The Yellowtail Build

[baby hulk]

I know u already have parts but when I did my tj I started with a Dana 44. After pricing everything out it was within a $1000.00 off just going 60 14 but I did find a smoking deal on my axels. Trust me I understand on the $ side I about to put another $10,000 in mine.

 

[sjones26573]

I know u already have parts but when I did my tj I started with a Dana 44. After pricing everything out it was within a $1000.00 off just going 60 14 but I did find a smoking deal on my axels. Trust me I understand on the $ side I about to put another $10,000 in mine.

I understand. I just didn't feel like messing with 1 tons. The 44 and 8.8, both trussed running chromo axles, should be able to handle the 37's with my wheeling.

 

[baby hulk]

I understand.

 

[jankoid]

 

[sjones26573]

View attachment 147474

Dammit Jake. You're as close to 1 ton as it gets without actually hitting 1 ton.

 

[sjones26573]

Started off at 4WP Raleigh at the Madness in March sale. Talked to a few guys in a club I'm looking to join. Then set on my way to the Charlotte 4WP to catch the end of their event. Stopped outside of Raleigh to help out an older woman whose '06 X blew a tire. Unfortunately the tire that blew was the spare from a previous blowout, so couldn't get her back on the road, but I talked to her until her son arrived. I think she loved her Jeep as much as I love mine. Got home and ditched the doors. Then me and my father set out for 4WP, with both the TJ and the JKUR. Event was over by time we got there but I still opted to play on the crushed car. Then rolled back through uptown Charlotte. Always fun to turn a few heads in the city. Working on the YJ axle swap tomorrow.






Oh, and baby hulk, I think I saw you rolling through downtown Concord earlier. I was in that JKUR at What-A-Burger

 

[sjones26573]

Update:

Over spring break I got the rear 2" BDS springs and 5100's in. Of course that was a PITA and took way longer than planned. Nothing ever goes easy for me.




Wheeled it last weekend at URE. Muddy as all hell. Any trail with a clay hill was all but impassible. Even going down here required a tow, and for me, a winch. The ditch and some ruts kept shooting everyone into the ditch. The YJ got towed over without sliding off (barely) but I wasn't so lucky. Slid off until it was teetering and I had to run a winch line up the hill to get it back on the trail. We ran a snatch block for the next TJ to keep the front end up the hill as it went over the hump.



Only major damage was a 2nd destroyed tie rod (this was a few month old ZJ tie rod, so I had to work to kill it so fast) which we managed to pull back into driveable shape by tying it to a tree with a strap and backing up a few times. Still driving on it (no sense in destroying a 3rd one at the Jamboree) but it will be replaced. I had to power wash it forever to get the ungodly amount of mud off of it. Then washed it.




This week I received and installed new dash and HVAC bulbs from SuperbrightLEDs. Half of the old ones were burnt out or flickering.

This shows one of the old 2 LEDs on the right and the new 1 LED on the left.



All new



Installed




Soooo much better not having the center of the cluster strobing in my face at night.

Now, I have a very expired tag. I am beyond due for inspection but I've been battling a p0432 code. I finally submitted and ordered a new Magnaflow downpipe from Kolak (of JF fame) which is being shipped from Magnaflow in Cali. Today I went by the DMV office down the street and got myself a 10 day Operation Without Inspection/Registration Permit issued. Now it's street legal again and I can drive to the Jamboree. Once the downpipe comes in, a local muffler shop will be doing the install. Since I had both new upstream sensors (to clear their codes that actually went away on their own with a PCM reset) (the stock B1S1 is currently stuck and semi-stripped, hoping the shop can get it out and the new one in), I decided to throw the shop a bone and order both downstream as well so they wouldn't have to fight getting the old stockers out of the old downpipe.

Finally, I recently won a HiLift from Raleigh 4WP and I received confirmation that the Steinjager quick discos I'll be product testing shipped yesterday.

And just loving this weather:

 

[sjones26573]

Also, the 10A is now sitting on a 2.5" AEV lift with Bilstein 5100's. He already regrets the tires due to their E rating.

