The Jalapeno STILL Isn't Running, Updated 3/16/12

[SuicideTireZJ]

Oh and i was wondering... if I did decide to swap in another 231, would there be any problem swapping over the SYE to a new case as long as it isn't damaged? Or is it a one-time use only sorta thing?

[jsteves]

Oh yeah, I forgot I had taken a couple studs as my 231 has some broken in shipping.

Anyway, the pic is hard to see but it looks to me like the "ball" is the middle of the centering kit on your double cardan. In otherwords, I think half of it got torn off in the case explosion. I would just grab a front shaft from a junkyard.

[zj95]

whats that shit on your windows? looks like it says "HOMO" on the drivers window

[SuicideTireZJ]

whats that shit on your windows? looks like it says "HOMO" on the drivers window

Nice catch. Yeah someone took window paint and wrote a bunch of dirty shit on my window and on my roommates Tundra. Left the other two roommies and my neighbors cars alone, which was weird. Then they left an elmo doll under my wiper and a Bob the Builder doll under my roommate's (he's a construction management major).

Took it to the carwash today and all is well. Probably the first time I've washed it in over a year (I still had some red dirt from my moab trip last april!)

[BLK97ZJ]

If you cut the cup out, the double cardon shaft won't work at all. It has nothing to do with the transfer case.

[Tommy]

hey were right. Can anyone tell me why there is a ball and cup on my front shaft? I'm assuming it has something to do with it being full time 4wd, but the fucker failed and took my $300 231 with it. I'm not sure what my options are from this point, it looks like I need a new shaft. If I were running a part time case I would just cut the ball and cup off and run it like a normal double cardan but with a 249 in there I don't think so. So for now I'm just going to run it with no front shaft and hope it holds up for the week.

Wasn't that shaft making a shit load of noise? I have replaced the socket a few times on my front shaft. They get really loud when they start to fail. Mine does anyways.

Rebuild the CV. You can buy those parts from TOM WOODS or any driveline shop. Buy all new u-joints, and make sure you stay on top of greasing that shit. I do mine after every run. Is the ball stuck on there? Hard to see at least for me...

Is that the only damage to the shaft?

My garage is like a five star hotel in comparison to your working conditions. Nice flip flops and cargo shorts.... j/k

[SuicideTireZJ]

Haha yeah in hindsight i should have towed it to my friends house instead of my parking lot, but his thunderbird was getting a motor swap and there would have been no way to get mine into the garage. I'm moving into his place soon and the garage is getting a once-over so our working conditions should improve significantly (but still won't hold a candle to your shop... :drool

I'm not sure how that ball held up. The cup is trashed, obviously, and if I remember right the ball has a little scoring on it. Would it have to be perfectly smooth to work right?

[SuicideTireZJ]

Well, I finally took my parents and girlfriends advice, and got a job waiting tables. The money is leaps and bounds better than all the other jobs I had being a chef and such, so there's a little spare cash for upgrades.

I ripped out the beat-to-shit procomp shocks and replaced them with some $30 specials my buddy at VatoZone helped me source, bought a steering box brace and rear tracbar from Kevinsoffroad.com, finally ripped the exhaust out from the muffler back and now I'm running a cat to turndown.


The steering box brace




Next major mod is still replacing the rockers, but I want to brace the unibody first so I can weld them on. Here's the worst of the damage so far, getting prepped for bedliner


And, yes, I'm still running the procomp drop tracbar bracket on the front. The holes ovaled out over the last ~5 years it's been lifted so I JB welded it together, but it's starting to crack. I'll get Claytons setup as soon as I can afford it.


I still need to get my welder wired up, but my anniversary was a couple days ago and I blew $200 on dinner at the Melting Pot instead of on the Jeep... it was worth it.

[zj95]

that TB bracket scares me...

[SuicideTireZJ]

Hahaha God don't I know it.

[tywilson88]

boobicon jk shocks?

[SuicideTireZJ]

No clue. Just found 'em in a couple boxes collecting dust underneath some other stuff. Didn't even have a logo on them, but they were the right length and definitely the right price, so...

[dirty]

Nice ride...I remember college, hobbies (other than drinking) are tough to afford. Give plasma every month, that's how I financed the drinking...I make money giving fluids...and then I spend money replacing them with beer. Keep at it!

By the way, is that steering box brace from Kevins too? I need one desperately.

[SuicideTireZJ]

Hahaha I hear ya on the plasma. I tried to donate that once but they found out I'm at high risk for mad cow disease... shit! Now I just work, and waiting tables is pretty lucrative although I don't have much downtime to wrench. I certainly picked the wrong hobby while in school, but I love it too much to care.

