Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator

What did you do to your TJ today?

D's Jeep Wrld said:
Welp time to mock this axle up,see if messed up but based off what I baselined everything seems about right,if anything the pass. Side bracket is an 1/8 inch lower than the driver side hence the huge almost 3/16-14 inch gap I gotta fill😅
Doing the jeeps west brackets on my axle since it's already out for a regear,gonna mock everything up finish weld it sandblast it and then do the gears install&enjoy 😁
Gonna do my body lift while I wait for sandblasting !
View attachment 621744
Click to expand...

If you're thinking about replacing the lower control arm brackets (Iron Rock Off Road are quality and a big upgrade over the OEM that will bend like butter on rocks) - recommend you use the dimpling method recommended here on the forum before removing the brackets.

I didn't know about the recommendation and just used a rough measurement... I have a good alignment but the dimple method would have been sure new brackets went in over the old locations.
 
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FarFire70 said:
If you're thinking about replacing the lower control arm brackets (Iron Rock Off Road are quality and a big upgrade over the OEM that will bend like butter on rocks) - recommend you use the dimpling method recommended here on the forum before removing the brackets.

I didn't know about the recommendation and just used a rough measurement... I have a good alignment but the dimple method would have been sure new brackets went in over the old locations.
Click to expand...

I know I should and am gonna regret not doing them but I'll save that for later i needa get my Lj back on the road ASAP! I'm gonna do some reinforcing on the stock lca's move the arms up and chop up what's gonna be hanging off of the stock stuff
20250531_225815.jpg
plate the back the lower part too,reinforce the sides, simply welding the inside a bit helped cause I had to hit harder with my hammer to Bend the CA mount....(I'm coping)

I'm also just being lazy....I was only supposed to do a regear but here I am 😅
 
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D's Jeep Wrld said:
I know I should and am gonna regret not doing them but I'll save that for later i needa get my Lj back on the road ASAP! I'm gonna do some reinforcing on the stock lca's move the arms up and chop up what's gonna be hanging off of the stock stuff
View attachment 621750 plate the back the lower part too,reinforce the sides, simply welding the inside a bit helped cause I had to hit harder with my hammer to Bend the CA mount....(I'm coping)

I'm also just being lazy....I was only supposed to do a regear but here I am 😅
Click to expand...

Understandable to get it back on the road again — Mine seems to be in continual state of 'laid up' as projects grow....

Look into mini skids - you can buy or build but they add incredible strength to the butter OEM mounts if you go for rocks.
 
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Welp less than 3 hours later since my last post
Axle is out,tomorrow I'll mock my axle just to triple check everything 😁
20250606_230626.jpg

ITS FLOATING😆
And yes I mocked up a 35" 33s ain't enough looks wise,You can go pretty far and did on 31s let alone all the way up to 35s N up!!!

Edit- I really gotta start posting on my build thread......my whole build is on here 😅
 
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D's Jeep Wrld said:
Welp less than 3 hours later since my last post
Axle is out,tomorrow I'll mock my axle just to triple check everything 😁
View attachment 621790
ITS FLOATING😆
And yes I mocked up a 35" 33s ain't enough looks wise,You can go pretty far and did on 31s let alone all the way up to 35s N up!!!
Click to expand...

Front duallys.impressive
 
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Removed 10 of the 11 body mounts, to see what I was looking at. And as I figured, they'll need to be replaced soon. The 11th one was a spinner, the rear most driver's side mount near the bumper.

Now I have to decide whether to replace them with stock height, or a 1" body lift so I can have easy access to cleaning the top of the frame, since I live up in New England where we salt our salt.

I'd welcome input from other rust belters.
 
CJ with a TJ said:
Removed 10 of the 11 body mounts, to see what I was looking at. And as I figured, they'll need to be replaced soon. The 11th one was a spinner, the rear most driver's side mount near the bumper.

