Daddy's Jeep gettin' some love.

[BIGdaddy]

On my to do list:

Install Blue Sea fuse block

Install Hella 700's

Install Cobra CB radio and try to remember where the heck my antenna is...It might have been in my LJ that was stolen and taken to Mexico. I forget. [WIRING INSTALLED...WAITING FOR FUSE BLOCK]

Put together ZJ V8 steering upgrade parts ( w/ napa premium rod ends).....[DONE]
install and have aligned.

Pull driveshafts and have them rebuilt/balanced [DONE]

Finally add bullbar uprights to my bumper. Have some .120 wall 1.75" that should keep my grill deer-free when we hit the sierra's in May. :elkgrin:

Order frame stiffeners, tcase skid, new crossmember, new tranny mount, diff covers and install.

 

[BIGdaddy]

Oh, and I'm finally willing to concede the fact that my truck rides like crap. It's VERY stiff. I wonder if it'd feel better once I add a steel bumper and tire carrier in the back.

Might go with some OME or Omix-ada HD leafs, but I really want to weigh it down to see if it simpy needs a bit of preload to feel comfy. (Doesn't help that I've never repaced the shocks)

 

[BIGdaddy]

I just picked up some of these yesterday (ordered in early July and arrived yesterday 9/1). To my disappointment they stopped welding and grinding the outside edges of the caps so they kinda look crappier than those photos which shows the end caps finished. When I called the phone # on their website they told me they only weld the inside now! ******. The good news is the groove that should be welded on the end cap already has some surface rust because the powder coating didn't get in there. Lots of flaws in the powder coating too.

Leaf springs with powercoating and "caps" huh?

You're not even a GOOD spammer...lol.

 

[BKCowGod]

Leaf springs with powercoating and "caps" huh?

You're not even a GOOD spammer...lol.

Hey - I always powdercoat my leaf springs. Keeps them from getting uppity!

 

[BIGdaddy]

hey - i always powdercoat my leaf springs. Keeps them from getting uppity!

lol.

 

[BIGdaddy]

So I had kid duty today. Didn't get much done. Assembled the new steering linkages was amazed how much size difference there is between stock XJ stuff and ZJ V8 stuff.

Not my pic, but a good reference from Stu's website:

Also,got as much wiring run as possible for the hella lights. (Still have to get out to West marine to pick up my 6-up fuse blocks). Nice that they include everything you need including quality wiring/connectors/relay/switch.

I have the switch wiring threaded through the grommet in the firewall, but not sure where I'll mount it. Also not sure if I want to wire them as fog lights or as extra high beams. Definitely welcome input on both those choices from XJ folks.

 

[BIGdaddy]

Picked up my rebuilt driveshafts yesterday. They looked very nice!

The builder said that he pulled the CV joint all the way apart on the front dshaft and that he felt like we caught it just in time. No need for costly parts.

Drove it today on the freeway, and its noticably tighter switching from R to D while backing up and parking. No clank or hesitation.

On the freeway, I was noticing an audible and tactile humm/growl from below my feet for the last few months and at least one of the dshafts must have been the cause as it's now gone.

(I had previously rotated my tires to see if that was the issue to no avail.)

So, good to go again for at least another 100k or so(Went with the good stuff: Spicer premiums) as long as I can keep the shafts off any rocks..lol.

 

[Maximus Ram]

Rebuilt the drive shafts ? what do they do besides replacing the u-joints ?
and what does this run ? not that I need to throw more $$ at the XJ when the Ram needs the love more, but just curious for future plans.:sombrero:

 

[BIGdaddy]

Rebuilt the drive shafts ? what do they do besides replacing the u-joints ?
and what does this run ? not that I need to throw more $$ at the XJ when the Ram needs the love more, but just curious for future plans.:sombrero:

Yup, just removing and replacing u-joints for these ones but he also spun-balanced them (needed no weight), and also pulled apart the cv joint in the front to check it out.

Most of the cost was the u-joints (5 - I provided 2 of them) at about $25.00 a pop with $5.00 install for each joint ($25.00)

The rest was the inspection/spin balancing.

I paid $140.00 total.

 

[Maximus Ram]

Ah,gotcha.....thanks for the info.

 

[BIGdaddy]

Ah,gotcha.....thanks for the info.

Yup, no worries. It was one of those..."I could totally do this myself" deals, but I'm short on time right now, and I've been putting it off.

PLUS, I really did want the CV inspected by a pro, and to have it spin-balanced to base-line both assemblies and to know they are good to go for a long time.

(at least until I hit them on a rock or a step ladder on the freeway or something. )

I remember driving with my dad on the freeway in his jeep Cherokee when I was in high school. I remember seeing a shape laying on the road, and a split second after I realized it was a large metal step ladder, the jeep hopped up a couple feet into the air, and came back down like a cat jumping off a couch.

My dad didn't flinch, swerve, or make any move that belied any doubt that the jeep could just roll right over it. He just looked over at me and grinned, "Ladder". We kneeled down when we got a few miles to where we were headed, and confirmed absolutely no damage whatsoever.

Can't believe it took me like 15 years to get back into a cherokee. LOL.

 

[DaJudge]

Oh, and I'm finally willing to concede the fact that my truck rides like crap. It's VERY stiff. I wonder if it'd feel better once I add a steel bumper and tire carrier in the back.

Might go with some OME or Omix-ada HD leafs, but I really want to weigh it down to see if it simpy needs a bit of preload to feel comfy. (Doesn't help that I've never repaced the shocks)

What leafs are you running? Are the Shackle bolts too tight? I over tightened mine when I first installed my new leafs and it road like it had no suspension!

 

[BIGdaddy]

What leafs are you running? Are the Shackle bolts too tight? I over tightened mine when I first installed my new leafs and it road like it had no suspension!

Hmmm...I dunno. That's a good question I guess.

NOT placing blame on anyone, but I think it was CA-RJ and XJmike who installed those two particular bolts. :sombrero:

I remember because I worked almost exclusively on the left front spring bolt, with a grinder, a BFH, and several choice curse words for probably 4-6 hours... :coffeedrink:

I doubt those guys would have overtightened anything that might need a bit of movement retained, but very worth checking it out.

Would overtightening the front bolts have done anything? (Didn't know you could overtighten them till now, so I very well could have overtorqued them)

Would new stock length shackles with greasable poly inserts be better if my stock ones are "done for".

 

[BIGdaddy]

What leafs are you running? Are the Shackle bolts too tight? I over tightened mine when I first installed my new leafs and it road like it had no suspension!

Oh, and for leaf's I'm running a stock XJ pack with a stock main xj leaf inserted as a sort of "add-a-leaf". Good for about 1.5-1.75" of lift. (perfect height for my needs)

 

[bat]

I would be looking to get some shocks on that thing.