The only negative thing about these racks is they mount to the stock crossbars.

I really want a Gobi, but that will never happen. I'll probably get a Nates 4x4 or I'll have one custom made.

 

I have the Thule load bars and towers. So the rack will mount to them instead.

My friend has a Gobi on his Xterra. It is nice, but really expensive. His is one of the first designs for the second gen X and he has the ladder as well. I had the Yakima rack with a 34" spare on my 06 Xterra and 5.5" lift. Never again will I put a spare up that high! What a pain it was to take it down.

 

My Jeep has been down for a few days. And with all the crap going on lately, I really don't feel like working on it.
GEN light came on the other day after work, while on the freeway and it started lacking power. Volt gauge was at the white line above red, roughly 12V. Pulled over (never a good idea on I15!) and checked the voltage with my meter on the freeway, 12.3V. Hopped back in and babied it home. Checked the voltage again, 11.6V. This is all while running too. Shut it off, let it cool down for a few hours and start it back up. GEN light is off, gauge is reading ~14 and my meter is reading 13.7V. Drive it down the street, engine temp hits 210 (normal everyday driving) and the light comes back on! Head back home, pull the battery and alternator along with all my 4 gauge wiring. Test the alternator at AZ and it passes. OEM alternator and Optima Yellow with 4AWG wiring except the alternator to PDC (stock 10AWG fusible link). Checked the resistance on all the cables, good.

So now she sits in the garage, waiting for me to fix her... I forgot to bring the battery with me when I tested the alternator. It reads 12.9V now so I am hoping that it is not bad. Bought it in December 2011 so its not even a year old yet. Maybe this weekend I will get around to it.

 

Haven't updated this in a while!

Picked up a C8.25 today from a 1997 XJ. Mine is a 27 spline and this one is 29 spline. And with my pinion bearing shot, this will be a drop in temp fix until I get to the rebuild of front and rear.









It's missing one u joint cap and a wheel stud broke. Also the parking brake cables were cut. Other than that it is complete minus drums. My diff cover and brakes are swapping over to this one over the holidays.

 

Got the axle torn apart and cleaned the majority of it. Might paint it semi gloss black or something, just so it looks clean. It will be the only shiny part under the Jeep.

I was planning on using my brake hardware for this axle, but the guy I bought it from cut the parking brake cable. I need to figure out how to get mine onto this axle when I swap it.

I have also been thinking of switching out the suspension to something more up to date. Possibly a long arm setup ????? Only because I need UCA bushings and this is a good excuse I keep telling myself. My wife on the other hand thinks otherwise.


Online note to self of things to get, in no particular order:

Coil spring spacer to level.
Long arms.
Greaseable shackles (maybe relocation boxes to gain the angle)
Gears/lockers.
Bumpers.
Sliders/armor.

 

Took the cover off and cleaned the gasket surface. Need to get Lube Locker gasket because from what I have read, it is easier than RTV especially since I will be removing the cover later for gears/lockers.

Painted the axle gloss black. Not really sure why I painted it gloss black but at least I know it is clean when I put it in.



Need to get a new breather hose so I can extend it behind the tail light.
Need 3 degree axle shims and new center bolts.
Need new u-bolts, these auto parts stores u-bolts are cheap quality and strip when I remove them.

I have mostly everything needed so I can install it earlier than expected. Depending on when I can get the axle shims and lube locker gasket, it may go in this weekend if I have time.

Parking brake removed from the axle. It is held in place via these spring clip retainers. One side had 3 of the prongs that I had to depress and remove the entire assembly. The other side had 4 prongs that I had to depress.



Passenger side wheel cylinder and brake line are rusted together.



I rounded the brake line fitting with a flare wrench. Then attempted to get it off with vise grips. Finally decided to remove it as one assembly and use the existing one on my Jeep when I swap the axles.

 

Got bored yesterday and cut the front fenders. Easier than I thought. Just don't use a dremel. It takes forever! I used my dremel on the driver side, went through 5 blades and almost an hour cutting everything. Passenger side I used my angle grinder and less than 15 minutes including filing the edges by hand to remove the burrs. Both sides were covered with that door trim crap they sell at the auto parts store. I had some left over from the first fender trim.





Next up is the rear! I'm not 100% sure on how to do it, but after reading many threads on it I think it is pretty easy. I have many body fender tools too, and a lip roller if I can get it to reach that far. Just do relief cuts between the welds and fold it under.

If I don't get to the axle swap this weekend, the rear fenders are getting trimmed. I think it looks better without the flares since I am only running 31x10.5s on 4" BS. Next tire size is 33s.

 

I went through this swapping axles on my Ram. 3 front bolts and 2 rear bolts were stuck. I had fun with the sawzall that day.

Wait until you have to deal with these m'er f'ers

 

Sawzall was my best friend during the suspension install lol.

Are those shackle brackets? I remember when I did the 4 link rear air suspension on my friends Silverado, I had to grind the rivets off the shackle mount. What a pain that was. Then I realized that I can use an air hammer and be done in minutes haha.

 

Yep shackle brackets, had to cut into the heads with an angle grinder, then air chisel them off, then chisel out the rivets, but half of them were stuck, so I had to drill the centers then chisel them out. what a PITA

End result looked good, though. Lots of sweat and metal filings went into that project.

 

Something seems to be missing


Old one out


SOLID cover on the new housing.


Putting 4 degree shims on the rear



That is all the pictures I took so far. I will post some up later of it on the Jeep.

I noticed that I need rear shocks bad. These have zero rebound/compression. I compressed the shock by hand to pull the axle out and it stayed at that position until I pulled it back down to install it on the new axle. Next project!

This thing is silent. What a difference! My '97 has a Flowmaster with 2-1/4" piping. I can hear the exhaust at any RPM. This '96 you could barely hear the exhaust because of the pinion bearing. Now I know what my Magnaflow sounds like! Take off is better. I can feel the torque from a dead stop. The freeway speed is smooth now too, absolutely no noise at all on the road.

Taking it for another spin on the side roads tonight before I double check the torque on the u-bolts and lugs.

I will post up later with more pictures.

 

Very detailed build, every step has pictures and is explained. Nice, very clean rig. Subscribed.

 

Thanks man!

 

My original factory tails with a 4-1/2" hole cut for the 4" LED tail lights.



These were cracked when I bought the Jeep. Cleaned em up, painted it the same color as the Jeep (desert tan) and it didn't look right. So I bed lined it with a rattle can and put one light in each housing.

LED reverse lights are expensive! Might have to order online or put another STT light in there.

Also, a 3/4" hole is drilled on the side for a marker light. Got the idea from JCR Offroad regarding their complete tail and quarter guards. Apparently you are less likely to be hit on the side with a side marker... but like the saying goes, 60% of the time it works all the time!

 

Fixed my OFA leak. Took only an hour and 45 minutes including the oil change. Not a hard fix, if you have the right tools. Still need to degrease the side of the block and remove the old oil stains. Two cans of degreaser and a bottle of simple green and its still there.

Fixed my leaking transmission cooler line. Cut the stupid quick disconnect fitting near the radiator and flared the tube for a 3/8" hose. Cut the line near the oil pan and flared it as well for a 3/8" hose. Next up is a trans oil temp gauge. Been thinking about getting the Prime 4x4 cubby mount for the gauge.

Removed my heater control valve. Honestly, you do not need it. The coolant flows through the heater core all the time, which is fine. And no you will not get hot air on the cabin unless you want hot air in the cabin. Temp runs fine and when the thermostat opens, it is instant heat! Burning hot heat. Way better than before.

Next free weekend I get I will be changing the valve cover gasket. It leaked when I bought it but after changing the CCV valves and gaskets, it hasn't leaked.

As of now my Jeep does not leak any oil on the ground!