The Pickle LJ

[PickleLJ]

Never done a forum build thread, but very excited to give it a go with this build. I'm sure I will see some of you around on other social media but I'm excited to keep track of all the projects big and small as I build this LJ.

Bit of background, I currently have this 04 LJ that i just picked up, a 95 grand cherokee that is my current trail beater (nothing extreme its just a solid little jeep), and a relatively mint 98 Cherokee that my wife doesn't let come out of the garage very often. In total I've had 3 LJ's and 3 cherokees/grand cherokees. With me being about 40 minutes from sand hollow, I've had jeeps pretty much the entire time I've had my license. I got into rock crawling at age 16, and at 17 I was helping guide trails at the Winter 4x4 Jamboree, as well as Trail Hero. Its been about 4 years since I had my last LJ, and I told myself I wouldn't build another one... but here we are.

Last week I came across a listing in Texas for this Electric Lime Green LJ, and although I never planned to build another LJ, I could not help but pick this one up as it is getting harder and harder to come across fair priced unmodified LJ's (in Utah) especially the ELG. Found it on a Saturday, flew down to Dallas and had the title in my hand by lunchtime Monday. It was around a 1400 mile drive back home to Utah with a little pitstop to visit some family. The trip was relatively uneventful with only a few minor leaks popping up but those were easily mitigated. I did however miss in the listing that this jeep did NOT come equipped with cruise control (a little oversight on my part). I was quickly reminded about the truths of driving a brick in the wind.

I've noticed in the last 4 years or so a lot of the old vendors I worked with on my builds no longer make parts for tj/lj, or have been sold off/gone out of business, so if any of you have recommendations for the top dogs, I'd love to hear who are the big names now.

Quick summary of the overall goal for this jeep (not getting into much detail):
Aiming for around a 4-6 inch rear stretch 2" front Stretch
Aluminum armor, Steel Sliders (entertaining Nemesis and Genright)
Have access to a set of 6.0 dana 60 front and sterling rear that I plan to build
coilover/ORI strut setup front and rear
Mid-arm/long arm - having a tough time deciding which route to go. Debating between RK 4" stretch+skid kit, and Savvy midarm with a frame stretch and chop, or passing prefab altogether and doing a custom 3 link front and triangulated 4 link rear

I already have 2 other jeeps for enjoying cruising dirt roads, I want to build this one for the rocks and I'm excited to see what I'm capable of building.
Last but not least is a few pictures of my last LJ that I built up, I still see it around every once in a while but some of you og trail hero/winter4x4 addicts might recognize it.

 

[Irun]

Very nice find and yes, the companies that make quality parts for our platform have shrunk considerably. We're fortunate to have few here that continue to provide quality parts and advice. Looking forward to seeing where you go with this one.

 

[PickleLJ]

We got back from Texas with the jeep at the end of last week, with a few minor issues. The front pinion seal started leaking in Lubbock, but after slowing down a bit and topping it back off it didnt leak the rest of the way home. Then another leak sprung from a trans cooler line during a cold morning in Flagstaff (luckily just a couple loose clamps). Relatively uneventful for a 1400 mile drive home. This pic is from the cave dwellers pulloff in marble canyon.

This weekend I tackled a couple smaller temporary/ QOL fixes on the jeep. The door handles were shot so I replaced both of those interior and exterior. Since i had a couple boxes of Kilmat left over from another project I did, I added some to the insides of the doors to reduce road noise from the bigger tires in the future. I also had a buddy come over and he detailed all the carpet and panels while I added more Kilmat to the tub for further heat and noise reduction. I absolutely love how much more solid the doors feel now.

Some other little items I got tackled was I removed whatever the crazy aftermarket backup steering stabilizer setup was that was all rusted out, and replaced the original with a freshy. I also repainted the front bumper, replaced some bolts, and put LED's in the inside of the cab.
The new front pinion seal got here today so I'll be popping that on after this winter storm rolls through.
Side note: if anyone is looking for an LJ hardtop, This 2 piece is for sale

 

[tnjeepguy]

Really like that color.

 

[PickleLJ]

Alright Long Update coming in! Standby!

 

[PickleLJ]

There has been a lot of development in the Pickle LJ Build, so I will try my best to list and provide whatever information I can this is what I got done up to about November of last year.

• The 2 piece hardtop was sold, and Bestop Twill Fastback was on sale at the time so I picked up one and got it put on the LJ
• Got a Flush Rear bumper and temporarily chopped the front bumper and removed the front sway bar
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• Someone saw my old LJ around town and was happy to see it still out and about albeit treated poorly
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• Unfortunately I did not snag any pictures, but after putting sound deadening in the jeep, I was very disappointed with the speakers that were in the jeep. I replaced all four speakers with some Rockford Fosgate Punch series speakers, a new head unit and a 10” Powered RF Subwoofer I got a killer deal on. In the process I also 3D printed some custom speaker enclosures and spacers to improve the speaker performance, as well as fit the Grilles (too big for the factory pods) in the sound bar. I also threw some seat covers in there while I was at it.
• I Put a hood louvre on and test fitted it before sending the louvre, rear bumper and license plate bracket off to powder coat to change up the color scheme of the jeep a hair from the usual textured black powder coat
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• Having said that, the shop I used put too much heat in the louvre which warped it, and I still haven’t had a chance to remove it and either replace it, or straighten it out and hope the powder doesn’t flake off. We will see.
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• With the new soft top and powder coated goods on, we went on a little adventure checking out some local destinations.
  
• Got a good deal on one of the Barnes 4wd Stubby TJ bumpers, so I had a former colleague of mine TIG it for me and it turns out awesome! As well as drilled some holes in the grille for future turn signals similar to what a JK would have.
• 
• From here I started the Teardown, Stay tuned

 

[Harold&Cat]

Now that's a nice looking pickle

 

[PickleLJ]

Begging the Armor and Stretch

• After much deliberation I pulled the trigger on a full set of Nemesis armor (Fenders, Rockers, sliders, corners and tailgate) and started the teardown of the factory goods while I was waiting. I also ordered some suspension components as well but those will be revealed at a later date
• I started with the back, which was pretty disappointing. I had a feeling but wasn’t sure until I removed the Diamond Plate sheet metal that came on it to find that the corner had been struck relatively hard, and the prior owner had filled the gap with silicone instead of fixing it properly.
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• I pulled the sides and rear window from the soft top for better access, removed tailgate, fenders and anything attached to them, Charcoal canister, flares, and wheel well liners from the jeep. Basically anything that I knew would be in my way.
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• Installed Savvy’s Tcase cable shifter, body lift, and motor mount lift to clear some of the coming goods.
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• Repainted the drivers side tub rail
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• Removed the fuel tank
• Cut out the cross member to push the tank back
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• Picked up a set of Half doors with uppers. Painted the inners to be closer to matching the factory dark gray color (turned out pretty good), and attempted to paint the doors myself (never again I am not a painter) Replaced a few Hinge pins and put new sleeves in the door mounts.
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• Removed rear sway bar and shocks to prep for pulling axles while waiting for parts
• Pulled my donor axles and sourced my gears and lockers
  • Will be running motive 5.38’s front and rear with a Eaton front E-Locker, and a E-Locker from a 14 superduty in the rear.
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• Installed a JB Conversions Super Short SYE and a Teraflex 2 Low kit (I didn’t think about the fact that I would have selectable hubs now but what do you do)
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• To save myself the hassle of having to rig something up, I ordered Barnes 5” stretch kit for the gas tank that bolts into the factory tank location, as well as their high clearance tank skid plate, swapped, painted, and installed.
• Armor arrived and I started with installation.
  • Front fenders went on without a hitch, After some adjustments with the grille I was fairly happy with the fitment, Since I will be changing the suspension up, I opted to skip doing any mounting with the inner fenders quite yet.
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  • The sliders were a little more tricky but got those installed as well. I will say that Nemesis, much to my pleasure, really likes using Nutserts. The tub armor that the sliders mount to went on pretty easy after getting them lined up. There was enough of the nutserts to put on that I actually went out and got the tool this time, instead of using the ole Bolt and 2 Nut trick.
  • The boatside sliders were where it got a little difficult. Since they bolt to the body mounts as well as a rail that attaches to the slider, and the body lift i was using does not replace the factory body mounts but rather stacks on top of them, the sliders didn't line up how I wanted them to. I didn't receive any instructions for the armor, and couldn't find anything useful on their website but a quick message to one of their engineers got me on the right track and was able to get it sucked in a little further thanks to his help. I will probably be changing how my body mounts are setup in the near future to accommodate this issue I had.
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  • As far as corners go, the driver side lined up great and went on easy, The passenger side however took a while due to the tub being damage. I got the damage fixed to the best of my ability (I will go back over it and clean it up when the armor comes back off). Then using the help of C clamps, wood, and some choice words, got the passenger side bolted up with as minimal of a gap as I could manage.
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  • I was also deleting the factory hinges and opting for the tailgate route so I got that installed, as well as some additional mounts to secure my license plate bracket to.
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• Chopped the factory intake and put a plain cone filter on
• Ordered my truss kits, Diff covers, high steer kit, and shock towers for the stretch
• Snagged a new Badlands winch on sale, used a couple of these in the past for work and was fairly impressed so I will give it a go on this jeep.
• Bought a Remanned Power Steering rack for an 02 TJ to swap in and replace the Mercedes rack that LJ’s come with, as well as tapped it for hydro assist.
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• Chopped the hood and got it close to where I want it for figuring out latches, not sure the route I would like to go with it yet. I did hood pins on my last build, but I really like the way the red LJ Snazzyberry (i think it was called) was setup with the hidden latches and cutting out/flushing out the og mount pockets.
  • Test fitted a set of Motobilt A-pillar light mounts with a set of BD Squadron Pros I won a couple years back and never did anything with.
• Currently waiting on some suspension components then will be moving the LJ to a lift for the stretch.
• 

 

[PickleLJ]

Now that's a nice looking pickle

Thanks man

 

[PickleLJ]

Shorter update today as now I am waiting on tools, this week the jeep will be going on a lift to cut off the rest of the factory suspension in preparation for the stretch. I started the regear on my Sterling 10.5 rear, went with 5.38's and a e locker out of a 14 superduty, front 60 will be with an eaton. I was hoping to get the rear all set up over the weekend, but I needed to order an extra inner pinion bearing cup for making a setup bearing, as well as a new micrometer for measuring my shim stacks. I already had most of the tools including a bearing puller from my last jeep that I Re-geared, but I found out first hand why you don't loan out tools. I let somebody borrow my puller since I wasn't planning on using it again. As i was setting up my clamshell bearing puller on the elocker, I noticed the threads on the puller were pretty chewed up, but I was hopeful it would last for one more set of axles. Unfortunately, It did not and now the majority of the threads are gone, but while I'm waiting till Friday for my new puller to show up (since I still have to do the front axle as well). I have been working on everything else I can around the axle including measuring shim stacks, calculating starting shims, making a setup bearing, making sure I've got all the new parts I need, and cutting off the factory leaf spring brackets. I have a new yoke, crush sleeve eliminator, new bearing puller, and misc parts coming so the rear end regear and locker will hopefully be wrapped up by this weekend.

 

[sierradmax]

who did your reman & ported steering box?

 

[PickleLJ]

who did your reman & ported steering box?

My local NAPA for the reman box (we will see how it holds up) I got it at a good price, and i disassembled and ported it myself.

 

[PickleLJ]

The Pickle has officially moved shops, axles coming off soon!

 

[PickleLJ]

We got a decent amount of snow and some terrible wind and cold temperatures to go with it, so work was busy this week. The bearing puller showed up yesterday, I was able to get the NRG side of the carrier pulled, but it slipped (or something) on the RG side and took off the bearing cage, so it wasn't completely a bust but I decided it was time to break out the tried and true angle grinder and cut the bearing off. Cut at an angle to miss the carrier about 3/4 through then pop it with a chisel and it comes right off. Might be a little easier than setting up the puller to be honest unless you are needing to make setup bearings.

Cut bearing featuring the thread powder from my first bearing puller tool.
With the old bearing finally off, I got the carrier cleaned up, double checked to make sure the locker actuator was working properly, and got the new carrier bearings on with my press and ring gear installed and bolts torqued. I got the pinion setup (roughly) earlier this week with the inner pinion setup bearing to adjust the depth, and the rest are pretty much the new bearings since the shims go outside the bearings on the sterling carriers.
I started out at 25 thousandths for the pinion depth and using the handy quick shims from yukon ( highly recommend for this axle) i was able to get a backlash of about 12.5 thousandths setup pretty quickly. The resources I came across said 11-16 thousands was in spec. That being said this carrier and locker are pretty heavy to lug around and i was very concerned about possibly smashing a finger or two. I got the bearing caps on, and with my wife's help ran the pattern, here are the results I got.

Unfortunately that's all I had time for tonight as my helper went to bed
If anyone has any input I'd love to hear it, Im waiting for my crush sleeve eliminator to show up as well.

 

[PickleLJ]

Alright, today was pretty successful by my standards, got the factory axles pulled off the jeep, and most of the factory suspension brackets cut off, it’s a lot more work than it appears! I did accidentally nick one of the brake lines so I will have to replace that, and I still need to get what’s left of the brackets off and smooth.

 

[Abendage]

On the clamshell style pullers you need to leave the race on the bearing when pulling it off to not destroy the bearing and pull off the cage.

Looks like a great build, looking forward to watching you progress.

 

[Wildman]

On the clamshell style pullers you need to leave the race on the bearing when pulling it off to not destroy the bearing and pull off the cage.

Looks like a great build, looking forward to watching you progress.

I've never had this happen and haven't used the race on the bearings I've pulled before.

 

[PickleLJ]

On the clamshell style pullers you need to leave the race on the bearing when pulling it off to not destroy the bearing and pull off the cage.

Looks like a great build, looking forward to watching you progress.

Up until this point I haven’t had to… they’ve came right off. However, the instructions do in fact say to use it, so when I do the front 60 I will leave the cups on, since I will need to make setup bearings.

 

[Abendage]

I've never had this happen and haven't used the race on the bearings I've pulled before.

I think it depends on the bearing to where exactly the clamshell can grab ahold, but it’s definitely designed to pull on the cage with the race installed to not damage it.

 

[Wildman]

Up until this point I haven’t had to… they’ve came right off. However, the instructions do in fact say to use it, so when I do the front 60 I will leave the cups on, since I will need to make setup bearings.

You know I don't think mine came with distructions..

View attachment 666165

I think it depends on the bearing to where exactly the clamshell can grab ahold, but it’s definitely designed to pull on the cage with the race installed to not damage it.

You know MEN can't follow directions...