2011 GSW To-Do-List

[jsteves]

I bent an XJ44 shaft badly...

[K2]

It's not that hard to do!!! Don't you remember me bending mine at the flange a couple of years ago on Cliffhanger??

Nope, but I remember you bending your ARB into your fender and busting a shock! Not a good trail for you.

[wannabe_offroad]

Nope, but I remember you bending your ARB into your fender and busting a shock! Not a good trail for you.

ARB is better now and I'll just say the shock was old so it was due to be replaced. The fenders on the other hand are still pretty beat-up

[BigDaveZJ]

The shock at least made a super sweet noise when it snapped.

[Kauzi Zj]

Tha snap was cool, but his jeep splooging the rocks was AWESOME!

[fpkites]

It's not that hard to do!!! Don't you remember me bending mine at the flange a couple of years ago on Cliffhanger??

You and your silly flange...real Jeeps have C-clips....wait, what???

Nope, but I remember you bending your ARB into your fender and busting a shock! Not a good trail for you.

The shock at least made a super sweet noise when it snapped.

Tha snap was cool, but his jeep splooging the rocks was AWESOME!

And the smell was to die for....literally!

Realized today I also need to make sure all my tools make it back into my toolbox. Got some cleaning to do as well. Stupid grease gun dripped into the top compartment and top drawer of my Crapsman box. That's what I get for cheaping out on chassis lube. It melts and makes a big damn mess.

Also noticed when we were in SD that the tags are expired on the tow rig. Stupid CO department of revenue and their title server taking a shit meant that postcards didn't get mailed out. Bridget's getting the smog tested now.

[chadjans]

Heres to hoping my new suck down winch solenoids come before I leave.

[LSRGreg]

got my dub back from bryant yesterday.. drives a lot better now with the proper caster and driveshaft angles after the knuckle rotation.. sleeves and truss are on, along with new johnny joints on the truss, and new OEM bushings on the lowers. Tracks great, feels a lot more solid. But the rotation brought about some issues that i will have to tackle this weekend.. the springs are now really bowed, the sway bar mounts hit the drag link so i lost a lot of turning radius, and my shock mounts raised up a decent amount, so i will have to do some tweaking before i am comfortable wheeling this sucker.

[JohnBoulderCO]

the springs are now really bowed, the sway bar mounts hit the drag link so i lost a lot of turning radius, and my shock mounts raised up a decent amount

Bowed springs - you can minimize this by "clocking" your springs. I have found that rotating the front springs to different positions, you will find a "sweet" spot with minimal bowing. The bottom of the spring is not flat, as some factory car springs are. So depending on how it is lined up on your axle spring perch it will "tip" the spring in one direction when compressed. After I found the best location, I wrapped a piece of tape around a coil so I know where to position it if it rotates again.

Sway bar mounts hitting drag link - is that just on the passenger side? Might have to grind something on the spring perch/mount.

Shock Mounts Higher - you just increased your droop and reduced your compression. Not a problem unless you loose springs or bottom out your shocks. Get new shocks or relocate mounts.

[LSRGreg]

thanks for the reply john.. here are a couple pics. the springs already had a decent amount of bow since i moved the axle forward when i did the long arms.. here they are now.



Maybe i can get enough rotation out of them to get me by for this weekend.. i hope..

The drag link touches the sway bar mount here, as well as the tie rod also touches the front of the spring mounts too, because i had to grind off the bottom edge of the spring mount before to get full steering.. and now it goes right into the middle of the spring mount.





I will have to measure to see how much the shock mount changed.. if its only a 1/2" or so, no biggie, but i can rotate those back down if needed.

Not a big deal.. i should have enough time to get it squared away before we leave next week.

G-

[JohnBoulderCO]

Sway bar mounts hitting drag link - I just remembered, if it is the passenger side, you might have to move the sway bar link from the outside of the sway bar and spring perch to the inside to clear the TRE. When I was running the "flipped" tie rod and drag link steering on my WJ D30 that is something I had to do. Works just as well on the inside and easy enough to disco by doing the driver's side first, then the passenger lower side, then rotate sway bar down to do upper. Reverse order to re-attach.

EDIT: AFTER SEEING ABOVE PICES
I see your sway bar link is already on the inside and your drag link has a "J" bend. Bigger "J" bend, grind more or re-locate the mount.

