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Lift
Install - Day 4: We got the leafs attached to the axle and everything tightened
down in the front. Put the tires on and whalla....a lifted
front end.
The next thing to do is start working on the pitman arm.
We've got the pitman arm blues.... the puller is not working so
we decided to take a breather and start working on the rear.
More rust and more frozen bolts. Who needs those old u-bolts
anyway? Where are my cutting tools??
Lift
Install - Day 5,6,7: It's
obvious we haven't been in much of a hurry to get this lift done.
A few hours a day during the week is about all we can handle.
One of the eye bolts on the rear leaf springs had to be cut off.
The rear brake line - the compression fitting on the frame was
rusted solid. Although, at the time...it wasn't all that
fun, we did managed to conquer most of what was thrown at us.
This is the first major job for both of us. We really accomplished
more than we ever thought possible. It feels pretty damn
good!!! But there's more to come.....The lift is completely
installed except the drop pitman arm. If you catch us at the right
moment, you can probably see Steve and I both on our hands and
knees praying......"Please, please, please come off!!!"
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That's
me installing the stainless steel brake line
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Rear
without suspension
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New
leaf packs hanging in place
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New
leaf packs installed
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Old
leaf packs compared to the lifted pak
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Finished
Rear lift
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Lift
is done!! Steve
finally got the pitman arm off. What a job that was! He's been
messing with that for days!! The rear shocks we had to mount upside
down because of clearance issue with the shock tube. We installed
the Transfer case drop and took it for a drive around the block.
NO WAY!!! Drive line screeches and vibes BIG TIME! Back in
the garage it goes. That thing isn't safe to drive.
Izzy was blessed
with hitch - not a good idea with boomerang shackles. Every time
we hit a bump in the road, the rear suspension would bounce and
the boomerang shackles would hit the hitch WHAM!!!
Here is it.........IZZY
with an RE 4.5" suspension lift & 27" tires!!
If it makes
you feel good and brightens your day....go ahead ....LAUGH!!!
It is pretty funny looking!! |
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Drive shaft
Removal: Back in the garage it goes, this thing is not safe to drive. So
we're getting it ready for the SYE and Tom Woods drive shaft to
arrive.
Transfer
Case Removal: Our
Tom Woods heavy duty drive shaft and JB Conversions heavy duty
slip yoke eliminator kit came in and we began working right away.
We removed both drive shafts, drained the fluids from the case,
disconnected all wires, hoses and shifter linkage. As you
can see, we made sure to secure the transfer case while the transmission
was held up by jack stands. Steve's putting those muscles
to work unbolting the 6 nuts/studs that hold the transfer case
in place. The transfer case easily pulled away from the transmission
by a slight rolling of the hydraulic jack. If you do this, make sure you use straps to hold it in place on
the jack. |
Transfer
case supported by the hydraulic jack and straps. Steve removed
the bolts.
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We used the hydraulic jack to move the case out of the tranny.
Steve holds on just in case...
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This
is what the tranny looks like after the transfer case is removed. |
On
a clean organized workbench ready to be taken apart. |
| Slip
Yoke Eliminator (SYE) Install:
We followed the directions on how to do this, although the pictures weren't that
clear. We had to have the needle bearings pressed out of the old synchro hub assembly,
the hub is reused without the bearings. A little blue Permatex RTV is applied
before reinstalling the speedometer gear housing. |
Speedometer
housing & slip yoke removed |
Oil
pump removed (be careful handling the oil pump) |
Back
half of the case removed |
Drive
components removed | 
Empty
T-case |
New
short shaft installed |
Using
Permatex RTV to seal everything up |
T-Case
installed with Slip Yoke eliminator |
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| |
Time Flies
- when you're busy! Everything
went together rather smoothly. When we were done, we took it for a test
drive and had some terrible vibrations and noises. More researching.....
We ended up taking the 2.5* degree axle wedges out of the rear and installing
6* wedges. This helped tremendously, however, we still had some vibrations.
We had removed the transfer case drop earlier - so now we decided to put it back
in to help. Now, Izzy is back on the road again! Thank GOD!! Time to move
on to other things! Rear
Dana 44 Work:It
is now January 2002 and the Holidays are finally over. It's been about a month
since we did any work. The last several days we spent tearing apart the rear Dana
44 and cutting off the old shock mounts, track bar mount, and still trying to remove
the axle perches. Here we are, both cutting away!!! We
managed to get all the perches cut off clean enough that we can re-use them again. |
| Rear
Dana 44 Test Fit: This
weekend we borrowed a mig welder from Joe Sheldon and 2 wheels & tires
from Jon Kamanns (THANKS GUYS!!!) and we began to take apart the rear of
Izzy. We started by detaching parking
brake (disassemble brake drums) , shocks, and brake lines and drive shaft. We
disconnected the leaf springs and rolled the Dana 35 out from under Izzy. Our
next thing was to take some measurements of the side to side placement of the
axle. We rolled the 44 under Izzy as best we could. We still needed to shimmy
the axle back and forth to get a good placement. At this point, we test fitted
our JKS U-bolt plates and u-bolts
and cut them to the necessary length. Installed the leafs and drive shaft and tightened
everything down to about 90%. We took the jack stands out from under Izzy and
allowed the suspension to be 'at rest'. We pivoted the pumpkin upward to line
up with the output shaft on the SYE. At this point, we're done for the night.
I did some last minute 'bending' to the brake lines to ensure they cleared everything.
Tomorrow we'll fill up the tanks for the welder and Steve will tack weld the perches
in place. |
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Borrowed
some Tacoma wheels and tires to roll the axle in place.
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Disconnected
everything and rolled the Dana35C out.
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No
Axle....Dana 44 waiting to be test fitted.
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Dana
44 rolled into place
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Axle
placement is measured and pinion angle is set (perches are tacked
into place)
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Hey
Look what the UPS man dropped off....;) |
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Odds
& Ends:It's
probably been a couple weeks - I've been giving the front axle
a Go-Jo bath to clean up all the grease and crud. The front axle
is almost completely torn apart except the steering knuckles are
still intact. Unfortunately, we didn't have the tools large enough
to remove the ball joints - our local auto parts stores and hardware
stores didn't have the right tools either. Patience is a virtue
in this project - always waiting on something!! The rear axle
is torn apart once again and is currently at a local shop WAYCOOL
ROD SHOP in Lancaster PA to get the spring perches welded. THANKS
and lots of KUDOS go to Mike Heim for doing this work for us cheaply
(I owe him a few beers!).
Brake
Lines: The
brake line clips arrived today so it's time to get working on
setting the rear brake line in place. When we test fitted the rear
axle, I had 'gently bent the brake line tube to fit around the
u-bolts and to better contour the Dana 44. We used brake line
clips from Inline
Tube and new brake lines from Lancaster County Auto Parts in Lancaster
PA 1-717-397-7485. I used some clear tubing to wrap around
the lines for protection & rust prevention. |
We
added extra attachment points on the axle for more support.
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Brake
lines in place with clips.
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POR
15 Party! The
rear axle is once again torn apart (can we make up our minds??).
We used some POR15 on the back plates of the drum brakes, painted the new brake lines
and left the rear axle apart. The rear axle is ready - we're going
to wait until the front axle is ready before sending them away
for gears & locker install. But until then, we had a POR
15 party!! We
prepped many other components off the axles for applying POR 15.
The axles will get painted once they are done with the gears &
lockers.
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Prepping
the parts for POR 15
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New
brake lines painted with POR15. Turned out really nice!!!
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More
POR15 work.....rear drum plates, front rotor shields, &
steering components
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Dana
44 front Axle with 33X12.50's
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We've
got some 33's!!! The
one good thing about having a Tacoma and having axles with the
same 6 lug pattern - I was able to find some used Rockcrawler rims
with the proper backspacing we needed (3.75") with some 33X12.50
BFG MT Km's on them. GREAT!!! Izzy has wheels!!
Leaf
Spring Locating Hole & Webbing: We
put the front axle back together and put the wheels and tires
on it. Steve had already plugged and filled the leaf spring locating
hole on the original perches (centering hole) and relocated them
1/2" inward and drilled another hole. The next step is to
cut away at the diff housing to make room for the leaf springs
to fit (passenger side). |
Notching
the diff housing to make room for leaf spring U Bolt
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Webbing
already cut to accommodate U Bolt.
