Ok so while the gas was drying on the CJ motor Ryan and Nester helped to realign the power steering pulley. It no longer squeels at idle but I will have to take it for a test run through the neighborhood. Hopefully it will fix the problem of the belt being thrown every time the motor gets wet. Next on the list:
1. 9" currie rear axle tube is leaking out the drivers side again. I'm gonna take it apart and see if it needs a new seal or something.

2. Thump in drivetrain and clutch not working properly. I'm going to replace the clutch and while doing so I'll check for other sources of the thump.

3. going to install the MORE motor lift, tuck the drivetrain up into the body a little better. There is a lot more room there since installing the 2" body lift. Also going to replace the belly pan with a piece of ballistic steel courtesy of Dave Leasure. I'll trace the old pan onto the steel and cut it out. the atlas may need a relief cut out and then I'll build a skid for that.

4. Front shocks bottom out and they are at risk for breakage, also the crank pully can contact the steering hardware at full compression. going to install bump stops in the front to solve that.

5. rear locker ARB line needs a new O ring at the axle. simple fix.

6. soft top is half destroyed at mounting locations. gonna have to fix that so I can wheel in all weather.

7. ARB switches are going to be rewired so that I can engage and disengage the front and rear lockers independently.

8. Rear suspension winch will be installed. I'm going to just run the one from the front back through some strategically placed pulleys to make it work. eventually I may install a rear one independent from the front if needed. I will have to see how it functions on the trail.

9. Need to install a 5 point racing harness.

10. build onto the stock cage to strengthen around the windshield.

I worked half day today and then took apart the rear axle to find the leak. I think I have a bad seal and the bearing has to be pressed on/off to replace it. I'll leave that for another day and drop it off at full circle after the part comes in. Took off the oil pan skid, belly pan, front and rear driveshaft. both driveshafts were nearly seized up. I knocked the grease fittings off long ago. I was able to free them up with a BF hammer and a lot of grease. this weekend I'll remove the transfer case and tranny to check the clutch.

BF hammer . Where do you buy one of those?

so the driveshafts were removed and both were nearly seized up. I worked them loose with a hammer, vice and grease. belly pan and engine skid came off. I laid the belly pain on the 3/8" ballistic steel and it will work fine. Took the transfer case out with no problems. I checked to make sure it was clocked up as far as it can be and it was. Next was the transmission. Made a few calls to refresh my memory, Thanks Nester! Unhooked the electrics and the vents, drained the muddy tranny fluid. 4 bolts and the shifter was removed. Removed the starter and crankshaft position sensor. then all the bolts came off fairly easily except one. Yeah that Damn 6 point star bolt at the top. 3/8 inch didn't fit, 10 mm was about right but rounded the edges, 9 mm was too small. tried everything and then smashed the 9mm onto the bolt but that stripped as well. AHHHHH! time for power tools! I had room so I used the cutoff wheel and cut the head off the bolt. Then I tipped the tranny up and down a couple times and it broke free. tranny came off fairly easy leaving the broken bolt sticking out about 3". Tomorrow I'll weld a 3/4" bolt head to the end of the broken bolt and try to remove it that way. clutch looked fairly worn, only a dime thickness of clutch material left on both sides. I'll order a new clutch and slave cyl. on monday. I'll replace the broken bolt with something with a standard head on it even if I have to drill and tap. Should be a regular bolt though.

OK so the MORE 1" engine lift installation turned out to be a bitch. instructions said simply do the drivers side first and then the passenger side and use the same hardware. They failed to mention that the mounts are off center and it is possible to put them in backwards. Also it didn't say anything about having to take the alternator off due to the long engine mount bolt being too long to come out otherwise. also didnt mention not being able to install the passenger side without removing one of the lower engine side mount bolts. I had the drivers side mount in backwards which was easy to do. there is a threaded nut in the frame side of the mount and the MORE mount could only go on one way....one way wihtout drilling out the threaded nut and installing a new nut/bolt combo. I had those mounts on/off several times before I finally got the motor centered where it belongs. Finally it is done though. Do not believe the instructions! It is done now and the exhaust is on and I'm ready to build a new tranny mount and flat belly skid. I will gain about 2" over the stock skid when it is done.

5. rear locker ARB line needs a new O ring at the axle. simple fix.