Springs, yep, I think if you rotate them and and try a few different positions you will be able to minimize that. I would hi-lift my front end on the rock slider until the spring just unseated, then rotate a bit, lower and repeat. Time consuming, but I found it worked. After you find the sweet spot on one side, you should be able to "point" the other side's spring quicker using the first one's location as a guide. Has to do with that last 1/2 turn of the coil and where it is on the spring perch. I don't have my Jeep at work or I could take a peak at my springs and get you started with the location that works for me. I will update this after I have a chance to look.

[LSRGreg]

Yeah.. i would think the end of the spring wire would need to be on the front side, as it makes the coil "longer" on that side.. I'll mess around with it... thanks for the tips!
G-

[JohnBoulderCO]

Yeah.. i would think the end of the spring wire would need to be on the front side, as it makes the coil "longer" on that side.. I'll mess around with it... thanks for the tips!
G-

Yep, to make it longer and "tip" it back. But, I will check tonight to confirm. Welcome!

EDIT: the last 1/2 coil of the spring, is on the front side of the perch, with the "end" of the coil facing to the back of the Jeep. Same on both sides. I hope that makes sense.

Looking at your pics, the driver's side coil "end" appears to be at the front of the perch. You would then rotate that coil 90 degs to place the end pointing to the back.

[fpkites]

Napa = poop when shopping for rear wheel bearings. They keep trying to spec out the bearings that are pressed on the shaft with the collar...no fawkers, that's for the Dub 44A!! GRRRR!

A guy at my buddy's shop checked another parts source and got the roller bearing style that the ZJ needs - $55, and the shaft could be too grooved...we'll see. I could be running to the junkyard tomorrow for a new shaft.

Tow rig power steering sounds a little whiny...better check that out too.

[BigDaveZJ]

Tow rig power steering sounds a little whiny...better check that out too.

That's an easy one. It's a Ford. Mine's been noisy since I got it. As long as being on the brake pedal doesn't make you lose power steering you're fine.

[fpkites]

Yep, everything looks ok. Fluid level is fine and super clean. Air filter is dirty, but only made smog test marginally dirtier than last year. Still passed with flying colors in stock tune.

[fpkites]

And.....started tearing into the 44a to replace the bearing/seal, and what do I find? Our favorite cross pin retaining bolt sheared....fawk!!!

[ArloGuthroJeep]

Pic? I have heard of a few of them shearing lately.

I went 4-wheeling today to test out my exhaust and make sure it cleared everything. Mission accomplished

[fpkites]

I'll just "borrow" Dave's pic from when he put an Aussie in Trixy way back when...lol

[fpkites]

I got the pin/bolt out, so I'll try to replace the bearing and seal tonight, and just go to the junkyard tomorrow for a shitload of the bastards. Maybe I'll start a black market on them

I called the stealership, and the closest one of them is in Ft Collins. Napa/Carquest/Autozone/Checker/Pep Boys ALL don't carry it. It's ONLY a Crown part. Maybe Dana, but doubtful since the 44a is a relic.

Anybody need anything at the junkyard?

Right now I'm just trying to get the C-Clip loose so I can pull the passenger side shaft to do the bearing. Can't for the life of me remember how to disengage it with the Aussie in there.

[ArloGuthroJeep]

Ohhh, the set bolt broke. I thought the cross pin itself broke...I bet that bolt is shared by other axles. Might be worth a trip to a dealership, or an auto parts store, with part in hand. Or a drivetrain shop I bet would have it.

[K2]

Coolant reservoir please. I'll PM you to make sure you get this.

[fpkites]

Ryan - nope, not shared by other axles. GM and Ford have cross pin retainers in the "Help!" section....MUCH bigger than what the 44a uses. The closest one is in Fort Collins. I'll be collecting them at the junkyard tomorrow.


Ken - I got your PM. 93-95, right?

[fpkites]

Junkyard had 2 of the boogers...woot!

Now to eat something and get back at that damn c-clip. I grabbed a shaft while I was at the yard too just in case mine's bent. $20 is much better than the 300+ that Napa wants

[Z]

I grabbed a shaft while I was at the yard too just in case mine's bent

Hmmmmm.........