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Here's
what the stock axle looks like (before the test fitting)
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Test
Fit Front Axle: We
lifted Izzy up on jack stands and began to disconnect everything
attached to the axle. We removed the front Dana 30 Axle and
rolled the Dana 44 in.
Test
Fit Results: We
found out that the leaf spring centering bolts on the Rubicon
Express leaf springs are way too big for the holes we drilled
in the perches. We'll need to locate a bigger drill bit and/or
make the pin smaller. This is definitely a work in progress.
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Front
Dana 30 removed
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Both
Front Dana 30 and Dana 44
Which would you rather have?
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Dana
44 front axle sitting on the leaf springs
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U-bolts
& Plates: I
was unable to locate any U-bolt flip kits or skid type U-bolt
plates for our application. We ended up buying the 89 Grand Wagoneer
U-bolt plates from Eric at Skid Row Automotive just so we could get this job completed.
We're currently waiting for those to arrive.
Track
Bar : The Track Bar mount on the Dana 44
is not compatible with the YJ mount. The track bar mount on the
Dana 44 will have to come off completely OR we'll need to design
something custom and weld a new mount on the frame to make it
work. I'd like to think we'll try to make it work. Anything to
help make Izzy drive smoother is a bonus. |
Drag
Link/Ball Joint hitting leaf springs
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Steering
Linkage : The Wagoneer drag link and tie
rod will fit up to the YJ steering pump rather easily. We'll be
purchasing a drop pitman arm for a Grand Wagoneer to keep the
overall strength. You could machine the YJ pitman arm to accept
the larger ball joint if you wanted to.
Oops
: Upon further
investigation, at almost full droop and full left turn - we noticed
the drag link/ ball joint hits the leaf springs. So, in order
to get Izzy back on the road quicker, we'll get the hole in the
tie rode machined (filled and re-tapered) to accept the drag link/ball
joint from the other side of the tie rod.
NOTE: See a later portion of this build for updates on the steering. This wasn't such a good idea after all.
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"Flare less": While
waiting for our u-bolt plates to come in, we decided to begin
removing the stock flares. We'll be purchasing some Xenon 6.5"
TJ style flares.
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Grinding
away at the leaf perch (passenger side)
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Grinding
Away Our
U-bolt plates arrived so we began to work on the u-bolts and front
axle attachment points. Since the locating pin hole was drilled
1/2" inward on the leaf spring perches, that left 1/2"
of leaf spring perch hanging over the outside of each spring pack.
In order for the U-bolts to fit up against the perch and spring
pack, we had to grind off a corner of the old perch. The picture
to the left is the passenger side perch, viewed from the front.
We had to grind off the diff housing on the drivers side for the
same reason. The U-bolts you see here came from the 89 Grand Wagoneer.
They work great for testing purposes but they are too long to
use for our application and the threads are really stripped. |
Grinding
away at the diff housing (driver side)
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U-bolt
in place after grinding (test fit)
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Installing
Flares
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Flares!!
We
ordered some Xenon 6.5" TJ style flares for the YJ from a
Tacoma Territory member and owner John Ward of Ultimate
Off-road Products. Call 1-865-457-2764. These flares are
impressive. They're nice and THICK and sturdy.We decided to use
1/4"X20X 3/4" bolts, lock washers, and nuts instead
of using the stock screws and plastic clips. If you didn't notice
already - we removed our stripes...... The flares had covered
some of them up and it didn't look right so we just took them
all off. We put on one of our Jeeps R Us stickers instead.
U-bolts:
We
took some final measurements for U-bolt sizes and went to BUD'S
Springs & Suspension service in Lancaster PA 1-717-392-3416
to get 4 U-bolts bent. Only $21 for 4 including nuts & washers. |
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Front
Axle Test Fit: We
managed to get <most> of the grinding done - enough to get
everything bolted down in place so we could get Izzy back on the
garage floor and off the jack stands. This way - AT REST - we could
see how things will fit.
