Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ engine mounts

Nashville TJ's Build - Continued

MikeE024 said:
6,400 is higher than I would have guessed. Have you considered this a reason for why your rear end configurations haven’t held up since it sounds like the high weight has been a constant?
Click to expand...

Weight surely is a factor, however I'm no longer thinking my issues have been 14b strength related, per se. The 14b should be plenty strong for what I'm throwing at it. Also, I've never actually had a failure with the 14b, just noise and a couple chipped teeth on the pinion. I think my problems all go back to debris causing the chipping of the pinion, and that somehow was related to spinning the original bearing journal. And then my repair of the bearing journal was not sufficient, resulting in the it spinning once again.

At least that's what I'm telling myself so I can sleep at night...
 
  • Like
Reactions: srimes, reddvltj, hosejockey61 and 3 others
lBasket said:
That's lighter than my truck that comes with a 14b
Click to expand...

Are you also ripping around on a shaved 14b on the street and trails with 40s?

We know that Ricky ripped around on his lighter LJ with 40s and a HP RJ60 5.38s for many years with zero failures. And lighter ultra4 rigs run high power engines, big boy tires, and HP RJ60 rears with 5.38s.

There is a well established pattern in the racing world so that’s why I asked.
 
  • Like
Reactions: lBasket
NashvilleTJ said:
Weight surely is a factor, however I'm no longer thinking my issues have been 14b strength related, per se. The 14b should be plenty strong for what I'm throwing at it. Also, I've never actually had a failure with the 14b, just noise and a couple chipped teeth on the pinion. I think my problems all go back to debris causing the chipping of the pinion, and that somehow was related to spinning the original bearing journal. And then my repair of the bearing journal was not sufficient, resulting in the it spinning once again.

At least that's what I'm telling myself so I can sleep at night...
Click to expand...

Wouldn’t debris cause impressions or damage to the ring gear as well as the pinion?

Hopefully you’ll be fine, but at least tools and spare parts can be removed relatively easily if that’s the answer.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: NashvilleTJ
lBasket said:
That's lighter than my truck that comes with a 14b
Click to expand...

But your skateboard tires really change the torque multiplication. :sneaky:

1768594221749.png
 
  • Haha
Reactions: srimes, reddvltj, Wildman and 4 others
MikeE024 said:
Wouldn’t debris cause damage to the ring gear as well as the pinion?

Hopefully you’ll be fine, but at least tools can be removed relatively easily if that’s the answer.
Click to expand...

You'd think so, but whatever happened two teeth were chipped on the pinion and the ring gear was pristine. But, there is a lot more beef behind a thick cut ring gear that the pinion gear. You'd also think overstressing the setup would cause damage to both, but no.

So, no idea really.
 
  • Like
Reactions: reddvltj, Wildman and John Cooper
NashvilleTJ said:
You'd think so, but whatever happened two teeth were chipped on the pinion and the ring gear was pristine. But, there is a lot more beef behind a thick cut ring gear that the pinion gear. You'd also think overstressing the setup would cause damage to both, but no.

So, no idea really.
Click to expand...

The pinion teeth are larger than the ring gear teeth. This was discussed by an engineer in another Jeep forum years ago, and I confirmed it with Revolution.

We are talking about forces that would likely show evidence on both sandwiching ends if there was enough pressure from debris to chip teeth. Maybe the gears were poorly made.

I’d drop the weight down, but if that’s not going to happen, I’d install the fancy Crown gears with a new locker. If they fail, then you know the chinese Yukon gears had no chance and you saved yourself the trouble. And if they don’t fail then you get to move on with life.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: NashvilleTJ and hosejockey61
NashvilleTJ said:
Weight surely is a factor, however I'm no longer thinking my issues have been 14b strength related, per se. The 14b should be plenty strong for what I'm throwing at it. Also, I've never actually had a failure with the 14b, just noise and a couple chipped teeth on the pinion. I think my problems all go back to debris causing the chipping of the pinion, and that somehow was related to spinning the original bearing journal. And then my repair of the bearing journal was not sufficient, resulting in the it spinning once again.

At least that's what I'm telling myself so I can sleep at night...
Click to expand...

I think your thinking is sound. The new locker will tell you everything you need to know.
 
  • Like
Reactions: reddvltj, NashvilleTJ, Wildman and 1 other person
I talked about this over on the 3D printing thread, but I'll mention it here are well (anything to delay getting into the 14 Bolt...:oops:).

Years ago, I relocated the contactor housing on my Warn Zeon to under the hood, but that left the top of the winch looking a bit bare, and also exposed more of the line to UV. So, I thought it would be a cool project for my new 3D printer to design and print a cover.

