I bought a TJ

[Trevor?]

Bought a 1999 TJ yesterday. It has the 4.0, 5 speed, and a D44 rear axle. The short term plan is to sell the hard top, and probably sell the doors, throw a bikini top on it and maybe look for some half doors. It needs either new shocks or a lift as the previous owner put units in that are too long and they have about 2 inches of up-stroke at ride height. Other than that it just needs a good going-through. Eventually I would like to try flat-towing it behind the van. Could be fun to take them both to various places around the state, and to Moab.

The picture makes it look cleaner than it is. The paint is pretty thrashed, the body has some damage and light rust in a few places. Runs well and seems mechanically sound so far. I am looking forward to wheeling something that I have zero cosmetic attachment to, and something that is not my DD. My old 06 TJ used to be my only vehicle, so there was always the worry about breaking something and not being able to get to work.

But the big challenge now is sitting on it and waiting for the DMV to open back up again for new registrations.

[open_circuit]

Congrats!

[Brian]

Should be fun!

[FINOCJ]

Good to have an only for wheeling vehicle

[open_circuit]

Good to have an only for wheeling vehicle

Or nice to have a tow vehicle to pull the van out when it gets stuck! I can't recall if the van has a winch? Based on the rest of the build, it probably has one.

[RockyMtRebel]

Heck yea!

hey I have a bikini top that I never used and I might be interested in the hard top .... maybe a trade + $ on my end. Let me know if you wanna chat at some point. I have two TJ Rubicons and love them!

[Trevor?]

Its on my list, but no winch for the van at the moment. Bumpers with winch plates are expensive for vans, and a receiver mount for a 12K winch might be a bit much.

The TJ came with a badland branded winch. I think that's a harbor freight unit. Not sure if it works yet. I dont have a controller, and I want to try and hotwire it and make sure it works before I spend any money on it.

Wrestled the hard top off this morning. I probably should not have done that alone. Neck is a little sore now. Fit up a bikini top and header bar the seller threw in. The fabric that wraps around the bar above the door is pretty loose. I think my 2006 had a thicker pad. I might try stitching on another strip of velcro to make it fit tighter, or look for some cheap door surrounds which it appears to also clip into if installed.

For things like a center console lid (broken latch) and door surrounds, what do you guys think about that FN jeep place down in the springs? I'm guessing they would be at least a little more expensive than a junkyard, but more likely they would have what I was looking for on the first try.

RockyMtRebel... i'll probably post the hard top in the classifieds here before i put it on craigslist. I want to go through it thoroughly first... find out everything that is and is not working.

[FINOCJ]

For things like a center console lid (broken latch) and door surrounds, what do you guys think about that FN jeep place down in the springs? I'm guessing they would be at least a little more expensive than a junkyard, but more likely they would have what I was looking for on the first try.

FN is better than Republic Park 4x4! I find their stuff to be expensive enough that it often better to get aftermarket replacement - albeit I am often looking for old cj parts which may go for a premium compared to newer stuff... Sometimes aftermarket isn't an option and then its fine...I have probably bought 5 things from them in 20 years or so (I think the first thing I bought was a cj side mirror when they were located at fillmore and Nevada - before they moved down south a bit...most recently a front bumper and steering wheel for my cj5 quite a few years ago). I will also say that I find their 'inventory' is difficult to search online (they used to only have a FB account) and they rarely answer the phone or respond to my FB inquiries about parts. But when I've been their in person, i've gotten decent help, so I guess I am mixed review....if I lived closer and could easily stop by to check on parts, it might be better.

[newracer]

When I had my TJ this was my go to place for used parts.

www.daveysjeeps.com

[open_circuit]

When I had my TJ this was my go to place for used parts.

www.daveysjeeps.com (http://www.daveysjeeps.com)

James, have a look!
https://daveysjeeps.com/inventory/1946-willys-jeepney/

[Tom]

James, have a look!
https://daveysjeeps.com/inventory/1946-willys-jeepney/
Now I would like to see that thing on a trail! Lol.

[FINOCJ]

jeepneys - common in the Phillipines....
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/how-the-jeepney-became-a-filipino-national-symbol/

[newracer]

You could do tours on Black Bear with it.

[Java]

Nice looking TJ! :thumb: Great choice for a trail rig, sooooo much aftermarket.

[Jim]

Bought a 1999 TJ yesterday. It has the 4.0, 5 speed, and a D44 rear axle.

Sweet!

[Trevor?]

Tinkered with the TJ this weekend. It came with a CB antenna installed, and although I am no expert it seems to me like there were quite a few things off about the installation. For starters is pretty short and mounted pretty low. There's a significant portion that is parallel to the tub which can add quite a bit of capacitance making tuning difficult I believe... but maybe not because the base was screwed to the plastic end cap of the bumper. Any antenna install on a Jeep is a bit of a compromise, but I cant imagine this would have been much better than yelling out the window. But who knows... maybe it worked just fine for the previous owner.

Got to cleaning the interior. Started with a little ArmorAll trying to get some of the gunk off of the interior plastics and that quickly devolved into tearing the seats and carpet out and getting after it with the hose. Previous owner really liked sunflower seeds. I even ended up disassembling the seats and soaking the seat covers in Oxyclean. You can see the color of the water in those buckets with rocks weighing down the covers. They came out pretty good.

Found a rust spot next to the parking brake bracket. Tried to grind it off but quickly found that I could punch through it with the handle of my grinder. Ended up cutting it out and welding in a patch.

Managed to get it all put back together on Sunday, except for the carpet.

[Trevor?]

The jeep came with one aftermarket bracket to move the drivers side mirror from the door to the a-pillar. The passenger side had home made bracket made from a slice of square tube mounting the mirror to the door. I figured it wouldnt be too bad to make a copy of the aftermarket bracket using the one I had as a template seeing how I had the steel laying around. It came out pretty well. A little crooked but its hardly noticeable. While bending the one part with a hammer and vice I couldn't help but think about how nice Brucker's finger press must be.

