watchamakalit Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 9 minutes ago, Pete M said: doing the oil pan gasket is just the worst. doesn't Lowes or Home Depot have brass punches? Id rather do the pan gasket than the heater core any day. Yes I believe brass punches are available at Lowe's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 14 minutes ago, watchamakalit said: Yes I believe brass punches are available at Lowe's. Or buy some brass rod and make whatever length/shape you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howeitsdone Posted August 1, 2021 Author Share Posted August 1, 2021 9 hours ago, watchamakalit said: Core 4x4 adjustable short arms, unless you have plans to wheel it hard. Then go long arm. I saw you bought a rc 4.5" lift. The short arms would be a good match. Gives you all the ad k ustment you need to maintain proper alignmment adjustments with the lift. Curious what the apples-to-apples is for the RE3780 arms. Core has 4 tiers so which one is equal? I see where Core lists the differences, but RE doesn't list the specs like that. I found the RE pair on eBay for a great price: Link Here Would those be a good choice? It's less than what Core Tier 2 cost. 9 hours ago, Pete M said: doing the oil pan gasket is just the worst. doesn't Lowes or Home Depot have brass punches? I actually didn't mind it at all. Especially compared to removing rusted hubs assys It's just extremely dirty & time consuming when replacing a paper gasket or RTV. Fortunately the Fel-Pro is rubber so should be a breeze next time I need in there. Only added a little RTV to the front and rear. And I'm sure I couldn't gone to Northern Tool and gotten a set of brass punches (let alone Amazon), but after being underneath that oil all day there was no way I could show in public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchamakalit Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 53 minutes ago, PocketsEmptied said: Curious what the apples-to-apples is for the RE3780 arms. Core has 4 tiers so which one is equal? I see where Core lists the differences, but RE doesn't list the specs like that. I found the RE pair on eBay for a great price: Link Here Would those be a good choice? It's less than what Core Tier 2 cost. What are your intentions for the truck? Daily driver? Wheeler? Hard core trail rig? That will make a big difference on which arm to go with. Hard to say how the RE arms compare without knowing specs. I don't have any experience with them. I have tier1 arms on mine and am happy. Mine is a daily that may one day see some light trail use. Plus I think that Core's warranty is hard to beat. I have dealt with them on some install questions I had and there customer service is great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howeitsdone Posted August 1, 2021 Author Share Posted August 1, 2021 My plan is to have it perform great on the road, but I plan on a camper build so will definitely see trails. No rock climbing though. But tier 2 is more expensive than the RE so that makes me think that either the RE pair really isn't that good, or tier 2 from Core is supposedly great already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 1 hour ago, PocketsEmptied said: It's just extremely dirty & time consuming when replacing a paper gasket or RTV. I'd much rather deal with hubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howeitsdone Posted August 1, 2021 Author Share Posted August 1, 2021 Finally INSTALLED something today that wasn't a gasket! Pitman Arm UCAs LCAs Stabilizer Drop Brackets Drag Link Drop Bracket Weird LBJ nut insert into the knuckles Got just about everything ready for the axle. I got most items snug except the drop brackets which are torqued. I'll tighten everything once it's set down. I tightened the pitman arm pretty hard with the breaker bar. I'll need my brother to bring his big torque wrench from the shop to make sure I'm at 185 Ft-Lbs. For the UCAs, I got the bushings out but not without them smushing together a bit. Still had new bushings around so I went ahead and bent as much back as I could then painted and popped them in. If nothing else, they will serve as temporary until I figure out which ones to purchase. The bushings are seated in there pretty good so they shouldn't give any issues for now. Plus I still have the whole rear to do. The only reason that I'm not installing the axle today is because I'm stuck on the coil isolators. The bump stop metal pieces won't budge. I have a post in tech here. Not trying to break something I don't need to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howeitsdone Posted August 1, 2021 Author Share Posted August 1, 2021 Thanks to the help in my Tech post, I finally got the spring isolators installed as well. That means I finally get to install the axle. I'll leave that for this next week since I also need the U-Joints for the axle shafts still to make it complete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchamakalit Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howeitsdone Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 Finally after a month, the axle is 90%-ish in there. I have no earthly idea how people get the stock UCAs back on there. I vary from 3in-1in short depending on how much I force the axle a certain way. Is there a trick? I know it has to rotate backwards a little bit to correct the angle, but that's a lot. I'm also cautious of the LCAs being too short. Just seems like the axle is sitting just a tad to the rear and not allowing the axle to rotate enough. Also got the transfer case drop kit also 90%-ish installed. Snapped the head off the first bolt so switched to heat, and one of the studs won't come out. 6 out of 8 should hold just fine for now. When I am finally finished with the suspension and drivetrain and have it re-aligned, I'll just ask them to get those two out. The worst part is that now my factory TC skid plate won't fit anymore. I may try to see if I can get some longer bolts and throw some spacers in there. If not, guess it's back to the piggy bank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiNi Beast Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Try taking the springs ba c k out then install your control arms and then put springs back in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 1 hour ago, PocketsEmptied said: I have no earthly idea how people get the stock UCAs back on there. Ratchet strap. I guess the old dogs ain't teaching the pups much anymore. Use a ratchet strap to pull the axle around to the rear, get one bolt through then work the other side. You can also use a floor jack to manipulate the axle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howeitsdone Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 21 minutes ago, MiNi Beast said: Try taking the springs ba c k out then install your control arms and then put springs back in. I actually had to take them off to get the springs to fit because the angle was so bad. 10 minutes ago, Jeep Driver said: Use a ratchet strap to pull the axle around to the rear, get one bolt through then work the other side. You can also use a floor jack to manipulate the axle. That's exactly what I was thinking, but two things: I couldn't figure out the safest place to attach and it also felt like the driveshaft wasn't liking it. Should I attach the driveshaft after? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiNi Beast Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Spring compressing helps. Driveshafts install last. Ratchet from crossmember or rear axle even. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 3 minutes ago, PocketsEmptied said: Should I attach the driveshaft after? The DS is the only thing keeping your axle from doing a somersault. Leave it be. Just find a hole in the frame for one end of the strap and the other end to a bolt at the upper CA mount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howeitsdone Posted August 3, 2021 Author Share Posted August 3, 2021 Well I went ahead and purchased the Core 4x4 UCAs. Tried to get opinions on them vs the Rubicon Express arms, but crickets for RE. I'm sure someone will pipe up with an opinion now AFTER I've made the purchase Not bad at $130 shipped though. While I wait for the Core UCAs & the axle u-joints to arrive, I stole @jeepmjga's photo and did a bang up Photoshop mock-up of what my final product should roughly be. He's also got a 4.5in lift with 32s so I painted the truck my color, added the topper, and the turbines. Had to modify the topper since he has a SWB and I have a LWB so it's kind of janky. Sort of get to see a resemblance to a final product. Although, I'm not sure if I should keep the stock blue, but it sure is growing on me. And, yes, I did 'forget' to put all the holes, rust, and white paint that I have currently into the photo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepmjga Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Haha and you kept the dents! Had to look outside the window to make sure mine didn't grow a topper and change color Gonna be a good look and should be pretty capable with that setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howeitsdone Posted August 5, 2021 Author Share Posted August 5, 2021 So I received the new U-Joints from RockAuto and they do not fit. Just an FYI to anyone who may purchase them, ACDelco U-Joints are too large. Can't fit them in without the caps, and even if you could the c-clip groove would be too far into the axle shaft itself. Dunno why RockAuto even lists them. When I was looking, I figured it was a great price for an OEM part so went ahead with it. Part number is 45U0128. Bummed out since that means I still can't install my hubs. Guessing this means I will have to shell out a little extra dough and just purchase from a local parts store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted August 5, 2021 Share Posted August 5, 2021 Dana/Spicer is the way to go for axle and drive train related parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howeitsdone Posted August 6, 2021 Author Share Posted August 6, 2021 30 minutes ago, eaglescout526 said: Dana/Spicer is the way to go for axle and drive train related parts. Just ordered via Amazon so hoping they're here on Saturday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted August 6, 2021 Share Posted August 6, 2021 42 minutes ago, PocketsEmptied said: Just ordered via Amazon so hoping they're here on Saturday Nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howeitsdone Posted August 9, 2021 Author Share Posted August 9, 2021 I feel like I didn't really get much done this weekend. But a huge thank you to @jeepmjga. He reached out last week and had the remaining turbines that I needed as well as floor pans. Went and saw him Friday to pick up and got to see his awesome project as well. Even threw in his old rear brake height valve in case mine didn't work (Haven't gotten that far yet). As soon as I got home, my porch had a few packages on it as well. One being a fan shroud from @Torq_Shep and another my UCAs from Core 4x4. I think the most accomplishing thing this weekend is the fact that it's resting on all 4 tires tonight. If you saw my tech thread about the u-joints, those made for a not so happy Saturday. Fortunately I was able to Frankenstein something for the time-being and get to finishing up the suspension and steering. Saturday I put the entire steering together and had a couple of things to overcome. I did the ratcheting trick to get the UCAs attached. Ended up getting the passenger spring in just fine, but couldn't get the driver's side without a compressor. So I rented one first thing on Saturday to get that out of the way. For some reason the spring was anything but straight and was hung up on the bump stop flange. So I (carefully) used a ratchet to pull it forward by routing it through the sway bar drop bracket through to the rear. As I was installing the track bar, I had trouble keeping the wrench on the rear nut. So I grabbed the flag nut and it just so happened to be the right thread and size as the new bolt. No telling if this may cause some death wobble or not; only time will tell. I wonder if people just notch out that part. It also made me realize that I didn't remove the rust and paint that area. The next step was putting the knuckles back on and the hubs. I didn't feel like messing with the brakes since I know I'll have to take them back off to fix my axle shaft issues. So I opted to leave the calipers off until next weekend since the truck isn't moving anywhere. A soon as I lowered it though I got into a really good mood! Sit's just the right height (minus new tires). I kept struggling with adjusting the drag link. Every time I adjusted one way or the other it somehow ended up way too far. So I decided to leave that for later me. The passenger side is also about 2-3in higher than the other. Later me will also need to figure out what that's all about. It may be hard to tell from the photo because the bumper is already crooked, but it's certainly a mystery to be solved. I ended my Sunday with trying to torque and grease everything. Again, with some success. Got pretty much everything except the ball joints and the end links on the knuckles torqued. I'll have to remove the wheels for the rest. I then spent the next 2 hours trying to grease the zerk fittings. For some reason they just aren't taking. Loosened them, tightened them, stared at them, but nothing worked. I'm thinking the fitting attachment on the gun might be broken or I'll need to grease when the axle is drooping (from what I've read). But I was too exhausted at that point and needed a break. Time to rest my brain and figure out solutions later this week. I am super anxious to get to the interior and body since that's my favorite part. But for now at least I can now see the progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepmjga Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 Any progress is good progress! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howeitsdone Posted August 13, 2021 Author Share Posted August 13, 2021 Finally went ahead and tackled the VCG. 1000x easier than the oil pan gasket Decided to give it a face lift also. Color doesn't quite match. I'm sure I'll change it down the road, but for now it's way nicer than looking at oil residue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 That Chrysler Blue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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