Another Scrambler Purchase/Road Trip - UPDATE- BODY ON FRAME AGAIN

[spankrjs]

I have been having inconsistent brake booster performance the last few months. 95% of the time the assist works, but that 5% it doesn't will make you pucker!!

Finally swapped in a new brake booster, works 100% again:





The booster seal at the master cylinder side was loose in the bore, I am assuming that was the problem??? Anyway, working perfectly again, that's it for now

 

[spankrjs]

Started my pre-National inspection/maintenance shake down late last night, finished up this afternoon:



Forgot about this little Redneck Ray fix from Hot Springs, lost one of the away bar disconnect pins, easy fix:



Lost the correct Dana 300 shifter nut, just red lock tited a regular 7/16 fine thread nut on, no big deal:



So I pulled all four wheels to make the following maintenance work easier:

Oil change, clean K&N air filter, rotate tires, pull brake calipers and check all four corner wheel bearings, check front and rear axle fluids, check AX15 and Dana 300 oil level, grease tie rod/drag link/sway bar fittings, clutch linkage, front and rear driveshafts, and all suspension bolts. Plus a bunch of other stuff.

Found that one of my rear brake calipers is missing the upper spring assembly that helps release the parking brake cables:





Not too concerned about it now, but will need to find this part sooner rather than later. No idea how I lost/broke this part?? I will contact SSBC and see if they can help me out. I also will need new rear brake pads in the next 5-6,000 miles, need to track that down, too. I wouldn't mind finding a spare set of rear calipers since they are kind of odd ball, and they are well past 10 years old, close to 70k miles on them.

Was able to grease the rear CV without fully removing the drive shaft:



Last year when I replaced/repacked all four corners wheel bearings, and installed all new front spindle components and front axle shaft u-joints, one thing I forgot to do: grease the upper and lower ball joints. The lower ball joints can be greased anytime, the uppers can not. I am running Dana 44 sized u-joints in the Warn front axle shafts, no clearance to pull the plug, install a zerk, and grease the upper ball joints with the axle shafts installed:



So, took a four hour detour and pulled both front axle shafts, installed zerks, greased the upper ball joints, reinstalled the plugs, reassembled the front end.



I really do not know how often these should be greased, probably before almost 70k miles!!! For sure wouldn't hurt to hit them up anytime the front shafts are pulled, or servicing the wheel bearings. My ball joints have no play, nor do they stick, so I am assuming they are fine.

Miles right before I left home tonight:



Will break 70k before I get back home.

Left my house, made the 2 hour trip to JeepAddicts house in Prairieville, La, tonight, no issues. Fingers crossed I'm good to go. Figure if it just made it 2 hours non stop at 75mph, should be fine for another 8.5 tomorrow!!!

That's it for now

 

[spankrjs]

Made it to Mason, TX, safe and sound, Jeep did awesome, no problems

 

[spankrjs]

I didn't take too many pictures at the Texas National, here are a few.

Stopped for the night @Jeep Addict Hotel in Baton Rouge, killed lots of bugs on the way there that night:



Typical cruising speed:



Crossing the Atchafalaya River Basin in Louisiana:



Tourist trap gas stop, Bastrop, TX:



Typical scenery at Wolf's Caves ORV Park:



Hitting 70k miles since the rebuild, somewhere on my daily long "commute" to the park:



The house I stayed at was about 45 minutes of gravel/dirt/creek crossings/limited asphalt roads before you hit the four lane to the town of Mason. The long way added about 30 minutes, but was necessary after heavy rainfall due to some of the creek crossings being impassible. Lots of deer, and cows, not much traffic!!!



The mascot of our house. "Kreepy Cowboy"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



That's not mud!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, genuine cow poop!!!!!!!!!



Cleaned up, almost ready for Michigan!!!!!!

 

[spankrjs]

Discovered this "damage" when I got home:



The upper bracket, passenger side, radiator tank to mounting bracket, broke the solder connection. No leaks, but need to get it soldered back up. This probably resulted from me driving 55mph on the gravel roads, tires aired down, hitting the cattle gates like rally car check points LOL!!!!!
Will complete a more thorough post trip inspection/maintenance regiment before the Michigan trip, hopefully not the night before!!!!


That's it for now

 

[Jeep Addict]

Such a great scrambler and fun to drive

 

[spankrjs]

No rest for the weary, pulled the radiator out. The AC shop 5 minutes from my house can resolder the bracket back on. I thought about repairing it myself, but the shop is just too close to home, and I trust their work.



Pretty sure my Dana 300 shifter cross shaft nut fell off again, so picked this up:



A regular 7/16-20 lug nut, looks identical to the OEM part. I'll make sure I red Lock-Tite the crap out of this one!!!

 

[spankrjs]

I had the radiator repaired, reinstalled, no leaks, so good to go. Also installed my lug nut/Dana 300 shifter nut, with a bunch of red Lock-Tite, holding tight so far.

