Wildman's TJ is getting a face lift

[Wildman]

Center shift shaft bent at the threads?

Yes it was why I had the case apart in these pictures. It had gone out of adjustment and I was traying to shift it and got frustrated with it. I was already on my second case at this point due to problems with flat towing the TJ but STaK's didn't know yet that it caused problems. I burned up two transfer cases flat towing it.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

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I don't think I'd want it bedlined or if I was to spray bedliner on it I'd want it without the no-slip stuff. I'm trying to figure out what color I'd want to paint it if I decided to do that.
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So, you are just completely discounting my corinthian leather idea???

 

[Wildman]

That Stak is a beast.

They did call it the Monster Box....

So, you are just completely discounting my corinthian leather idea???

If I do are you going to ignore me also? Seems to be the trend if I don't completely follow advice given.


It snowed 🌨 here last night and I haven't repowered my snowblower yet.

 

[Wildman]

I'm spending some time underneath my Jeep today trying to figure out how to mount the transmission shifter.
With it coming out the back of the shifter it pulls the end of the cable where I need it to push if I'm mounting the cable behind the linkage.
If I had a long enough cable I could mount the cable to the front of the transmission and it would be fine. But trying to route it would be a bear.
I'm not sure if I could mount the shifter with the cable coming out the front with the GR console or not. It's the other option I've got to look at. Either way it's going to be fun routing the shifter cable.

Then once I'm done with the transmission I've got to work on the STaK's shifter cables and how they'll mount and then routing them.

 

[Wildman]

@01TJ-Blues here is where the Anti-Rock bar is sitting now with where I've got the brackets clamped on at. If I tried to go through the frame it'd sit even lower. I haven't been able to see if even here is a clearance issue yet.

 

[someguysjeep]

@01TJ-Blues here is where the Anti-Rock bar is sitting now with where I've got the brackets clamped on at. If I tried to go through the frame it'd sit even lower. I haven't been able to see if even here is a clearance issue yet.

View attachment 294351

your links can't rise past the ledge so that's a nonissue and the drive shaft is always lower than the links so that should also be a nonissue. anything below the ledge has to be checked against the upper links at full stuff.
looks like the only thing it'd be in the way of is an E brake assy.

would slicing into the pinch seam and folding it back at the AR shaft location get you more room?

 

[Wildman]

your links can't rise past the ledge so that's a nonissue and the drive shaft is always lower than the links so that should also be a nonissue. anything below the ledge has to be checked against the upper links at full stuff.
looks like the only thing it'd be in the way of is an E brake assy.

would slicing into the pinch seam and folding it back at the AR shaft location get you more room?

I was looking at it notching the pinch seams would gain anything. I'll address it when the rear axle is back together. I'm not running a stock type emergency brake anyhow so that isn't a problem.

So I think I've got the transmission shifter figured out.

Just means I don't use the emergency brake grommet like I'd planned. I'd already bought these other grommets so I should be OK.

 

[Wildman]

I think I have the shifter linkage on the transmission figured out.

But there was no way I was putting this nasty stuff on my rebuilt transmission.

A few minutes in the bead blasting cabinet and good as new.

Here's the start of the cable bracket on the transmission.

Cut out and ready for some fab work.

 

[reddvltj]

I don't think I'd want it bedlined or if I was to spray bedliner on it I'd want it without the no-slip stuff. I'm trying to figure out what color I'd want to paint it if I decided to do that.

I was going to suggest Hammerite as a potential paint as opposed to bed-liner. They have/had the hammered finish and a smooth finish, but it would seem that they are not making it any more so what ever you can find is all that's left...

 

[Wildman]

This bracket for the transmission was a process. The one that Chris over on JeepForum had a indent in the middle to keep the bracket from moving. Mine of course is different.

It had this part lower than the back.

So I took a piece of flat stock about the same thickness and cut it off to match the shape of the tab.

Drilled out the hole for the bolt and then traced the angle the top bracket needed to sit.
Then I tacked the two pieces together.

But now I needed to make it flat all the way across for the bolt head to sit.

I cut a washer in half to fit.

And welded it together.

Then checked ✔ it on the transmission.

The little bit of the washer sticking out will help to keep it on the transmission and not rotate.

While it isn't a large amount of force being applied if there isn't something to keep it from routing it might over time.

Tomorrow I'll drill the hole in the floorboard and hook the cable up and test it out.

