Work from home LJ

Illiquid · Feb 3, 2025

I built a new dana 44 when I did my regear and swapped it in 7-8 months ago. The nuts for the rear sway bar were junk/stripped/missing. Ive been able to break 2 off so far hitting with a chisel and hammer but is there some less dumb way of doing this? I want to break the tac welds off so I can run a rear sway bar again.

I guess a powered chisel would work better....at least in theory......I should probably just suck it up and go break these things off lol

sab · Feb 3, 2025

kam04LJ said:
I built a new dana 44 when I did my regear and swapped it in 7-8 months ago. The nuts for the rear sway bar were junk/stripped/missing. Ive been able to break 2 off so far hitting with a chisel and hammer but is there some less dumb way of doing this? I want to break the tac welds off so I can run a rear sway bar again.

I guess a powered chisel would work better....at least in theory......I should probably just suck it up and go break these things off lol

I can't understand what you're trying to break off from your description above. What are you trying to remove?

Illiquid · Feb 3, 2025

sab said:
I can't understand what you're trying to break off from your description above. What are you trying to remove?

The rear sway bar nuts on the axle housing. 1 was missing when I purchased. and the other 3 are completely shot. The threads are completely torn up.

Looks like previous owner put wrong bolt in and then was able to get it out before reselling to me. I would like to remove the last 2 nuts. I would prefer to remove the nuts entirely because of how beat up they are. I thought about trying to retap the threads but with how much paint is in there (from the "prep" work the previous owner did)....Id rather just start fresh.

Ive attached a picture I found on this forum showing exactly what I am talking about.

Screen Shot 2025-02-03 at 2.45.39 PM.png

rasband · Feb 3, 2025

kam04LJ said:
The rear sway bar nuts on the axle housing. 1 was missing when I purchased. and the other 3 are completely shot. The threads are completely torn up.

Looks like previous owner put wrong bolt in and then was able to get it out before reselling to me. I would like to remove the last 2 nuts. I would prefer to remove the nuts entirely because of how beat up they are. I thought about trying to retap the threads but with how much paint is in there (from the "prep" work the previous owner did)....Id rather just start fresh.

Ive attached a picture I found on this forum showing exactly what I am talking about.

View attachment 590116

My completely unhelpful advice is to ask if it's rear antirock time

Illiquid · Feb 3, 2025

rasband said:
My completely unhelpful advice is to ask if it's rear antirock time

.....yeah I read the install instructions last night to see how much of a PITA it would be. I dont have new house set up to weld yet or Id jump on that.

sab · Feb 3, 2025

Personally, if they're not all rusted, I'd repair the threads by either running a tap through them (if they are only mildly messed up) or by installing a Heli-coil or other thread insert (if they are really messed up). Breaking them off would be my last choice.

sab · Feb 3, 2025

rasband said:
My completely unhelpful advice is to ask if it's rear antirock time

It's funny how the rabbit holes work. I'm in the middle of my build, and I was going to keep the stock rear anti-roll bar (going with a SwayLOC up front), but I then contemplated a rear Anti-rock, and now I'm thinking of building a custom rear SwayLOC. I need to work through the spring rate math between the three options to decide...

lBasket · Feb 3, 2025

kam04LJ said:
The rear sway bar nuts on the axle housing. 1 was missing when I purchased. and the other 3 are completely shot. The threads are completely torn up.

Looks like previous owner put wrong bolt in and then was able to get it out before reselling to me. I would like to remove the last 2 nuts. I would prefer to remove the nuts entirely because of how beat up they are. I thought about trying to retap the threads but with how much paint is in there (from the "prep" work the previous owner did)....Id rather just start fresh.

Ive attached a picture I found on this forum showing exactly what I am talking about.

View attachment 590116

Pneumatic chisels are a thing, if you really want to commit to chiseling them off. It's a pretty fun tool...

Illiquid · Feb 3, 2025

sab said:
Personally, if they're not all rusted, I'd repair the threads by either running a tap through them (if they are only mildly messed up) or by installing a Heli-coil or other thread insert (if they are really messed up). Breaking them off would be my last choice.

Yeah.....they arent horribly rusted but are pretty shot. Maybe I can tap the last 2. Its worth a shot I guess before I break them off.

sab · Feb 3, 2025

kam04LJ said:
Yeah.....they arent horribly rusted but are pretty shot. Maybe I can tap the last 2. Its worth a shot I guess before I break them off.

Have you used thread inserts before? They really are a great option for your situation, and it might be worth trying it, just for the learning experience.

Illiquid · Feb 3, 2025

sab said:
Have you used thread inserts before? They really are a great option for your situation, and it might be worth trying it, just for the learning experience.

nope. Extent of anything tap/threads I have done is for some bump stops and tailgate hardware.....nothing like this

Illiquid · Feb 6, 2025

My truck has sat unmoved since last Saturday. I did my usual weekend fill up and then got the jeep out. And haven’t stopped driving it since.

Ended up removing my Buchanan precision 1.5” blocks from the front seats. I loved them with the factory console, but I switched that out for a tuffy about a year ago.

Now with 500 or so miles of use I’ve realized the tuffy is slightly lower and my elbow isn’t quite comfortable with the extra height.

Im going to drive around for a month or so to make sure I’m happy with them out and if so, will give them to someone on the forum.

My next project (in a few weeks) is going to be moving my amp under the steering wheel and wiring in a sub. I want the storage back under the driver seat, and have wanted a sub since the day I installed the speakers.

I have an alpine 4 channel powering 4 kicker speakers (think 2x 5.25” and 2x6x9s). Amp is probably small enough to fit. But if I have to replace it I will. Going some small powered sub and mounting under rear seat (I think). Possibly under passenger.

lBasket · Feb 6, 2025

kam04LJ said:
My truck has sat unmoved since last Saturday. I did my usual weekend fill up and then got the jeep out. And haven’t stopped driving it since.

Ended up removing my Buchanan precision 1.5” blocks from the front seats. I loved them with the factory console, but I switched that out for a tuffy about a year ago.

Now with 500 or so miles of use I’ve realized the tuffy is slightly lower and my elbow isn’t quite comfortable with the extra height.

Im going to drive around for a month or so to make sure I’m happy with them out and if so, will give them to someone on the forum.

My next project (in a few weeks) is going to be moving my amp under the steering wheel and wiring in a sub. I want the storage back under the driver seat, and have wanted a sub since the day I installed the speakers.

I have an alpine 4 channel powering 4 kicker speakers (think 2x 5.25” and 2x6x9s). Amp is probably small enough to fit. But if I have to replace it I will. Going some small powered sub and mounting under rear seat (I think). Possibly under passenger.

I bet you can see traffic lights better now without the risers! Are you nervous about flooding your sub if it's on the floorboards?

Illiquid · Feb 6, 2025

lBasket said:
I bet you can see traffic lights better now without the risers! Are you nervous about flooding your sub if it's on the floorboards?

Not really. I won’t drive the jeep if it’s going to be pouring rain. And always have a top on anyway.

If I end up having water in the tub up to the rear seat, a few hundred bucks of a subwoofer is going to be my least of my concern.

Re: traffic lights, yes. It’s way easier. Add the bigger mirror I installed and I couldn’t see anything

lBasket · Feb 6, 2025

kam04LJ said:
Not really. I won’t drive the jeep if it’s going to be pouring rain. And always have a top on anyway.

If I end up having water in the tub up to the rear seat, a few hundred bucks of a subwoofer is going to be my least of my concern.

You can submerge to above the bottom of the door holes in the tub without any problems... well, other than the water inside

kam04LJ said:
Re: traffic lights, yes. It’s way easier. Add the bigger mirror I installed and I couldn’t see anything

Nice! That always bugs me its a problem in almost every car I drive

Illiquid · Feb 8, 2025

Tomorrow should be warm and sunny (aka Jeep day) so I finally tackled my leaking transfer case.

It had been leaking and seemingly getting worse. I topped it off a few days ago but was tired of worrying about this.