My 12+ year old/70k mile Rubicon Express 4.5" lift springs are feeling a bit too soft. On the interstate at 70+ MPH, with a couple hundred pounds in the back, feels a hair too soft/loose for me. I added an extra main leaf to each spring pack a few years back, but I think the rest of the pack(s) are just too fatigued. I didn't feel like fighting RE on a warranty claim right now, so I bought four new RE leaf spring packs off Amazon for a little over $500. Two 1450 packs and two 1451 packs.



When I installed the extra main leafs I ran into issues where a lot of the other parts were damaged and I did not have spares on hand. Well, I must have ordered double of everything because I have all new bushings, bolts, sleeves, center pins, and u-bolts in the spares stash:



I also have new/spare spring hanger bushings and lower shock mount studs, not pictured, just in case. I will need to restock the spares bin soon!!

No real surprises or issues, got the rear packs dropped out. The Bilstein shocks still feel tight, shock bushings good to go. A couple of the lower shock mount stud washers are bent up, but other then that no damage or problems.



I am going to remove the extra main leaf from the old rear packs and add them to the new rear spring packs. Not sure if I will install the extra main leafs to the new front spring packs or not.....

That's it for now!!

 

[John N]

I had the radiator repaired, reinstalled, no leaks, so good to go. Also installed my lug nut/Dana 300 shifter nut, with a bunch of red Lock-Tite, holding tight so far.

My 12+ year old/70k mile Rubicon Express 4.5" lift springs are feeling a bit too soft. On the interstate at 70+ MPH, with a couple hundred pounds in the back, feels a hair too soft/loose for me. I added an extra main leaf to each spring pack a few years back, but I think the rest of the pack(s) are just too fatigued. I didn't feel like fighting RE on a warranty claim right now, so I bought four new RE leaf spring packs off Amazon for a little over $500. Two 1450 packs and two 1451 packs.

View attachment 109918

When I installed the extra main leafs I ran into issues where a lot of the other parts were damaged and I did not have spares on hand. Well, I must have ordered double of everything because I have all new bushings, bolts, sleeves, center pins, and u-bolts in the spares stash:

View attachment 109919

I also have new/spare spring hanger bushings and lower shock mount studs, not pictured, just in case. I will need to restock the spares bin soon!!

No real surprises or issues, got the rear packs dropped out. The Bilstein shocks still feel tight, shock bushings good to go. A couple of the lower shock mount stud washers are bent up, but other then that no damage or problems.

View attachment 109920

I am going to remove the extra main leaf from the old rear packs and add them to the new rear spring packs. Not sure if I will install the extra main leafs to the new front spring packs or not.....

That's it for now!!

I’m probably overdue to do this too.

 

[Ron84cj]

This thing is going to be really tall again. Lol. Both of our Jeeps were about the same height before I had my sagged 2.5" springs warrantied. You got a lot of use out of these, certainly a lot more than I did out of my BDS springs. That's awesome.

I keep hearing people say that the newer RE springs aren't what they used to be. Please give us an update after some use and let us know how they feel/hold up. I know a couple people with XJs that have them and seem to like them.

 

[spankrjs]

This thing is going to be really tall again. Lol. Both of our Jeeps were about the same height before I had my sagged 2.5" springs warrantied. You got a lot of use out of these, certainly a lot more than I did out of my BDS springs. That's awesome.

I keep hearing people say that the newer RE springs aren't what they used to be. Please give us an update after some use and let us know how they feel/hold up. I know a couple people with XJs that have them and seem to like them.

Yep, 70,000 miles/12+ years, can't really complain, softer springs were always going to fatigue faster than super stiff packs. I am pretty sure I am going to install the extra main leaves in each pack (front and rear) since I drive this thing so much/far/with weight on it.

 

[spankrjs]

Took the old rear spring packs apart to retrieve the extra main leaves. And of course, couldn't install slightly rusty/crusty parts in the new spring packs, so cleaned up the leaves and steel pinion shims, hit them with some primer/paint:



Hope to at least get the rear suspension back together tomorrow night. So, I can already see the front suspension R&R becoming a multiple day affair

 

[bigwalton]

I'll never do another regular spring center pin again. Grinding down grade 8 fine thread bolt heads to fit.

 

[Chamba]

I'll never do another regular spring center pin again. Grinding down grade 8 fine thread bolt heads to fit.

Agreed. Me too. After shearing a factory pin I realised they are pretty inadequate.

 

[spankrjs]

The RE center pins are made of butter. I have broke/bent them in the past. I have been purchasing center pins from NAPA, they hold up. Both rear pins I removed could be reused, no issues, but I will install new pins. I keep two pins in the spare box, just in case.

 

[spankrjs]

Got back to work on this one tonight.

This is an old spring pack, no center pin installed. The leaves have absolutely no "spring" to them. They lay absolutely flat to each other.



The new springs have much more arch and "spring" to them. The extra long center pins really helped out with reassembling the new spring packs. The new leaves have so much arch that even the super long center pin was not long enough to initially clamp the leaves together.



Just remember if you are messing with leaf spring packs: clamp the leaves together with some C-clamps before pulling the center pin out!!

