Woodrow's 97 Green TJ Moderate Build

With multiple buckets.. impressive enough for me. I have one wooden handled shovel my father-in-law gave us when we bought our first house and I splurged for one with a fiberglass handle... Oh, I have the snow shovel and a snow blower. That's kinda like a mini-excavator, no?

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I've never bought drive shafts.. are they all custom lengths matched to each application? Are you stuck with the first set of drive shafts now? That would suck..

My wife and I live on some property which would be difficult to maintain without good tools. A tractor is an absolute necessity. The excavator is a luxury I’ll admit but a very useful one. Its a Yanmar ViO20 “grey market” former rental from Japan. It has a lot of hours but Yanmar makes quality stuff. The motors in John Deere compact utility tractors (like mine) are mostly Yanmar and very reliable. The thumb (which allows you to grab stuff with the bucket) is a great functional addition. Operation is complex but really fun. If you’ve ever seen any youtube videos of highly skilled machine operators who can use an excavator as smoothly and quickly as if its an extension of their hand, you get a lot of respect for that when you do it yourself.

With regard to driveshafts, there is a range of lengths that any shaft can accommodate. The TJ rear shaft often needs changing with a lift and or a tuck because of the high angles and because its so short. Stock front shafts are something like 2.5x the length of a stock rear and already have a CV at the T-case end so they usually don’t need to be altered with a lift/tuck. The Atlas case, because of its internal design (gear driven vs chain) is shorter than a NP 231 or 241 by over 2.5 inches. That much length change (longer in rear, shorter in front) does require new shafts to allow proper spline overlap. My old shafts can be sent in and modified to the new lengths for less than 1/2 the cost of new shafts. I’ll do that so I can have spares in the tow rig for wheeling trips.
 
My kid was obsessed with construction equipment when he was little (and we lived in Japan at the time). Yanmar equipment is very familiar to me. He used to watch this video where a bunch of mini-excavators used to spin and move in sync over and over again. How much do one of those run as you bought it?

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My kid was obsessed with construction equipment when he was little (and we lived in Japan at the time). Yanmar equipment is very familiar to me. He used to watch this video where a bunch of mini-excavators used to spin and move in sync over and over again. How much do one of those run as you bought it?

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I agree with him. What’s not to love about cool machines? I bought mine from a local place that sells used equipment 5 or six years ago. I think its a 2012 but it had 3500 hours on it which is a fair bit. It came with the blade and an 18” bucket with frost teeth. At my request, they added the thumb and necessary hydraulics and fabricated a 30” clean out bucket and 9” trenching bucket. It cost $15K. I thought the price was decent considering a new machine without the add ons was in the 40s at the time and it has been very reliable. I’m sure it’d be more now, like everything else.
 
I agree with him. What’s not to love about cool machines? I bought mine from a local place that sells used equipment 5 or six years ago. I think its a 2012 but it had 3500 hours on it which is a fair bit. It came with the blade and an 18” bucket with frost teeth. At my request, they added the thumb and necessary hydraulics and fabricated a 30” clean out bucket and 9” trenching bucket. It cost $15K. I thought the price was decent considering a new machine without the add ons was in the 40s at the time and it has been very reliable. I’m sure it’d be more now, like everything else.

Nate from dirt lifestyle bought a nice looking mini ex and said you can find them on marketplace for 3500 IIRC. His was pretty small looking.

We had a tractor mounted backhoe that was fun to run for a while. Dug a lot of trenches with that.
 
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Nate from dirt lifestyle bought a nice looking mini ex and said you can find them on marketplace for 3500 IIRC. His was pretty small looking.

We had a tractor mounted backhoe that was fun to run for a while. Dug a lot of trenches with that.

Yep, they come in all sizes from micro to massive. A few years ago, we hired a guy to make a flat spot for a horse riding arena. He did it with a Cat D8 dozer and a huge excavator. I think they both weighed around 90,000 pounds. Definitely the right tools and fun to watch. He was done in two days.
 