 

[sjones26573]

So recently, I bought and installed Crown HD steering to last until I swap the Waggy, stripped and retinted my turn signals which look great now, and fixed my homemade 3rd brake light with new SuperbrightLED LEDs.

 

[sjones26573]

RE trackbar with new Moog bushing and Barnes Heim to fix my death wobble and new tailgate and tramp stamp.

 

[Loganwayne]

RE trackbar with new Moog bushing and Barnes Heim to fix my death wobble and new tailgate and tramp stamp.

Do you remember the heim you used? Left hand or right hand thread? I know it's a 3/4 hole but haven't took it apart yet but since you just did I can get the same one you got thanks

 

[sjones26573]

Do you remember the heim you used? Left hand or right hand thread? I know it's a 3/4 hole but haven't took it apart yet but since you just did I can get the same one you got thanks

Left hand 3/4 x 3/4 for the RE1600.

 

[Loganwayne]

Thanks that's what I needed to know

 

[sjones26573]

Painted the front diff cover, as well as some other stuff, and bolted on the guard. Probably only going to use it once before swapping in the 44. Also placed a deposit to have 35" MT/R's mounted next week, just in time for Windrock.

Yesterday I got my aluminum tag bracket mounted. Still have some work I want to do before painting it. Much better than the zip ties I was using.


And a few days ago I installed the 8.8 Solid cover.

 

[sjones26573]

Been awhile. A few changes.

35x12.5x17 MT/R Ks mounted, rear driveshaft rebuilt, Poison Spyder hood louver installed (got it new from PS for less than half retail), installed some 3W Cree LED rock lights (which turned out to be shit and I'm removing), installed Metalcloak front uppers during a death wobble battle, made several audio improvements, added some latches (JK hood latches) to the CJ gate, and added an antenna mount on the back. And took it to Windrock.

I got the much cheaper and better LED's I'm going to be using instead as rock lights today, and damn are they bright! Thousand times better than the shitty 3W ones on it now.





Crappy current 10x rock lights that I paid $60 for (and they're already rusting)



Awesome new 40x rock lights I paid nothing for (gift card, they sell for $7.20 on Amazon with Prime for 20 pods. I bought 2 sets).





Windrock:

 

[sjones26573]

Ripped the old lights out. 20 of 40 pods installed w/ stainless self-tapping screws. Bought 50 feet of ANCOR Marine 16ga Duplex wire from West Marine, although no wiring done yet.

Jury-rigged* 4 of the front pods to test output. Blown away at how bright they are, especially compared to the crappy ones I ripped out. And this is only a small piece. In total, there will be 8 front, 8 rear, and 12 on each side.

*Jury-rig executed by incompetent moron. Do not attempt.

Brightness dimmed by camera:


Actual output: (Idk why NC4x4 is flipping this pic. It's not happening anywhere else.)

 

[sjones26573]

Drove to the nearest 4 Wheel Parts in Charlotte to pick up a pair of G2 5x4.5 5x5.5 adapters to temporarily run the new wheels on the 30. Will be going to the shop tomorrow to install the Super 88 in the rear, which will be switched to 5x5.5 when the wheels are mounted.



The Ruffstuff order I have been eagerly awaiting also came in. 7/8" heim steering and heims for the trackbar. UPS picked a bad day to switch drivers, as the new guy didn't know to back down the driveway, so he had to heft the 44lb box all the way to the house from the street. My god this kit is pure beef.





And now I resume rock light install...

 

[sjones26573]

Oh, and forgot to post, I picked up some new mounted-but-never-ran gen 1 MT Sidebiters as well as a rear swaybar from a friend. Got a smoking deal on the wheels (same he paid for them) and needed the 5x5.5 pattern.

 

[tkeaton]

have you broken your hand?

 

[sjones26573]

have you broken your hand?

I'm surprised I missed this. No I haven't.