The
Track Bar will not work with the set-up. We're not concerned with
putting one in unless Izzy's driving characteristics are less
than ideal. We'll have to wait and see.
The
shock mounts will work as is, however, because of the straight
mount at the top - they could bind somewhat. We're planning on
converting the upper mount to a standard (EB1) to give it a bit
of flexibility. This can easily be done with Ford F250 shock towers.
We
took the front drive shaft measurements this evening and removed
the front drive shaft. We'll be taking it to Bud's Springs tomorrow
to be shortened. |
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Pitman
Arm : We
ordered a Skyjacker drop pitman arm for an 89 Grand Wagoneer (part
# JA350). This pitman arm will allow us to use the Grand Wagoneer
drag link. This bolts right up to the YJ steering pump output
shaft. You
can see in the next few pictures below just how HEAVY DUTY the
drop pitman arm is compared to the YJ drop pitman arm.
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 |
Top:
YJ
Drop Pitman arm (Rubicon Express)
Bottom:
Grand
Wagoneer Drop Pitman Arm (Skyjacker JA 350)
Below
You will see the difference in width.
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Afterthought:
Save your money for a new steering setup. See a later portion of this build for details.
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Front
Hub & Knuckle Removal: For
the last time - we're taking apart the front hubs & knuckles
for a cleaning and rebuilding. After this is complete, the axle
will be delivered to Way Cool Rod Shop for some final welding
work on the perches. We have an official date with Hoaks 4WD in
Wrightsville PA on April 8th to have the gears, lockers, bearings,
& seals installed on both axles.
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Ball
Joint Removal: As
you can see in the picture, we didn't remove any ball joints just
yet. We came across something that was a bit unfamiliar to us.
These ball joints don't just press out. After spending about 2
hours on the internet trying to get information on how to remove
these things - I discovered we needed a tool called a "Ball
Joint Spanner Wrench".
I
spent another hour or so driving around town trying to find one
- none of the auto parts stores have one.
I
finally ordered one from a Napa Auto parts. They had to order
it special for me. |
Ball
Joint Removal??
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ARB
air compressor install |
ARB
Air Compressor:
Steve
began working on installing the ARB Air Compressor. Installing an
ARB was our fastest and cheapest option to get things functional.
In the future we will consider doing an onboard air system-possibly
a York set-up. But...for now, we're more interested in getting Izzy
back on the road and having those lockers available! |
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Rear
Axle Paint Job:
While
I was working on extending the rear differential breather hoses
and finishing up with the CB wiring, Steve began prepping and
painting the rear axle with POR 15.
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Painting
the rear axle with POR15 |
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Old
U-bolt welded to side of diff housing |
Fabricated
Front Perches:
The front axle came back from Way Cool Rod shop in Lancaster Pa.
Mike did an awesome job!! After our front axle test fit - we found
the u-bolt (left or outer side) would be mounted on the edge of
the diff housing and not the tube. We asked Mike to weld this
old u-bolt (seen in picture) to the edge of the diff housing as
a safety precaution to prevent the u-bolt from coming off the
edge. Not that we'd expect the u-bolt to come off the edge, but
under heavy rock crawling situations - I'd rather be SAFE than
sorry.
On
this same side of the axle, there were 2 small areas where the
leaf springs were not supported. We didn't need to get these 'voids'
filled, however, Mike was able to weld in some angle steel. The
entire area of the leaf springs will be supported now.
The
other side of the axle - the picture below shows the area we had
to cut away to accommodate the u-bolts (right side of perch in
picture). Mike welded a 1/2" piece to the other side of the
perch (left side of perch in picture).
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'Voids'
filled |
Extending
the Perch
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Ball
Joints :
It's been a few days since we worked on the ball joints and steering
knuckles. It took us a while to learn how to remove them. After
purchasing a ball joint spanner wrench and a 3lb sledge hammer,
finally the ball joints & knuckle came off the axle. Stress
relief.....3lb sledge hammer.....and WHAM!!! many times.
We
totally removed the ball joints from the knuckle. We will be getting
replacement ball joints and saving the old & dirty ones for
spares if needed (on the trail).
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