Took about 3 hours (give or take some, with drink breaks and some interruptions from my wife/dog). Would be a lot faster on a lift but I’m on my back in a garage here.

Dropped the skid and did some investigating on the case. As far as I could tell, it didn’t look like the case itself was actually leaking. I knew the tail housing was but expected both and was dreading splitting the case. Decided to skip splitting the case because of this. Roll of the dice but I couldn’t find any fluid around the edges of the case. Outside right under the tail housing leak.

Drained case, popped tail housing off and cleaned everything up. Put new seal and RTV on and sealed it back. It’s drying now. I’ll put fluid in it tonight before I take it out to dinner.

all in, 3 hrs and maybe 50 bucks in parts between fluid, seal and RTV. I’ll take it. A lot cheaper than a new Jeep…..

Illiquid · Feb 12, 2025

Some parts showed up today…..these are going to sit for a week or so. Pretty busy with work and it’s cold here (for sc). Which means night time motivation is at an all time low.

Grabbed a kicker 10” powered sub for under the rear seat. My speakers have a 4 channel amp on them and have zero bass. Soft top + highway at 70 made it clear I needed to improve the audio.

The other parts are a 4 count of advance adapter SYE output shaft seals. The parts store ones suck. And are 3x the cost. So I grabbed these to put in my parts bin.

Im lucky enough to have a closet in my garage with shelving. Have extra gears for my Dana 30/Dana 44 in there, u joints, tons of shims, bearings, you name it. Stays dry and away from any messes. Wife gets indoor closets. I get garage ones!

I try to grab some extras anytime I order parts if cheap enough to have on hand and avoid downtime shipping cross country.

After a few less than ideal interactions with local parts stores (and subpar quality) I just ordered what I know will work.

Work bench is a mess. Just means it’s actually used!

I’m expecting to build a similar TJ/LJ for my younger brother in next few years so stocking up on parts is purposeful. Maybe I should go ahead and order a pair of savvy arms…..they might show up in time then! or show up missing half the parts.

Illiquid · Feb 14, 2025

Had a little bit of downtime today so I finally fixed my rear snubber problem. I removed the extra spacer (discussed above) a few weeks back and now have spacers + the snubber sized appropriately so all 3 are contacting the tire.

I have 35” tire on 15 inch rims with 3.75” backspacing. Ended up needing 2-3.5” lengths and 1-4” length.

The snubbers themselves are 1.5” so ended up cutting 2-2” PVC lengths and 1-2.5”. This contacts the tire perfectly. Threw some rubber washers under the PVC so they weren’t contacting the body.

All in, maybe $5 worth of materials.

Id wire up the sub but I’m waiting on a harness. So that’s it for today.

Illiquid · Feb 16, 2025

Wrapped up the 10” powered sub install. Here’s a montage of pictures along the way.

I thought about moving my speaker amp under the steering column, but the amp I have now wouldn’t fit. I figured I’d have to buy a new smaller one but was able to work around it.

As I got into the install I realized I could place the amp beside the sub under the rear seat. As you’ll see, I’m probably 2” short on the power wire and can’t fully tuck the amp under the seat. I don’t have time to fix today but will likely redo power wire so it can be fully hidden.

A cool aspect with the powered sub is the bass knob. My first car (in high school) had 2 subs and an amp but no knob. I always wanted the knob in my old jeep but never prioritized getting it back then. 15 years later and it’s installed in my current jeep!

The knob comes in this housing that’s IMO way too big. I removed from the housing and placed on my driver side. I drilled small hole and screwed it in. Ran the wire opposite the power and tucked behind the dash. Result is pretty nice I’ll say.

Illiquid · Feb 25, 2025

Had some downtime so I got the GMRS setup in the LJ. midland mtx275. Mounted under steering column. This is why I didn’t move the speaker amp under here.

Went with very discrete setup. I drive jeep into charlotte quite a bit, and want as little extra attention as possible. Did a flush mount for the hand held. Which lets me disconnect and throw in console in a few seconds. Used the magnetic mic setup mentioned on this forum as well.

There’s a chance the small antenna isn’t enough gain. If so, I’ll buy a bigger one.

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