I'd like to play with a mini-ex. Dad had a Case 580 CK backhoe when I was growing up to help remove stumps from our heavily wooded property. Digging stumps with a backhoe is a SLOW way to remove stumps, but it gets the job done. The utility of the bucket and the hoe was very nice though, for hauling rocks, scraping the drive, maintaining the gravel road we lived on, etc.
 
I'd like to play with a mini-ex. Dad had a Case 580 CK backhoe when I was growing up to help remove stumps from our heavily wooded property. Digging stumps with a backhoe is a SLOW way to remove stumps, but it gets the job done. The utility of the bucket and the hoe was very nice though, for hauling rocks, scraping the drive, maintaining the gravel road we lived on, etc.

We had one of these for stump removal and other work.

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Its been a minute since I started the Atlas, higher tuck and 35s project. But I have some progress to report. Although the case has been test fit with the new Genright crossmember and mocked up with @Alex01 ’s UCF 1” drop skid for a while, I finally got the shifters and console buttoned up and having been working on numerous details underneath and today I got the exhaust mods done.

I’ll start with the shifters. With the Atlas clocked at 7 degrees down, 1.25” body lift and 1” drop (internal) skid I was able to bring the 2 speed TJ mechanical shifters through the stock hole without cutting any sheet metal (though I did clearance the tunnel from underneath).
IMG_6263.jpeg


IMG_6258.jpeg

I plugged the 4 holes for the stock shifter linkage with 7/16” plastic hole plugs from Lowes.
Next, I needed to deal with the shift boot. Advance Adapters supplies a 2 stick boot which could cover the stock tunnel hole almost perfectly but the 2 boots are side by side and the sticks are arranged front and back. I called AA about this they said its a universal boot and shared various MacGyver methods they had seen their customers use. For example, inverting the boot since the bends in the sticks do make them side by side below the sheet metal or cutting a 2nd hole in a single boot. I had actually considered both of these but ultimately decided on something else. Using a piece of inner tube, I made an inner boot with a slit which I attached with silicone and five M5 machine screws through the stock holes.
IMG_6259.jpeg


IMG_6260.jpeg

Then using the 5th hole on the drivers side and a 6th which I drilled and put an M5 rivnut in, I put on the AA universal boot sideways as an outer boot.
IMG_6262.jpeg

I didn’t seal between the 2 with silicone. I’d rather any small amount of water that gets past the inner (which I predict will be minimal) leak out and evaporate instead of be trapped and get nasty. I can seal later, if I’m wrong about that. This seemed to give the best stick freedom from binding of any of the methods. Now to get the console back together. With my heated seats, ARB air pump behind the passenger seat and sound system equipment under the driver seat (I’ll post details on that later) there is a lot a wiring under the console. In the pic below, you can also see where the tub had to be pushed up/left to clearance the new the transfer case (red arrow). Less obvious is the clearancing for the shift linkage (blue arrow) except where a pole jack slipped and put a sharp dent and a tiny perforation in the sheet metal 🙄 I patched that with silicone underneath and gorilla tape inside.
IMG_6279.jpeg

But it all came back together well.
IMG_6311.jpeg

I bought aluminum shift knobs from AA (it came with black plastic knobs) to match my AX-15 shifter. Nevermind how it all works, the cool factor of the twin sticks could almost be worth the money and effort by itself😀
IMG_6313.jpeg


The next time consuming thing: Today the exhaust got done. Not surprisingly, A higher tuck (2.5” to 1” drop) and the change from stock transmission mount to a Genright crossmember required exhaust changes. My exhaust is a custom stainless 2.5” set up done locally that I had already had revised after some earlier changes. I decided this time I would attempt it myself. I recently built a stainless system for my tow rig. Much of that just slid together but I did need to do a little cutting and welding. Since I now have the 309 wire and trimix gas for MIG welding stainless and since my TJ system took such a beating on the Rubicon last fall, I thought it was a great opportunity to try this revision myself.