Now I have to decide whether to replace them with stock height, or a 1" body lift so I can have easy access to cleaning the top of the frame, since I live up in New England where we salt our salt.

I'd welcome input from other rust belters.
Click to expand...
As a former rust belter, I don't think a lift is necessary to clean the frame. However, if you do decide to get a body lift, there are really only two good options. Both are 1.25" lifts, and both were designed by the forum wizard (@mrblaine). Savvy makes mrblaine's design of aluminum, and mrblaine makes his of acetal (an engineered structural polymer). Savvy is a company with spotty customer service, and mrblaine's company (Black Magic Brakes, or BMB) has exemplary customer service. Additionally, the acetal lift pucks are just as durable as aluminum, but weigh 3.1 lb less for a set, and that weight savings is pretty amazing. I switched from Savvy to BMB to realize the weight savings. Here are links to those two options:

https://savvyoffroad.com/savvy-tj-lj-6061-aluminum-1-25-body-lift/
https://blackmagicbrakes.com/ols/pr...its-97-06-tj-and-tj-unlimited-all-trim-levels

Whatever you do, don't buy a kit with the dura-thane or polyurethane pucks. The pucks need to be rigid in order to keep the body bolts tight and to realize the advertised lift height. The soft puck material compresses, both initially from the body weight, and over time as it relaxes. This reduces the lift and eventually results in loose bolts (if you can ever get them tight in the first place), which cause body damage above the mounting points over time. Here's some additional reading on that:

rraulston

Thread 'Has anyone used the 1" Energy Suspension body lift?'

I need new body mount bushings and was also thinking about adding a 1" body lift to my 3" suspension lift and discovered energy suspension has just that. New poly bushings with 1" of body lift! I know poly transfers vibrations, but I'm almost riding on metal now as the rubber mounts are disintegrated…. Thoughts?? Thanks..RR
Marc McKinley

Thread 'JKS 1.25" body lift: The good, the bad, and the ugly'

I recently purchased the DPG Old Man Emu "Ultimate" kit that includes a JKS 1.25" body lift. Until now I wasn't aware there was anything wrong with this body lift. I have now been told that they bulge out and can cause body damage over time due to uneven stress. I've also heard that this is due to over torqueing. I really don't want to spend the $150 for a Savvy aluminum body lift but if the JKS is inferior and could cause issues, I guess I will. I'm not a rich man by any means but I come from the thought that you might as well do something right the first time!

I'm looking for...
 
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D's Jeep Wrld said:
Welp less than 3 hours later since my last post
Axle is out,tomorrow I'll mock my axle just to triple check everything 😁
View attachment 621790
ITS FLOATING😆
And yes I mocked up a 35" 33s ain't enough looks wise,You can go pretty far and did on 31s let alone all the way up to 35s N up!!!

Edit- I really gotta start posting on my build thread......my whole build is on here 😅
Click to expand...

That pic looks like @AndyG's Jeep did when he didn't tighten his rear lug nuts. His was driving down the road though. 🤫
 
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sab said:
the acetal lift pucks are just as durable as aluminum, but weigh 3.1 lb less for a set, and that weight savings is pretty amazing. I switched from Savvy to BMB to realize the weight savings.
Click to expand...

It would be easier (and cheaper) for you to just lose 3lbs. The weight saving for either is negligible. 🤫
 
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sab said:
As a former rust belter, I don't think a lift is necessary to clean the frame. However, if you do decide to get a body lift, there are really only two good options. Both are 1.25" lifts, and both were designed by the forum wizard (@mrblaine). Savvy makes mrblaine's design of aluminum, and mrblaine makes his of acetal (an engineered structural polymer). Savvy is a company with spotty customer service, and mrblaine's company (Black Magic Brakes, or BMB) has exemplary customer service. Additionally, the acetal lift pucks are just as durable as aluminum, but weigh 3.1 lb less for a set, and that weight savings is pretty amazing. I switched from Savvy to BMB to realize the weight savings. Here are links to those two options:

https://savvyoffroad.com/savvy-tj-lj-6061-aluminum-1-25-body-lift/
https://blackmagicbrakes.com/ols/pr...its-97-06-tj-and-tj-unlimited-all-trim-levels

Whatever you do, don't buy a kit with the dura-thane or polyurethane pucks. The pucks need to be rigid in order to keep the body bolts tight and to realize the advertised lift height. The soft puck material compresses, both initially from the body weight, and over time as it relaxes. This reduces the lift and eventually results in loose bolts (if you can ever get them tight in the first place), which cause body damage above the mounting points over time. Here's some additional reading on that:

rraulston

Thread 'Has anyone used the 1" Energy Suspension body lift?'

I need new body mount bushings and was also thinking about adding a 1" body lift to my 3" suspension lift and discovered energy suspension has just that. New poly bushings with 1" of body lift! I know poly transfers vibrations, but I'm almost riding on metal now as the rubber mounts are disintegrated…. Thoughts?? Thanks..RR
Marc McKinley

Thread 'JKS 1.25" body lift: The good, the bad, and the ugly'

I recently purchased the DPG Old Man Emu "Ultimate" kit that includes a JKS 1.25" body lift. Until now I wasn't aware there was anything wrong with this body lift. I have now been told that they bulge out and can cause body damage over time due to uneven stress. I've also heard that this is due to over torqueing. I really don't want to spend the $150 for a Savvy aluminum body lift but if the JKS is inferior and could cause issues, I guess I will. I'm not a rich man by any means but I come from the thought that you might as well do something right the first time!

I'm looking for...
Click to expand...

I really appreciate you taking the time for this response. I was aware of the Savvy mounts, but not the BMB ones.
 
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TheBoogieman said:
It would be easier (and cheaper) for you to just lose 3lbs. The weight saving for either is negligible. 🤫
Click to expand...
The only way I'm losing 3lb is to cut a chunk of me off, and I like all my parts too much for that option. It's way easier to make the Jeep weigh less. And the cost of the weight savings from mrblaine's lift over Savvy's is $2, or 65 cents per pound. When I worked in racing, depending on the team's budget, our weight-loss spending limit was between $1,000 and $10,000 per pound. That's why I said the weight savings gained with mrblaine's lift is "pretty amazing."

As to the negligible comment, 3lb here and there adds up to a non-negligible amount. See my build thread for how to make that logic work for you. Weight is the biggest performance factor for any vehicle. I track every mod to my build, and I look for opportunity everywhere for weight savings...
 
sab said:
The only way I'm losing 3lb is to cut a chunk of me off, and I like all my parts too much for that option. It's way easier to make the Jeep weigh less. And the cost of the weight savings from mrblaine's lift over Savvy's is $2, or 65 cents per pound. When I worked in racing, depending on the team's budget, our weight-loss spending limit was between $1,000 and $10,000 per pound. That's why I said the weight savings gained with mrblaine's lift is "pretty amazing."

As to the negligible comment, 3lb here and there adds up to a non-negligible amount. See my build thread for how to make that logic work for you. Weight is the biggest performance factor for any vehicle. I track every mod to my build, and I look for opportunity everywhere for weight savings...
Click to expand...

I raced motocross at a high level for several years (125cc class). Weight savings was everything, especially with the riders. Actual skill/ability TRUMPs nearly everything else. I raced with the LUCK Stone heir (Charles Luck III) and Vice President Walter Mondale's son, Ted. Secret Service was at every race with suits on in 90 degree heat. Some people have it naturally and no amount of money (or weight savings) can compensate for the "lack" of it. 🇺🇸
 
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TheBoogieman said:
I raced motocross at a high level for several years (125cc class). Weight savings was everything, especially with the riders. 🇺🇸
Click to expand...
And that is why your perspective is what it is. A 125cc MX bike in the 80s (that's when I started riding) weighed about 200 lb wet. I weighed about 150 lb then, but with riding gear on, let's round that up to 170 lb. Combined machine and rider weighed 370 lb. So, the rider's weight was about 40% of total weight. Now let's say you want to realize a 1% weight loss to that total weight. That's 3.7 lb. That amount of weight loss for a feller is achievable (wrestlers do it in a few days all the time - well, they did during my high school years, anyway). However, if your goal is a 5% weight loss, that's 18.5 lb, and it's not all that achievable for a 150 lb guy.

Fast forward from my MX days to my Jeepin' golden years, and the ability to use body weight loss to affect total weight is even more unachievable. Losing 1% of a 4,500 lb LJ is 45 lb. I can't lose that much weight (I'd weigh 125 lb and be a skeleton). However, I was able to accomplish a 1.8% loss just by replacing the heavy steel bumper the previous owner installed with a Savvy aluminum bumper. Expensive, but easy. Much easier (and I'd argue less expensive) than losing 45 lb of body weight.

Most of my build, I'm adding weight because building a rock-capable LJ means adding new components, and new components add weight. I can't add all those components and end up losing overall weight - it's physically impossible. However, if I look at each component I'm adding and reduce the weight of each one (aluminum armor vs steel, for instance), the end result will be a substantially (not negligibly) lighter vehicle.

Mr. Blaine's acetal lift is one of the cheapest cost per pound weight savings I've encountered in my build.
 
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sab said:
And that is why your perspective is what it is. A 125cc MX bike in the 80s (that's when I started riding) weighed about 200 lb wet. I weighed about 150 lb then, but with riding gear on, let's round that up to 170 lb. Combined machine and rider weighed 370 lb. So, the rider's weight was about 40% of total weight. Now let's say you want to realize a 1% weight loss to that total weight. That's 3.7 lb. That amount of weight loss for a feller is achievable (wrestlers do it in a few days all the time - well, they did during my high school years, anyway). However, if your goal is a 5% weight loss, that's 18.5 lb, and it's not all that achievable for a 150 lb guy.

Fast forward from my MX days to my Jeepin' golden years, and the ability to use body weight loss to affect total weight is even more unachievable. Losing 1% of a 4,500 lb LJ is 45 lb. I can't lose that much weight (I'd weigh 125 lb and be a skeleton). However, I was able to accomplish a 1.8% loss just by replacing the heavy steel bumper the previous owner installed with a Savvy aluminum bumper. Expensive, but easy. Much easier (and I'd argue less expensive) than losing 45 lb of body weight.

Most of my build, I'm adding weight because building a rock-capable LJ means adding new components, new components add weight. I can't add all those components and end up losing overall weight - it's physically impossible. However, if I look at each component I'm adding and reduce the weight of each one (aluminum armor vs steel, for instance), the end result will be a substantially (not negligibly) lighter vehicle.

Mr. Blaine's acetal lift is one of the cheapest cost per pound weight savings I've encountered in my build.
Click to expand...

All that is above my pay grade. All I cared about was being better/crazier than everyone else that I raced with, that had way more money, and getting trophies and money on Saturday and Sunday. I took my 100+trophies and trashed them many years ago. I don't like to live in the past.
p.s. I did the same with ex-wives. Never seen one since. :unsure:
 
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TheBoogieman said:
All that is above my pay grade. All I cared about was being better/crazier than everyone else that I raced with, that had way more money, and getting trophies and money on Saturday and Sunday. I took my 100+trophies and trashed them many years ago. I don't like to live in the past.
p.s. I did the same with ex-wives. Never seen one since. :unsure:
Click to expand...
I can appreciate that perspective. For me, though, I keep the past alive because I've spent a lifetime trying to learn new concepts in all I do. All my previous experiences built wisdom that I now rely on for tasks like building an LJ... ;)
 
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