Project Redrum
 

Hey everybody. Ive had my Cherokee for about nine years. It has been my daily driver and adventurer for most of that time. I love it. I got it at 70,000miles and it is now around 175,000miles. It has been through a lot (getting stolen, novice home mechanic fixes, living in NYC) and I have learned pretty much everything I know about working on cars from it, which still isnt a whole lot.

In the past two years I have gotten an assigned truck from work I get to drive and recently purchased a 2015 Tacoma, which takes a lot of strain of her daily driving duties. The old gal has been stock forever as a result of getting it as a poor college student and then being a poor college grad. I am finally getting to the point where I have expendable income, and have myself some other things I can drive while it is in pieces. I am ready to start down the rabbit hole.

I purchased the Rubicon Express 3.5in Super Ride kit and have had it since around Christmas. http://www.rubiconexpress.com/Suspen...n=R%2fERE6025M I work all the time and have a long distance girl that I go see a lot, but this summer sometime soon one weekend I am going to attempt to install myself. I have been Blastering all the bolts for the past week and a half.


In my garage I have:

• Front and rear shocks
• Rear leaf springs
• Front coils
• Lower control arms
• Extended Brake line for the rear
• Front sway bar quick disconnects
• U-bolts for the rear axle
• Cragar Soft 8s 15x8 3.75in backspacing

Things I am wondering if I should get:

• Steering stabilizer
• Pinion Angle Shims
• New Blushings
• speedometer gear
• SYE vs lowering the T-case
• BFG AT KO2 or General Grabber AT2

I would like to go bigger than 31in tires, but just to budget for now I think I am going to get 31s so I dont have to get into regearing. I was looking at craigs list to try to find some lightly used 31s so that maybe if I decide to take the next step I wont have spent so much.

I guess I am wondering am I missing anything that I need before I attempt to tackle this? Is there anything I am not thinking of?

I have tools including a sawzall for the leaf springs. I am going to buy a big floor jack, I have the jack stands.

Well thats the beginning of my build thread, hope it isnt too long winded.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.che...ef4d0453b0.jpg

My stock XJ in the snow. Instagrammed for dramatic effect.

Attempting to change all the U joints in my front and rear drive shafts, which have surely been on there since 1999, I knocked this little nub off the front shaft. My coworker, who is basically our mechanic at our job site, says it is unbalanced and ruined now.

Anyone else have a different opinion? At this point should I just get new drive shafts and an SYE for when I put on my lift? What are good brands? If I change my lift later will I have to get different length shafts?

Any advise appreciated!

If you can weld maybe drill a hole in the balancing weight thing you knocked off and try that or take it to a shop that does driveshaft stuff and they should be able to replace it. Also you appear to be missing a U joint cap, hopefully you were fixing that

Yea I was changing the U joints.

Attachment 293542

Well I attempted to install my RE 3.5" kit over the weekend. I got the backs done, but a frozen in place lug nut on the drivers side front tire really killed my daylight, so maybe next weekend.

I noticed that I should really order some new shackles for the leaf springs. I thought I read somewhere that there are shackles which help with drive like vibrations and maybe I could avoid pinion shims or tcase drop. Anyone know anything about this?

Also since this is the super ride kit an I going to need to worry about new bump stops at all?

So I am almost done installing my lift. The only thing holding me back is a entirely rusted and seized bolt in the body mount from the old track bar ( I got a new adjustable track bar).

The nut on the top of the old bolt was so rusted it had already lost its shape. I couldn't even get a socket all the way down on it let alone stripping it.

I cut the bolt clean off below the upper mounting bracket, but I still for the life of me can't pound that thing out. I've tried heating it with a propane torch, hitting it with a chisel and hammer, drilling through it, and punching it with an air hammer.

I read about taking off the whole bracket and pounding it out that way, but one of the bolts holding the bracket on is totally rusted and stripped.

Anyone have any ideas for getting this thing out while the bracket is still attached under the car? I feel like the only option I have left is melting it out with an acetylene torch, but I don't want to make the hole to big. Please help!

Heat the whole thing up cherry red with your acetylene torch. Don't waste your time with propane. I've learned that lesson more than once.