I won’t bore anyone with too many details, but it was an all day project. Basically, I had to move the catalytic converter forward 7” to clear the Genright crossmember, the normal exhaust hangar which attaches to the stock transmission mount plate had to be refabricated and a bunch small tweaks to make it all work were necessary. Here it is at the tacked together stage.
IMG_6287.jpeg

Here are the pieces after final welding, ready for reinstall. The exhaust is stainless but the crossmember is carbon steel so I had to switch wire and gas on my welder several times today so I could use the right process for tacking and the final welds for the different parts (PITA). You can also get a nice look at some of the self clearancing which occurred on the Rubicon.
IMG_6295.jpeg

The finished product. The welds certainly aren’t pretty especially compared to the very nice adjacent TIG welds. MIG welding stainless is challenging. You have to move more quickly. I turned off the lights in my shop and put a light inside the tubes at the welds check for leaks. I found and patched 3 or 4 pin holes. Overall, I’m satisfied. Its better than my last attempt👍

IMG_6303.jpeg

I had to weld a new hangar on the tail pipe due to the change in height of the system here.

IMG_6301.jpeg

And for better perspective front to back:
IMG_6297.jpeg


IMG_6298.jpeg

Here is the a pic of the completed transfer case install. Fluid is in (I like the sight tube). 4WD switch and speedo are hooked up with new 32T gear to compensate for the jump from 33s to 35s. New Tom Woods driveshafts are in. I also want to use this shot to point out some of the many simple but useful things I’ve learned from @mrblaine.
1. Using rubber coated straps to elevate and bundle the fuel, brake and electric lines on the frame rail. Tidy and protected.
2. Using counter sunk bolts in place of the standard head bolts on the lower left side of the Atlas to increase clearance on the low side.
3. Instead of welding the stock exhaust hanger from the transmission mount directly to the Genright crossmember, it is welded to a plate which is attached by bolts to a tab welded onto the crossmember. The exhaust can be removed without supporting the drivetrain and dropping the crossmember.
IMG_6299.jpeg

This is the UCF DIY 1” drop skid in 3/8” 6061 aluminum. It differs from the standard ultra high clearance skid in that it lacks the transmission support and central holes.
IMG_6310.jpeg

Here’s a look at the clearance between the Atlas and the UCF DIY 1” drop skid. Plenty, but it would be significantly closer without the recessed bolt modification. Thanks Blaine.
IMG_6305.jpeg
 
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Beautiful work on the rig and I like how you fixed the whole shifter linkage dilemma. As always you did some great work and it shows just looking at every picture. You're Tj has come a long way.

Awesome work, Woodrow. Nice job on the exhaust.

Thank you. The weather is starting to get nice and I’m really looking forward to wheeling season and just daily driving it again.
 
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Its been a minute since I started the Atlas, higher tuck and 35s project. But I have some progress to report. Although the case has been test fit with the new Genright crossmember and mocked up with @Alex01 ’s UCF 1” drop skid for a while, I finally got the shifters and console buttoned up and having been working on numerous details underneath and today I got the exhaust mods done.

I’ll start with the shifters. With the Atlas clocked at 7 degrees down, 1.25” body lift and 1” drop (internal) skid I was able to bring the 2 speed TJ mechanical shifters through the stock hole without cutting any sheet metal (though I did clearance the tunnel from underneath).
View attachment 511903

View attachment 511902
I plugged the 4 holes for the stock shifter linkage with 7/16” plastic hole plugs from Lowes.
Next, I needed to deal with the shift boot. Advance Adapters supplies a 2 stick boot which could cover the stock tunnel hole almost perfectly but the 2 boots are side by side and the sticks are arranged front and back. I called AA about this they said its a universal boot and shared various MacGyver methods they had seen their customers use. For example, inverting the boot since the bends in the sticks do make them side by side below the sheet metal or cutting a 2nd hole in a single boot. I had actually considered both of these but ultimately decided on something else. Using a piece of inner tube, I made an inner boot with a slit which I attached with silicone and five M5 machine screws through the stock holes.
View attachment 511907

