TJ Winter Upgrade Project

[DrDirt]

It got colder than its been in a while. It was in the teens for several nights last week. It's not unusual to be in the 20's, but the teens is pretty cold to me. Some of those recent temps and wind chills from the northern states just look brutal to me.

 

[DrDirt]

My build is coming along pretty good. All the lift kit is in and both axles are installed. Not everything is tight yet but it soon will be. I'll be putting on the tires and letting the Jeep sit on the shop floor by this weekend. Not ready to drive it yet though. I need to take some measurements on the front steering linkage to get some parts made. The front axle is +5 inches wider than stock so the current linkage is a little short. Going to try and get a longer turn buckle outer sleeve for one link and I'll need about a 5 inch longer drag link for it to work.

I also installed a front big brake upgrade kit from Black Magic Brakes. I was tired of the lack of braking capability with my 35" tires so I upgraded the fronts. The kit installed just fine. I'll probably be changing the rears over to disc later this year.

I got the TeraFlex bumpstops installed in the front and rear. I was pretty happy with the rears. The rear brackets also realign the upper spring pads with the axle spring pads. Getting the fronts positioned correctly was a little harder. I thought the fronts were quite a bit more difficult to install than the rears. I followed all the directions and exercised the axle a lot without the springs or sway bar connected to verify the position.

I was able to use the same rear drive shaft but will have to check it again after I remove my temporary center support and install the skid plate and center support. I will have to get the front drive shaft shortened about and inch or two.

Also installing a new fuel pump and cleaning up my gas tank skid plate.

With a little luck, I'll be able to wrap this up by the end of Feb. and start getting ready for Moab.

 

[JMT]

Excellent work! Looks really good. I enjoy following

 

[DrDirt]

I've quickly discovered that being retired and working on my Jeep will result in me having to do a lot of stuff by myself. Don't get me wrong, retirement is great and I'm loving it.
I already posted how I used my engine hoist/cherry picker to lift my axles in position. But now I needed something to lift my gas tank/ skid plate . I will also use this for my center skid plate install when I get to that point.
I looked at transmission jacks and I wanted to get something with a lowered height around 2-1/2 to 3 feet. All the single stage transmission jacks I saw were about 4 ft. lowered height and the multi stage lifts were a little expensive. It would also add another piece of equipment to my shop which is already a little crowded.
So I thought of another modification to my engine hoist. Using the basic principle of some of the personnel lifts I've seen, which use a parallelogram type linkage to keep the bucket vertical.
So I proceeded to weld a few parts together and came up with a lift attachment that worked great to install my gas tank.
So now the gas tank is installed and I started the engine yesterday. No driving yet as the brakes have to be bled and the steering is not hooked up. I'm waiting on some new parts for this.
In this linkage, the opposite sides of the parallelogram will always be parallel to each other. In my case, the shape of the linkage doesn't matter. It's the 4 pivot points and the distance between them that is key here.
The vertical component that supported the tank when I lifted it, remains vertical even though the pivot points are not vertical. A line between these two pivot points would be parallel to a line drawn between two pivot on the opposite side of the parallelogram, which these points are fixed to the frame and do not move.
So it worked great and I'll be using it for other things too. Take a look at the pics.
I put a little dog leg in the lower link so it wouldn't bind up in the lowered position.

 

[bobthetj03]

Where there's a will, there's a way. Nicely done sir!

 

[Dawghouse]

I've quickly discovered that being retired and working on my Jeep will result in me having to do a lot of stuff by myself. Don't get me wrong, retirement is great and I'm loving it.
I already posted how I used my engine hoist/cherry picker to lift my axles in position. But now I needed something to lift my gas tank/ skid plate . I will also use this for my center skid plate install when I get to that point.
I looked at transmission jacks and I wanted to get something with a lowered height around 2-1/2 to 3 feet. All the single stage transmission jacks I saw were about 4 ft. lowered height and the multi stage lifts were a little expensive. It would also add another piece of equipment to my shop which is already a little crowded.
So I thought of another modification to my engine hoist. Using the basic principle of some of the personnel lifts I've seen, which use a parallelogram type linkage to keep the bucket vertical.
So I proceeded to weld a few parts together and came up with a lift attachment that worked great to install my gas tank.
So now the gas tank is installed and I started the engine yesterday. No driving yet as the brakes have to be bled and the steering is not hooked up. I'm waiting on some new parts for this.
In this linkage, the opposite sides of the parallelogram will always be parallel to each other. In my case, the shape of the linkage doesn't matter. It's the 4 pivot points and the distance between them that is key here.
The vertical component that supported the tank when I lifted it, remains vertical even though the pivot points are not vertical. A line between these two pivot points would be parallel to a line drawn between two pivot on the opposite side of the parallelogram, which these points are fixed to the frame and do not move.
So it worked great and I'll be using it for other things too. Take a look at the pics.
I put a little dog leg in the lower link so it wouldn't bind up in the lowered position.
View attachment 32162 View attachment 32163 View attachment 32164

Very nice mod to the lift. Very created, nice job...