I also tinkered with the winch. It didn't come with the wired remote, but I hot-wired it and found that it appears to work. Went digging through some old boxes and found a warn wireless remote and the contactor housing from the M8000 i had on my old jeep. I had mounted the contactor under the hood and removed the cover, but i figured I could cut out the integrated connector and graft it to the case of the badlands winch. It took some fiddling, but I got it working with the warn remote. I think I'll want to hard-wire a switch in the cab, as I wouldn't want to be completely reliant on a battery powered remote.

[Jim]

+1 on in-cab winch wiring.

(though there is one downfall - it's difficult to monitor winch line stacking / building up)

[Trevor?]

More tinkering... there was a sizable leak out of the end of the steering box. I think the issue was a damaged o-ring on the cap opposite of the input shaft. It was easy to remove and would have been easy to replace, but none of the stores near me had a kit with that seal in it. I ended up biting the bullet and getting a reman box from OReilly. It feels a bit tighter anyway. The only other leak is a small one coming out of the back of the engine. It runs down the transmission side of the inspection cover. Probably the rear main? It could be the rear of the oil pan gasket... the pan looks to have taken quite a hit at some point.

The exhaust looks to have been replaced somewhat recently. The only issue is that it appears whoever did it opted to cut the exhaust hangar that hooks on to the transfercase and did a poor job of butt-welding the rod back together. It was broken and the catalytic converter was just resting on the transfer case skid. I am in no position to be judging other people's welds, but this was pretty bad. I didn't have any 1/2 inch round stock but a piece of rebar seemed to do the trick. Bent it to shape with a mapp torch and welded it in after cutting all of the old rod off of the mounting point on the pipe. It would have been nice to finish weld the mount outside of the vehicle but from the manifold back this appears to be all welded together... no joints. I figured it would be hard to get it up over the rear axle without a lift and opted to weld it in place. It was difficult to get a good torch angle on the top side of the rod. I had to hold the gun with one hand, reach over the joint with my other hand to operate the trigger, and weld the joint with the gun pointed toward my face about 5 inches from my nose.

I removed the radio. It had the incorrect DIN adapter and none of the holes lined up, so the radio was just flopping around in the dash. Waiting on a new $10 adapter and I rebuilt the harness. I've never liked butt-connectors, so I soldered it. Staggered joints, and adhesive lined shrink tube and some harness wrap makes for a clean install. The ash tray is missing. Anyone out there have one they removed to install a 2nd switch panel? It would be nice to fill the space for now, but not for some of the prices I have seen online.

Lastly, someone put one of those sealed beam to HR4 bulb conversion kits in it and the passenger side lens is cracked. There's no manufacturer name anywhere on the part and I am struggling to find a place that sells the lenses individually. Any ideas out there?

I can't wait for the DMV and emissions stations to open up again. I scanned and submitted some paperwork last week in the hope I could get a temporary tag, but haven't heard back.

[open_circuit]

I replaced my OEM headlights on my LJ about 18 months ago. I still have the original lights in a box if you want them. They work just fine, but I wasn't happy with the brightness and one of them had a very small rock-strike style ding in it.

[Jim]

in the hope I could get a temporary tag,

What amount of time does Colorado allow between bill-of-sale date of purchase to license? Thirty Days? You should be able to drive on that I'd think. But don't trust my mind on what is allowed.

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dmv/how-covid-19-closure-affects-vehicle-services

Look at the "Unable to renew online" section and the link with it.

0.02

[Trevor?]

I appreciate anyone's two cents. I am no lawyer or expert either, but this is what I think I know so far:

I think one has 36 hours to drive the vehicle from the seller's place of storage to the buyers place of storage without plates... that seems to be a longstanding rule as opposed to a covid related rule. My interpretation is that after that you are not supposed to drive it on the road without registering it and getting plates first. I did see that web page and link, and I submitted scans of the title, bill of sale, and insurance information to that link along with filling out the questions. I think its likely the people going through those requests are swamped. I think the biggest hurdle is the need of an emissions test to register and get plates. I was hoping that I could get a temporary plate or registration until the emissions stations open again but I am not sure if that is something they can do.

A while back I bought a kit-trailer from harbor freight and I was able to get a temporary (paper) plate for it so I could drive it out to the state police station in Golden to get an inspection and "VIN" tag for it. That makes me think there is a chance they could do something similar for me now, but the big unknown is how the whole emissions laws play into it. I suspect the way they are written ties their hands a bit when it comes to a vehicle with a motor as opposed to a trailer. They seem to allude to emissions laws requirements in these covid-related web pages.

You'd think it would be somewhat in their interest to do something so they can collect the sales tax... tax revenue is down with all of the business shutdowns and reduction in gas sales. But the name of the game now is "uncertainty".

Trent, that is a very generous offer. I'm interested but I'm not sure when I would be up in your area next.

[Trevor?]

So it turns out I'm wrong. Called the DMV and they said that all I have to do is fill out the registration extension form (which is linked on the page Jim included above) and print out a copy with the confirmation number on it and carry that with me along with proof of insurance. License plate be damned. When things start opening back up I'll need to bring that along with all of the normal paperwork to the DMV (probably by appointment they way things seem to be going). They said the police have access to all of these extension requests so they can look everything up if you get stopped.

I filled out that form a week ago, but thought I was supposed to receive some sort of response.

I'll probably print out the confirmation number in big bold letters and tape it to the license plate holder. Maybe showing the effort would prevent me from getting stopped.

[Jim]

I'll probably print out the confirmation number in big bold letters and tape it to the license plate holder. Maybe showing the effort would prevent me from getting stopped.