View attachment 511904
Then using the 5th hole on the drivers side and a 6th which I drilled and put an M5 rivnut in, I put on the AA universal boot sideways as an outer boot.
View attachment 511905
I didn’t seal between the 2 with silicone. I’d rather any small amount of water that gets past the inner (which I predict will be minimal) leak out and evaporate instead of be trapped and get nasty. I can seal later, if I’m wrong about that. This seemed to give the best stick freedom from binding of any of the methods. Now to get the console back together. With my heated seats, ARB air pump behind the passenger seat and sound system equipment under the driver seat (I’ll post details on that later) there is a lot a wiring under the console. In the pic below, you can also see where the tub had to be pushed up/left to clearance the new the transfer case (red arrow). Less obvious is the clearancing for the shift linkage (blue arrow) except where a pole jack slipped and put a sharp dent and a tiny perforation in the sheet metal 🙄 I patched that with silicone underneath and gorilla tape inside.
View attachment 511924
But it all came back together well.
View attachment 511908
I bought aluminum shift knobs from AA (it came with black plastic knobs) to match my AX-15 shifter. Nevermind how it all works, the cool factor of the twin sticks could almost be worth the money and effort by itself😀
View attachment 511909

The next time consuming thing: Today the exhaust got done. Not surprisingly, A higher tuck (2.5” to 1” drop) and the change from stock transmission mount to a Genright crossmember required exhaust changes. My exhaust is a custom stainless 2.5” set up done locally that I had already had revised after some earlier changes. I decided this time I would attempt it myself. I recently built a stainless system for my tow rig. Much of that just slid together but I did need to do a little cutting and welding. Since I now have the 309 wire and trimix gas for MIG welding stainless and since my TJ system took such a beating on the Rubicon last fall, I thought it was a great opportunity to try this revision myself.

I won’t bore anyone with too many details, but it was an all day project. Basically, I had to move the catalytic converter forward 7” to clear the Genright crossmember, the normal exhaust hangar which attaches to the stock transmission mount plate had to be refabricated and a bunch small tweaks to make it all work were necessary. Here it is at the tacked together stage.
View attachment 511932
Here are the pieces after final welding, ready for reinstall. The exhaust is stainless but the crossmember is carbon steel so I had to switch wire and gas on my welder several times today so I could use the right process for tacking and the final welds for the different parts (PITA). You can also get a nice look at some of the self clearancing which occurred on the Rubicon.
View attachment 511933
The finished product. The welds certainly aren’t pretty especially compared to the very nice adjacent TIG welds. MIG welding stainless is challenging. You have to move more quickly. I turned off the lights in my shop and put a light inside the tubes at the welds check for leaks. I found and patched 3 or 4 pin holes. Overall, I’m satisfied. Its better than my last attempt👍

View attachment 511940
I had to weld a new hangar on the tail pipe due to the change in height of the system here.

View attachment 511937
And for better perspective front to back:
View attachment 511945

View attachment 511944
Here is the a pic of the completed transfer case install. Fluid is in (I like the sight tube). 4WD switch and speedo are hooked up with new 32T gear to compensate for the jump from 33s to 35s. New Tom Woods driveshafts are in. I also want to use this shot to point out some of the many simple but useful things I’ve learned from @mrblaine.
1. Using rubber coated straps to elevate and bundle the fuel, brake and electric lines on the frame rail. Tidy and protected.
2. Using counter sunk bolts in place of the standard head bolts on the lower left side of the Atlas to increase clearance on the low side.
3. Instead of welding the stock exhaust hanger from the transmission mount directly to the Genright crossmember, it is welded to a plate which is attached by bolts to a tab welded onto the crossmember. The exhaust can be removed without supporting the drivetrain and dropping the crossmember.
View attachment 511938
This is the UCF DIY 1” drop skid in 3/8” 6061 aluminum. It differs from the standard ultra high clearance skid in that it lacks the transmission support and central holes.
View attachment 511941
Here’s a look at the clearance between the Atlas and the UCF DIY 1” drop skid. Plenty, but it would be significantly closer without the recessed bolt modification. Thanks Blaine.
View attachment 511939

Looks great!!!

