DJM/78 Posted May 5, 2010 Share Posted May 5, 2010 So for the last two and a half months I've been working on my complete axle and suspension upgrade . Parts list : RE HD SF 5.5" lift kit ( short arm ) New D44 w/Trac-lock , alloy axle shafts , TF disc brakes , seals and Yukon 456"s Complete rebuilt D30 w/ matching gears Tera Flex SOA kit Tera Flex SYE kit Custom made Tom Woods CV drive shaft HD Tera Flex rod ends TF high steer 1 ton knuckle kit Custom made drag link and tie rod @$$. TF sway bar relocation brackets RE quick disco's Bilstein / RE mono tube shocks So after a astronomical amount of money and long waited anticipation , AH the test drive .... Not even two miles down the road and The rear locks up like a horse that won't jump over a creek , locking all four tires at 35 mph , so there I sat right in the middle of the road all locked up and no where to go . She wouldn't budge , no neutral , back or forward . By this time I'm sheer meltdown mode because everyone that drives by me looks at me I'm THAT GUY who won't push his crap off to the side of the road . Then comes the cops , intro with " what did you do " really dude ? I planned all this out . " OH well can see your license and registration please" , seriously dude ? The only way we could get the truck on the skid was to drop the drive shaft right in the middle of the road , with rear still locked up we dragged my brand new sh@t right up on the skid . I know this kind of stuff happens to the best mechanics but man I had to vent some steam . It was either kick the dog around for a day or post a big @$$ long blog about how my panties are all wadded up . Thanks for being my emotional punching bag CC . :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted May 5, 2010 Share Posted May 5, 2010 So did your D44 lock up or was it the T-case? I am a bit confused. In any case, that sucks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1990 Pioneer 4x4 Posted May 5, 2010 Share Posted May 5, 2010 That sucks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted May 5, 2010 Share Posted May 5, 2010 happens to the best of us sometimes. My 88 overheated 5 minutes into its first wheeling trip. :shake: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJM/78 Posted May 5, 2010 Author Share Posted May 5, 2010 So did your D44 lock up or was it the T-case? I am a bit confused. In any case, that sucks! At first I thought it was the T case considering the D44 had less than 2 miles on it but nope after disengaging the drive shaft she told the hard cold truth that all the money and work that went into that rear end was kaputt . Hopefully when the shop calls me I'll hear a little better news . Good thing is they are the ones who built it so now they have to build it again . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geonovast Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 The rear end did have fluid in it... right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 The rear end did have fluid in it... right? Wouldn't be the first time...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-600JeepMJ Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 :headpop: :headpop: Ouch... hope you are able to get back on the road soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJM/78 Posted May 6, 2010 Author Share Posted May 6, 2010 OK , so the guys down at the shop felt so bad that they burnt some midnight oil and are working on rebuilding it by today . None of us know what the actual deal was with the rear but never the less new gears and bearings is what she needs . I'll probably have it out by noon . I've been excited to throw down some pics so maybe by this weekend I'll have them up for anyone who cares . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 and this is why I shy away from installing gears. Something goes wrong and it can take out everything in one fell swoop (including your whole truck as you almost found out). :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJM/78 Posted May 6, 2010 Author Share Posted May 6, 2010 and this is why I shy away from installing gears. Something goes wrong and it can take out everything in one fell swoop (including your whole truck as you almost found out). :( Yeah thats why I left this one to the pro's who have made all the mistakes before , I knew my skill level was far under par for a custom CV drive shaft and SYE kit , I'm just a plain ol' metal smith with a couple of wrenches . However I couldn't go on with the ever hated 307's , maybe a smaller gear set up would have been better but my plans are to go with a 33x12.5" tire and probably be towing a small bike trailer or utility trailer at some point as well . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 Pete, 5.13s turned my TJ into a toatly different animal. Well worth the cost and 3 hour trip home (usually 45min but I had to let them gears cool down). The risk of issue is worth it and should be a non issue if a decent shop does the work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJM/78 Posted May 6, 2010 Author Share Posted May 6, 2010 I got my truck back and it runs great , I'm still a little gun shy with what happened and all but the but the culprit ended up being a faulty axle bearing right out the box , yep the gears after and she was history . So I'll be a little shy on it for now . Pete, 5.13s turned my TJ into a toatly different animal. Well worth the cost and 3 hour trip home (usually 45min but I had to let them gears cool down). The risk of issue is worth it and should be a non issue if a decent shop does the work. Damed skippy , she turns them big tires with 0 problem now , gets up in to gear so fast you don't even know the tires are there . Just for $#!& I threw a buddy's trailer on to see what happened , other than the trailer being to low for my truck I didn't even know it was there . I almost yanked my mail box right off coming in the driveway because after a couple of minutes ridding around I forgot it was there . It is now a completely different truck . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 you've been properly breaking in those new guts before testing it, yes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJM/78 Posted May 6, 2010 Author Share Posted May 6, 2010 OH yeah pete , I don't want to go through this again anytime soon so she's a pavement queen for right now , probably get a couple hundred miles on it before I actually throw any kind of load behind it and no heavy wheeling until then as well . DR ORDERS , remove lead foot and no heavy metal coming from the juke box either for thats the gateway drug to nascar style driving . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted May 7, 2010 Share Posted May 7, 2010 I broke my gears in corectly. 200 miles of short trips followed by a lube change. Then I spent a week on the Colorado trails, about 400 miles. :clapping: Glad to hear she is purring down the road. But where is the eye candy!!!!???? We need pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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