Me and My '05 Limited, Riding On Air

[tommudd]

My budget is limited. That doesn't mean I will spend less, it just means it takes me longer to get quality parts. My first priority is safety, so a studded set of tires for Winter use where I live is a good idea. This is snow country and I travel the highways between Plumas County, CA and Reno, NV often. The elevations range from mid-3,000 to about 7,000'. Even when the snow is light, the ice is lurking on every curve of the winding, 2-lane roads I put 80% of my miles on.

Upgrading the differentials on my KJ to 4.10s is on my list, but it's not going to happen before the wheels and tires. I don't have the ability to hit the local salvage yards for wrecked CRDs that have decent gears. I'll have to pay a premium in the form of labor charges to have someone get them for me and weigh that option against buying new components to have my diffs rebuilt. I understand it means a loss of power and MPGs. How much of that is noticeable will determine just where on my list 4.10s are.

Winter road conditions, including the chemicals the road department uses, doesn't play nice to the finish on wheels. It's a good idea to use wheels that don't mean much to me for Winter use. And since I can't use studded tires all year (Winter months are Dec-Apr aprox), it just seams reasonable to use my existing 17" rims for the studded tires and some nicer 16" wheels & tires for the rest of the year.

The tires I have now aren't good for Winter driving. I slipped a little on my trip to Reno Monday and they are nearing their optimum tread life. It makes more sense to replace them as soon as possible. I should be ready to do the lift right after the 1st and then mount new studded tires on the existing rims right after. By the end of Winter, I may have enough saved for the new wheels & tires. If it becomes obvious that changing the diffs should be next, then it will be.

4 cylinders had the 4.10 gears here in the USA not the CRDs
( just for clarification )
agree with sticking to a 30 inch tire or so without a regear

 

[HoosierJeeper]

I'd keep it simple. Get the 245/70/17 Duras and stud them for the appropriate season. Won't need to regear, minimal if any work will need to be done to fix rubbing and looks fine. I've ran that size for about 70,000 miles.

 

[Jim McClain]

The usually good folks at my local Les Schwab kept me waiting 3 days past when they said my coilovers would be ready, so I took them to another shop that several people referred me to. He told me he would do them Monday (today), but sooner, if he had time. He called me this morning to come pick them up.

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Charged me 20 bucks. Yep, that's right, $20.00. I expected 60, maybe a little more.

I stopped by my regular mechanic and asked when I might get the lift done. He said he'd like to do it Thursday or Friday, if I could leave the Jeep with him that long. I have a dentist appointment Thursday, so the office manager said she'd be happy to give me a ride.

Ohhh, I'm excited!

 

[HoosierJeeper]

You will not believe how awesome it is with the lift. I'll never forget the day I picked mine up from the shop after the lift.

 

[Dave]

The usually good folks at my local Les Schwab kept me waiting 3 days past when they said my coilovers would be ready, so I took them to another shop that several people referred me to. He told me he would do them Monday (today), but sooner, if he had time. He called me this morning to come pick them up.

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Charged me 20 bucks. Yep, that's right, $20.00. I expected 60, maybe a little more.

I stopped by my regular mechanic and asked when I might get the lift done. He said he'd like to do it Thursday or Friday, if I could leave the Jeep with him that long. I have a dentist appointment Thursday, so the office manager said she'd be happy to give me a ride.

Ohhh, I'm excited!

Awesome...keep us posted.


Dave

 

[wheeee32]

After the alignment with the lift is the best day.

 

[profdlp]

Can't wait for the next update.

 

[Jim McClain]

Well, my mechanic woke me from a nap to ask if I could bring the KJ to him a day early and promised to have it ready well before my dentist appointment Thursday. That was certainly worth interrupting a pleasant dream.

 

[Jim McClain]

I just got home from dropping my baby off at the mechanic's. There is a possibility it will be finished today, but he has other work to do for customers too, so it may not be finished until tomorrow.