I read someone when I did mine that you should tie a small zip tie around the sight tube fluid level. It makes it so it's easier to notice if it's low on fluid.
 
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Its been a minute since I started the Atlas, higher tuck and 35s project. But I have some progress to report. Although the case has been test fit with the new Genright crossmember and mocked up with @Alex01 ’s UCF 1” drop skid for a while, I finally got the shifters and console buttoned up and having been working on numerous details underneath and today I got the exhaust mods done.

I’ll start with the shifters. With the Atlas clocked at 7 degrees down, 1.25” body lift and 1” drop (internal) skid I was able to bring the 2 speed TJ mechanical shifters through the stock hole without cutting any sheet metal (though I did clearance the tunnel from underneath).
View attachment 511903

View attachment 511902
I plugged the 4 holes for the stock shifter linkage with 7/16” plastic hole plugs from Lowes.
Next, I needed to deal with the shift boot. Advance Adapters supplies a 2 stick boot which could cover the stock tunnel hole almost perfectly but the 2 boots are side by side and the sticks are arranged front and back. I called AA about this they said its a universal boot and shared various MacGyver methods they had seen their customers use. For example, inverting the boot since the bends in the sticks do make them side by side below the sheet metal or cutting a 2nd hole in a single boot. I had actually considered both of these but ultimately decided on something else. Using a piece of inner tube, I made an inner boot with a slit which I attached with silicone and five M5 machine screws through the stock holes.
View attachment 511907

View attachment 511904
Then using the 5th hole on the drivers side and a 6th which I drilled and put an M5 rivnut in, I put on the AA universal boot sideways as an outer boot.
View attachment 511905
I didn’t seal between the 2 with silicone. I’d rather any small amount of water that gets past the inner (which I predict will be minimal) leak out and evaporate instead of be trapped and get nasty. I can seal later, if I’m wrong about that. This seemed to give the best stick freedom from binding of any of the methods. Now to get the console back together. With my heated seats, ARB air pump behind the passenger seat and sound system equipment under the driver seat (I’ll post details on that later) there is a lot a wiring under the console. In the pic below, you can also see where the tub had to be pushed up/left to clearance the new the transfer case (red arrow). Less obvious is the clearancing for the shift linkage (blue arrow) except where a pole jack slipped and put a sharp dent and a tiny perforation in the sheet metal 🙄 I patched that with silicone underneath and gorilla tape inside.
View attachment 511924
But it all came back together well.
View attachment 511908
I bought aluminum shift knobs from AA (it came with black plastic knobs) to match my AX-15 shifter. Nevermind how it all works, the cool factor of the twin sticks could almost be worth the money and effort by itself😀
View attachment 511909

The next time consuming thing: Today the exhaust got done. Not surprisingly, A higher tuck (2.5” to 1” drop) and the change from stock transmission mount to a Genright crossmember required exhaust changes. My exhaust is a custom stainless 2.5” set up done locally that I had already had revised after some earlier changes. I decided this time I would attempt it myself. I recently built a stainless system for my tow rig. Much of that just slid together but I did need to do a little cutting and welding. Since I now have the 309 wire and trimix gas for MIG welding stainless and since my TJ system took such a beating on the Rubicon last fall, I thought it was a great opportunity to try this revision myself.

I won’t bore anyone with too many details, but it was an all day project. Basically, I had to move the catalytic converter forward 7” to clear the Genright crossmember, the normal exhaust hangar which attaches to the stock transmission mount plate had to be refabricated and a bunch small tweaks to make it all work were necessary. Here it is at the tacked together stage.
View attachment 511932
Here are the pieces after final welding, ready for reinstall. The exhaust is stainless but the crossmember is carbon steel so I had to switch wire and gas on my welder several times today so I could use the right process for tacking and the final welds for the different parts (PITA). You can also get a nice look at some of the self clearancing which occurred on the Rubicon.
View attachment 511933
The finished product. The welds certainly aren’t pretty especially compared to the very nice adjacent TIG welds. MIG welding stainless is challenging. You have to move more quickly. I turned off the lights in my shop and put a light inside the tubes at the welds check for leaks. I found and patched 3 or 4 pin holes. Overall, I’m satisfied. Its better than my last attempt👍

View attachment 511940
I had to weld a new hangar on the tail pipe due to the change in height of the system here.