:thumb:

[Trevor?]

I rebuilt the trac-lok in the rear end last night. Didn't get any photos, as reassembling the diff required every one of my appendages Getting the spider gears in was the tricky part. It involved balancing the differential on one of the axleshafts, with the wheel studs bound in a piece of angle iron I was standing on. I was then able to twist the case with a prybar wedged between the case, a pin in one of the ring gear bolt holes, and my hip all while guiding the spiders in with my hands.

There's not a lot of love out there for the trac-lok, but for a $60 set of clutches I figure I'll see what its all about for myself. The rearend has some wear... the carrier bearing preload was nonexistant, but it's not quite so bad to feel play in it when installed. It did make R&R'ing the diff that much easier. The spider gears have a few chips in the teeth but the side gears are fine and I found no pieces of gear teeth in there. Between that and one of the carrier bearing caps being installed backward I suspect someone had been in there recently. The ring and pinion look good. I slapped it all back together and we'll see how it does.

I also threw in a lubelocker. Man do I hate scraping RTV.

[Tom]

+1 on in-cab winch wiring.

(though there is one downfall - it's difficult to monitor winch line stacking / building up)
Jim. Someone forgot to update your wheeler badge for 2020. Better get after em.
:lmao:

[Trevor?]

Changed the oil in the diffs, T-case, engine, and flushed the brake system with a half-a-gallon of fluid. I'd like to change the oil in the transmission, but I read AX-15's dont fare well with GL-5 oils, and that's all I find on the local parts store shelves. Anyone have any suggestions?

After that I installed a budget boost. 1.75". It came with a 1" body lift and I figure I can piece together a 1" motor-mount spacer lift with stuff lying around. I'd like the extra 1nch of fender clearance and getting the oil pan up an inch seems like a good idea. The spacer lift funs smooth, no vibrations and the t-case skid is still in the standard position.

The lift kit It was a package deal made by daystar for $100, marked down 75% off. IIt was the best price by a decent margin for a new kit. I figured it was collecting dust at some bumper-specialist store in AZ who sold it to me, but it appears from the packaging it was drop-shipped from daystar. Go figure.

Maybe I'll give the body lift a shot tomorrow... but going for the hat-trick on wrenching this weekend may not go over so well with the family. I think I have my work cut out for me because I suspect the 6 bodymounts under the doors are rusted to their respective sleves. They feel like they move a little on the threads in the body but are still bound up. Its getting a good soak in PB. I guess I will see how many I break.

She's still a little raked. That winch and steel cable are heavy. I don't know if the badlands winch can really pull 12000lbs or if it jut weighs that much.

[Jim]

It looks nice in the pic!

[Java]

I would run synthetic 10w-30 in your entire drivetrain, engine to axles. Google it. I use 10w 30 Mobil 1 it in everything, it works great and means I just carry one spare oil type. My transfercase shifts like butter since I switched. :thumb:

I have a NIB motor mount lift for the 4.0 in my garage you can have for free. I can leave it on my porch for you, you can get it whenever you want.

[Java]

just made sure I still had it, it's JKS 8100, includes bolts and extenders.

[Trevor?]

Sure, thanks! I was going to try and replicate that with a couple layers of 1/2" plate and some roll pins, but this would save me a few hours. I could drive up into Denver in the morning if that's cool. Do you want to pm an address to me? Thanks again.

[Java]

sure, I'm pm you now. I'm glad you can use it. I'll put it out tonight, get it whenever is good for you.

[FINOCJ]

Changed the oil in the diffs, T-case, engine, and flushed the brake system with a half-a-gallon of fluid. I'd like to change the oil in the transmission, but I read AX-15's dont fare well with GL-5 oils, and that's all I find on the local parts store shelves. Anyone have any suggestions?



Not sure what issue you might be referring with Ax15....For those of us with old yellow metal synchros, the new GL5 stuff is kind of hard on it, so I use Sta-Lube from NAPA which comes in a variety of lower/older GL ratings and is a less corrosive....They might make something that works for you. For some newer stuff, I have run what Paul has suggested in synthetic Mobil 10-30, but as its so thin, some older stuff (like 50-70 year old stuff) is designed with higher clearances and needs the thicker viscosity 90wt (or even 120wt in some cases). So, again its depends on the application, and it appears you know what you are doing...

[Java]

Actually 10w 30 is the same "thickness" as 80w gear oil, and 10w 40 and 90w gear oil are the same viscosity, it's just measured differently.

https://www.gofurthergofs.com/Portals/0/Assets/Knowledge/Whitepapers/Viscosity-Equivalent-Chart.pdf

[FINOCJ]

Did not know that

[Java]

Sure, thanks! I was going to try and replicate that with a couple layers of 1/2" plate and some roll pins, but this would save me a few hours. I could drive up into Denver in the morning if that's cool. Do you want to pm an address to me? Thanks again.

I also put out a good used steering stabilizer w/ hardware, I think it's a ProComp but I'm not sure. It's got some surface rust but functions well. I'm cleaning up my garage, too much stuff, and was going to keep the hardware and toss the rest; take it if you want it, leave it if you don't.

[Jim]

I read AX-15's dont fare well with GL-5 oils, and that's all I find on the local parts store shelves. Anyone have any suggestions?

I'm running ATF - any type - in mine (after 'internet research' some time back).

[Trevor?]

So the body lift and motor mount lift are installed. This was a classic 80-20 principle type of project where I must have spent a whole day trying to get two broken body bolts out. I ended up taking the whole grill out to get the one out of the front of the jeep. Then I ended ordering new body mount sleves as most of them were just too rusted out to make me comfortable reusing them.