IMG_9196.JPG


I'm learning the CAD program Fusion 360, and this turned out to be a challenging project to improve my skills. There are quite a few complex angles to make this thing sit flush on the top of the winch. Here is what it looked like in the design:


Warn Winch Cover - Version 3.jpg

Warn Winch Cover - Version 3 - Bottom.jpg


This printer is an absolute blast:

IMG_9246.JPG


After a bunch learning and iterations, here it the final part:

IMG_9290.JPG


To secure it to the top plate on the winch, I used self-tapping brass inserts driven into the pre-printed holes:

IMG_9291.JPG


It's then secured to the plate with stainless torx screws:

IMG_9292.JPG

IMG_9293.JPG


And on to the rig:

IMG_9296.JPG


And with that, the fun is over. The new locker for the 14 bolt showed up last night... :(
 
  • Like
  • USA Proud
  • Love
Reactions: Paparock1, JMT, Fluxor and 12 others
A short while ago I reached out to a fellow forum member about an Idea I had for a sewing project. As the project involved fire hose, and given this member's expertise in that area, I asked for ideas on where I could get some. Without being asked, he then sent me this stuff which showed up last night:

IMG_9302.JPG


So, a big thanks and shout-out to my anonymous hose donor. I can't reveal his identity for privacy reasons, but he is a big fucker, and one of the coolest dudes on the forum. I'm also proud to call him a friend.

I know, I know...I'm just delaying working on that damned 14 bolt....

🙂
 
  • Like
  • Haha
  • USA Proud
Reactions: JMT, Woodrow, reddvltj and 7 others
NashvilleTJ said:
As the project involved fire hose, and given this member's expertise in that area, I asked for ideas on where I could get some. Without being asked, he then sent me this stuff which showed up last night:
Click to expand...

I've seen that episode. I know how those sections came about. :sneaky:


I've seen lots of guys use old fire hose as bunk skid material for boats. Are you buying a boat now? :unsure:
 
Last edited:
  • Haha
  • Like
Reactions: JMT, NashvilleTJ, reddvltj and 4 others
Well, I finally ran out of other things to do (read: excuses), so I dug into the 14 bolt. The new ARB locker is on the right. I mic'd the failed bearing journal and it was a full 20 thou less diameter than the new one.

IMG_9306.JPG


I ran the diff oil though a filter looking for metal. Fully expecting to see something given the state of the bearing journal..

IMG_9279.JPG


...and as expected there was a little bit of junk in there. Not nearly as much as I expected, and most of this is small pieces of RTV. There is a bit of metal, but all very small and no big pieces, which I did not expect since the R&P did not fail after all. It looks to be consistent with the edges of those dimples wearing away. I half expected to see a few pieces of weld spatter, but did not.

IMG_9283.JPG


Still suspecting that my original failure a year ago was debris related, I spend a bunch of time getting every last bit of left over weld spatter out of the diff. There was not much at all, and what was there had to be taken off with a grinder, but live and learn:

IMG_9288.JPG


Perhaps a day late and a dollar short, but it is spotless in there now.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
  • USA Proud
Reactions: reddvltj, Apparition, gasiorv and 2 others
And then it was just a matter of getting everything back together. First up, I pressed on new carrier bearings:

IMG_9311.JPG


I've lost count of how many times I've had to sneak this one by the wife...

IMG_9304.JPG


But worth it. At 200 degrees, the ring gear slips on easily.

IMG_9312.JPG



And here it is all back together. Backlash specs on the 14 bolt are 3 to 12 thou. Wanting to keep in on the tighter side, and set it at 4.

IMG_9319.JPG


And wadda ya know, it spins true and there is no noise. I'll put the cover on this evening and fill it with gear oil in the morning. I'm anxious to take it for a ride to see how things are working. And then, let's see how long this one lasts...
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: rasband, srimes, reddvltj and 4 others
NashvilleTJ said:
And then it was just a matter of getting everything back together. First up, I pressed on new carrier bearings:

View attachment 667512

I've lost count of how many times I've had to sneak this one by the wife...

View attachment 667513

But worth it. At 200 degrees, the ring gear slips on easily.

View attachment 667514


And here it is all back together. Backlash specs on the 14 bolt are 3 to 12 thou. Wanting to keep in on the tighter side, and set it at 4.

View attachment 667515

And wadda ya know, it spins true and there is no noise. I'll put the cover on this evening and fill it with gear oil in the morning. I'm anxious to take it for a ride to see how things are working. And then, let's see how long this one lasts...
Click to expand...

20 thou is huge.... Hopefully that solves your problem!
 
  • Like
Reactions: John Cooper, reddvltj and NashvilleTJ

Similar threads

S/C-HD2002
The Red Dragon Build
Replies
97
Views
4,721
TJ Build Threads & Member's Rides
S/C-HD2002
S/C-HD2002
NJW
Bought Another LJR Because I Have Poor Impulse Control (Again) - 37's on Stock Axles
Replies
41
Views
2,354
TJ Build Threads & Member's Rides
NJW
NJW
KevinTheHeep
Kevin Build
Replies
1
Views
258
TJ Build Threads & Member's Rides
lBasket
lBasket
OffroadTreks
OffroadTreks - 06 TJ - "Weekender" Build
Replies
4
Views
651
TJ Build Threads & Member's Rides
OffroadTreks
OffroadTreks
Dylan_See_TJ
Anything is Fixable: Dylan_See's TJ Build Thread
Replies
139
Views
9,492
TJ Build Threads & Member's Rides
cgs2k2
C
Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ engine mounts
Top Bottom