View attachment 511937
And for better perspective front to back:
View attachment 511945

View attachment 511944
Here is the a pic of the completed transfer case install. Fluid is in (I like the sight tube). 4WD switch and speedo are hooked up with new 32T gear to compensate for the jump from 33s to 35s. New Tom Woods driveshafts are in. I also want to use this shot to point out some of the many simple but useful things I’ve learned from @mrblaine.
1. Using rubber coated straps to elevate and bundle the fuel, brake and electric lines on the frame rail. Tidy and protected.
2. Using counter sunk bolts in place of the standard head bolts on the lower left side of the Atlas to increase clearance on the low side.
3. Instead of welding the stock exhaust hanger from the transmission mount directly to the Genright crossmember, it is welded to a plate which is attached by bolts to a tab welded onto the crossmember. The exhaust can be removed without supporting the drivetrain and dropping the crossmember.
View attachment 511938
This is the UCF DIY 1” drop skid in 3/8” 6061 aluminum. It differs from the standard ultra high clearance skid in that it lacks the transmission support and central holes.
View attachment 511941
Here’s a look at the clearance between the Atlas and the UCF DIY 1” drop skid. Plenty, but it would be significantly closer without the recessed bolt modification. Thanks Blaine.
View attachment 511939

Amazing quality on the workmanship!

Great job taking on the stainless exhaust. Looks beautiful to me (for what that's worth...).

Your only issue in posting this update is that I may need to take up being a squatter in your house to have access to that garage setup... ;)
 
Looks great!!!

I read someone when I did mine that you should tie a small zip tie around the sight tube fluid level. It makes it so it's easier to notice if it's low on fluid.
Thanks, Alex. I think I’ll do that zip tie trick.
Amazing quality on the workmanship!

Great job taking on the stainless exhaust. Looks beautiful to me (for what that's worth...).

Your only issue in posting this update is that I may need to take up being a squatter in your house to have access to that garage setup... ;)
Thank you. Building a Jeep is fun. But wheeling a Jeep you built is funner.
 
I received and installed the 5th Coyote Beadlock for my spare which required entirely removing the tire from the rim for tire and rim prep as I previously had it mounted and balanced before I decided to have a bead locked spare. No big deal with the now finely tuned mini-excavator technique. With that done, I took them to town today and dropped them off for balancing. I also asked them to get some road force numbers on each. I numbered the wheels 1-5 with a small piece of painter’s tape and asked the tech to mark each with the RF number.
IMG_6327.jpeg

My understanding of the 2 things is this:

Dynamic balance gets the centrifugal force of the rotating tire and wheel mass equalized. You can dynamically balance a cube but it will still roll poorly.

Road force is result of the tire (or wheel) not being perfectly round. A high spot would produce pressure as it passes a roller against the tread held at a fixed distance from the axis of wheel rotation. I don’t think much can be done about high road force other than changing the tire (nobody shaves the high spots as far as I know).

I was a bit nervous about the dynamic balance results with Coyote Beadlocks and the road force of the 35” Yokohama Geolandars. However, results were good! Balancing required between 3 and 7 oz for the 5. Not bad for the 90# set up (68# tire, 6# beadlock and 16# wheel). Road forces were 21, 6, 23, 19 and 4#. Spec is < 36#. By comparison, the road force of the 325/65r18 tires on my tow rig are 30-65# and that 65# tire is noticeable (its getting replaced). Anyhow, I’m looking forward to smooth running tires when I get them back on. I’m also interested to see how these tires do off road.
IMG_6328.jpeg
 
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