Drahcir495

I had to check the link because I thought it was a typo! Two seats for $185; to your door - wow! Great find - Rich

That will be sa-weet! Get the rims too! Couldn't your buddy get a shot of the roll bar in the bed without having to flip it on its side :D - Rich

I managed to get a lot done this weekend on the jeep. I am going to save most of the progress for one complete RE lift install post when I get it completed ;) . I did manage to get the axle out -> Install my front tow plate & tow hooks (this thing 's )-> And I got the brush guard ready for the front bumper (sitting in my toy box :brows:) -> I also spent an hour on Sat. trying to get a bird out of the garage. At first I thought it was a bat :oops:! The silly thing would not get out. He eventually flew up into the attic. He spent the night up there, then he flew out some time around 3pm on Sunday. I am so glad I did not have to go up in the attic and try to catch him - Rich

I was planning on getting the Rugged Ridge steering linkage assembly, but I think they are out of stock until May? I decided I should look into getting the ZJ tie rod again, and upgrading to the newer drag link at the same time. After pricing it all out; it looked like I would be spending way over $200 for all new parts. I figured I would see what was available at the Pick-N-Pull. I hit the jackpot at the Pick-N-Pull on Saturday. . They had a few ZJ's with the V8s, so I was very pleased. Normally, I try to find the jeeps with no front end damage. But they had this 97 that had been hit in the front pretty good. All the damage had been corrected, and it looked like all the steering had been replaced. I had already taken most of the steering off a 95, so I was able to make sure that the 97 had no damage. It all looked great, so I paid the 60 bucks and headed home. I get it all cleaned up, and everything looks like new - drag link, tie rod, tie rod ends etc. Very, very :D Here is the stock 89 MJ steering (top), compared to the 97 ZJ V8 assembly (bottom)- Pitman arm end comparison - Knuckle end comparison - It is significantly more stout than the stock set-up. From the research that I gathered, the drag link is said to be identical to the newer XJ's. Grabbing the complete steering off the Grand Cherokee just saved me time and money trying to peice it together. Even the rubber boots look like new! I am going to slap a coat of paint on it, and get it on the new axle - Rich

I like the silver one better;)

I think it would be bad manners if you lived next door ;). I like the black rims better.

Did not know that, I had to go through 3 different SEM colors to get close. Ah :roll: , there are 3 different shades of blue inside already {from the factory} so, I won't sweat it. Thanks for the heads up - Rich

SEM?? WTF? Over -

SEM

A thousand thanks Onebigmj :cheers: - I just got the whole bumpstop off with a BF pipe wrench

I am working on the front RE lift today and I am stuck. I don't want to break anything :headpop: except this-> How the heck do you get this off? I can't get the new spacer over it, and the instructions do not tell me how to get it off. You can see the scuff marks I made on the rubber and the cap trying to get it off. Thank in advance! - RIch

LEAD, I found the last steel one they had, last year. Then a few months ago RockCrusher called me about the new ones :cheers: - Rich

Now that I have my front axle ready to go in, I started taking apart the front end on the MJ. Got the jeep lifted, set the frame down on a few cinder blocks ;). I got the tires removed, then I sat for a few minutes to plan in what order would the parts be removed. I decided the I would remove the sway bar disconnects first. Grabbed a 15mm socket and busted the driverside off; easy. The passenger side unbolted with a little effort; sweet. The sway bar was still connected to the disconnect, no big deal. I grabbed the bar and lifted up on it. It popped out and I caught my knuckle on the bumper bracket :eek: . Barely touched the bracket and I was able to see into the space between my bone and skin. By the time I got to the camera the cool gap had filled with blood :cry:. Picture -> Warning: kind of graphic -> My fingers are clenched and distorted because it flipping hurt :roll: Lol, that is just a strange picture. I took the rest of the night off. It could have used a stitch or two, but I just bandaged it up myself. I am going to get a Tetanus shot this week though. -Rich

I like the RC cover too. The front steel one is a beast. I have yet to hear, or read, a bad word about the Eaton E-lockers? They sometimes get confused with the ECTED & the ELECTRAC. I spent hours on NAXJA and the internet trying to find a negative review on these. Maybe you have read something new on them? Let me know - actually it is too late, so please don't ;) . I will keep this thread updated on how they perform :cheers: - Rich

HUCKLEBERRY FUDGE COMING FALL 2008 Not soon enough! :drool:

Today I offered bwatsoncj a large Coke with ice to assemble my front 44. He said he wasn't available until I offered to sweeten the deal with a Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Bagle from Micky-D's :D Got up early and grabbed my gears and locker, and met him down at the shop. Eaton E-locker and 4:56 gears -> We pulled a new Rubicon LP44 off the rack, and then we {bwatsoncj} started to set it up -> Bwatsoncj decided that we should first drill out the 29/64" hole for the wire grommet to avoid contaminating the differential. Not hard to choose the location on the housing: the hole for the factory Rubi locker. We looked for 15 minutes for the right size drill bit with no success. I went to the hardware store and picked up a new 29/64th drill bit only to find it was too long :headpop: . No problem, the master mechanic just cut down the bit to size. Then he reduced the diameter of the end, to fit the right-angle drill, on the metal lathe. That was pretty cool, but it took 3 times longer to reduce the bit than the actual building of the axle :roll: Completed hole -> Installed pinion -> Setting the locker in -> Nice pattern -> Not a very nice picture of bwatsoncj sealing the axle up :oops: -> And completed -> It just needs the shafts put in, knuckles installed, and a coat of paint on the cover. This is a simplified description of how bwatsoncj set up the axle. There was a few shims/spacer things involved. A two tear down/ build-ups to get the backlash and $#!&e correct. I was lost most of the time, and no real help :popcorn: . Spent most of the time trying to pick my favorite Snap-On calendar girl :D . Thanks Bwatsoncj!

I found a few packages at the door when I got home today :brows:. I got in a new set of locks from Contico to replace the rusted out ones already in the truck bed box-> Shipping was almost as much as the new locks, but it was still under 15 bucks 8) As you can tell from the picture above, I got in my rear RockCrusher 44 diff. cover -> The cover is just at .5 of an inch thick at the mounting base -> I wasn't able to get the steel version like I have for the front, but this new Aluminium one will do fine for the rear. -Rich 3/12/08 - Painted the F&R RockCrusher's like this ->

Keep the yellow, it looks great. Where did you get the rear bumper? I like it a lot! - Rich

Flat bottom. The ones that collapse get caught on crap, then tear or spill. Just my opinion - Rich

AAAAARRRRRGGGG, just couldn't do it. Slapped 'em on white letters out. Image Not Found It was the right call for your truck 8)

Please share your findings! :bowdown: You need to start a write up on this! How hard is it to get an AMG 242? Have you tried it out yet? Sorry for all the questions - Rich

Thanks man, I learned something new :cheers:

:bowdown: Looks awesome, great job!

Those are nice :cheers: