I just picked up the BDS Long arm upgrade. I'm also trying to phase out the RC lift that was on my XJ when I bought it. I'm hoping to get it on this weekend.

I have no complaints about the quality from what I can see. I can't speak to the longevity yet but I know two others locally who have it & love it for what it's worth.

 

I might just leave it as is. I dunno yet. I wanted to do long arms, but everyone has so many different opinions on what setup is the best that I don't want to delve into that can of worms yet.

I need to fix my current handling issues before I go upgrading things and a bunch of new problems keep coming up that are taking priority. So first thing's first. I bought some Moog upper control arm bushings to replace one that is completely shot, and I've also bought some Spicer 760X U-joints for the front axle. If this doesn't help with drive line vibes and wobbles, I don't know what will. My front driveshaft is rebuilt and every other part of my suspension is also new and torqued to spec. Ball joints are good too.

Moreover, I'm going to fix a transmission pan leak and some oil leaks. I think it was either Cruiser or Dukie that recommended in the past changing the o-rings to the oil filter adapter, and that's one of the first things I'm gonna do. I just ordered the kit from the dealer today. I also bought a Fel-pro valve cover gasket to end some of that leaking drama too.

I am indeed very interested on how those BDS arms last for you. I wonder if their joints are better or worse than Rough Country's X-flex joints. If they last, I might still go that route, because I really want a 4-link long arm.

 

Step one done:

 

I need to do that to mine, but I keep putting it off 'cause I want to have enough time to degrease the cover and paint it.

 

I de-greased mine, but I didn't bother painting it because it's just gonna get all oily and dirty.

Today, I replaced all of the grommets and valve fittings on the top of the valve cover:

 

when i did this i snapped a valve cover bolt and saw my life flash before my eyes

 

You only need to go hand-snug on the bolts haha.

 

Thanks a lot to bleepinjeep videos for telling me to tighten to 17 foot pounds lol

 

Lol there are a lot of mixed answers online. Most say 7 foot pounds (converts to something in inch pounds), but my torque wrench doesn't go that low. So I did 10 foot pounds.

 

Long and productive day. New front axle U-joints.

Of course, it wouldn't be MY Jeep unless something went wrong. While buttoning everything back up, I found that my caliper to knuckle bolts wouldn't thread. My knuckle holes were stripped out. So we made those sons of *****es bigger (drilled them out and tapped them) and stuck a bigger bolt in to hold my caliper to my knuckle. Problem solved.

 

New Timken hub bearings are in on both sides:



New flex joint bushings on all the control arms:



And to top it all off, new axle upper control arm bushings:

 

After the new hubs and u joints, not a single click while driving anymore. I don't think I've ever had the Jeep drive so smoothly since I've owned it.

All that's left now is to replace the tranny pan gasket & filter & fluid, and then change the oil filter adapter o-rings on the side of the engine block. This will fix my leaks.

Then, finally, I'll get an alignment to center my axle and bring up my pinion angle a bit more.

 

Nice! Time to wheel it! I always forget about control arm bushings when thinking of maintenance stuff. Nice to know it made that much of a difference.

 

Today I replaced the clutch fan to see if I can keep the Jeep from temp creeping.

 

Reppin' some big things to come!