 

[Mike_H]

That is pretty neat. Clever solution to a problem. I use my engine hoist for ALL kinds of things! In fact, I've never actually used it to pick an engine...Just move stuff around the shop. Its like my mobile crane. I'm thinking through how to install a hitch to my garden tractor, so It becomes even more mobile!

 

[DrDirt]

A major step in progress has been made!
I was able to roll out the Jeep out of the shop under its own power. Drove it a short distance down the street and back. Looks like the caster is not quite right yet. It will need some adjustment.
Still have some work to do. I've ordered a small Flowmaster muffler to have a shop install it. My front driveshaft is not installed yet. It may have to be modified.
Once the exhaust is done, I'll remove my temp center support and install the skid plate.

 

[JMT]

Great looking Jeep! Very well done, friend!

 

[DrDirt]

Exhaust is done and skid plate is mounted up. Other than a little cleaning up, the Jeep is finished! (At least for now, I still have some Poison Spyder fenders to install at a later date.)

I driven it around town for about 100 miles. The new brakes are working very good. Jeep is tracking down the road well. Will try it on the trails in Moab soon.

 

[JMT]

Looks awesome! Your winter project really turned out. Lots of other great tools and ideas along the way too!

 

[bobthetj03]

Well done sir!

 

[Chris]

Well done indeed, it looks awesome!

 

[glwood]

I've quickly discovered that being retired and working on my Jeep will result in me having to do a lot of stuff by myself. Don't get me wrong, retirement is great and I'm loving it.
I already posted how I used my engine hoist/cherry picker to lift my axles in position. But now I needed something to lift my gas tank/ skid plate . I will also use this for my center skid plate install when I get to that point.
I looked at transmission jacks and I wanted to get something with a lowered height around 2-1/2 to 3 feet. All the single stage transmission jacks I saw were about 4 ft. lowered height and the multi stage lifts were a little expensive. It would also add another piece of equipment to my shop which is already a little crowded.
So I thought of another modification to my engine hoist. Using the basic principle of some of the personnel lifts I've seen, which use a parallelogram type linkage to keep the bucket vertical.
So I proceeded to weld a few parts together and came up with a lift attachment that worked great to install my gas tank.
So now the gas tank is installed and I started the engine yesterday. No driving yet as the brakes have to be bled and the steering is not hooked up. I'm waiting on some new parts for this.
In this linkage, the opposite sides of the parallelogram will always be parallel to each other. In my case, the shape of the linkage doesn't matter. It's the 4 pivot points and the distance between them that is key here.
The vertical component that supported the tank when I lifted it, remains vertical even though the pivot points are not vertical. A line between these two pivot points would be parallel to a line drawn between two pivot on the opposite side of the parallelogram, which these points are fixed to the frame and do not move.
So it worked great and I'll be using it for other things too. Take a look at the pics.
I put a little dog leg in the lower link so it wouldn't bind up in the lowered position.
View attachment 32162 View attachment 32163 View attachment 32164

Very clever use of the engine hoist, great job. I use my HF engine hoist as a hard top installation/removal tool. It turns out that at the furthest extension, it is just at the right height to clear the top of my hard top, and I can run straps around the top, through the hook, pluck the top off the Jeep, and set it on the cart I built (also using a HF engine stand with wheels). One man operation. I don't have to chase down neighbors to help with the top anymore.

 

[DrDirt]

Got what I think is the final addition to my Jeep for this upgrade. Being an alumni of working on the BFG brand for many years, I got a set of BFG KM3s for the Jeep. Will be giving them a try out in Moab.
.

 

[bobthetj03]

That is a dang good looking tire. Looks like a hybrid of sorts.

 

[Thunderhead]

Your looking for new tires yea @bobthetj03

 

[Kathy]

Got what I think is the final addition to my Jeep for this upgrade. Being an alumni of working on the BFG brand for many years, I got a set of BFG KM3s for the Jeep. Will be giving them a try out in Moab.
View attachment 35513 .View attachment 35512

I love everything about that!! You will have to let us know how they are on the highway.

 

[JMT]

Got what I think is the final addition to my Jeep for this upgrade. Being an alumni of working on the BFG brand for many years, I got a set of BFG KM3s for the Jeep. Will be giving them a try out in Moab.
View attachment 35513 .View attachment 35512

Looks fantastic. Look forward to the Moab report. I suspect you’ll do well.

What’s your axle setup?

 

[DrDirt]

Axles have 4.56 gears with ARBs.
The new Dynatrac front axle is made 5" wider than a stock TJ. I use to run wheel spacers on both axles. Not on the front now. Still have them on the rear.
The rear axle is a Dana 44.