Once I had all the bolts out and other parts in hand the rest when pretty smoothly. I did forget to unbolt the fuel filler neck and broke it, but it wasn't expensive to replace. The motor mount spacers were great. Thanks again, Paul. Once i had a good look at them it became clear that replicating the little stud extensions would have been more of a chore than I had planned for. Between the body lift and the motor mount lift the fan is very well aligned with the shroud and the gearshift is in a good position. I ended up using the little bracket to adjust the body-side t-case shifter bracket but I had to modify it a bit to make sure the mechanism clears the extra bolt heads. I can see why so any people complain about the stock linkage.

I may put another 3/4" spacer in the front to level it out. When I had the front tore apart had the chance to measure the sag caused by the winch and it is right about 3/4". It looked much more level without the winch. I'll have to see it once i load everything in the back for a day-trip and then make up my mind. Right now it runs down the highway pretty smoothly. I'll probably replace the stock springs and spacers at some point but I doubt i'll lift it any higher. Even if I go with bigger tires in the future i'm thinking id cut the body before lifting the suspension more.

There are a few odds and ends to figure out next. I picked up a new midland CB radio for $35 on ebay. I think its a discontinued model. I have an old 4' firestik and I ordered some RG-8x to finish that off. I also found some old highlift jack mounts I used to use on my old TJ in a box in the basement. I'll probably use them to mount my highlift to the rear bumper but I appear to have lost the wingnuts that go with them. I also attached a fire extinguisher to the roll bar. I'd like to get it out next weekend for a shakedown run if my schedule permits it, regardless if these last few odds and ends are finished.

[Java]

Glad it worked out for you! I have to pass the thanks on the Heather, who gave me that MM lift years ago, also for free. :thumb:

I also had to add a 3/4 inch spacer in the front of mine after adding the same winch. It is heavy...

[Trevor?]

Got tested. The jeep passed emissions with a decent amount of margin. I was a little worried. It does have 236K on the clock.

Now I need to make an appointment with Jeffco DMV to title and register.

[Jim]

Got tested. The jeep passed emissions

Congrats on the pass!

WHERE DID YOU GET TESTED??? CO DMV states emissions is closed (I need emissions for my car and soon, the jeep).

[Trevor?]

https://aircarecolorado.com/

They reopened a handful of locations. I went to Sheridan.



Arvada
Boulder
Broomfield
County Line
Denver Southeast
Ft. Collins
Greeley
Northglenn
Sheridan
Stapleton


Also... check your county DMV website. It appears to me that the state DMV focuses on licencing, where registrations and titles are more of a county thing. It took me a couple of weeks to realize that. I made an appointment on the Jeffco DMV website.... although most typical transactions can be done online I think.

[Jim]

Thanks - I'll check FoCo this week.

[TjSteveA]

I have (2) 2 inch coil spacer they are new never put them on my Jeep. If you want them they are yours

[Trevor?]

Thanks, Steve. Your spacers should be 0.25 taller than mine. I think I'm going to need a little bit more than that. I found .75in spacers for $15 online. Probably going to pull the trigger on those.

Tore into the rear brakes to replace a broken spring I found when I replaced the trac lock clutches. While I was under ther I realized my driver side UCA flops up and down on the axle side by a quarter inch. I'll probably do all of the control arm bushings in the near future.

[Trevor?]

It seems like this shouldnt be so difficult, but its unclear to me which control arm bushings are common with which on a TJ.

This is my best guess currently:
Front upper frame and axle are the same PN... but the axle side is pressed into the axle housing. X4
Rear upper frame and axle sides are the same. X4
Front and rear lower axle and frame sides are all the same. X8

What do you folks think? Does this sound right?

[open_circuit]

I'm not certain, but I have an extra pair of upper control arm bushings for a TJ (new in box) from my replacement job last fall. Wasn't sure my order would arrive in time from quadratec, so bought a set from Amazon too. You can have those if you want them. The upper bushing came already pressed into my new adjustable upper control arm, so I only was concerned with the part number for replacing the axle side. The axle side bushing on the differential was a real pain.

[Trevor?]

I think I'm going to avoid going down a rabbit hole here and just replace the rear, upper, axle side bushings on both sides. Laying under the jeep with the parking brake on, I can roll the jeep back and forth and the rear axle pinion angle moves quite a bit. It makes me wonder how much its moving under load. All of the motion seems to be in the bushings I plan to replace, but I am fighting the urge to just replace every bushing in the jeep. There's a good chance replacing these would just make one of the others the weak link but getting a full set here in a reasonable amount of time seems difficult, and I want to get this thing out in the dirt instead of it living in a perpetual state of repair in my driveway. I will replace them all eventually, but just not right now.

Over the long weekend I may try and do something about a rear recovery point. There is a trailer hitch installed witch seems plenty stout, but it looks like its going to be a rock magnet. As a quick improvement I am tempted to lop the 2"receiver off of the bottom and attach something I can get a shackle onto. That would get the worst of it out of the way.

50208

Lastly, I did splurge a little on something nice, but I think it was still a decent deal. I picked up a warn XD9000 off of craigslist for $320. It was in pieces when I bought it and was missing the contactor mounting bracket and all of the mounting hardware and nuts for the electrical contacts, but I was able to hotwire the motor with two sets of jumper cables to confirm it was in working order and to test that the contactor at least made a clicking sound. I found the bracket from the M8000 on my old TJ in a box of old hardware and bought the rest of the missing bolts and nuts from the local hardware store. I had a look at the planetary gearing and it looks to be in fine shape. Its all back together now and it seems to be in working order. The steel cable was all birdsnested and is kinked up really bad all over. I am thinking I will find a decent synthetic line for it.

5020950210

I do already have the badland, but 12K seems like a bit much for a TJ and when I respooled the cable under load I realized that 65 feet is really not that much cable. The XD9000 should take 100 feet of 5/16 line. I know I could get a winch extension for less money, but I feel a little better about a used name-brand winch than a used harbor-freight winch. Plus, this one actually came with a wired remote.

