Very cool!
Have you had a chance to drive it yet? With the transfer case being so close to the body, is there a lot of extra noise and vibration? That’s one of the things I hear about the low profile transmission mounts, so I’m curious.
Nth Degree Tummy Tuck Install
- Thread starter ToddL
- Start date
Very cool!
Have you had a chance to drive it yet? With the transfer case being so close to the body, is there a lot of extra noise and vibration? That’s one of the things I hear about the low profile transmission mounts, so I’m curious.
Yes, I did take it on the highway up to 75 mph. Vibes are actually down from my old slip joint. No added vibe at idle. I do notice slightly higher noise, but I still think it’s from the Johnny Joints transmitting, but other say they had no increase from JJs. In my old mustangs, any time I replaced rubber bushings with Heim joints, the added noise (NVH) was very noticeable. That said, the wind noise in the Jeep at 75 mph is by far greater than anything else.
Nice to hear that! I hear you on the wind noise too. A TJ was never designed to be a quiet vehicle (they aren't anywhere near as quiet as a JK), but that's part of the fun of it. When I installed my Rokmen tummy tuck it was obnoxiously noisy at idle and while driving, to the point where it was almost ming numbing. That however was because my exhaust got pushed so far up that it was literally sitting on the underside of the tub!
I cut the exhaust hanger (the one that attaches to the mounting point on the stock transmission mount) down a few inches which brought the muffler away from the floor pan, and now you can't even tell at all.
I probably would have went with the Nth Degree like you did had I known that the low profile transmission mount wasn't going to be noisy as hell! That's honestly about as flat as you'll ever need it in my opinion!
A couple of final things finished up today. I had to put in a Speedohealer since I don’t have a speedo gear any longer. Highly recommended solution when you use a super short SYE. I used the TJ optional harness and it was a snap to install.
I also tried the zip ties to hold the emergency brake to the UCA. Didn’t like that solution. I picked up the 1.25” roll bar mounts from Amazon. I know, it’s an overkill, but it won’t flop around. They were only $17 for four. Those padded clamps other recommended don’t work. They are too narrow to drill out the hole for the bolt.
I hope you all found this install helpful. It was a satisfying project.
I also tried the zip ties to hold the emergency brake to the UCA. Didn’t like that solution. I picked up the 1.25” roll bar mounts from Amazon. I know, it’s an overkill, but it won’t flop around. They were only $17 for four. Those padded clamps other recommended don’t work. They are too narrow to drill out the hole for the bolt.
I hope you all found this install helpful. It was a satisfying project.
For those mentioning vibes at idle do you care to elaborate? I'm asking since I finished the savvy tuck, at idle (say a stop light) there's a "new" vibe. Durning idle, if you very gently tap the throttle (+200-400r) it smooths out before coming back after idling down.
This makes me think it's rpm related due to no driveline rotation. So that rules out the transfer case. The engine makes no contact with the body so that leaves the trans and possibly the exhaust. The exhaust doesn't make contact with my tub although it is very close. The last part I can think is the upper part of the trans where it meets the firewall. Clearance feels and looks very liminted for what I can tell. (6sp trans)
I'm curious if any of you have ran into this situation that have used savvy or any other brand????
Last thought, is there any way to over tighten the trans mount to where it's possible to be applying to much pressure to the two rubber mount bushings?
The additional noise/vibes I experienced were directly related to tcase and exhaust contact against the body or frame. With regard to the minor rumbles, the Jeep changed so much during those few months that I wouldn't be able to say what created what. Except that once everything was mostly sorted out, the overall changes in noise were were very minor compared to what I remember from before.
The bolts clamp onto an isolated steel sleeve. If you were to over tighten the bolts, the threads will eventually strip, but the rubber bushing would be fine.
My guess is the two trany mount bushings are not providing as much dampening as a stock trany mount at idle frequencies. I had a similar vibe at idle when I ran UCF's low pro mount, cept it was even worse since they only use one bushing to dampen vibes.
Are you saying vibes could be caused by "near" contact rather than direct contact? From everything I can gather I have not direct contact other than possibly the top of the trans in the bottom of the tub.
I will play about with this idea. I'll tighten them more then also loosen them to see if that effects anything.
Direct contact. But if a gap is small enough that a small twist or a flex of the body/frame closes that gap then there will be noise. Sometimes the noise will be momentary as the Jeep moves around.
Chances are it won't. There simply is less rubber dampening material to quell the engine's vibe frequency at idle. That, and the rotating mass of the drive train is closer to the tub. That certainly doesn't help matters. Over time, you'll get used to the idle vibe. Part and partial to doing a TT.
Agreed. Once the parts are firmly attached to the isolators, no amount of additional tightening will change the amount of isolation.
I can't leave good enough alone so I'll continue to play with different ideas. I'm going to start by removing the mml to see if anything changes. Since it's at idle I don't have to drive it just start it.
That is possible, but I think I may have enough clearance. I'm possibly going to have to just dive in and try something. The only other things i know to do is pull the skid and crossmember but this still prevents me from seeing anything better.
Correct they are 1" blocks
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