Louie4's YJ by Louie4

8 minute(s) of a 411 minute read

Got the old arm off. If anyone wants it I'll ship it for the cost to get it there. I also found out my radiator is leaking.

11-25-2012

Nope. Unlike the CJ's, the steering shaft on a YJ will extend and collapse. A few years ago when I replaced my lower steering column bearing I took the steering shaft apart and cleaned it thoroughly and greased it. So there were no issues.

I'll post pics today. I test drove the jeep to Autozone last night to check on a new radiator, get gas, and test the steering. It took 30 minutes to find my warranty info. Luckily the guy there was persistent and found out that the replacement from July was done as a damage so the warranty info was gone. However he found where I swapped it and that it's a lifetime warranty so we got it sorted out.

The steering is back to normal and I have every bit of my turning radius back. I wish I would have just done it properly the first time. Luckily it only cost me 30 more dollars (shorty pitman arm).

I also chopped the exhaust some more and tightened it up at the manifold because it was loose.

Well I put a new radiator in today and snapped a few pics of the steering.

12-1-2012

My tach stopped working so here we are...oh dear.

Dishes.

12-2-2012

Found a broken circuit that put power to the speedo back lights. Then I fixed it with a small piece of copper wire and a soldering gun.

12-5-2012

A little late but better than never.

12-11-2012

My pass. side axle seal is leaking. I still have the CAD system and will most likely just refill the diff until warmer weather comes. I have spare shafts for the CAD system so I'm not in a rush to do a solid shaft conversion.

The question, if I were to replace the seal in the CAD would it be beneficial to put some seals in the pumpkin on the pass. side? I know there isn't a machined surface on the shafts so it would inevitably eat them up. I've seen other guys put (2) seals stacked in the pumpkin. I would put some gear oil in the CAD as well to keep it lubed.

I figure it would keep the fluid in for the most part. Or it would drain to the axle tube and keep it from getting back in.

On another note, I am riding at Morris Mountain this weekend in Alabama. Will be driving 260 miles just to wheel the jeep. We'll see if I make it home.

12-16-2012

Got back from MM today. The jeep did well. Got a few new dings and breaks. My bumper side piece was not welded too well obviously. That or I just bash it too much with rocks. My buddy busted his shackle mount on the front of the frame, my under carriage is taken on a new shape, my pass. door will not close with out a lot of persuasion, and the end of my winch cable came out of the lug on the end that threads into the drum.

Great trip though. I'll post pics tomorrow.

12-20-2012

Some pics of my bumper where the welds were not so good. I bashed it pretty good on the rocks.

My buddy had a good break.

1-17-2013

Greetings from Knoxville, TN.

Oh and here is how my drivers side knuckle looks.

1-18-2013

Here's the new Moog. I tried out my new to me welder but I wasn't impressed. I tacked it on the C because it didn't fit as tightly as I would have liked. The other ball joint opened up the top a lot.

Oh yeah, I put my spare on the front drivers side. I have never used it and it's been several years since I bought it. That wheel was particularly bad as it had the most dents. I figured I should get some use out of it as I plan on going to 35's for my next set of tires.

1-29-2013

The jeep in it's new home.

2-9-2013

Well we're pretty much settled in at the house. I've taken care of a few things so now I think I can tinker in the garage.

I have a (2) 4' fluorescent hanging lights I need to install. One I bought and the other I found in the basement. They have a standard 3 prong plug on them but I found a wire at the back of the garage I can make work.

Another thing I am going to get is a floor jack. Not the dinky small ones, a bigger one. I was thinking Big Red but if anyone has other suggestions for getting one at a local store let me know.

I cranked the jeep up yesterday and cleaned some stuff out of the way in the garage. I noticed a good pool or gear oil from the front pass. side and a drip from the diff. I went ahead and ordered (2) pass. side axle seals, the intermediate shaft bushing, and a pinion seal (it seems to be leaking too). I may clean the axle up a bit and throw some paint on it. The next step is to repair the body mounts. I plan on taking the bolts out of one side, loosening the others and jacking up the body. Put a jackstand to hold it up and then jack up the sunk in mounts and weld the tops to the frame.

I need to change the transmission fluid and repair my torque arm stud and bushings yet again. I keep deforming the cross member/skid which keeps pushing the stud up and crushing the bushings. I plan on getting a UCF high clearance skid in the next several months.

I also need to replace my cross pin in my D30 and put a proper roll pin in. Years ago I think I installed the wrong cross pin and the roll pin was too big. It went in but not all we way and when I tried to get it out I broke several drill bits. I plan on doing it right this time.

Once all that is done I can at least drive it around town.

2-13-2013

Got my seals and bushing in today. I got 2 pass. side seals since I will most likely destroy the first one.