Louie4's YJ by Louie4

10 minute(s) of a 411 minute read

 think my build thread is going to start to slow down (not that it was fast to begin with) because life is taking me in another direction.

At the end of July I am quitting my job and moving to Knoxville, TN. I'm returning to school to pursue my Masters in Mechanical Engineering. It's something I've wanted to do since I got out of college the first go around but I listened to my mentors/bosses at my coop during school. They were real engineers in the working world who told me to go out and work first to see what I like and don't like. Another reason for going to UT (not a fan of the orange BTW) is because my fiance is doing a medical residency at the College of Veterinary Medicine there. We are going to get married in October and I don't want to start our marriage off over 260 miles apart. It will be tough going from a professional job to a poor student again but it will be worth it.

For the jeep I'm just hoping to keep it maintained and wheel it for the duration I'm in school. Once I get another real job I can get more serious and build it better.

Thanks for the encouraging words guys it is much appreciated. The build will slow down but not stop completely. Working on my jeep is my release and keeps me sane.

My fiance is a good one. She was my first and only girlfriend. We are high school sweethearts and started dating when I was 16 and she 15. We got engaged about a year ago in San Francisco. So I guess we're compatible. It's funny because I come from a Southern family and her family is on the opposite end of the scale. Her dad is from Connecticut and mom from Germany. Despite that we get along pretty well. It is nice having a girl who is science based. She is a veterinarian working to become a veterinary pathologist. Which means she focuses on deceased animals of all kinds and determining how they died. Most folks don't realize how vital that can be especially since most diseases/plagues begin with animals. Places that can use her expertise are diagnostic labs, USDA, FDA, and CDC. So I'm hoping she will be making the big bucks...I hope.

I forgot to mention. I got the toe set on my front end, tightened the jam nuts, centered the steering wheel and put cotter pins in all the TRE's. I was lucky enough to get the maintenance man to help. He's a good guy and has always helped me out. After that I decided to go around the parking lot. That was good, then I decided to go up the street. Everything was gliding and doing fine. Well then I decided to go to the next town to get some Chick-fil-a. I love Chick-fil-a and it's almost a ritual for me when I accomplish something on the jeep. The catch is I have to drive the jeep to get it.

Anyway the steering did great. It seemed to be able to make tighter turns and when I thought I had turned the wheel I normally do I could just keep turning. It was pretty nice. No bump steer whatsoever and I don't plan on running a stabilizer either. The only thing I'll need is a smaller pitman arm which I plan to get here in the next couple weeks. I actually called the local junkyard and they have it but they sell the steering box and arm as a unit for $35. I said I just need the arm and they said they could take the arm off but I'll still be paying $35. I'm thinking I may just go get one from Pull-a-part. That way I can be certain I'm getting the right one.

6-4-2012

I just got a wild hair and started doing some research on making your own pitman arm and I found a few threads where a few guys heated their stock one's up and flattened them. Well I have access to a torch and a 100 ton press. Since my stock arm cannot be used as is I might as well give this a shot and see. I think if it was flat I could have enough clearance between the drag link and tie rod at full stuff.

I figure the worst that could happen is I trash the pitman arm and continue on with my original plan. Another outcome would be I have more clearance with the flattened stock arm and have to change it out eventually for a shorter one. I looked at my steering yesterday and I saw where the drag link hit the tie rod, most likely after hitting a bump on the road. I can at least mod my stock one for now and use my jeep on the road without the interference.

The threads I found during my research on JF:

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f9/need-flat-pitman-arm-1360414/

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f9/broke-pitman-arm-today-time-beef-up-1266540/

I got a little overzealous with the 100 ton press. I have a dropped arm I could use but I want to take it to the junkyard to source another.

6-5-2012

Oky doky guys. I sat down and did some more research. I remember seeing a billet pitman arm in gxtracer's build thread. It's 5" center to center with a 1/2" drop. I have a reamer for the other end assuming it's a 1/2" diameter hole.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f22/gtxs-low-rider-tj-build-1117904/index16.html

I found one just like it on eBay for $34.99 shipped. My reasoning for this is because it has the measurements I want, I can't find any Rangers or Astrovans in the Pull-a-part inventory and it's a 45 minute drive to the closest one. My local yard said they have the arm but they only sell the entire box for $35. They said they can sell me the arm by itself but it's still $35.

We'll see how this plays out. The link for the arm I bought:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/18087945787...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2648#ht_1223wt_1306

6-8-2012

I think I've solved my issue. I just need to ream the other end.

6-11-2012

I got my pitman arm on. I marked my reamer and put a taper in it. Then I installed it and realized I need to go deeper so I had to take it back off and go back to work.

After I got it installed I went and flexed it out to check clearances. I need to cut the track bar mount and sway bar mount off the frame. I noticed the boot I bought for the drag link tie rod split. What a piece of junk.

I'll cut the brackets off flush with the bottom of the frame then I'll try to get the rest.

I also saw where my rear shackle was bottoming out on the lower bolt. I may try and get some longer boomerangs for the rear.

6-13-2012

I got some work done on the jeep yesterday but no pics...of my jeep that is. I took it to work and got the angle grinder and cutting disk out. I cut as much of the track bar bracket as I could get to. I also cut the sway bar bracket off on the pass. side. It took some time just because of the tight space but it's done.

After I left work I went to Ingles to get some ingredients for chili. Upon leaving I saw a Scrambler in the gas station for sale next door so I went to check it out. The exterior was a little rough (maybe not to folks in the salty states) but the interior looked great through the window. The only downside was the price tag which you'll see below. I also put a picture of my chili up. I'm looking forward to eating it. I let it sit in the fridge over night to let the flavors soak in.

6-13-2012

I went down the road to flex it out after the brackets were cut off. I'm good to go for now. I also degreased the rear tub. I had an oil spill a while back taking my used oil to Autozone.

6-18-2012

What do we have here...