Terry's 2006 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon

kirk

Butterfly King
Moderator
Supporting Member
Location
Allen, Texas
No job is ever complete without at least 2-3 runs to the store for "stuff". ;)
Looks good, nice install.
I have an ACE Hardware, Auto Zone and Harbor Freight within walking distance of where I live. I'm not saying I've torn something apart in my driveway and had to hoof it to the parts/hardware store, but I'm not saying I havent either.

Until I bought this little gem for $250. Now I can buzz back and forth!

Looking like a big ass bear on a tiny bicycle in a circus.

Sorry, continue. 232609553_4281495985250119_5108923187137887602_n.jpg
 

TerryD

Total Tease
Location
Covington, Va
I have an ACE Hardware, Auto Zone and Harbor Freight within walking distance of where I live. I'm not saying I've torn something apart in my driveway and had to hoof it to the parts/hardware store, but I'm not saying I havent either.

Until I bought this little gem for $250. Now I can buzz back and forth!

Looking like a big ass bear on a tiny bicycle in a circus.

Sorry, continue. View attachment 34945
Tractor Supply wouldn't be bad but the 12 mile interstate trip to ACE would be perilous at best.
 

Lazerrred

Bought an X
So here it is! After a long long time I've finally jumped in and bought a TJUR or LJ Rubicon in the common vernacular.

It's not a pristine start, but for the price of these things VS what I paid for it, I'm happy.

Hopefully in a little while I'll have most of the issues sorted and it'll be ready for adventures.

View attachment 33573

And the first thing I did was tear into it to see what shape everything is in.

View attachment 33574

So far I've discovered a ruined transmission skid/crossmember, loose front pinion bearings, incorrect spark plugs, some damaged and misrouted wiring harness, and plenty of general maintenance its been lacking.
O my, looks like a fun project,
 

TerryD

Total Tease
Location
Covington, Va
I feel a little sick but I just dropped $1400 on a full aFe exhaust system (including cats) for this thing. :confused:

My primary cats are throwing codes and I'm not 100% sure but I think they've come apart and stopped it up. Was trying to maintain 65mph on the interstate the other day I 3rd gear and gas pedal on the floor.

Either way, it needed cats and a better exhaust system so there. That's done.

Gonna change out the rusted to shiat oil pan while I have the head pipes out of the way.
 

TerryD

Total Tease
Location
Covington, Va
I've been sick for three weeks and so far behind on projects I can't see daylight.

5.13s are here
2/3 exhaust system is here
Oil pan and gaskets are here.

Thinking about calling the shop and see what they'll charge to do the exhaust and oil pan once the rest arrives.

I'll get the gears done once we hit another lull in the kitchen work. But need to make some headway on it now that the drywall is done.
 

TerryD

Total Tease
Location
Covington, Va
Installed the Toyota H4 headlight conversion. Super skookum lenses and a nice harness. It's designed for the FJ40 (and possibly the FJ60) and comes with relays and fuses.

Needs a little touch up on the harness and I need a better ground but it was a big upgrade in light output over the old sealed beams.
 

TerryD

Total Tease
Location
Covington, Va
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Had the shop do my exhaust and oil pan and I'm glad I did. He had to pull the primary cats twice to trim the sockets for the header flange to get it to stop leaking.

But that's done! Sounds nice. Not as loud but much better tone than the old crappy pipes on there.
 

TerryD

Total Tease
Location
Covington, Va
Regeared the Jeep this weekend. Started about 10am on Saturday and finished up about 4pm on Sunday. Took a while to get it figured out. Neither of us has ever done the Rubicon D44 with the external shims and the air lockers. We also wasted over an hour trying to get my pinion depth tool to work and never did get dependable repeatable measurements.

The carrier bearing both front and rear looked like this. My guess is it sat for several years with a lot of moisture in the axles and the bearings rusted.

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Someone had replaced the DS rear wheel bearing at some point and they cut into the sealing surface when the took the old bearing off. That explains why the wheel seal is leaking. That cost $115 to learn and I'll still have to replace the whole shaft to get that leak stopped.

Sometime in its past, it lost a front u-joint and carved up the DS wheel bearing bolts and bent the ears on the inner shaft. It took some beating to get the ears straight and a new joint in. I'll have to replace the wheel bearing bolts as soon as I can get them ordered.

On the whole it went OK though. The new gears dramatically improved highway driving but it's highlighted a few other issues to address. Firstly, the drive shaft u-joints and front double cardan joint need replaced. The front starts shaking at about 65mph which is around 3500rpm for the front shaft with the 32s and 5.13s.

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It was SO nice having my buddy's lift but he lacks some of the specialty tools I have and I didn't realize that so there was some struggling to make due on that front.

Hopefully this is my last time regearing this thing. If I blow up a R&P in the future, I'm gonna be powerful tempted to go 60-9 hybrid.
 
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