I may sell the badland, but 12k is a decent size for the van though. I am less likely to put the van in a situation to get it really badly stuck. Maybe I will put it on a 2" receiver mount. I did mount 2 inch receivers to the front and rear of the van. My front receiver was intended to be a rear receiver, so its a little more stout than most front receivers. I need to think about loads and capacities and determine if that is a good idea.

The seller threw in a brand new roller fairlead. I went ahead and ordered a hawse. Anyone out there need a roller?

[Kurtis]

Hello my name is Kurtis I'm redoing my suspension on my TJ just wondering if you were interested in a 3 1/2 inch Rubicon express short arm suspense.

[Trevor?]

Thanks for the offer. I might be looking to buy someone's used suspension kit in a year or two, but at the moment I'm trying to keep it low enough so I dont have to start messing around with the rear driveshaft, an SYE, and all the other stuff that has to be dealt with at that point.

At the moment the suspension is lifted just under 2 inches, and everything seems to be getting along just fine under there without having to drop my T-case skid. Although, I had a touch of death wobble yesterday, but I pulled out the tape measure and found my toe-in to be about 1/2 inch. I bumped that out to a little under 1/8th so we will see how that works.

[Kurtis]

Let me know if you were looking for anything I do have a Lotta parts that I'm taking off PS I love the van I have a 1994 E350 that I'm looking at putting four-wheel-drive in so I'm really jealous of yours

[Trevor?]

Thanks. The van needs some attention. The jeep is getting it all lately.

Replaced those upper control arm bushings in the rear. Maybe this isn't that uncommon, I have never seen it previously: but the rear of both axle side bushings ruptured and its like the rubber was pressed out through the hole.

The other bushings looked fantastic by comparison, but could probably stand to be replaced. It was odd.. if I ordered one pair I could get it in a couple of days, but if I ordered more it was going to be a couple of weeks. Must have only had one set in a local warehouse.

[Trevor?]

How many of you guys run an oil pan skid. I'm considering it.

[Java]

I have a Warn one and it's worked well for about 9 years now. https://www.warn.com/oil-pan-skid-plate-97-03-jeep-wrangler-65020 I've taken it off and undented / repainted it a couple of times.

[Brian]

My oil pan looked just like that before I was able to get some protection. Changed the pan and went with Undercover Fab. Here's what I got:

https://undercoverfab.com/aluminum-engine-skids/249-ucf-aluminum-engine-skid-plate-for-03-06-tjlj-40l.html

[open_circuit]

I guess I'm just lucky. I don't have a skid and I've been wheeling this Jeep for 3 years now. Here's my oil pan:

https://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=50293&d=1591328624

[Jim]

I don't. I don't think there's much for dents in mine. Could be tire size and me not often visiting difficult trails is my out?

[newracer]

I had one similar to this on my TJ.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71eCNZqNHCL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

[Trevor?]

The oil pan was damaged by the previous owner. I'm not sure i'll be bouncing it off of rocks, and it is about an inch higher now that I installed that motor mount lift. There is a teraflex skit on craigslist right now for a decent price that I may try and snap up. I'd rather save for gears and bigger tires at this point than to throw $300+ at a skid plate if I can avoid it.

I'm putting in a new driveway in about a month and it would be nice if the jeep would stop leaking oil. From the looks of it I would guess I am leaking from the rear main seal, but there's a chance it could be related to the pan and it would have to come out anyway. I want ahead and ordered the pan, gasket and rear main seal. I figure it's worth a shot.

Does anyone know if there is enough droop in a stock front suspension to get the oil pan out without having to remove the pickup?

[Trevor?]

I'm going to see if a new rear main seal will cut down on the drip coming out of the back of my engine. I'll also be replacing my damaged oil pan.

Question: It's recommended to add a dab of RTV at the corners of the oil pan gasket by the timing cover and by the rear bearing cap. What's unclear is if this should be added between the gasket and the engine or between the gasket and the pan, or both. I'm inclined to add a little in both locations, but I figure there should be some good advice from the group here. Thanks.

[Jim]

From doing the RMS on mine and wanting to not use RTV on it - but then needing to take the oil pan off one or two more times to chase small leaks, I'd say both sides.

I am very tempted to say - lay a bead on both sides ALL THE WAY AROUND. Your call if you'd take this "full bead" suggestion. Good for leak sealing - not so good for the next time the pan needs to be removed / cured RTV removal.

[Trevor?]

I was able to put in about 2.5 hours today and I'm probably halfway into it.

My exhaust is all one piece from the manifold back. I figured I could swing it out of the way while I dropped the pan and that seemed to work...until I dropped a washer just right and it fell into the exhaust. It took about an hour to figure out how to wrestle that thing up and over the rear axle. It's going to be fun to put back in. Any opinions out there on where it makes the most sense to put in a slip-fit joint? Before or after the muffler?

It appears that the dent in the pan was deep enough to contact the oil pump pickup. The little metal cover over the screen was dented and the tube looked to be bent slightly. It's been that way since I bought the Jeep in March. It looks like it could be an original pump so I went ahead and picked up a replacement from the parts store.

When I had most of the bolts out of the pan, one bolt head fell off before I could even put a wrench on it. It appeared to be sheared off flush with the block. Seeing how it was one of the rear bolts I'm thinking it could have also been a result of the impact to the pan. I was able to drill it out and remove the remains without much trouble.

I could sneak my finger up and check the slop in my timing chain. It moves just under 5/8ths, so I'll likely look into installing a new timing set this winter as well.

[Trevor?]

I was able to wrap up the RMS before christmas. So far I have not had any drips, but its probably only safe to say that I have slowed it down at this point. I'm guessing it may take a little time for oil to accumulate before it forms a drip. I am up about a 1/3qt in oil capacity though.

On to the next project. I've been wanting to set this Jeep up for flat-towing so it would be easier to get my 5yo and maybe my 2yo out in it. With my intent to remain topless in the warmer months I think the wife and kids will be much happier during the 1-3 hour drives to and from trail-heads if I can keep them comfortable in a quieter, air-conditioned vehicle. That and it could allow for out-of-state trips where we could camp in the van and wheel in the jeep.

When I bought the jeep, it came with towbar brackets on the front bumper. It's not clear what happened, but the drivers side bracket was pushed into the bumper and perforated it on the inner vertical edge. There is no other signs of damage in the front, and the frame shows no signs of being bent or twisted. I wonder if someone towing this managed to rear-end someone and the shock of transferred through the tow bar punched through the bumper. I'll never know for sure but I feel like I should make a more robust mount this time around.

51252

Months ago I removed the brackets and cut off the ends outside of the frame rails to make a stubby bumper. The new mounting positions will be inboard a bit now and will line up with the frame rails more or less. Digging through my scrap pile I found two pieces of 4"x4"x1/4" wall steel angle each 8" long. The plan is to bolt through these and the bumper, as well as up and over to top if the bumper to tie into the two 1/2" bolts on the top of the frame rail on each side. You can see the edge of the damage from the first mount here as well, although I have tried to straighten it a bit with a hammer.

51248

Drill some holes, grind some radii to make it look halfway decent and a little paint.  Here they are sandwiched between the bumper and the winch plate.

51249

Now the winch plate appears to be a harbor-freight universal model. It came with the Jeep. I wasn't too pleased with how it curls up in-front of the recovery hooks and now with the towbar brackets its seems to obstruct those as well if I want to secure the bar vertically. There are plenty of other winch plates out there without this obstruction, but this one is here and I already have my grinders out...

51250

I picked up a reese towbar on craigslist that was missing the brackets for $50. A couple of $2, 1/2" hitch receiver pins and there we have it.

51251

I'm not sure if I want to find a way to secure this vertically when on the trail just plan to remove it and throw it in the tow vehicle. When swung up it contacts the winch contactor box so my initial plan to just strap it back is not really the best plan any longer. I'll have to think about that a bit more.

[Java]

that's great, I'm going to keep the angle iron idea in mind. I want to do the same thing and don't want to spend money on a new bumper just for that. :thumb:

[Trevor?]

I managed to replace all of my control arm bushings. I think Trent was the one who warned me about the ones on the front axle. Those were a bear. I had to cut the front lowers off with a reciprocating saw which was less than pleasant but not unbearable.

The next project was to create a skid plate to protect that new oil pan. I have a few of these plate left over from my van. They converted the standard bench seat bolt patterns into mounts for 3 captains chairs. They're only 1/8th inch thick, but the long bends should add some strength. I've opted to try and mimic the tereflex HD skid mounting method, two arms that reach up to unused boltholes on the engine block and the two lower bolts on the transmission. I'd prefer to make my mounts to the frame, and while it looks to be a clear shot to the motor mount bracket on the driver's side, the upper control arm on the passenger side is in the way of a straight mount. Some skids on the market get by this by reusing the frame-side lower control arm bolt on the passenger side, but my material is not that wide.

51304
Here's one upside-down. I can remove and resuse some of those weld-nuts.

51305
Here it is right-side-up. There's some old carpet adhesive that I can remove with a flapwheel.

51306
To make the arms wrap up and around the engine, I made this little bending jig to use in my press.

51307
Here is the passenger-side arm. They're 1/4 x 1-1/2 flatbar. There's a bit of edge-set to get around the exhaust. That took a pair of propane torches the shop press, and a BFH to get that bent. I need to get an oxy-acetylene setup and that would have been a lot easier.

51308
Fast-forward a bit, and here's the plate. I made the arms go from the block to in-front of the exhaust. The tereflex plate goes the other way and snakes between the exhaust pipe and the oil pan. As my skid sits on top of the transfercase skid plate, the tereflex angle would make it impossible to install. This way you can hang the rear of the plate on the transfercase skid and pivot the front up into place. I added a few more pieces of flatbar to reinforce the plate laterally here.

51309
Here's the bottom. I welded two more pieces of flatbar the long way to reinforce the plate some more.

51310
Where the new plate meets the transfercase skid, I made my boltholes through the rib which should hopefully protect them a bit from getting too much rock-rash to get a socket on them again. I added a piece of angle cut down to make a bit of a ramp to ease the transition between plates and make this less likely to be a hang point.

51311
And here is the finished plate installed. I had to jack up the front axle to get a halfway-decent angle for a picture.

I took it for a test drive. As one might expect, the tie-in to the transfercase skid transmits some engine vibration into the frame and the body. I can feel it a little in the pedal and the floor with my feet, but its not too bad. I have some sheet rubber and an idea of how to try and isolate that junction a little bit. I think this will be decent in the short term but in the long term I would like to get the structure off of the engine block. On the passenger side, the angle of my mount ends up pointing it directly at the oil filter. If I take a big enough hit to shear off the bolt, that bar has less than an inch to travel before it punctures the oil filter.

At the end of the day, this will probably get some more modifications, but it was fun and I learned some things. Those long arms move around a lot while finish welding, but toward the end I could start to make them move where I wanted them to move by ordering the welds strategically.... just a bit tho, I imagine there is a ton more to getting that down. I also think that the $150 or so that the tereflex skid goes for is a hell of a deal after trying to do it myself.

The skid has to come back off for paint. I also have one of those oil drain valves I plan to install and I will drill a hole for a tube to use with that.

[Trevor?]