It will be interesting to see if Rubicon Express will warranty these springs. They are definitely shot, no doubt about it. That is an issue with softer springs: they ride/flex great BUT they will not have as long as a service life as stiffer springs. I'll take a shorter life and a better ride any day of the week, even if I have to replace spring packs every 50k miles on a true dual purpose rig.

Just some random information. These Rubicon Express springs use the same bushings on each end. The only difference is that the fixed mount end uses a 9/16" bolt, the shackle end uses 1/2" bolts. So, there are different size sleeves for the bushings, OD is the same, ID is different.



All of the old bushings have some wear, but nothing major. I could push the sleeves out the fixed ends of both rear springs by hand, shackle ends weren't much tighter. Some of the bushings were a little loose in the spring eyes, too. With the new bushings installed I had to pull the sleeves into place with a long bolt/washers/nut. Had to tap the new bushings into the spring eyes with a rubber mallet. So, all new leaf spring bushings, will reuse the sleeves (no damage found on any of the rears), and new main eye bolts/nuts since I have new ones on hand. All the rear shackle bolts are fine, and both sides shackle hanger bushings are still as tight as new. So, I will reuse the shackle end bolts and hanger bushings. I do not have new 1/2" drilled shackle bolts on hand, but no reason to replace them. I do have new shackle hanger bushings in hand, but so far no issues at all with the existing shackle hanger bushings.

Bushings are a wear/consumable item. When I added the extra leaf to each spring pack a few years back I ended up replacing quite a few bushings. But, I do use this vehicle off road quite frequently, so tore up bushings are just a fact of life, regardless of the fact that all these components are greaseable and are frequently serviced.

Got both rear leaf springs mounted to the frame, passenger side shackle end cleaned/reassembled:



I have been cleaning/inspecting old parts as I go, so assembly takes a bit longer versus installing all new parts. I might have to clean/repaint the dingy axle housings since they clash with the pretty new leaf springs!!!

That's it for now

 

[bigwalton]

I have a couple sets of the adjustable bar clamps and they are absolute magic for assembling/disassembling spring packs.

And don't forget to polish that purty hub cap!

 

[Belizeit]

Bet you changed a few t-shits yesterday on that job.

 

[spankrjs]

Bet you changed a few t-shits yesterday on that job.

Only out there for about 2 hours, but was soaking wet

 

[spankrjs]

Worked on this one yesterday, goofed off today.

My rear shackles have had a slight outward deflection, so spent some time investigating. On the driver side, when the body shop welded on a replacement body mount out rigger, I failed to notice that the replacement piece was slightly different from OEM.

My thumb is on the part of this bracket that is hanging down slightly below the bottom of the frame:



I cut this off with the Dremel, problem solved. On the driver side, both OEM "welded inside the frame nuts" for the rear shackle hanger broke free a long time ago. I dropped bolts through these holes when I put the Scrambler back together. Well, I figured I would insert some flange nuts inside the frame and bolt the shackle hanger back on, like factory. I did this with my green Scrambler, no problem. Well, I failed to realize until AFTER I fished the two old bolts/washers out of the frame that I would NOT be able to install flange nuts. The nice OEM slotted hole on the outside of the frame directly in front of the shackle hanger is covered up by a bolt on bracket that ties my side "ass sliders" that are welded to my back bumper, to the frame.



So, another hour or so spent positioning washers above each hole before dropping new grade 8 bolts down through the frame. Magnets, long screw drivers, and patience. Fun times!!!
The passenger side also had a slight lean. On this side I simply drilled the two 7/16" holes in the shackle hanger bracket to 1/2". This side bolts up like OEM, so two new grade 8 bolts, easy peazy.



I also installed new shackle hanger bushings, all four corners, since all the other suspension bushings would be new. Damn OCD!!

Anyway, left the shackle hanger bolts all slightly loose, lowered the axle down on to the rear leaf springs, shackles hang nice and straight.



Pulled the steel caster shims and extra leaves from each old front spring pack, ready for some paint:



The pile of old parts is growing!!!



Since I am not doing all this work the night before I leave for a trip (like the National trip earlier this summer LOL) I am taking my time, doing other side projects.

Since the leaf springs would be all new and shiny, figured I might need to repaint the axles/associated parts. I painted the axles back 12-13 years ago. I cleaned them up pretty good back then and hit them with Rustoleum primer and paint rattle cans. I started to prep them for a respray and quickly realized all they really needed was a clean. Happy about this because I hate painting inside the garage, over spray dust ends up everywhere. Spent about 2 hours wiping down axles and associated parts with "Tub-O-Towels", look almost new!!



Front has more rock chips, but not too shabby!!



Not trying to make this a show Jeep, but I do like it clean. So I can immediately cover it in mud and sand again 😆

Should be able to finish up all the suspension work tomorrow, today was a "waiting for paint to dry" day. I have new rear brake pads to install, and Stainless Steel Brake Corporation is sending me out my missing rear brake caliper parking brake spring for free, kudos to them!!

While I have the tires off I will do my pre-Michigan trip checks. A few other minor projects going on as well....

That's it for now