Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator

What did you do to your TJ today?

Finally got some Yukon 4.88's installed. So far I'm loving them for in town driving and even more on the trails(y)

When I bought this rig just over a year ago I was told by a friend that "all 2.5 TJ's had 4.10's and a rear LSD"... He was right about the gears but not the LSD lol.

I put in a Tracloc posi in the rear and kept the front open.. for now:sneaky:

I think my timing for this upgrade was on point, the old carrier and spider gears were looking a bit rough

301734824_1036520557030786_6765502362097342479_n.jpg


301490081_1213881899344148_4617300000717334669_n.jpg


302450333_392988566241329_2075826128277951339_n.jpg
 
Got my BMB knuckle saver kit installed. Put the the front driveshaft on and took the Jeep for a vibration free drive. Checked torque on the lock nut after 100 miles of driving, all good. Glad to have this project wrapped up.
6E048BAA-0A8B-48C7-A9CD-D2AB2AFDAC90.jpeg


43E3E40C-7879-47A1-9CAC-F952A3FE06AF.jpeg


FB7DE465-4A89-42C2-AB06-B558D9379BD3.jpeg


50970544-59F2-4441-B9DF-1D95E6F2F764.jpeg


C6449807-DD31-4489-8B66-D4274631FCB5.jpeg
 
small victories... Took my pioneer platform off, loosened a bunch of bolts - and now it is not quite as obvously crooked. Perhaps I will loosen everything again and go over it with a caliper - but was over 1" off, now is closer to 1/4". Once the hard top is back on, I probably will not see the 1/4". Or maybe I will and it will drive me nuts and I will work on it all over again. Sadly it is 18 nuts and at least 12 of them have to be loosen and retighten to change anything, so will see. Could be worse, I could measure the platform corner to corner - if that starts bugging me it is probably closer to 90 bolts.
 
I may have gone a long way towards figuring out my front tire camber problem in the 02. Or at least I resolved ONE of the issues. The unit bearings had a LOT of play in them. I've done enough ball joints & u joints etc to know that it can be a pain to get the bearings out of the knuckle, but these came out so easily that I had the first one done in about 10 minutes. 2nd one didn't take that much longer. No sooner did I get done and it started raining, so I wasn't able to take it for a test spin. and of course I parked it on top of some rubber flooring mats so I can't tell if it's all square now thanks to all that flexing. :p

The Milwaukee 18V 1/2" impact makes quick work of the axle nut removal and the m12 ratchet made the bearing bolts a snap too. This is the first time since I got those things that I really felt like it saved me an appreciable amount of time & effort.
 
View attachment 357236My truck served well as a daily driver for the week, even though it was a little sketchy driving it in some of the thunderstorms we had. I have never parked them next to each other before.

I am becoming a fan of the older Dodge trucks. (y)
 
Just bought this baby for 274.00 , jumped on a sale price . Working on the front axle first because of the bad u-joint so might as well do it all.

1662430872139.png

Started cleaning and painting the frame. doesn't need much , just a mist of Matt Black made it look new. Scrubbed the inner wells and they clean up so nice. Going to paint the axles satin black , I'll have it looking show room new on the under side before too long. Doing the ZJ tie rod upgrade , found that part on sale for 29.00 too. Don't know how I run across these deals but I hope my luck holds up !
 
Last edited:
Just bought this baby for 274.00 , jumped on a sale price . Working on the front axle first because of the bad u-joint so might as well do it all.

View attachment 357302
Started cleaning and painting the frame. doesn't need much , just a mist of Matt Black made it look new. Scrubbed the inner wells and they clean up so nice. Going to paint the axles satin black , I'll have it looking show room new on the under side before too long. Doing the ZJ tie rod upgrade , found that part on sale for 25.00 too. Don't know how I run across these deals but I hope my luck holds up !

hehe

200.gif
 
Sunday night ride at 11pm -

Hanging on to summer as long as I can-

Been a long, tough week. Time to let it all heal up and move on with life.

Stopped in the road to snag a pic.

Now I’m at the ball park. Back in the day you could smell the pine tar on the light posts. Smelled like baseball.

You know, you can grow up, get busy, and when you get 55 you stop and look around and barely recognize your hometown. The older I get the more I realize we need to pay attention.

E3866035-938A-4205-8BCB-A125E218DC35.jpeg


image.jpg
 
Sunday night ride at 11pm -

Hanging on to summer as long as I can-

Been a long, tough week. Time to let it all heal up and move on with life.

Stopped in the road to snag a pic.

Now I’m at the ball park. Back in the day you could smell the pine tar on the light posts. Smelled like baseball.

You know, you can grow up, get busy, and when you get 55 you stop and look around and barely recognize your hometown. The older I get the more I realize we need to pay attention.

View attachment 357314

View attachment 357318

Nice burnout. You LS swap it over the weekend? 😀
 
Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator