TerryD's 2006 LJ Rubicon

[TerryD]

Username: TerryD

Year: 2006
Model: Wrangler Unlimited
Trim: Rubicon
Color: Midnight Blue

About:
I've always wanted a Jeep. As a kid it was ogling CJs and old Willys Jeeps and craving the freedom and wind in my hair that came with them. I've owned a few different 4WDs over the years including a 1998 XJ, a 1984 K5 Blazer, and currently a 2007 Xterra but an open top Jeep has never panned out for me.

As my kids have gotten older, they prefer to stay home for my adventures so the constant need to seat 5 has all but gone away. My pickup is usually chosen for family trips thanks to the room and cargo capacity so I recently told my wife that it was time for us to get a Jeep. She didn't even hesitate to say "go for it" and as luck would have it, this popped up on FB 2 days later.

My goal is a formidable DD and wheeler. The story I've always told was a long arm kit and 35s and have a do-anything Jeep so I've got a lot of studying to do to accomplish that.

Pictures:

Mods:
Suspension:
Rubicon Express Adjustable Track Bar
Quadratec.com 2.5" lift with Hydro shocks

Body:
MOPAR rear corner guards
Best Top Soft Top

Driveline:
Poweraid Throttle Body Spacer

 

[Rickyd]

Welcome! nice looking lj!

Here's some reading on 35s

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/so-you-want-to-run-35-tires-on-your-tj.2428/

you should research mid arm by savvy. Bolt on long arm suspensions have a dark side

 

[E-Ticket]

Welcome and congrats! Let the fun begin…

 

[TerryD]

ADHD fueled day today.

Started with cleaning up the rust underneath and getting a coat of Rustoleum converter on it.

I detoured from that to putting in the new thermostat and refilling the cooling system. After getting the coil pack back on I started it and let it come up to operating temperature. It held 195 perfectly while idling on the stands.

After that the transmission crossmember got some attention. Since the future is not decided for this thing yet, a heavy coat of converter and Rustoleum gloss black should keep it on the road until then.

Before quitting for the night, I wanted to get the worn out heim off the track bar. I couldn't get the jam nut loose so I decided to pull it off. Well, things went downhill fast when the head snapped off the bolt on the axle end. Then out came the Sawzall and a constant 20min of my knuckles being beaten against the ground began.

Finally, with the bar out, I attempted to loosen the nut again and only succeeded in rounding the flats off. Disgusted, I called it quits for the night. Now I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to rebuild this old RE bar or buy a new JKS bar with serviceable joint.

 

[Mike_H]

ADHD fueled day today.

Started with cleaning up the rust underneath and getting a coat of Rustoleum converter on it.

I detoured from that to putting in the new thermostat and refilling the cooling system. After getting the coil pack back on I started it and let it come up to operating temperature. It held 195 perfectly while idling on the stands.

After that the transmission crossmember got some attention. Since the future is not decided for this thing yet, a heavy coat of converter and Rustoleum gloss black should keep it on the road until then.

Before quitting for the night, I wanted to get the worn out heim off the track bar. I couldn't get the jam nut loose so I decided to pull it off. Well, things went downhill fast when the head snapped off the bolt on the axle end. Then out came the Sawzall and a constant 20min of my knuckles being beaten against the ground began.

Finally, with the bar out, I attempted to loosen the nut again and only succeeded in rounding the flats off. Disgusted, I called it quits for the night. Now I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to rebuild this old RE bar or buy a new JKS bar with serviceable joint.

Go with a Rock Jock over JKS...It fits better when you get to 4" of lift, rotated axles (for pinion angle), and its stronger. Its also 2x the price, but better to spend the 500 or so bucks now, vs 250, then 500 later.

 

[TerryD]

Go with a Rock Jock over JKS...It fits better when you get to 4" of lift, rotated axles (for pinion angle), and its stronger. Its also 2x the price, but better to spend the 500 or so bucks now, vs 250, then 500 later.

I like the looks of that RJ bar. I brought the old RE bar to work and we're gonna get after it here in a bit to see if we can get the old heim out. If I can do that and have like $50 in it for now till I decide on the long term goal I'll do that.

Driveable is the goal for the time being. There's a lot of dependability issues I want to get fixed before I start dumping money into the goodies.

Welcome! nice looking lj!

Here's some reading on 35s

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/so-you-want-to-run-35-tires-on-your-tj.2428/

you should research mid arm by savvy. Bolt on long arm suspensions have a dark side

That's good advice and honestly a lower lift and 33's isn't out of the question. My Xterra on a 2" lift and 33's with one locker has done 80% of what I've wanted for the last several years and the LJ is narrower with higher ground clearance and way more travel so 33's could fit the bill nicely.

 

[TerryD]

Managed to get the old RE track bar torn down. I ordered a replacement heim and jam nut for it and I'm going to get a set of bushings after work. It's not a great bar but it'll let me get it back on the road for now till I decide what direction I'm going to take with the Jeep.

Fluid changes and more cleaning coming this week and if I'm lucky, my parts will be here Friday and I can get it driveable.

 

[TerryD]

Well, the ACTUAL RE bushings are discontinued so I grabbed a set from AutoZone and I'm going to try to make them work.

 

[TerryD]

Well my spark plugs, transmission filter and transmission pan arrived today. Air mail via FedEx. He hucked that fucker clear across my porch and just skipped back to his van. Everything seems OK, but I guess I won't know till I get the plugs installed.

Gonna send FedEx an email about it in a bit with the video from my doorbell cam.

 

[TerryD]

I ordered a set of Black Magic Brakes' riv-nuts to fix my transmission crossmember bolts this morning.

Looks like my track bar heim won't be here till Tuesday so I'll just leave it on stands for now. I should have put it in the other spot so I could get the Camaro out this weekend though. But I didn't expect it to be on stands this long. LOL

 

[TerryD]

This evening after work I set to getting the rusty old rear bumper off. The two bolts on the side of the frame had to be cut because the flag nuts were just spinning inside the frame.

The two bolts on the back of the frame were missing as well and the two bolts up through the bottom were seized.

I borrowed a Venom induction heater from a friend and after heating up the stuck bolts, a breaker bar easily freed them enough for my Milwaukee impact to zip them out.

Any idea what bumper this is/was?

 

[TerryD]

Used my buddy's press to push the new OE style bushings into the Rubicon Express track bar. We had to push both bushing halves into the bar then press the sleeve in. The OE bushing is larger than what the RE bar requires so it's pretty tight in there. There shouldn't be much movement.

I'll use a socket to center the sleeve and sand down the bushings to the width to fit the bracket before I install it.

Here is the part number of the bushings I used. Maybe this will help someone out in the future.

 

[TerryD]

I hit up the scrap yard today and picked up an aluminum valve cover from a 1992 XJ to replace my rusty OE piece. It'll take a little looking to find the fittings to make it work but I think Quadratec has what I need.

After I got home, I replaced the transmission crossmember riv-nut with the bolt broken off in it using Black Magic Brake's kit and tool.

Next I replaced the Autolite double platinum plugs with the proper Champion plugs. Once that was done I started it up and let it idle till it was good and warm. The new radiator cap helped build pressure quicker and it easily held temperature.

After that I chased the threads on the four front bumper nuts that are still there and don't have a bolt broken off in them.

I'm hoping I can have it back together and ready to install the repaired track bar on Tuesday when the replacement heim joint arrives.

 

[TerryD]

Woke up earlier than I wanted but couldn't go back to sleep so I got started.

I changed both diff fluids with a random assortment of whatever I had in partial bottles. I'll going to change it again soon so this is just to flush out and junk so it's not imperative I use "good" stuff. Some Amsoil, some Fram, some Costal, some Super Tech. It'll be fine.

The t-case got a fresh fill of Valvoline ATF+4. That should do it for a while.

Next was to reassemble and install the t-case crossmember. That was a bit of a chore but it's in now. I got the locker hoses swapped so I had to switch them and they both function properly now.

I'm going to clean up the wheels and put some more paint on the frame but it's almost ready to take off the stands and get registered!

 

[TerryD]

Crossmember is in, locker pumps hooked up and tested, cleaned on the wheels and frame a little too.

I managed to get the passenger side door off but the driver side is gonna take more work.

 

[TerryD]

A pretty day off work to relax? We can't have that nite can we. Just finished pressure washing under the rear of the tub and front fender wells. They should be ready for a heavy coat of Rustoleum as soon as it's all dry.

Remembered to put my swimming trunks on before dragging out the pressure washer this time.

 

[taylormade73]

Have you scoped the inside of the frame? Looks like there is a layer of rust delamination at the top of the hole.

 

[TerryD]

There's some rust in there and I'm not completely sure what to do to remedy it.

My first thought is what we did on the farm for all our equipment. Mix 50/50 kerosene and used motor oil and coat it with a pump sprayer regularly.

 

[taylormade73]

There's some rust in there and I'm not completely sure what to do to remedy it.

My first thought is what we did on the farm for all our equipment. Mix 50/50 kerosene and used motor oil and coat it with a pump sprayer

Clean all the debris out of the frame, plug the holes in the bottom of the frame, fill frame rails with Ospho or Rustoleum Rust Dissolver and let set for a couple days and then drain, and lastly fill with fluid film or cavity wax. Rinse and repeat the fluid film or cavity wax yearly.

 

[TerryD]

Clean all the debris out of the frame, plug the holes in the bottom of the frame, fill frame rails with Ospho or Rustoleum Rust Dissolver and let set for a couple days and then drain, and lastly fill with fluid film or cavity wax. Rinse and repeat the fluid film or cavity wax yearly.

Any suggestions for effectively cleaning out the frame?