I took the before measurements:

Front-Left = 18⅜" - Front-Right = 18½"
Rear-Left = 18⅛" -- Rear-Right = 18⅛"

 

[Jim McClain]

I can't seem to find a photo or video of the UCA pocket modification for the JBA A-arms. My mechanic says there isn't enough space to bend over a half-inch or so of metal at the bottom.

 

[tommudd]

I can't seem to find a photo or video of the UCA pocket modification for the JBA A-arms. My mechanic says there isn't enough space to bend over a half-inch or so of metal at the bottom.

There is ( well its not 1/2 inch anyways but....) , Really wouldn't worry about it , some we've done , some we've left to self clearance.
What I did on the 03 was take a rather large ball-pein ( or ball peen depending on where you are from ) hammer and just whacked it enough to start it to bend . That would be enough.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Never did mine and it's been just fine.

 

[profdlp]

Never did mine, either. Of course, with the knuckleheads I had working under there... :happy175:

(I was assured it would take care of itself over time if necessary.)

 

[Jim McClain]

Of course, I couldn't stay away from the shop, so I rode my Segway in the freezin'-ass cold down there and grabbed a few pictures. I opted out of changing the ball joint on the bottom of the front LCA/knuckle. The existing ball joint looked in excellent condition. This was one of the recall issues and had been taken care of before I bought the Jeep. The mechanic said it looked like the previous owner waited a long time to have it replaced because it is in such good shape. The LCA's bushings are all cracked and dried out though, so those will be replaced.

When I got there, he had just finished the rear, so that's what I shot cell phone pics of.

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[CactusJacked]

Lookin good so far Jim. Out of curiosity, what Cali temperature is considered "freezin'-ass cold"? It's at or below zero here, with freezing-freezing deeper than ass high winds. I have a feeling yours may feel like short sleeve weather by comparison.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Lol @ Cactus

Are you replacing the LCA bushings this go-round? Let us know how that goes/which parts you use. Avoid anything Moog that begins with RK, from what I've read. K series is good.

 

[profdlp]

Looking good. You must be really psyched to get the finished product back. :gr_grin:

 

[tommudd]

Two thumbs up !!!:gr_grin:

 

[Jim McClain]

Lookin good so far Jim. Out of curiosity, what Cali temperature is considered "freezin'-ass cold"? It's at or below zero here, with freezing-freezing deeper than ass high winds. I have a feeling yours may feel like short sleeve weather by comparison.

:happy175: To me, freezin'-ass cold is when the ambient temperature is anything below the freezing point AND I am gliding on my Segway at about 18 MPH. I don't know what the windchill factor is, but it feels like freezin'-ass cold to me.

Are you replacing the LCA bushings this go-round? Let us know how that goes/which parts you use. Avoid anything Moog that begins with RK, from what I've read. K series is good.

Yes, the LCA bushings will be getting replaced. The mechanic was explaining the procedure to me - remove the ball joint and other stuff attached to the knuckle - and I suggested he do it a little differently. I think if he installed the UCA first, then he could hang the knuckle off that so he would not need to remove anything but the LCA and let it dangle off the ball joint while removing and replacing the bushings.

However he finally does it (I have to let him be the mechanic), the bushings will be replaced with Moog parts K7389 rear and K200258 front LCA Bushings. None of the Moog parts used in my lift have an R in them. I didn't even know to be wary of them. No one said anything when I first asked in this thread or any of the several other times I asked for opinions on the parts. Maybe that was because I only listed K parts anyway.

Looking good. You must be really psyched to get the finished product back. :gr_grin:

Very. I know there's going to be a difference in the way it handles, so I'm anxious. But I can't get the front end aligned for a couple days, so that will be the real test. Then, of course, when I get the new tires, I'll prob'ly have to get another alignment because the tires will be more than 2 inches larger (current tires are 29", DuraTracs are 31.5").

 

[CactusJacked]

...Then, of course, when I get the new tires, I'll prob'ly have to get another alignment because the tires will be more than 2 inches larger (current tires are 29", DuraTracs are 31.5").

No, no you won't. Tires don't alter the geometry of the suspension in any way.