conductor version, and my original plan was to use them. I used the 2-conductor version on my rear camera and will use them when I reinstall the behind the spare third brake light (PO used bullet connectors).

What kept me from using them here was it appeared to me that the MC lights had to be fed wire first into the holes and the 3-conductor DT connector would not fit fully assembled, so I would have to remove the pins from the connector to install the lights and again if I ever need to remove them.

I did not try to see if the lights would fit light first from behind the mounting hole with the grommet removed, negating the need to worry about the DT connector. Is that what you did?
The connector that I linked fit in the holes for the lights since it was a triangle. I was about to put the plug on the lights first. I used 1 male plug for each of the 2 lights on the front and then put 2 female ends on the Jeep wiring.

On the lights, slip the rubber off the light and put it in the fender first, then push the light into the rubber. It will go in a lot easier.
 
The connector that I linked fit in the holes for the lights since it was a triangle. I was about to put the plug on the lights first. I used 1 male plug for each of the 2 lights on the front and then put 2 female ends on the Jeep wiring.

On the lights, slip the rubber off the light and put it in the fender first, then push the light into the rubber. It will go in a lot easier.

Hmm. I bet I tried the female (receptacle) connector, which is probably why it did not fit as it is much larger, I bet the male (plug) connector will work. Maybe I will re-wire it with the DT connectors.

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This morning, I finished up the marker/signal lights on the front fenders. I ended up replacing all the bullet connectors with spade connectors. I opted not to use the 3-pin DT connectors because the connectors I have would not fit through the LED mounting holes or the hole I planned on using to route the wire from under the hood to under the fender. I think it still cleaned up rather nicely once I wrapped everything with split loom, zip ties, and wiring harness tape. Here are the driver’s side lights.

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Everything tested out in all possible modes. The lights are very bright. Here is a shot of the lights in my somewhat darkened garage with the hazards blinking. I wanted to get a shot of the lights at their brightest and it took me maybe four tries to get a shot with the lights illuminated. The garage is not as dark as I wanted because the sun was coming up.

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I still have a couple of days before my DC drive shaft arrives, so I will swap in the LED bulbs on the rear lights and find some other things to keep me busy (either front fogs and spots, start installing rocker rails, or mess around with the spare carrier some more).
 
Today was mostly tidying up from several things I’ve done lately. I pulled the wires from installing the front marker/turn signals into their final spot and pulled the fog light connectors out in front of the grill. I messed with a couple of configurations for the fog lights on the bumper and the spotlights on the bull bar. The Garvin G2 Bumper Guard/Bull Bar has mounts on it already for a pair of lights above the winch, however, I don’t like them. Mounting on top will have the spotlights too high and there is not enough space to mount them below because of the winch. I decided to cut off the welded on light mounts and use a pair of KC 1.75” tube clamp light mounts to hold the lights instead, which will allow me to mount them under the bull bar and in front of the winch in a way that will not be an issue when using the winch. The KC tube clamps are very nice; my broth-in-law has a pair on his Sprinter with the lights mounted almost the same way. I ordered some Stainless 5/16"-18 and 3/8"-16 tri-groove nuts from McMaster-Carr to secure the lights to the mounts and mounts to the clamps and bumper. The are significantly cheaper there than anywhere else. You get 10 for $21 versus 2 for $29 from KC (and they did not have those sizes anyway) or 8 for $50 from Amazon. McMaster will have them here tomorrow as well. I already have a couple of tri-groove sockets. Here’s a shot of the font end to give you an idea of what I’m working with. I will mount the spots under the bull bar with plenty of clearance for the winch and fairlead, even if winching at an angle, and mount the fog lights on either side of the bull bar / bumper bolts, maybe and inch away from the original holes that I can’t use because the bull bar base is in the way.

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I swapped-in the LED bulbs in the rear brake/signal/reverse lights. Very easy.

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The only issue I had is the bottom left of the driver side fixture. The molded-in thread was stripped because it had split (before picture) I used some flexible black CA and a zip tie to repair it (after picture).

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When I had one side done, I compared the brightness to the other side. The brake/signal light is only slightly brighter than the incandescent version. The biggest difference is the LED flashes when signaling whereas the incandescent fades. It’s mostly noticeable when the lights are off since it is alternating between on and off versus bright and dim when the lights are on. The reverse lights seemed significantly brighter, but this may be mostly due to them being a whiter light that the incandescent. I plan on adding a pair separate reverse floods to the bumper or hitch receiver and wire them so I can have them always off, on with reverse lights, or always on (if I need to illuminate the rear for a reason other than backing) or I might just make them on/off with a switch if that’s too hard. I did not include any comparison pictures because the rear of the jeep is 3 feet from the garage door and I did not want to let any 20 degree air into the 60 degree garage.


Once I was sure everything worked, I went and replaced the panels around the steering column. I also tucked the carpet back under the center console from where I had pulled it out when I installed the TC cable shifter.

Finally, I replaced the stubby antenna the PO had installed with a full-sized antenna. We listen to broadcast radio a lot when we travel, so we need good reception. Here is the new antenna mounted with “old stubby” laying on the cowl.

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Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator