Bender - 2010 JKUR

[fiend]

20 minutes ago, AxK said:

That looks great Greer. Have you looked into the Genright rear sway bar. Its like the front on the rear so you can ditch the front all together?

Thanks.
 

I have not heard of that. Will look into it.  I have a bit of money and time in my stock rubicon sway bar with air activated Evo no limits. So I’d like to keep that unless there’s a clearly better option. I’ve driven with no front sway bar. Doable, but kind of tiring over long distances. 

[AJK]

1 hour ago, fiend said:

Thanks.
 

I have not heard of that. Will look into it.  I have a bit of money and time in my stock rubicon sway bar with air activated Evo no limits. So I’d like to keep that unless there’s a clearly better option. I’ve driven with no front sway bar. Doable, but kind of tiring over long distances. 

30% stiffer then Currie. Cant link for some reason with phone but here is a picture.  Says you need a minimum of 70inch axles and 5" backspacing to run.

 

 

 

[Jdofmemi]

On 5/2/2022 at 1:14 PM, fiend said:

So I got the new track bar bracket welded in. Don’t judge my vertical welds.  I triple passed them, so the strength should be there even if the style points are not.  I slotted the coil bucket and then closed up the slot with welds so the coil bucket is tied to the frame via the TB bracket.   I was able to keep my Synergy track bar.
 

There are various TB bracket options for putting a 2005+ SD60 into a JK, but a number require getting rid of the sway bar or going to an anti-rock, which I didn’t want to do. I looked at the RPM and the TMR options. Ultimately  I went with the RPM bracket because there’s plenty of clearance for the stock sway bar. But it does require cutting the coil bucket. If I were to do it again, I’d probably go with the TMR bracket.  It doesn’t require modification of the coils bucket, but I probably would need to modify the bracket itself or the sway bar.  Anyway, what’s done is done. 
 

It turns out that the Reid knuckles on the 2005+ SD60, with a high steer arm, have the same tie rod throw (6.75”) as stock. So I can keep my currently PSC system and won’t need a longer or different ram. 
 

Rather than mounting the ram on the axle side TB bracket, I mounted it on the diff cover.  That gets the ram more in parallel with the tie rod and doesn’t put a ton of extra stress on the TB bracket. The modified TMR cover with ram tabs is paint drying now. I’ll try to post some pics after I get it installed. 

That looks like it will stay where you put it

 

Welds are looking good, and it sure looks like you will be ready to roll soon

 

I just wish I had time to put into mine. 

 

Hopefully I will have a break after the current project, but, I seem to be in demand. It's a better problem than no work. 

[fiend]

1 hour ago, Jdofmemi said:

That looks like it will stay where you put it

 

Welds are looking good, and it sure looks like you will be ready to roll soon

 

I just wish I had time to put into mine. 

 

Hopefully I will have a break after the current project, but, I seem to be in demand. It's a better problem than no work. 

Thanks Jerry. The front is coming along pretty well. Could be done with it this weekend, except for the air lines and brake lines.  I’ll do those at the same time as lines for the rear.  
 

The rear axle should be easier. No steering to deal with. Hopefully no need to change the track bar mount.  
 

I hear you about finding time for it. But I also know that you’re building your business, which ultimately pays for the hobbies and the fun. When you have clients willing to pay for your time, that’s where you have to devote it. 
 

Hope to see you on the trails soon.

[fiend]

Bit of progress this weekend. Got the track bar in with new fasteners.  Have full up travel without contact between the pumpkin and the TB bracket or the TB itself.  I have full left turn without contact of the pitman arm and TB bracket.  Kinda bummed I had to add 1” of bump stop to keep the tie rod and drag link from hitting each other. In retrospect I probably should have tried to use my old chromoly drag link and tie rod rather than going to the oversized aluminum parts. Oh well. 
 

Waiting on a vacuum seal driver from Amazon. With that, I can install the front axle shafts, unit bearings, and brakes. Then I can set the toe and tighten up all the front joints and links. I’m not going to be using the Ford style vacuum operated hubs, but the seal helps keep crud away from the unit bearings, so I might as well use them. 

 

The front driveshaft is out and cleaned up a little.  Bringing it to the shop tomorrow morning to have 1.5” taken out.  
 

[Jetlau3]

So much work . Looking close ! 

[Dave]

Looking good.  Sounds like you'll be wheeling soon.

 

Have you disposed of the old 44s yet?

[fiend]

3 hours ago, Dave said:

Looking good.  Sounds like you'll be wheeling soon.

 

Have you disposed of the old 44s yet?

Thanks Dave. 
 

I still have the old axles. The rear is still in the Jeep. The front is sitting on moving dollies.  Once I get the new axles installed I will clean up the old ones for sale. 

[AJK]

What track bar bracket did you go with?

[fiend]

18 minutes ago, AxK said:

What track bar bracket did you go with?

Looks like my old synergy will work.  Just extended it about an inch. 

[fiend]

Bender is immobile.

[Jdofmemi]

Closing in on the big day. 

 

Looks like he's about to get into the new, bigger legs. 

[fiend]

Yep, getting there. Front axle is in. Rear should go in this weekend. Then still need to do brakes and lockers. 

[fiend]

Today’s the day.  Spent the morning rebuilding Johnny joints and swapping parking brake cables. Gonna have lunch then get this bad boy in.

[AJK]

Nice!!!! I'm looking foward to see this in person soon.

[fiend]

So both axles are now in. The Jeep is now sitting on its suspension.  I’m waiting for new TPMS sensors so I can swap the tires to the new wheels. I probably should have just turned off the TPMS, but I didn’t think of it until after I’d ordered the sensors. 

 

The 14 bolt fits nicely. No suspension mods required. I did have to change the parking brake cables, which required taking out the console. I retained my stock track bar, which has the axle more or less centered when mounted on the top hole of the axle side bracket.  At full  stuff there is plenty of clearance between the pinion yoke and the gas tank. One of the reasons to go with a 14 bolt over a Sterling.
 

Interestingly, it looks like I will have to lengthen rather than shorten the rear drive shaft.  The 14 bolt is large, but apparently the pinion is shorter than the 44.  I need to add about an inch. I’ll take it in tomorrow. The local shop is pretty fast; I should have it back in a few days. 
 

In the course of the project I discovered that one of the Synergy “dual durometer” control arm bushings is blown. Not too happy about that, since they only have about a years worth of use on them. I also found that my front and rear springs have sagged about and inch over the years. I guess that’s normal; these have about 8 years of use, with a lot of wheeling in rocks and in the desert, usually loaded down with lots of tools, camping equipment, passengers, etc. I also found that one of my rear shock shafts is slightly bent.  I don’t want to drop a bunch of money on new control arms and shocks, or a whole new suspension at this point, so I just ordered a $25 replacement bushing  and I’ll just keep running the shock for now.   Maybe in the future I will get new arms and springs, or perhaps do something more elaborate like long arms and coil overs, but that’s a ways off since I’m getting tired of wrenching rather than wheeling.  

So at this point the major remaining projects are to swap the tires to the new wheels, install the J8 brake booster/MC and bleed the brakes, and get the locker air lines in.  And of course minor stuff like torquing all the fasteners to spec, installing the front calipers, and filling the axles with gear oil. 
 

It’s in the home stretch.  I sure will be happy when it’s done and I have my Jeep back. 

[Dave]

Congrats on the progress.  You're down to the short strokes now.

[AJK]

Awesome...Yeah them Synergy bushings are hit and miss I have been noticing. 

[Jdofmemi]

Great to see the progress Greer!

 

Getting closer to a break in run. 

[Jetlau3]

Been awesome following this . New set up looks sweet .  Wish I had the skill or confidence to take something like this on haha . Any axle upgrade will def be an off the shelf bolt in for me.   Looking forward to getting out together this summer 

[fiend]

4 hours ago, Dave said:

Congrats on the progress.  You're down to the short strokes now.

Thanks. Getting there. 

[fiend]

4 hours ago, AxK said:

Awesome...Yeah them Synergy bushings are hit and miss I have been noticing. 

Yeah I was a big fan of synergy’s stuff. I have had good results with their lift and other products for the most part. But their original ball joints sucked, and I was not pleased to see one of the bushings done so quickly. At least they are cheap to replace. 

[fiend]

2 hours ago, Jdofmemi said:

Great to see the progress Greer!

 

Getting closer to a break in run. 

Oh man. Feeling to pressure to be ready for rubicon/Fordyce. I want to have some break ins before then!

[fiend]

2 hours ago, Jetlau3 said:

Been awesome following this . New set up looks sweet .  Wish I had the skill or confidence to take something like this on haha . Any axle upgrade will def be an off the shelf bolt in for me.   Looking forward to getting out together this summer 

Haha thanks. I’m not sure I have the skill either. Learn by doing. Hopefully no catastrophes.  Definitely looking forward to getting out with you on the trails soon.

[Crawl2Camp]

The build is looking really great Greer.  You’ve come a long way and got a ton accomplished in a short amount of time. Cheers.