Anyways, some updates. Got the MT/R's mounted on the new wheels, broke down a few times, fixed it a few times, tore apart the engine to take the manifold to the muffler shop and have a stuck bad O2 removed, reinstalled front/rear sway bars, repainted the rockers, replaced the last set of double bushing arms, and installed and wired the rock lights and used a pod for new tag light. My old wheels are selling today so I'm ordering new taillights from SuperBrightLEDs.

 

[Atla]

Very nice rock lights!

 

[sjones26573]

Very nice rock lights!

Thanks!

Ok, updates:

New SuperBrightLED's tail lights:



They super bright :



JK got a Zeon 10S, Teraflex carrier, and practically new '13 Rubi top:





TJ M8000 got painted and a new TRE syn line with safety thimble:





Wheeled at the URE Jamboree. Smashed in oil pan, developed a bad leak where SYE meets case (which I got stopped at URE), and finished trashing the rear driveshaft again:



Bought the stuff to repair:





Received some of the stuff:



And installed the Dorman 689-200 despite reported flaws. New version uses alignment cap rather than holes and is stupid easy. Turned engine until cap fit on stock sync, twisted it out, twisted new one in, and it popped right in when the flat on the bottom lined up. Sensor plugged in without much trouble. Cranked it and it ran smooth and quiet, no timing issues. Took all of 15 minutes to install.

 

[sjones26573]

Gotten a bit behind. Build doesn't get as much traffic over here so I don't tend to update as often.

In order:

Rear driveshaft had been making all sorts of racket so I replaced both DC u-joints with new Spicer's. One was an older Spicer that I believe was overgreased, blew out the seals, and proceeded to wear. The other was a newer Precision that replaced the other Spicer that blew out a bearing cap a few month ago. It may have been rebuilt in a bathroom with a hammer, but I believe it finally has a good setup that is going to last a while. Has been smooth and problem-free since install and I've done plenty of driving.





When on FWD, I had heard all manners of nasty noises, which I primarily thought was my other D30 u-joint going bad. After back home and in RWD, I confirmed it was pretty bad. The shop with a 20 ton press wasn't far, but I didn't feel like dealing with that, so I replaced it with a hammer as well. It had all manner of play. Much tighter and a quiet front end. While I had the tire off, I drooped the axle to reseat the bottom of the coil into the notch on the coil pad.











While I was home, I also tackled the RMS and Oil Pan Gasket





I also broke out the heavy duty Rusto and did some painting. The Super 88 shafts and 8.8 rotors were rusty as could be and were visible without the wheel caps so they needed a coat. Additionally, I coated that awkward piece of body that shows with a body lift, sprayed the entire gas tank skid (lots of rock rash) and hit a few rusty spots. I try to stay ahead of the rust in the paint department.

NOTICE: Yes, I painted the 8.8 discs. No, I did not tape them off. However, I avoided direct spray on the wear surface and what can be seen is mostly overspray. I was in a hurry and needed it done so I could drive it back. It was only the rear discs so braking was not majorly impacted and the pads wear through the paint in no time. I drove across the state immediately after this with no issue. So please, no debate.











And here's some recent pics. The first is outside the NC Capitol Building a couple days ago (I needed a picture with a US flag for another forum's giveaway) and the second is a random picture that some construction guy working on the building in front of my apartment must have taken. A fellow NC Jeeper saw it on Facebook and told me about it. And to clarify, the other lane is closed for construction. The guy is actually standing in the middle of it. Have yet to find where on Facebook the pic is, but that's me

 

[sjones26573]

I'm just gonna do a pic dump update, but the only important thing to highlight is the fact I executed my Waggy 44 swap. It was a load of work and put a friend in the emergency room for a bit. Still continually fighting worn out parts. Needs a new steering box, which I am probably going to convert to a Saginaw style and run a Durango box rather than go through the effort of having the Merc rebuilt. Need some new MT/R's and really need all new shocks. 5100's beat you to death on such a light rig. Thinking Rancho RS9000XL's with Savvy 3" coils.

 

[sjones26573]