Ok so I tried to remove the fittings and replace the o ring but couldn't get the fittings apart from the tubing. Out came the axles again and I pulled the third member. Main reason is I moved the copper tubing while struggling with it and more likely than not the tubing will rub the ring gear. Sure enough upon disassembly i found the tubing against the ring gear. would have been bad to run it with it on there. I cut the copper tubing near the fitting and was able to muscle it apart after that and was able to get the fittings apart. I found that the o ring was destroyed and the copper tubing was torqued into an hourglass shape from the last time I installed it. The tube at the narrow part was half its normal diameter. Now with that part cut out I reassembled the fittings and copper tubing. tested it while the third member was out and now it works fine. Put everything back together again and it still works fine and I have peace of mind that the copper tubing isn't going to get a hole worn through it from the ring gear.
Air hose from my Craftsman compressor was leaking again. seems to be a common problem right around the brass grommet near the end. I cut that off and used some gasket maker and a hose clamp to fix it. No more leaky hose.
Also cut a cardboard template for the rear of the power steering pump. The PSC pump bracket in front is thin and already bent. By placing one in the rear I can take some of the strain off the front one.

tranny support and belly pan support design.

The side rails will be 1" steel to drop the assembly down. just like the skyjacker tranny drop bars. the internal framework will be to add strength and serve as a support to weld the tranny mount to. they are angled due to limitations in space, have to go around the atlas case. the plate in the middle will be welded between the support rails at the height that is needed. this will allow room for the bolts to hang down but not below the height of the belly skid that will be mounted to the bottom of the frame. The supports in the middle will be latched to the side rails by sliding it up into a support (shown at the bottom of the figure with bolts going in from the sides. this will allow removal of the entire middle framework to remove the tranny when needed. the rails on the side that attach to the frame will be welded on for strength. I will be able to remove the belly pan with the 6 original bolts without dropping the tranny support. it is a lot of excess metal in this design but the whole assembly will be no more than 1 1/4" below the frame and allow a flat belly design even with the massive Atlas tcase.

Ok - so what is all of this copper tubing you speak of involving the ARB line? I am mostly interested in your concern about the tubing hitting the ring gear and if this is a concern I should also have. I don't recall any copper tubing involving my ARB line but that doesn't mean it isn't there.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/PR-ARB/articles/14b_ARB_install-review/IMG_3921_small.jpg[img][/img]

On mine adn most 9" hp the copper tubing in the picture has to cross to the other side of the ring gear to have a flat surface for the fitting that attaches to the plastic tubing. If you pull the tubing that is sticking out of the housing it can shift the copper tubing inside the 9" housing and cause it to scrape on moving parts. as long as you don't pull the copper tubing then there is no problem. mine was stock in the fitting because I twisted the copper tube into an hourglass figure when I torqued the fitting down and the copper in the housing moved.

Got a lot done with the tummy tuck today.

I cut the two rail pieces first and then cut the cross pieces and tranny mount bars afterwards. I bought a digital angle finder which was quite a bit helpful.

Can anyone see the mistake I made in the picture above? I built the frame around the jack stand and then couldn't get the frame off for welding without finding another way to jack up the transfer case.

Then I cut a template for the tranny mounts out of cardboard and located the holes in the right spots.

The plasma cutter came in real handy cutting the ballistic steel.

Then I bolted the plate to the tranny mounts and tack welded the plate in place. I removed the entire assembly for finish welding and then cut the belly pan to match the frame. I left a lip about 3" long in front of the belly pan to hopefully make mounting the oil pan skid easier. Tomorrow I have to get some 75w90 for the transmission and will fill that before painting and assembling the belly pan. I also cut a template for the power steering brace used that to cut out a support with the plasma cutter. pics to come tomorrow for that.

Didn't have much time to work on it today. I checked the rear driveshaft for clearance and checked to see if it would bind with the tcase sitting so high now. At full travel I still have another inch or two of drop to the driveshaft. Thats cutting it close but I can't imagine it being a problem. Also installed the shifter, it was a major bitch as I couldn't get my big hands in the little hole to get the bolts on. the two front ones were easy but the two in the back I just couldn't get an angle on. Had to reach from under the jeep behind and over the top of the transfer case to reach it and put it in by feel. barely room for a ratchet wrench but was able to work it in there with a single click back and forth and a lot of patience. (dumbass should have put the shifter on before tucking it up there and installing the crossmember). Also bled the clutch and had no issues there. Then took it for a test drive without the top (doesn't fit in the garage with the top on) and froze my ass off. Jeep is running great again, no belt squeal! Also no longer thumps when letting out on the clutch. The belly pan needs trimming before I can install it. I'll probalbly do that sunday and maybe work on the ARB switches.

Let me know what you think. I'm not sure if I like the main hoop bars behind the seat angling in (from main hoop frame tie in out to center of main hoop) to the top of the main hoop or angling out to the sides of the main hoop(from middle of a cross bar at floor level behind the seats out to side of main hoop as commonly seen).




I am only planning this from what I've seen and read and would love any feedback.

wow, i wish i could make me jobs look as good as yours, nice work

Tube bender will be here Wednesday!