Bought myself an LED Mag-Lite flashlight.

 

Cleaned up Dat Jeep's interior just in time for a camping/night Catfish fishing weekend.

 

20 Ton Harbor Freight Shop Press

 

I replaced both the rear drive shaft U joints with the same Spicer 5-153x joints as the front shaft.
Blue lock-tite the bolt threads to prevent bolts self-removing.
I used my new 20 Ton press this time around instead of the hand press, worked much smoother.

Reinstalled and gave everything a healthy shot of grease.

Total shop time 30-45 minutes (including me forgetting to chock the wheels and having the Jeep roll out of the garage with me underneath - oops )

Which reminds me: PRO TIP: Before removing the rear drive shaft remember to put the Jeep in either 4WD, apply the e-brake or chock the wheels to prevent the Jeep from rolling away while you are underneath!
Happy wrenching!

 

been there done that, my friend was with me and hopped in and put on the brake. Lucky I was on a creeper with wheels and just rolled with it haha

 

Added additional 1/4" nut spacer and re-drilled new mounting holes 1" offset to allow wires enough space to run between the grille and box.
Also, while I had the box apart, I added my wiring for my in-cab winch controller (future).
Now the controller box sits facing the correct way and allows for easy access to use the remote trigger.

 

Ordered the LED lights here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/301927320497?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Wired the lights using a relay including an in-line fuse.

The relay is only given power when the lights are on via the license plate hot wire.

The lights are triggered when the Jeep is put into reverse and the lights are on.

The additional reverse lights greatly increase nighttime visibility when reversing.

The LED lights used are standard oval trailer lights, easily replaceable if damaged.

If anyone is wondering: the hole saw used was 2-1/2" with the hole centers spaced 4-1/4" apart, giving the outside-outside measurement 6-3/4".

The relay is wired as follows:
30 - in-line fuse - license plate light (+)
85 - Ground
86 - (+) reverse light wire
87 - (+) on the LED hatch lights

 

That's another idea I think i'll use. Very well done.
thanks for the good write up.

 

The Cure! - Available here from Ruffstuff Specialties





Also did a grease job while I was down there.

 

how big of a difference did that make in the steering? I've replaced literally every steering component but still have a little bit of play, was thinking about getting that but not sure if it's worth the $20

 

I haven't had it installed very long yet, but I will post updates on my results.

 

After taking Dat Jeep out for a few drives I don't really notice any significant difference in the steering, but it is slightly less sloppy/loose/tighter.

I noticed more of a difference when I tightened steering box gear.
See video here:

 

ok,,sounds like it's not really worth the $20. I've actually got a remanufactured Steering box in place right now so it's nice and tight.

 

On my ZJ, I was running aresFab one ton steering and it had pretty sloppy steering, so I used the cure but I used it on the passenger tie rod on the knuckle and that made a huge difference.. Maybe give it a try there. The slop in the steering is caused by the drag link rotating the tie rod before it turns the vehicle, if you put it on the outer tie rod, the tie rod can't roll at all.

 

that's what I figured, sounds like a good solution but at the same time it says that it could cause premature wear. So not sure. Lol. Maybe it's different for the one ton steering.