 

[Wildman]

In case anyone wanted to know here are those grommets I'd bought. Drill a 1 1/4" hole and you have a spot for wires or cables. I'd bought 2 packs of them so I'd have what I needed for the STaK's cables and another pack for wires &/or the transmission cable.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LGNDD2G/?tag=wranglerorg-20

 

[Wildman]

A while back I think it was when @someguysjeep was replacing his seats he'd made a comment about how rusted the seat base was when he'd pulled his seats. Well I was looking at mine today and guess what?? YEP mine are rusted too so it looks like I'm going to be pulling my seats apart and doing some bead blasting to them also before I put this thing back together.

 

[01TJ-Blues]

@01TJ-Blues here is where the Anti-Rock bar is sitting now with where I've got the brackets clamped on at. If I tried to go through the frame it'd sit even lower. I haven't been able to see if even here is a clearance issue yet.

View attachment 294351

What does it look like if you reversed the whole thing and had the torsion bar near the fuel tank and the links in front of the axle?

 

[Wildman]

What does it look like if you reversed the whole thing and had the torsion bar near the fuel tank and the links in front of the axle?

There isn't enough room between the AR mounts and the shock towers. I tried it there first. But I've pushed my rear axle back so it doesn't fit.

 

[Wildman]

Parts getting painted so should be ready to install tomorrow so I can test it all out.

Shifter is all setup and ready to be installed also. I think I'm going to wait for the other plate to get here from GR before I fish the cable thru the floorboard. Try to cut down on the number of times I have to do this.

And I took the plunge and drilled the hole in the floorboard. Now I've only got 3 more to drill when I get ready to do the STaK's shifter cables.

 

[someguysjeep]

A while back I think it was when @someguysjeep was replacing his seats he'd made a comment about how rusted the seat base was when he'd pulled his seats. Well I was looking at mine today and guess what?? YEP mine are rusted too so it looks like I'm going to be pulling my seats apart and doing some bead blasting to them also before I put this thing back together.

View attachment 294465

ya, i had rust on the slider frame like you see here. but mine was started onto the seat mechanisms and up the side rails too.

it's a real PITA to get those off. and bigger PITA to have to reassemble. those bars were part of the seat not the slider. none of the internal frame ever got finished or coated.
bastards left it all raw steel,

but you've changed the seats already so it may not be so rough for you.

 

[Wildman]

ya, i had rust on the slider frame like you see here. but mine was started onto the seat mechanisms and up the side rails too.

it's a real PITA to get those off. and bigger PITA to have to reassemble. those bars were part of the seat not the slider. none of the internal frame ever got finished or coated.
bastards left it all raw steel,

but you've changed the seats already so it may not be so rough for you.

I don't remember them being rusted when I swapped out the stock seats but they might have been. And yes they are a royal PITA to take apart. But I'm not going to put them back into the Jeep looking like that.

 

[someguysjeep]

I don't remember them being rusted when I swapped out the stock seats but they might have been. And yes they are a royal PITA to take apart. But I'm not going to put them back into the Jeep looking like that.

don't blame you 1 bit no way i was gonna either.

i may have to dig back into mine, not sure if i like the lean.

the back bar doesn't come loose from the slider unless you drilled those out b4 i just dug in there the best i could.

 

[Wildman]

You know how you lay in bed thinking about something and it's bugging you the whole night?
Well I was thinking about how I'd mounted the bracket from the shifter cable on the transmission. And it just kept bothering me. Woke up around 4 AM and made coffee. Then finally about 6 AM I came out to the garage. Sure enough what had been bugging me all night was staring me in the face.
When I'd measured where to put the bracket I had the transmission in neutral not park. So this moved where the bracket needed to be by about 1". So I had to make a whole new bracket and move to the hole that Chris over on JeepForum had used.

The new bracket is made and it's ready for a test fit to make sure I didn't screw up.

Ended up put the shifter in place so I could figure out the cable routing.

 

[Wildman]

Damn am I frustrated and at a loss of what to do next.

First let me say that Winters doesn't make a shifter kit for the 46RE transmission. So I'm trying to figure out how to make this shifter work.

I'm on my 3rd version of a cable bracket on the transmission.

#1 was in the wrong location and just a brain fart on my part.

#2 was what I thought I needed but off by about 1/2".

#3 was set where the transmission and shifter were both in neutral. I'd tried to find anything on the internet about setting the shifter up and found a thread on another forum where this was how it said to setup the shifter.

But it didn't help.

Shifter and transmission in park.

And then transmission in 1st gear.

But shifter is sitting at just before the 2nd gear slot.

What this is saying to me is that lever/linkage on the transmission isn't long enough .

I'm open for thoughts or ideas .