Long overdue update time.
SC/Engine
Errick, I did not do any dyno testing on the LJ before or after. There's none anywhere near me and as much as I'd like to have done it, there's simply no way I can drop $ on dyno time. I tried to work with the supercharger company to arrange it but it never happened. Additionally, we never got the tune 100% right and the challenges that they had with various attempts to tune this kit on different 05-06 Jeeps has led them to stop selling the kit for these years. I let the manufacturer go through the motions on the tuning, answering questions when needed as it was their product and I wanted to use their solution. I didn't have time, money or inclination to go down the rabbit hole of talking to a tuner myself outside of what they did.
So I recently made the decision to completely remove the Supercharger and go back to stock. I got a K&N intake and it still has the Borla header/exhaust and gutted cats.
What I found when I went back to the stock tune was that I instantly popped O2 sensor heater circuit codes on both downstream sensors. Checking them showed they were indeed both bad. Not ONCE did this code show up with any of the SC tunes and I'm assuming they shut off that code. Just to check, I put the SC tune back on the ECU and sure enough, there were no O2 codes.
Nitro Gear 5.13s, tube sleeves, diff covers, rear shafts and cam/OPDA issue
I pulled the SC a couple days before I took the LJ up to Unlimited Offroad in Fenton, MI to install a set of Nitro Gears 5.13s along with tube sleeves in front, all axle bearings and seals, slick new Nitro diff covers and to add the set of chromo rear axle shafts I've had for a while.
Nitro says you can simply pound in the tube sleeves and call it good, but Unlimited drilled holes in the axle tubes for plug welds and welded around the outside end to actually make the sleeves and the housing one.
The gears, as you'd expect, made a ton of difference in the drivability and things are back where they should be. Unfortunately, on the way back from Unlimited, a new code popped for an intermittent cam position sensor signal and the Jeep went into limp mode off-and-on the rest of the way home, usually when it would get over about 2300 RPM.
I nursed it home in the higher gears and checked the OPDA (which I'd replaced about a year and a half ago.) The gear play wasn't too bad as it sat, but what I found was that the thrust washer between the OPDA gear and the body of the unit was gone and that the gear had started eating away at the housing, leading to 0.1" of upward play in the shaft. I guess when the RPM got high enough, the cam gear was forcing the shaft up, resulting in the cam sensor losing signal. I checked the cam and saw that the teeth on the oil pump drive gear are worn to the point that I need a new cam.
This Jeep got a new cam and OPDA with less than 500 miles on it because of a recall that Jeep issued for excessive OPDA/Cam gear wear, so I tried to see if I could get Jeep to redo the cam under what's termed a "recall reoccurrence" but that was a no-go (not surprising, but worth a shot.)
New Cam
So yesterday I talked to Zach at 505Performance.com for an hour about the saga with the SC and the cam. It was a great conversation and as he does a ton of boosted Jeep engines, he had a number of ideas about what could be wrong with the SC setup, all of which would be easily fixed. But before I go down that path, I have him sending a Stage 2 cam/lifter/springs/timing kit to swap in and a new OPDA coming.
He said that this cam is the most that can be done with the stock ECU (that was my requirement after all this with the SC) and it responds well with intake/header/exhaust like mine. He also said it's what he uses on his "basic" boosted 4.0L builds, so if I wanted to go back to the SC and work with him to get it straight, it would be a good choice for that as well. You have to replace the valve springs/retainers/keepers for this cam, but no machine work is needed.
I got the Jeep drivable by swapping my old OPDA back in (tried to get some oil on the upper bushing that was starting to make some noise before I pulled it) and replacing the O2 sensors. Now to wait for the cam and OPDA to get here and dig into that swap. I'll do some before/after exhaust sound video at least, still not going to get it on the dyno like I know everyone would want, but such is life.
This would be the perfect time to do the new Edelbrock aluminum head, but that's way more $$$ than I have available and it would require sourcing another exhaust manifold/header because it uses the older one, so my Borla wouldn't work.
IROK NDs/Bird dogs
The tires/wheels have been great in the snow/slop this winter. With the issues with the engine, no regear until last week and my schedule, I haven't gotten the LJ offroad as I'd hoped to test them out.
Funny thing happened at Unlimited when I did the gears. Apparently a number of the techs saw me pull in and noticed the IROKs. With the NDs (non-directional) one side looks backwards if you don't notice they're the NDs and think they're standard IROKs. It took a while before someone asked me if I knew I had one side mounted backwards. Everyone in the shop had a good laugh after I pointed out their NDs. They'd been snickering about it between themselves.
The airsoft bead balancing method has worked absolutely flawlessly. I drove the LJ to Bantam this summer to put in the GR8TOPS booth and have had it up to 80 on the highway and never had any vibration at all. I will never deal with rim weights again.
JSPEC lift
I can't possibly say enough about this lift. I really can't see how it could be improved for the combination of on-road handling and off-road performance. Folks who ride in it always seem to comment about how well it rides and I have no issues taking turns on-road much faster than most folks would be comfortable doing in a lifted Jeep on 37s. I can't wait to properly test out the IROKs with it off-road.
I think that's everything aside from some LED taillights. Cam install up next, driving it as little as possible until that shows. Did an oil change last night to get out/catch whatever's floating around from the OPDA washer/housing and will repeat it when the cam goes in.
Prepped the Postal for emergency winter duty
if needed. Top on, battery charged. Fingers crossed that I don't need to drive it in the salt.
That being said, the 700R4 behind the fuel injected 350 in my tan Scrambler will do the same shift into OD/lock the TC at around 35mph if you are driving easy.
I dismiss any automatic LJ for my personal taste. 
