TerryMason's 2005 Jeep TJ Build

[TerryMason]

It's been a while, so I took a few more shots of my Jeep

[Thclabough]

Wow, I really enjoyed checking out your Wrangler upgrades. I'm still trying to unseize engine. I have a 4" lift kit on a shelf in my garage...new springs, shocks, boots. I also purchased a NP 435 four speed transmission to swap out the stock T-90. It needs rebuilding. I'm hoping to restore the 302 cu in v-8 first. If it works, money can go towards other needed items. I'll get some pictures soon. Keep up the good news!!

[TerryMason]

I added a dashcam to my Jeep - works great, and I'm very happy with it. It's a Garmin Dasham Mini, and records great HD video (with sound)









I hardwired it in using this fuse with a built-in tap

[mikeswillys]

You can hardly see it behind the mirror. Great idea with the fuse!


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[TerryMason]

Thanks, I'm happy with how it turned out. I got to use it on my last off-road trip and it worked great.









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[Gloks4all]

To me , your choice of 33's and a 4in total lift is exactly what I need ,,,thanks for the super detailed posts

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[TerryMason]

For years I've had a leak in my rear main seal. I decided to finally do something about it.

Started by removing the engine skid plate. This thing was covered with grime



I then pulled the oil pan out. This was the hardest part of the whole ordeal for me. My Jeep has a 1.5 inch body lift, and a low profile skid plate (essentially raising up the skid plate an inch or two. I had to disconnect the mini-cats (exhaust) at the engine, then allow the transmission skid to drop down, and I loosened the exhaust bolts next to the transmission. After all that I was able to get the oil pan out





You can see that I ended up getting oil and grime all over the exhaust. This thing smoked like crazy once I finally started it up.





I removed the bottom half of the rear main seal.



Here you can see a daub of RTV that was added by the factory. I did the same thing when reassembling this.



It took a bit of work to get the new rear main seal in. At first I didn't use the included guide correctly (I tried folding it, which didn't work). I ended up tearing the rear main seal, as you can see here



I finally figured out how to use the guide correctly, and things went much smoother










Finally, I cleaned the oil pan



And put my bolts back in.



All in all it took me two days, working about 4 hours each. It wasn't a hard job, but it is intimidating, as it's farther in the engine than I've been before.
The end result is good - I do however have a very slight leak still. Nothing like the way it was before, but still enough to frustrate me a bit.

[superj]

that engine look super clean inside. i think you have many many years of life with that engine. its well taken care of

[JPNinPA]

that engine look super clean inside. i think you have many many years of life with that engine. its well taken care of

The top end is usually the dirty side. Would you agree?
Oil Vapors, high heat, crank case vapors, blow by, exhaust ..,


Never look down on anyone unless you are helping them up - Jesse Jackson

[JPNinPA]

that engine look super clean inside. i think you have many many years of life with that engine. its well taken care of

The top end is usually the dirty side. Would you agree?
Oil Vapors, high heat, crank case vapors, blow by, exhaust ..,


Never look down on anyone unless you are helping them up - Jesse Jackson

[superj]

for sure the top definitely shows more.

[TerryMason]

I could feel some looseness in the steering which is always been a precursor to death wobble on my Jeep. I ordered up new tie rods and a new axle side track bar bushing from rockauto.com.

Everything went together well and I took it to Firestone for another lifetime alignment. The steering feels great now.

I ended up using tie rods from a Grand Cherokee (if memory serves). They are roughly the same price, but where the Wrangler's tie rods are hollow, the Grand Cherokee's tie rods are solid (and heavy). Definitely worth using these if you are replacing them.






Parts list:
MOOG DS1430 Tie Rod End
MOOG DS1312
MOOG ES3096L Tie Rod End x2
MOOG ES2079S Steering adjusting sleeve x2
MOOG K3176 Track bar bushing (works with my JKS track bar)

Total cost was $237.04

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[JPNinPA]

That is correct for tj the cherokee is direct swap. I did it a few years ago and still liking it.
Only thing i dont like is the thin sleeve coupling on the system. Im not sure if hard bump makes it jump a thread. Check alignment often and after wheeling.


On your track bar measure the I.D. Of the axel side bushing. Get long enough bolts and a nut. Make sure the bolt barely fits no slop. Weld a flag on the nut then drill out axel rnd for a tighter fit.
Tighten to more than spec and you will not have issues with DW from the bushing going bad.
Once you tighten paint around the bolt head lightly. If it moves at all you will see snd know to tighten up more. Nailpolish chips nicely.



Never look down on anyone unless you are helping them up - Jesse Jackson

[TerryMason]

Novak cable shifter install

For years now I've had difficulties putting the Jeep in four-wheel drive, and occasionally it would pop out of four low. The reason for this was that my body lift had thrown off the geometry of the stock transfer case linkage.

After some research I decided to install the Novak cable shifter. I managed to get a good deal on one new on eBay for $80.



To install it I had to drop the transmission skid plate, remove the stock linkage and install the new cable shifter. The install was more difficult than I expected, however it really only took a couple hours.

Here is the stock linkage:




And here is the new Linkage installed:









The transfer case now shifts easily. Much nicer than the factory linkage.



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[superj]

i like those. i used a similar cable shift set up on one of my previous jeeps