And yes, the box is from Kevins. I didn't have the time or patience to try and throw a four bolt box in there so I figured this would be a pretty good alternative. I got mine for just over $100 shipped, and it's a quality product. Here's a link: http://www.kevinsoffroad.com/zj/zj_s...gearbrace.html

[zj95maxx]

i guess he changed the design a bit..mine looks like this

[jsteves]

i guess he changed the design a bit..mine looks like this

Yeah, that is the older one. Mine looks like that as well.

[SuicideTireZJ]

I think with the way the tube is bent it's a little stronger. Is that tab that connects the curved bit on yours braced with anything?

[SuicideTireZJ]

Got a bit more done yesterday. The UPS guy came and dropped off the Clayton's adjustable trackbar and drop bracket, and I've got to say that shit is BEEFY. Very impressed with the design. It's supposed to be stitch welded in a few locations to the unibody but I need more practice with my Lincoln before I'm willing to try that. About five minutes later the fedex truck arrived with an OEM skid I bought from a board member, but that's a project for another day. And finally, I'm heading down to Denver to pick up a 77' HP Dana 44 I'm going to slowly build up as funds allow, and eventually pair that with a big-bearing 9-inch when I can find one. I'm not sure how far I'm going to go with these axles before I swap them in because I'm not going to run anything more than 35's before I switch to LA's, and that's way down the road. Onto the pics...

Clayton sure supplies a lot of marketing devices... err stickers with his stuff:


My two rides. Fort Collins is small enough you can pretty much bike everywhere, and I got the scooter for free, so back off!


Old shit


Bracket had a pretty big crack in it and the bolts had loosened considerably. Wonder why I had some severe DW?



New bracket painted and installed. That's a LOT of drop. I didn't take a picture of both of them side by side, but I think it's something like 3". I'm running just under 5" of lift, and 5" is their reccommended minimum height, otherwise the axle could contact the bracket under full flex. I haven't flexed it out yet so I don't know if I need to extend the bumpstops.




Everything put together:


And the compulsory flipoff to the ProComp trackbar bracket that's been under there for about 5 years. Scary stuff...




The new bar made a big difference, there's a lot less play in the steering, and it made me realize how far off center the axle was. I'm still running no swaybars, but I dare say this thing almost handles like a normal automobile again!

[ELLLLLIOTTTTT]

Nice 6" of leverage on that bracket.

[SuicideTireZJ]

Yeah that's why it needs to be welded

[Ok State Cowboy]

How wide are those 33s you're running? TSL's or LTB's?

Never mind i guess if i had read the whole thread i would have seen they are 13.50s.

[SuicideTireZJ]

Yeah, I love the stance they (LTB's) give the rig and the noise they make at speed. They hook up off-road on all surfaces, even at street pressure.

On-road, though, they're a disaster. Packed snow/ice is hopeless, wet traction not much better. They're impossible to balance and are bias-ply so vibrations are killer. If I can find a good deal on some AT's or something to run on the street and just use these strictly off-road, I will.

[SuicideTireZJ]

Picked up some old iron down in Denver from a fellow MC'er yesterday. It's not a 60, but it is from a '77 so at least the wedges are weld-on. It's going to be built slowly and carefully, so don't expect to see it under the heep anytime soon.

[SuicideTireZJ]

I crawled around under the jeep the other day attaching some rear UCA's I've had kicking around my garage for a couple years and never got around to. While down there, I noticed this:


There's a thread currently going on in the General Grand Talk forum about how to fix it, and I think I have a pretty decent plan. I went out and made my first steel purchase today and got some 11-gauge that I'm planning on plating a significant amount of the "frame" with. I then set about fabbing up a new UCA mount out of the same 11 gauge, which is OEM thickness for the mount. I'm not sure if I'm going to use it yet, but at least it was some practice with the red box in my garage. For my first major fab/ welding project, I'm pretty stoked. The quality of the welds is, well, pretty shitty, but I have a guy that will be doing all the finish welding for me.



And one next to the old one that ripped off.

[SuicideTireZJ]

I re-read this thread the other week and got motivated to revive the jeep. So I did. No major pictures of the work but I picked up a front driveshaft and lengthened it, installed a Kevin's Radiator Support, registered and insured it, and other minor stuff. I wasn't able to tie my bumper into the radiator support like I had hoped so that's probably the next thing I really want to do as winching is a little sketchy still.

Anyway, we've been getting a grip of snow up here so I took it for it's maiden voyage after being mothballed. Here's a couple pictures.

New Shaft


Stuck!