Flat towing experiments today. Finished wiring up the braking system and drove around the neighborhood and some 55-60mph on the southern-most part of Wadsworth Blvd. I was hoping it would have towed nicer with the Nissan, but there was a bit of the tail wagging the dog with that arrangement. It was a bit harsh on the Nissan's clutch as well. That would have been convenient for getting my young children to some short trails closer to home.
It behaves much nicer behind the van, but I will likely expedite my regear from 4.11's to 4.56's before hauling it up I70.
The RVi Brake works well. It was a craigslist buy. Took it apart and after a little tinkering it's working well. Much smaller than a brake-buddy.

[Trevor?]

This is a couple weeks old, but I finally fixed my exhaust leak by replacing my manifold. It looks like someone else pulled it out and tried to weld it at some point. I was considering trying that, but now knowing that someone already booger-welded it I am glad I picked up a replacement. Grinding this all out would have been tedious.

Old and busted.
53073

New hotness.
53074

No more tick-tick-tick sound. It's a little strange to hear all of the exhaust noise coming from behind me now.

While I was in there, I went ahead and reworked my engine/trans skidplate. Previously I copied a model that attached to the bell-housing and to two bosses on the block. Unlike that model, mine continued back and attached to the transmission skid. I didn't think ahead and it ended up transmitting a lot of engine vibration to the pedals and floor. I got used to it, but I figured I would redo it eventually.

Here is my original design.
53075

Here is the new front mount. I ordered a bracket kit from undercover fab works. They have these little bent brackets that attach under the engine mount perches on the frame. I just needed to cut and weld some angle brackets to the skid-plate. I opted to ditch the bell-housing mounts.
53076

And while I was under there, I went ahead and changed the oil and replaced the drain plug with one of these little guys. I should be able to snake a tube in there and not have to drop the skid for future oil changes.
53077

I should be pretty much good to go for the warm season now.

[open_circuit]

Which manifold did you end up buying?

[Trevor?]

I have also been playing with UHF antennas. It seems like there more compromises on a Jeep with a soft top than on other vehicles. I prefer to get the antenna up above the roof so the vehicle and the occupants are not obstructing the line of sight of the signal. Right now I have a 1/2 wave end-fed Laird antenna mounted on a bracket that's hose-clamped to my roll cage, but that has to come off when I put up the soft top in the colder months.

So I am tinkering with my own version of an elevated feed antenna. It's pretty much a classic sleeve-dipole, where instead of using the vehicle sheet metal as a groundplane, a piece of coax is stripped and the braid is folded back on the cable to make a vertical dipole.

53081

I managed to cram it in a piece of fiberglass tubing, and drilled out the center of a 1/2-20 bolt and installed an SMA connector into the end. The bolt will act as the mounting stud, and the coax feeds through the center.

53082
53083

There is some additional braid on the outside of the fiberglass tube which is soldered to the mounting stud. This should act to increase the impedance of the outside of the coax braid and prevent the feedline from radiating. The whole thing is covered with a piece of heatshrink tubing and I used RTV to secure a small vinyl cap to the tip. It's pretty much the same form factor as a firestik CB antenna, and I plan to mount it to a bracket above the rear taillight just like I mounted my firestik.

53084

I had to disassemble, trim, reassemble, and test the thing many times to get it dialed in but it seems to match well to the feedline and radio. I was able to receive some signals and hit a repeater in the area with it hooked up to a handheld running 5 watts. Next step will be to try and compare it to some of my other antennas. I want to try my laird 1/2 wave on the rollbar and on the mount on my front fender that I use for my 2m antenna. I also want to compare it to a magmount 1/4 wave on the hood. I can configure the radio in the Jeep as a crossband repeater, so maybe I can try parking it on the other side of the neighborhood and operating it remotely via 2m. I can then receive the UHF transmissions at home with an RTL-SDR or my IC-7100 and compare signal strengths.

It will be interesting to see if it works as well as other antennas. I had to use some very small coax, RG-174, which is pretty lossy at UHF frequencies. There is only ~34" or so of it so maybe it wont be so bad. I'm also unsure if the SMA connectors will physically hold up in the long run. That will get a bit of heatshrink when its all said and done.

[Trevor?]

It was an SKP from rockauto. Nothing fancy. I believe the part number was SK674196.

[Trevor?]

I forgot to mention, there was a video Jim shared a while back about dealing with stubborn exhaust manifold bolts. My bolts weren't all that bad, but that was helpful on a few. Working them in and out until they free-up, and then tightening them back in until you get them all free.

[Jim]

and then tightening them back in until you get them all free.

That was the item I took away from that vid.

[Trevor?]

I was driving the TJ yesterday and I heard a new sound... a speed-dependent noise at a frequency higher than the wheel speed so I figured I would inspect the driveshafts. Turns out the rear axle yoke was loose on the pinion. Just enough for the yoke to move a little relitive to the pinion nut, but not enough for me to feel any side to side or in and out play. I popped the diff cover off and the carrier is also loose enough to shift side to side by 10-15 thou I would estimate. I also noticed that 2 teeth on each of the 2 spider gears in the Trac-Lok differential are chipped a little.

I suspect the carrier bearings and the pinion bearings are just worn out. When I rebuilt the trac lok a while back I did notice that the carrier slid in and out of the housing without much preload but there was no side to side motion at the time. I cant figure how this could lead to spider teeth damage. The damaged teeth all make contact with the side gears at the same time so that makes me think it was some sort of wheel-spin shock-loading scinereo. The side gears look fine, but of course you have to buy a whole set of 4 replacement gears and they seem uncommon and more expensive then they are worth.

So I was hoping to not have to dump a bunch of money into the TJ this year. The chipped teeth in the trac lok is the wildcard that has me worried because that could continue to fail and destroy any new parts that I install. I would prefer not to replace the carrier yet as I was thinking maybe next year I could do rebuilds, regear, and lockers front and rear.

I am thinking the looseness may have caused some funky wear on the ring and pinion, but I've kinda convinced myself to replace the bearings and see how the pattern looks and then take it from there. If it seems somewhat reasonable I may leave it at that thinking that I would only be risking <$100 in bearings if the spider teeth give up the ghost.

As I write this I'm feeling less confident in my plan. Curious what other folks think. Does anyone have a loaded open carrier for a rear D44 collecting dust in a corner somewhere? I feel like the trac lok has been helpful and I would prefer not to take a step backward, but that may be the best way to spend a minimum on parts that could get replaced in a year. The other option is to say the heck with it and throw a locker in the rear, but I'd have to decide if I should get 1 new set of 3.73's or two sets of something else and tear into the front. I'll be doing the work myself, so my "costs" are all tied up in parts and my time.

[Mad Maxx]

I would like to try flat-towing it behind the van.

Did you ever figure out flat towing? I've tried flat towing my Jimny but the wheels turn to the outside on tight turns and don't straighten back out. I've had an alignment, made sure that the bar and hitch are level, and even tried just using bungee cords around the steering wheel to some holes below the seat but they just ended up wrapped around everything - maybe they weren't tight enough.

[Trevor?]

Did you ever figure out flat towing?

It seems to be working well for me but I haven't made any real trips yet as I am in the middle of rebuilding the interior of the van. I haven't experienced the issue you describe in any of my testing with the van or the Nissan pulling the Jeep. It is my understanding that it's the caster in the front suspension that causes the wheels to track and return to center properly when flat towing just like when driving. How well does your steering return to center when you're driving it and let go of the wheel? How tight of a turn are you talking about?... like making a RH at an intersection or more like navigating a tight parking lot?

[Trevor?]

Follow up question: What is your towing vehicle, and what is the distance from the ball to the rear axle? From a dead stop, because the ball is behind the rear axle it will initially move a little bit to the outside of a turn. This should be more pronounced as the turn gets tighter and as the distance from the ball to the rear axle increases. If this has something to do with your issue then I bet folks with RV's and long overhangs have experienced it.

[Mad Maxx]

How well does your steering return to center when you're driving it and let go of the wheel?

It's hard to tell since most of the roads up here aren't nearly level and I haven't driven it on the highway much since the alignment. I definitely wouldn't say that there's a strong re-centering, though it does feel more controllable since the alignment.


How tight of a turn are you talking about?

So far I've only tested flat towing around my neighborhood, which has turns about as tight as they get but I've also tried making turns about as wide as I can on them and had the same issue.


What is your towing vehicle, and what is the distance from the ball to the rear axle?

I'm not sure of the exact distances - this has happened with both my 1995 Ford Explorer Sport and my wife's 2001 Nissan Pathfinder towing it.

[Trevor?]

I've heard that Scouts and other International Harvester trucks have very little or no caster in the factory designed steering, and a quick search suggests some folks with those trucks have had similar issues.

https://www.binderplanet.com/forums/index.php?threads/towing-with-a-towbar-s.12895/

I have no familiarity with the Jimny and very little experience with flat towing, but finding some way to roll the front axle forward a few degrees would be where I would start if I were in your shoes.

[Trevor?]

I found some time to replace the carrier and pinion bearings in my rear axle. I get the impression that this has been slowly wearing out for a bit, but seemed to rapidly get worse most recently. Here's a shot of one of the shims that sets the pinion bearing preload. Where it sits against the step on the pinion gear shaft it was pounded down from 30-31 thou to 22-23 thou in thickness.

53507

I was a little worried that the gears would be warn oddly depending on how long everything was so loose in there. The patterns I got are ok all things considered. The drive side is a skewed a little the toe, but the coast side is centered well. Depth is good and consistent on both sides. If it were a new set I would spend more time on it, but with the wear I don't want to spend a bunch of time chasing a perfect pattern that I might never achieve. This should get me through the season, and this winter I would like to regear and replace the rear differential at least. I'm not sure the Trac Lok is long for this world.

I feel like I cheated a little this time. When I did the axles in my van I cut the bearings off with a grinder and chisel and made scuff bearings for setup. Doable but a lot of extra work. After that I kept my eyes out for a deal on a proper puller and found the Yukon kit on sale in the high $200s a few years back. Between the Jeep and I eventually want to regear the Van again I figured it was worth it. It was definitely nice to have.

53508

The next nice-to-have would be to try and build a case spreader so I don't have to pound and pry the carrier in and out of the housing. But for now the Jeep should be back in business.

Lastly... are you not supposed to get brake cleaner on a lubelocker? I may have gotten a little overspray on it, and the black part is eaten up and the silicone seal is coming lose. I'll have to order a new one and put it on the shelf until I dig into this thing again. Man do I dislike scraping RTV.

[FINOCJ]

The next nice-to-have would be to try and build a case spreader so I don't have to pound and pry the carrier in and out of the housing. But for now the Jeep should be back in business.

Lastly... are you not supposed to get brake cleaner on a lubelocker? I may have gotten a little overspray on it, and the black part is eaten up and the silicone seal is coming lose. I'll have to order a new one and put it on the shelf until I dig into this thing again. Man do I dislike scraping RTV.

i've done mine the hard way - prying and pounding the carrier in and out of the housing - as many in the old cj crowd are not big fans of case spreaders. Too many have had issues with causing permanent distortion to the case and thus leaky issues (and sometimes clearance issues). Maybe its from working with 50+ year old stuff that has seen its share of use and abuse as compared to new stuff - I don't know. I've never used a spreader - I plan two more axle projects coming up (limited slips in the rear of the 58 and front of the 70) - and debating getting one, but can't risk over spreading and moving beyond the elastic range for the old axles.
Lubelockers are the best...no personal issues with brake cleaner and LLs, but basically, any rubber type material I've ever had has not reacted well to brake cleaner - it seems to eat rubber up.